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Subterranean  By  cover art

Subterranean

By: James Rollins
Narrated by: John Meagher
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Publisher's summary

Travel to the bottom of the earth...to a place you never dreamed existed.

Beneath the ice...a hand-picked team of specialists makes its way toward the center of the world. They are not the first to venture into this magnificient subterranean labyrinth. Those they follow did not return.

Over the rocks...Across the yawning caverns...Beyond the Black River...You are not alone.

Into the darkness...where breathtaking wonders await you - and terrors beyond imaging...Revelations that could change the world - things that should never be disturbed...

At the bottom of the Earth is the beginning. Keep moving...toward a miracle that cannot be...toward a mystery older than time.

©1999 Jim Czajkowski (P)2009 HarperCollins Publishers

What listeners say about Subterranean

Average customer ratings
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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Great story, funny Ausrtalian accent

This was my first James Rollins audio book and it won't be my last. The narration was very good with the exception of the "Aussie" accent, but it wasn't bad, more funny than anyhing else and easily forgiven. It's taken a while to find an author who is as engaging as Rollins in terms of the characters, and the story. The narrator can take a lot of credit for that as well, so all in all I'd happily recommend this to anyone that likes a Dean Koontz type of read.

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22 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Entertaining. A Good Read

I have read most of James Rollins books, and so I decided to give this older book a try … and I wasn’t disappointed. This was a gripping story which makes us wonder about the things that man has yet to explore and how it would affect each of us. James Rollins’ imagination is limitless no matter his subject. Not his best book, but by far an entertaining and thought-provoking read.

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10 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Claustrophobics: Avoid this book!

All other thriller-lovers might want to give this audiobook a listen ... especially since "Subterranean" is James Rollins first novel. As other reviewers have noted, this work does not show Rollins writing in his top form; but, rest assured, he keeps getting better and better. If, like me, you enjoy watching an author develop, then you should start watching Rollins with "Subterranean" ... unless you have claustrophobia. Claustrophobics should probably avoid Rollins altogether: Many of Rollins' novels take place under ground or underwater, in confined, dark spaces (not surprising, since Rollins is an amateur spelunker and scuba diver!). They provide plenty of thrills and chills for anyone with a moderate tolerance for far-fetched plots. Yes, "Subterranean" does postulate a slightly improbable scenario -- marsupial hominids (oops! Sorry, spoiler-haters.), undiscovered until now -- but, as Hamlet said, “There are more things in Heaven and Earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.” In his subsequent novels, Rollins unfolds many other fascinating, unlikely-yet-possible speculations. If you enjoy Preston/Child, then you will, most likely, enjoy Rollins.

As for the reader, John Meagher, I say: Give him a try. At first his tenor voice put me off a bit, I admit. However, he turns out to have pretty good acting skills; and, like Rollins, he gets better. I have to take the Australian reviewer's word for Meagher's unconvincing Australian accent (it sounded O.K. to me); but, hey, Australian accents are hard to do!

Not a bad thriller, for a first novel.

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8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars

I want my credit back!!!!!!

This will be the first book I abandoned in nearly 300 titles. To say it's bloody awful is a huge understatement.

Marsupial pigmies....REALLY? that's the best you could come up with? Your weed is too strong.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars

Ridiculous

My first James Rollins novel and very likely my last...Started out OK but the second half rapidly turned ridiculous...Indiana Jones meets Jurassic Park in a Journey to the Center of the Earth. I wasn't expecting high literature, but even with that preconception I was disappointed. This book turned into one of those stories where it seemed like nearly every plot device was driven forward by someone doing something dumb. I also expected science fiction aspects, but again the scientific liberties drove me crazy as well. Not the worst novel I have ever heard, but if the book's description intrigues you just save time and buy some Jules Verne or Edgar Rice Burroughs, they've done it before and better. However the narrator is pretty decent, although I cringed whenever he tried to emulate a woman's or child's voice.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Always a good story

Another success for Mr. Rollins. Enjoyed the listening and the narrator is ok once you get used to the tone of his voice. He does do a good job at keeping you interested. I like the story and all of the characters.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars

Beyond Ridiculous

I knew by reading the description of the book that the plot was entirely preposterous. There's nothing wrong with that. You can suspend a little disbelief to enjoy a story - it's the cornerstone of your favorite Pixar movies, right?

Subterranean is beyond. Way beyond. Wallowing deep in preposterousness. It's not just the core plot but it's the author's employment of the cheapest gags and devices to "keep up the suspense". By the second mp3 file I was rolling my eyes and groaning - out loud in my car - roughly every 5 minutes. You can quite literally guess everything that's about to happen if you ask yourself "what would a 13 year old attempting to write his/her first fantasy/romance novel do here?" In the same vein the dialogue and the characters were most likely carved in wood before printing in the book - it was so hard to carve complicated text in wood that Rollins settled for the bare minimum. It's AWFUL.

To cap it off, I still have 3 hours or so left. I don't think I'll be finishing the book....

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Poorly Written

The story is ostensibly interesting, although the reality of what is happening in Antarctica is obviously much more fascinating, hence the recent visits to the frozen continent by John Kerry, Buzz Aldrin, and a slew of other dignitaries and scientists. The reports of what they've found are fascinating.
Returning to this book, it reads as if it were written by a 16 year old boy. The dialogue is horrible; stiff, awkward. The characters are one dimensional cliches.

I have no doubt this will make a highly profitable Hollywood "blockbuster" it is so poorly written. Dan Brown would be proud.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

This book went way off track

This book started out with a bang and then went downhill fast. Ashley really annoyed me with how she seemed to completely forget that she had a son to get back. She kept saying I can't leave without seeing this, even when very hard to kill creatures are trying to kill them. It wasn't until towards the end of the book that she remembered she even had a kid. It seems like the author just lost focus with the plot because it went from being really good to completely ridiculous and the ending was just awful. I would not recommend this book unless you want to waste your $.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Annoying Performance

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

Average, Story ok but narration very bad.

What didn’t you like about John Meagher’s performance?

The female characters and the boy were more often than not whining and pouting and delivered in a high pitched annoying tone. It got to the point that I cringed whenever Linda or Jason spoke.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

Yes.

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1 person found this helpful