C. Avery

Big Stephen King fan.

Yes and No, It tends to reiterate many of the tired old arguments from both sides, bringing both sides towards the middle but not introducing anything new to the debate which is very useful for those of us not paying attention, but for those of us who do, not very stimulating.

The performance of the narrator was very passionate which kept your ear and made the listen very enjoyable.

The short nature of it made it a good listen while I did some quick house chores.

The author does a good job of bringing the far right/left wings more towards the center, and surprisingly I agree with many of his statements. One thing I was disappointed to see was the failure to address one critical problem with gun laws and the 2nd amendment. The primary reason it was put in place was in reaction to the dismal prospects at the start of the revolutionary war. i.e. a public with inferior weaponry subject to rule by the government because they had no realistic prospects of taking on such a well armed government. How they pulled it off was a miracle really. The 2nd amendment is there to ensure the government fears the people, not the other way around.The authors proposal only makes rational sense if you are willing to forgo that position. If you are willing to subject yourself to a law enforcement that can out-gun you any day of the week. Not a problem when everything works right (which for the most part it does and has but there are notable exceptions) but the alternative, I believe, is the exact reason it was put in the constitution.

Finally we come to the end and you can tell that both the narrator and the listener have gone through a journey to come out the other side. Listening to this book is a vastly different experience from the first one.

The plot comes to it's pinnacle and the narrator's skill is finally comes into its own. The story kept me engaged and I couldn't wait to hear the end. A lot goes on after the quest comes to a close that fans of the moves are unaware.

Of all the characters that were my favorite I would have to say Sam outshines them all. I get how Frodo is supposed to be the star, but without the heroism and brevity of Sam all would have come to naught. He is humble and unassuming yet takes no lip from others and if the need calls he is more than capable. Other characters are confident and, at times, brash about their abilities but Sam exemplifies the saying "Walk softly and carry a big stick". You'd never guess it from his personality but crossing him may be the most unwise thing one could do.

I really liked the book and how the author allowed the readers to say goodbye to each character in turn which is a real treat compared to the endings from other books I've read. You get to know each person and it seems that not only was the reader saying good bye but the author too, which is why it was handled the way it was and part of what made it great.

The narrator finally comes into his own with this book. The big problem that plagued the series (especially in the first book) were the songs / poems, as the narrator would often sing very quietly which, consequently, caused you to turn the volume up to hear what was being said...until the song ended and your ears were blown out your skull!

Those days are gone with this book and the songs / poems are a real treat. I didn't hear a peep of background noise (another problem in book 1 at a few instances) and the 3+ hours of bonus content at the end really helped to make a listener fell they not only got their money's worth but a real value to boot.

Yes, I would listen to it again because the story is exactly what I look for in an epic fantasy adventure novel.

The plot and characters were well thought out and the book clipped along at the perfect pace.

Yes, you can tell the difference between the characters which made it a good listen.

I liked the book and have been waiting for LOTR to hit audible for years now!

The narrator does a lot better in this one vs the first. In the first one all the songs / poems were not performed all that well and since there are not that many in the second book that problem is mostly solved.

I've been waiting for this title to come out for years. The story is excellent, but there are characteristics in the IMPLEMENTATION that leave things to be desired.

As expected those of us already familiar with the story won't be disappointed. It is quintessential high fantasy and sets the standard for all those coming after.

Probably not. The narration had, at some points, background noises bleeding through such as a door opening/closing etc. Also being what it is, there are a lot of songs / poetry in the work. I'm not going to criticize his singing voice (you try it) but I will say that when he does, he get's REALLY quiet which makes you turn up the volume to hear it. Then once he's done with the song / poem...he starts to read again...and your volume is cranked way up. This was probably the largest drawback I have found.

Yeah, get the next book.

OK for what it is, could be better. As far as I know this is the only UNABRIDGED non dramatized version of the story that Audible offers. Hope they make a better one in the future.

Ok, this short story is...well...glad it was free. The plot is basically an elephant went missing and the ENTIRE story is a narrative of a guy who explains how the local town reacted to it (read: NARRATIVE) then at the very last minute offers a quick "here's what happened" that isn't that good then attempts to close with some sort of "maybe something strange is going on with me" deal that makes NO sense and is out of place and completely lame.

Like I said glad it was free because if I PAID for it I would have been ticked.

A good story and classic Stephen King. There is an annoying attempt at special effects between each chapter so be prepared. I get what they were trying to do with it, add atmosphere and give the listener a clean stopping point between chapters but frankly it was poorly executed and I just found it annoying.

If you can get past that, and honestly it's not that hard, then it's a good listen. If I had the chance to take my credit back I wouldn't. It was worth it.

I am partial to Jules Verne and love all his works. This one is just as good as his others. Really takes you on a trip from the surface to the center and back again. How interesting is it walking through a cave? Well you just wait and find out! I will certainly be listening to this one again.

I chose this book because I am a Stephen King fan and this is one of the few books he'll go on record to recommend. All in all the book really stretched my imagination but only to a certain point. Most of the book takes place in a basement and toggles between current time and flash backs. A neat literary trick but I think SK pulled it off better in IT than Richard Matheson did here. You could see the flashback transitions coming a mile away and honestly, became a bit repetitive and I got tired of constantly "flipping channels" in my head between the two.

I would rate it as an average story, a solid middle of the road and while I don't want my money back, if I knew then what I know now I would have skipped it for another book on my wish list.

Ok, here's the skinny on this book. I just finished it today and what they won't tell you is that this book is basically about how applying biblical principals to your life can totally revolutionize you. There are a lot of biblical references here and for that matter a hefty portion of it is evangelical, but done classy. In such a way that if you're a Christian or on the border there it's not offensive at all, but if you're a solid atheist it IS enough to cause you to shelf the book. That said, the book for me was an absolute amazing read. Practical advice for applying biblical principals and a good reference tool that I'll be keeping on my shelf for a while.

A very classic Stephen King book, it got me through the long nights on 3rd shift. You certainly have to be open to the paranormal here with this one but again when don't you with SK? He does have some better ones out there but please do not interpret this as a put-down to this book. There are hints here and there of it tying in with other SK works which is always a nice surprise.