Extraordinary Powers

By: Joseph Finder

Narrated by: Christopher Burns

Length: 17 hrs and 18 mins

Publisher's summary

Harrison Sinclair, director of the CIA, has been killed in a car accident. His son-in-law, Ben Ellison - an attorney and ex-agent - instantly hears rumors of sinister forces within the Agency. The hunt for the truth will rush Ben headlong into a web of conspiracy beyond his control, where he is compelled by an artful, inescapable maneuver back into the employ of the CIA, and lured into a top-secret espionage project in telepathy that will endow him with "extraordinary powers"....

The audio includes an excerpt from Vanished, the first Nick Heller novel.

©1993 Joseph Finder (P)2010 Macmillan Audio

Critic reviews

"Finder's pacing, wit and style make this thriller a standout." ( Publishers Weekly)

Just ok not extraordinary

This one was just ok. The ESP was a bit much and I not sure it was necessary for the story. At times moved a bit slow, but ok overall.

Great story, better narrator needed

Scott Brick would have nailed this book. But, as it was, the narrator seemed like the disembodied voice of a GPS some of the time (especially the beginning). This hurt the book, in that the emphasis was often put on the wrong or inappropriate word in a sentence or dialogue. Often, it was confusing, and sometimes even conveyed an entirely different meaning. While you were trying to figure out what the character was really trying to say, the audiobook advanced, and you either had to rewind or miss some of the dialogue. It would have served the narrator better if he had read the book, or read it more than once, so he was aware of the inflection and meaning of the sentence he was characterizing. He appeared to read with the same "voice up and down" pattern no matter what was being said. It was like simplified narration 101--put some inflection in your voice while reading--but the idea should be to do it when and where it is meaningful and suitable. Good authors like Finder should insist on well-versed and talented narrators who don't make their work suffer.

Disappointing

This is an interesting story line and a bit different for an espionage novel. Unfortunately I think the narrator really ruined it, at least for me. The storyline was a bit choppy but well thought out. If you are debating using a credit for this or another, I would think twice about using it here.

Joseph Finder Classic

Would you listen to Extraordinary Powers again? Why?

I enjoy all of Joseph Finder's novels, primarily because his stories are all imaginative and fun to read.

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

I was always on the edge of my seat because the plot would take unexpected turns and it was fun to guess what would happen next.

What does Christopher Burns bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

I loved the various accents he would use - something you could never get by simply reading the book.

A solid Finder story

I enjoyed this book although it wasn't among Joseph Finder's best. It was still pretty good, with vague supernatural overtones. Not super-intriguing, but easy to follow. I didn't have a problem with the narrator as others have, in fact, I found his voice suitable to the first-person narration, if a little hesitant. The characters were all well-fleshed out, the story takes some crazy leaps which one won't expect and perhaps the wind-up is a little bit contrived. But overall it's another fun, engaging novel of good people caught miserably in bad circumstances, using Extraordinary Powers to get unentangled, and maybe save the world!

Good, but not his best

Joseph Finder offers a fast moving, well woven spy novel which unfortunately on occasion gets too intricate to keep the story moving. The problem is not the story line or the way the story is told, with all its twist and turns, but rather that in some situations Joseph Finder tries too hard to humanize his characters and they come off, in my opinion, very unrealistic given the way they are developed. But this does not stop me from recommending the book as these sequences are either easy to skip over or ignore depending upon how much they annoy you and the book on the whole is very good. Christopher Burns does a great job of presenting the story too!

Story good, but narrator sub-par

I love Joseph Finder's writing, but I was so distracted by this narrator's "voice" for the lead character, that I decided to read it in print instead. To give him his due, when he read other characters he was fine, but the tone of the main character, Ben Ellison, is just inappropriate.

he did it again

Just when I think I have this author figured out, I get another wicked curve ball. he's a talent!

Can’t. Do. It.

Maybe if it was read by someone else,maybe, it might be a good story. I tried, couldn’t finish.

Could not have been more disappointed!

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

The narrator was terrible. I felt like I was listening to my 2nd grade teacher during nap time. I sped up the playback speed to 1.5 so I could get through it.

Would you ever listen to anything by Joseph Finder again?

Other Finder's books are excellent. Something happened to this one along the way.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

As Judith from Naples said: "Scott Brick would have nailed it." But, I am doubtful that Scott Brick could save this story.