The Inverted Mask

By: Izzy Doroski

Narrated by: Daniela Acitelli

Length: 13 hrs and 27 mins

Publisher's summary

The Inverted Mask takes the listener on a thrilling adventure through the pine barrens of eastern Long Island, the heights of the Catskill Mountains, and the depths of subterranean particle-beam tunnels hundreds of feet below Long Island.

Physicist Dr. Jon Sanborne, and his fiancée, psychiatrist Dr. Marta Padlo, are drawn into an intrigue that spans decades, continents, and the nature of reality when they begin to look into the mystery of Dr. Emery Hilcraft, a renowned physicist who disappeared from a research lab many years ago. Jon's explorations through restricted buildings at the Ridgewood National Laboratory lead him to discover the secret and unspeakably evil history of experimentation at the lab, and bring Jon and Marta into the sights of the paramilitary force that is charged with protecting those secrets. Along the way, they decipher the hidden mysteries of Dr. Hilcraft's amazing research, which brings them face to face with parallel realities.

©2014 Isidore Doroski (P)2016 Isidore Doroski

Boring

Would you try another book from Izzy Doroski and/or Daniela Acitelli?

Not likely

Any additional comments?

I kept falling asleep while listening to this book. It happened enough that I stopped going back to where I fell asleep and just kept listening. The narrator spoke slowly. I had to upped the narration speed just so I could listen to it. I received this audiobook for free through Audiobook Boom for my unbiased review.

I can't ...

Note: In exchange for an unbiased review, the author, publisher, and/or narrator were kind enough to provide an audio version of this book at no charge via AudiobookBlast.

I gave this book nearly 2 1/2 hours and when it didn't get any better (either story-wise or narration), I finally had to pull the plug. I didn't feel I was able to take 10+ more hours of it. Maybe the premise of the story would have been good ... if said premise had become clear by the two-hour mark. Instead, we were treated to countless incidents of clunky dialogue and science/tech narrative that did little to nothing for the overall story. I understand all too well that narrating an audiobook is gruelling work - and the material in this novel was a mouthful, but the narrator wasn't a good fit for the story at all (perhaps any fiction work in general at this time). We have a combination here that just didn't work very well and it's unfortunate. I hate to abandon a book before I'm done but after giving it many chances to get better it was past time to pull out.

For the love of Science

TARGET AUDIENCE: Individuals with a love of science and details. This book delves deeply into quantum physics. If science is not your strong suit, skip this book. Also because of the author’s love for details, the first half of the book was very slow for me. I can see how some readers would enjoy this, but it just wasn’t for me.

PROFANITY & SEX: None. It alludes to such, but stays out of the bedroom. Thank you! This book is appropriate for all ages.

STORY LINE: As previously noted, the book was heavy on the details - way too detailed for me. If you have four theories and only one of them pertains to the story line of the book, I only want to have one explained to me. The book would have been better if an editor had of cut about 1/3 of it out. I think in that case, I would have really enjoyed it. Once again if you love science, you may just disagree with me, and I can respect that.

VOICE: The voice was overly precise. In Idaho when we refer to the Idaho National Laboratories, nobody calls it by its full name. We either call it “the site” or “INL.” To use the formal name for everything over and over again is redundant and repetitive. Nobody says 430 feet down over and over again. We say “I can’t believe we are 400 feet down.” There were times when I got frustrated and wanted to yell, “People don’t talk that way.” Much of the time, I felt like I was reading a scientific journal and not a novel.

NARRATOR: Unremarkable. The narrator neither made or broke the story.

OVERALL: I can only think of a handful of people to whom I could recommend this book.


“This audiobook was given by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review via Audiobook Boom.”

The Inverted Mask

There is a lot of science in this book.I found the story good.Of course there are other universes! John works underground in Ridgewood lab.His girlfriend work in another lab experimenting on animals.They take a weekend in the Catskills and visit the house of a man that worked in the lab but disappeared.There is a coin, weird phonemail to a restricted facility, etc.It is a very long story.Daniela Acitelli is an iffy narrator.She drawls things out and makes the women sound very wifty ...then she reads normal for awhile.I was provided to me for review by the author, narrator or publisher.

Long buildup, no payout and bad narration

What would have made The Inverted Mask better?

The whole story felt like a setup for something that never went anywhere. The author should have dialed back the science a bit in order to tell a better story.

Has The Inverted Mask turned you off from other books in this genre?

No, I still love hard science fiction.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Daniela Acitelli?

Wil Wheaton, he could have made listening to this a lot more bearable. I was about to stop this audiobook so many times and only listened to the end because I was given the book for free in exchange for writing a review.

What character would you cut from The Inverted Mask?

Not sure since I don't really remember them much, the narrator made most of them sound the same, so many times I wasn't sure who was even talking.

Any additional comments?

