Heat Wave

By: Richard Castle

Narrated by: Johnny Heller

Length: 6 hrs and 22 mins

Publisher's summary

The title character from ABC's hit television series Castle kicks off his new series of books featuring tough and sexy New York police detective Nikki Heat with a bang.

©2009 Richard Castle (P)2009 Tantor

Ok

The story was similar to the tv show which was good. A few chuckles and a good story. However the narration was very poor, I almost stopped listening. The narrator used the same 'excitement-building' tone if the character was was doing something exciting or something mundane. Also there was little or no voice change between characters so it was hard to understand which character was talking & sometimes difficult to tell if is was narration or conversation.
I am glad I perserveered as the narrator either improved or I got used to him by the next book.

Won't Disappoint Castle's TV Fans

What did you love best about Heat Wave?

I liked the fast pace, reminiscent of Chandler and Hammett, that kept the story going. I noticed elements from this story that have appeared in the TV show. This is not a pretentious cop procedural, but a good, down to earth story told with enthusiasm.

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

The end left me wanting another installment. Further adventures and developments could go in many directions.

What does Johnny Heller bring to the story that you wouldn???t experience if you just read the book?

I liked Johnny Heller's raspy voice. It adds to the idea of the narrator as an eye witness to the happenings.Just enough crustiness that you can envision him as an ex-cop with some inside knowledge of motivations and next moves.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I really liked it for what it is: a TV tie-in novel. I would consider listening to it again, and that's high praise for me.

Any additional comments?

I purchased this book on sale. The price was right, but I think I got a bargain. It's a nice compliment to the weekly TV show, and I can see why 'Richard Castle' does so well with his books that he can play poker with Patterson and Cannell and get favors from the mayor of New York City. Listen and enjoy!

I love Castle, but this isn't up to par

Would you try another book from Richard Castle and/or Johnny Heller?

Castle, yes, Johnny Heller: NO!! Not even for free.

What did you like best about this story?

Love the interplay between Nikki Heat and Rook.

How could the performance have been better?

A different narrator would have helped immensely. This guy has a voice and accent that grates on the nerves and he's indistinct. The sound level is too low as well so I feel like I'm missing important parts. Honestly, I have trouble telling what he's saying half the time.

Did Heat Wave inspire you to do anything?

Seriously? No.

Any additional comments?

PLEASE hire a different narrator for any other Castle novels.

Breezy fun story, but I've had better narrators

It's a light fun romp that you would expect from a book written by a TV character. What's most difficult is that the narrator doesn't do as well with making distinct voices, especially sometimes between the text of the book and the dialogue. Early on, it can be particularly difficult to follow when the speaker changes.

Still, a light few hours to pass the time with.

Nikki heat great book

absolutely loved this book cannot wait to read the second one could not put this book down

Good and Bad Review

Good story, but narrator was poor...voice volume kept rising and falling. overall, very disappointing. Voice variations were NOT good at all. Will not listen to another book by this narrator.

Awesome!

Loved it, I'm so glad that they actually wrote the books on the series.

Love Nikki/Rook

I like the narrator for the later books better, but this guy is good.
I only wish he had written in a shower scene for “the morning after”. Not a steamy shower scene just one where Nikki gets clean before going off to work. It’s so icky she doesn’t!

Decent read for a fictional author

Not bad. I will probably get the rest of the series. But then I enjoyed the TV show.

Easy Ok Read, Poor Narration

Would you try another book from Richard Castle and/or Johnny Heller?

While I'm a fan of the television series this is based on, I'm not especially liking Heller's style of narration. One, the primary character is female. Wouldn't it have made sense to have a female orator? Two, I can't tell the difference between characters when the dialoguing becomes lengthy because Heller doesn't really change up how everyone sounds. They all end up sounding the same short of the criminals with accents. But Heat, the reporter, the detectives, etc...all sound the same.

I've viewed the upcoming books and see Heller narrates a few & then they switch to another gentleman. I've sampled those and found I don't particularly like his style either. So I will likely stop reading/listening after this book PRIMARILY due to the orators' styles.

Who was your favorite character and why?

The writer of course.

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

He needed to give each character some slight variation in tone, inflection, something to give the listener some idea of who was talking.

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

Nope.

Any additional comments?

You are likely better off just reading this in lieu of listening to it. The narration isn't terrible, but I don't think - given the protagonist is female - they should have used a male orator(s) for this series. And I can't tell the difference between characters right away because of said style of narration.