Light of the World

A Dave Robicheaux Novel, Book 20

By: James Lee Burke

Narrated by: Will Patton

Length: 19 hrs and 3 mins

Publisher's summary

"America’s best novelist" (The Denver Post) and "the reigning champ of nostalgia noir" (The New York Times Book Review) introduces his most evil character yet in the 20th thriller in the best-selling Dave Robicheaux series.

A New York Times best-selling author many times over, James Lee Burke is a two-time Edgar Award-winner whose every book is cause for excitement, especially those in the wildly popular Dave Robicheaux series.

In Light of the World, sadist and serial killer Asa Surrette narrowly escaped the death penalty for the string of heinous murders he committed while capital punishment was outlawed in Kansas. But following a series of damning articles written by Dave Robicheaux’s daughter Alafair about possible other crimes committed by Surette, the killer escapes from a prison transport van and heads to Montana - where an unsuspecting Dave happens to have gone to take in the sweet summer air, accompanied by Alafair, his wife Molly, faithful partner Clete, and Clete’s newfound daughter, Gretchen Horowitz, whom listeners met in Burke’s most recent best seller Creole Belle.

"James Lee Burke remains the heavy weight champ," says New York Times best-seller Michael Connelly, "a great American novelist whose work...is unsurpassed." The master proves it once again with this harrowing novel that examines the nature of evil and pits Dave Robicheaux against the most diabolical villain he has ever faced.

©2013 James Lee Burke (P)2013 Simon & Schuster

Transported

I've listened to a half-dozen of Burke's Robicheaux novels (as well as a couple of his others). I find myself transported to the scene of the action in Burke's work more than almost any other author. His style of writing (and I'm not sophisticated enough to know if there is a genre to describe it) is so rich, layered and descriptive that is makes the content of the stories (often horrific) almost a runner-up to the constant narrative running through Robicheaux's mind. Robicheaux has seen it all, and has a world-weary aspect to his character. But he still holds out hope for the best in people, and these stories do always have redemptive aspects to them.

This is as good a novel as I've read in a very long time. Right up there with Creole Belle, the previous book in the series.

Will Patton is a wonder. His work is so smooth and he so inhabits these characters (especially Dave and Clete) that it's just a joy to listen to him. I must say that I found Gretchen's voice somewhat offputting. But other than that, it was just a lot of fun to hear Patton breathe even more life into Burke's already wonderful story. Will Patton is right up there with George Guidall in my personal polling for Best Audio Book Narrator Ever.

This is getting kind of formulaic

Any additional comments?

Love the characters and the settings, but really the plot lines are becoming predictable. Here, as in several previous novels, we have:The evil wealthy capitalist oil baron ruining the environment for his own greed. The shallow, callow and unlikeable son of the above.Greedy capitalist living in huge compound guarded by nasty goons.Poor, downtrodden, but noble victims of the above greedy capitalist (Native Americans in this case). Clete getting into fistfights.A psycho on the loose. Allafair in danger!Dave butting heads with fellow lawmen as he continues to ponder the nature and existence of people who do bad things. Same old stuff. Cheers

ANOTHER CLASSIC!

James Lee Burke and Will Patton combine their incredible talents to once again deliver a story of timeless passion, wisdom, and the struggle of good vs. evil. While not the best of the Robicheaux novels, this book is still a masterpiece. James Lee Burke is the best American novelist alive today and Will Patton is a star performer. Buy the book. Download the audio.

Outstanding text and narration.

Where does Light of the World rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

In the top 5%.

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

Yes. The story-telling is linear without many flashbacks, and there is an incredible array of richly-drawn characters. Halfway through the book my mind is exploding with various threads, leading towards the whole cloth.

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

As other reviewers have said, Will Patton IS Dave Robicheaux. He's one of the very best narrators in the business. Offhand I can't think of anyone better.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

No idea. I'm not very good at this sort of thing.

Any additional comments?

I don’t write reviews often, and only if the book is remarkable in some special way. “Light Of The World” is one such book. Over the last three years I have bought over 300 books from Audible, so I have a reasonably wide experience of writers and narrators.