I usually like hard science fiction, sci-fi with a firm root in reality. The author's science background shines through a lot, however in this case this is more of a disadvantage. The story at many times felt like a scientific paper being read aloud, which made it arduous to listen and not switch your mind off.
It is also obvious that the author does not have a lot of experience writing dialogue. Nuggets like "oh you are so strong" "I work out at the gym, which has a great offer at the moment" in the middle of two people trying to break into an abandoned lab complex just kill any suspense there might have been. On top of that the narrator makes everyone sound like an android. Sometimes I had the feeling that the narration was carried out by a voice synthesizer on a mobile phone.
Then there are the problems with the actual story... I think it did have a lot of potential, but then about 80% through it still felt like the author was trying to set something up with several story lines being opened until I realized no, the story is actually over, and the thing that just happened was the climax, and everything that followed was just an attempt to resolve some of those stories.
**************************
This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of Audiobook Blast.

storry is interesting, narrator is horible!!!

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

The story was good, for the most part. there were a few times that I felt that the authormade some of the responces from marta to john or in reverse a bit condescending. I don't think the author ment to, but and I think the narrator is mostly at fault for this.

What did you like best about this story?

I loved the science fiction and the fantastical physics :)

What didn’t you like about Daniela Acitelli’s performance?

everything. She was absolutely horrible. She made everyone sound so incredibly stupid. Characters that had accents sounded like they were mentally chalanged. Her version of a change of character voice was to speak slower. She only really did well with john's voice, and that still was a horrible listen. I will never buy any books or even listen if they are given to me any books with her as a narrator.

Was The Inverted Mask worth the listening time?

yes and no. as a story on its own I had fun listening to it. but the story was made horrible because of the narrator.

Any additional comments?

do not allow Daniela Acitelli to read any books. well maybe user manuals for electronics, and such, boaring stuff.

story is interesting, narrator is horrible

Is there anything you would change about this book?

Get a better narrator

How did the narrator detract from the book?

Did not do a good job

Any additional comments?

I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher

Super Collider... So-So Story and Poor Narration

I thought Quantum Physics, multiple, simultaneous universes, LCD research, etc. would be educational, entertaining, and engaging reading (listening), and with careful character development, sound editing, and strong story, but Inverted Mask just misses the marks.

Here’s what I liked. Author Izzy Doroski seems to have a firm handle on science, but maybe not so much on story. Here are the good things: (1) Writing: Doroski does a remarkable job explaining many complex concepts and nuances regarding Quantum Physics; (2) Movement: The telling is fluid and, despite the focus on Quantum Physics, I did not feel bogged down, and (3) Multi-layering of various kinds and depths of relationships.

Here’s what I feel detracts from the story. The dialogue is oftentimes quirky in what seems to be an unintentional way. Statements like “…That is all I know. I also know…” are distracting. Instead of thinking “That was clever” or “Wow, what’s going to happen next?” I was stuck at “What?” In mean time, the narrator had moved on.

Narrator Daniela Acitelli’s performance gave me the impression that she has not honed her skills and that she did not listen to her work before submitting it as final product. The reading is a really good example of what happens when writers select improperly trained narrators to read their work. Acitelli’s style does not include employing distinct personification of characters, pace variation, or accents. She does include a number of noticeable extended pauses, which cause odd dead air space in the telling. For example “… They approached an oddly jagged, sharp angled, large four story building made of glass and steel. The roof of the building, angled higher toward the east… (pause, swallow) and the striking HITS logo was enblazened…” Like another reviewer, I had to crank up the speed to 1.5 in order to get through the book.

This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review. Thanks AudioBlast.

Dialogue is Important

John Sanborn and Marta are in love and just moving in together. They both work at a top secret facility involved in the research of quantum physics. When John discovers a link to a groundbreaking scientist who used to work at the same facility but disappeared 30 years ago, the inquisitive scientists can't help but try to follow his trail and find out what happened to him. Especially since things are going downhill at work and the facility is becoming more like a military installation and one young doctor has already paid with his life.

I didn't mind the scientific talking points. It was put in simple enough language so the average person could understand it. There was a lot of it, though, and this may have overwhelmed other readers. I didn't mind the action not getting going until the middle of the book and then being brief and concluding quickly with not a lot of tension or suspense. What I couldn't get past as the dialogue. It was bad. And forced. And stilted to a degree that made me speed up the listen to 2x to get through it.

The narration was just OK for me. I usually like Daniela Acitelli. She is actually one of the big reasons I chose this listen. Her voice is reminiscent of Sigourney Weaver to my ears. But in this audiobook she spoke very, very slowly and could not make up for the really bad dialogue and she did not even try for Marta's Ukranian accent.

I received this audiobook for free through Audiobook Boom! in exchange for an honest review.

Inverted Mask

Any additional comments?

I have tried numerous times to listen to this book. I have never not finished a book that I requested to review. Being almost 5 hours into the story, for now I am putting this book aside.

Where to start ;
The book moves at a very slow pace. People do not talk to each other like the characters in the story do. Conversations between the main characters felt stilted, awkward and out of place. I felt like I was being given a science lesson/lecture. Details and details and details about science.

While the author obviously has a vast knowledge of science or done an amazing amount of research for the story, there needs to be a balance of details and an actual story.

I have listened to previous books narrated by Daniela Acitelli, and enjoyed them. While she does have a pleasant voice, it is soft without much distinction between male and female voices. It was very hard to tell who was speaking in this story. There are also awkward pauses as well so the narration did not flow smoothly . Personally I think it should have been a male narrator.


This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of Audiobook Boom