Deep Storm

This is a book that is hard to put down. Mystery coming from all side. The author did a great job catching the readers attention. I would recommend this book to my friends and family.

This is not what I would call a great book. That being said, it is an OK book. The suspense is not as gripping as I would expect from this author. The narration is a bit slow (pace). I was hoping for a bit more ingenuity in the plot twists. On the up side, you are kept going, at no point do I feel so frustrated with the story or the narration that I had to stop. Not one of their best works (Author/Narrator) but still worth the listen for those long car rides etc. 3/5

Maybe the last half of this book is better -- I didn't make it that far. I got to the end of the first part and realized I didn't know anything about any of the characters, and I didn't care what they were excavating. The narrator was annoying too. He made the female characters (scientists!) sound like they were stoned and/or on too much valium. The rest of the narration was stilted, as if he were trying to make sure he pronounced each word individually. Someone should tell him that's not the way people talk!

Sphere by Michael Crichton is one of my all time favorite books. This book managed to remind me of everything I loved about Sphere, without being a rehash of the same old stuff. It was interesting and intense, and kept me guessing until the end. Usually I have it all figured out well before the end of the book, but I was pleasantly surprised by this one.

I wanted to like this book. I've enjoyed other titles by the same author; his collaborations with Doug Preston are quite a bit of fun, in spite of their shortcomings.

But I just couldn't get into this one. Part of it may be my background in physics and the time I spent working with the Coast Guard; neither the science nor the marine details are particularly convincing, and I was distracted from the story by constant realizations that the real world just wouldn't work the way Child describes. And the characters didn't help, either: they were shallow and predictable, with no real convincing complexity or credible human detail, right off the back lot of a B picture.

I had to struggle to reach the end, I'm afraid.

Maybe because I listened to a Michael Connelly book just before starting this one, but this is one of the worst I've listened to since joining Audible, some 275 books ago. The story is okay but the main character, who is a physician, is miraculously able to perform every task imaginable that is medically related. Totally unrealistic from my health care perspective. And his methods of reasoning just don't follow the way a highly trained physician would go. Then, there is Scott Brick, who used to be my favorite narrater, but who now reminds me of listening to spoofs of William Shatner. Has be gotten SO much more dramatic and slow, or am I just tiring of his methods? Don't waste your money or your time listening to this one.

I like Scott Brick but have come to realize that he does all of his main characters the same... angry and cynical. For me, this just did not work for the main character in Deep Storm. However, what made me turn off the book without finishing, was that it was so ridiculous. Dr. Crane starts off as a slightly humble generalist. By 1/2 way through, he is treating rare infectious diseases, sewing fingers on, and preparing to do vascular bypass. This is a joke and after a while the inaccuracies and cliches irritated me so much that I could not finish.

I know what to expect from Lincoln & Childs books so did not stumble into this one blindly. I also do not usually buy books before they have been reviewed by Audible listeners but did check external reviews of this book. I knew it would not be great literature but figured that with Brick reading it, it would at least be entertaining and would serve for a road trip.

I was wrong and the fault is Brick's. This is a truly annoying reading and it took me some time to figure out why. Brick does a great job of portraying different characters. I still love The Company and others of similar ilk he has done. However, his reading of the narrative is just flat not good. That may also be why I generally do not like his reading of non-fiction.

Give this one a pass.

Dragged initially, but got better as it went on. The author builds his suspense.

Ya gotta get past Scott Brick. This is my second Brick book and I agree with the J. Peterman remark, but the story was really good and I was not disappointed.