James Lee Burke is one of my favorite authors, and I have listened to all of his available audiobooks, twice and occasionally three times to each of the previous Dave Robicheaux novels. I am only hallway through this latest one but I definitely rate it as one of the best – and offhand I can’t think of another that stands out equally well. They are all outstanding but this one is special: a wonderful sense of place, rich character descriptions and a taut, complex and detailed plot.

The other standout is the narration by Will Patton. Suffice it to say that, among the literally hundreds of narrators I’ve had the pleasure of listening to, Will Patton is the best.

Same old, same old ....

Is there anything you would change about this book?

Unfortunately all of the Robichaux novels have become flat and predictable. Same story line, just different character names (of the bad guys). A rich snobbish elitist family, a psycho killer, good guys kidnapped and tied up, and the story ends as Dave and Clete shoot it out with the bad guy.

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

Will Patton is one of my favorites, he makes it bearable. But, he does not sound realistic as a female.

Any additional comments?

I really wish Burke would come up with something new for Dave and Clete. I mean, how many sociopath killers can two 70 year old ex cops encounter in one lifetime???

Burke isn't what he used to be

I have read absolutely everything Burke has ever written and loved every one of them - until his last two Robicheaux novels. Something is lost and I suspect its inspiration. Dave is predictable. Clete is predictable. The plot is predictable for a Robicheaux novel. Even the level of violence is predictable. Changing the setting did allow Burke to use his incredible skill at making locations come alive, but that was just not enough to raise this above the level of "only OK."

Will Patton's narration is also not what I would choose. He does an OK job of giving each character a distinct voice, but I am distracted by his annoying tendency to "chew the scenery." I wish he would moderate the level of emotion he gives the characters when they talk with each other. Except for Molly (who has almost no "reality" in this book until near the end) everyone is either grinding their teeth with anger, shouting with anger or just angry. It's difficult to describe, but Patton can't seem to let a character speak with anything less than throat-searing emotion.

I wonder if it isn't time for Clete and Dave to ride off into the bayou and retire to a life of fishing.

Give us more Holland!

Love it, but problems

I loved this book and didn't want it to end. But . . . .

Part of my love with Burke's series is Will Patton's voice, performance, and consistency. The book was down loaded to my Nexus 7, Kindle Fire, and laptop. The early part of the book was Will Patton; however, at some time his voice changes! Again, I tested devices and external speaker systems. My theory is the sound engineer dialed his voice down.

Were I to have read rather than listened to the book, I would have to observe that editing was needed: too many descriptions of settings, weather, and the demons of characters. Also the philosophical issues and observations of Burke were noticeable.

But . . . I didn't read - I listened (mainly in my car) and just didn't want it to end.

Its probably just me.

What did you like best about Light of the World? What did you like least?

Will Pattons reading was perfect for a Robicheaux story.

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

The setting in Montana

Have you listened to any of Will Patton’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

no

Could you see Light of the World being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

Yes. Too hard to cast

Any additional comments?

I think it is changes in my life and my age that may have tainted this Burke story. I found the characters too cryptic and odd and there did not seem to be even one character who wasn't overly odd or dark. The story seemed lacking in any police procedural aspects compared to previous Burke books. Certainly a classic Burke/Robicheaux but was a downer for me.

Gripping Story & Masterful Narration

Any additional comments?

James Lee Burke spins yet another gripping Dave Robicheaux novel, with more than the usual number of interesting sub-plots. Clete Purcell's daughter plays a fairly large role in this book and I look forward to reading more about her in future Robicheaux stories. If you're a James Lee Burke and/or Dave Robicheaux fan you won't want to miss this latest installment. And Will Patton... what can I say. I could listen to him read the phone book. He was wonderful as always -- I can't imagine a Dave Robicheaux book read by anyone else.

Philosophy

Mr. Burke is truly a man of letters. I enjoyed the characters immensely. One thing that was something incongruous was Dave’s vocabulary. I thought it was
somewhat unlikely Dave would have such command of philosophy, literature and poetry. Yet I enjoyed it. Complex story full of suspense. Highly recommended,