Sail

De: James Patterson, Howard Roughan

Narrado por: Dylan Baker, Jennifer Van Dyck

A classic summer vacation thriller from the most popular storyteller of our time.

A mother and her three children struggle to survive on the most shocking sailing trip of their lives.

Since the death of her husband, Anne Dunne and her three children have struggled in every way. In a last-ditch effort to save her family, Anne plans an elaborate sailing vacation to bring everyone together once again.

But only an hour out of port, their summer getaway is already turning into the trip from hell.

Anne’s teenage daughter, Carrie, is planning to drown herself. Her teenage son, Mark, is high on pot, and ten-year-old Ernie is nearly catatonic. Somehow, Anne manages to pull things together, but just as they begin feeling like a family again, disaster strikes.

But this catastrophe is just a tiny taste of the true danger lurking ahead—somewhere out there, someone wants to make sure the Dunne family never leaves paradise alive.

©2008 James Patterson (P)2008 Hachette Audio

Sail

If it weren't for bad luck they wouldn't have had any luck ... quick & enjoyable audio

Predictabke

Predictable but an ok journey. Felt long at parts. I enjoyed th e family values that shine through

absoutley trhilling

I could not stop listening to this book. I felt every wave, every shark attack, and the hoplessness and recovery of this family at sea. excellent. wish the end was not wrapped up all so quickly.

Very, very predictable.

I was five paces ahead of the “intrigue” right from the start. Very disappointing. Will use my reading time elsewhere.

Nice reading, but not the best one from JamesP

It's my 2nd audiobook from James Patterson and I must admit, I've read a number of his regular paper books, so you can call me his fan. I like his books for fast pace, actions, nice plots and also the easy language, since I'm not a native English speaker.

Although 'Sail' is not part of my favorite series such as Alex Cross or Women's Murder Club, it has some of the nice features of JamesP's books: interesting plot, unexpected turns, good mix of hopes and disillusions. Both Dylan Baker and Jennifer van Dyke did a great job as narrators, and although I slightly prefers Carolyn McCormick, when it comes to JamesP books, it's refreshing to listen to 2 voices. Both narrators play male/females roles.

The weakness and the reason why I didn't give 5 stars to that book is the main character. She didn't seem to be very realistic and it kind of frustrated me. On one hand, she was supposed to be a role model for her whole family, but she didn't want to tell them her little secrets and she also wanted to 'saved' them by giving them false hopes. Too pedagogical, I'd say.
There were also couple holes in the plot, like who was the pilot on the way back? Why the hearth attack was not examined? Why they didn't see the plane turning back to the island, etc.
Perhaps the author wanted to make us to think about it. Or, the deadline for printing the book came sooner than expected.

Anyway, despite of all these negative comments I just made, it's an excellent book for the 7h flight. Better than any movie you could see on the AMS->SFO flight. In case you haven't read any of the JamesP books, start with some of his earlier books though.

"A family vacation cruise..." Then it started...

Would you listen to Sail again? Why?

This is one story that can be listened to over and over (read the book, too). Don't let the mellow beginning deceive. These authors have made the characters real - you are "sea swept" from the start.

What other book might you compare Sail to and why?

Up Close and Dangerous is very comparable; a definite keeper to hear over and over. Read the book also.

Which character – as performed by Dylan Baker and Jennifer Van Dyck – was your favorite?

I cannot choose - both were great; their voices and reading rhythm made an awesome combination, which turned the story into an "adventure."

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

The way the interaction was written between the family: mother's frustration, uncle's irritation, then the way he took charge. Attitude and dialog of the teen boy and girl - their reactions were believable. Laugh out loud funny; an absolute sad, crying part; a great "Yes!" ending.

Any additional comments?

I am a thriller addict and love anything with great dialog and edge of seat action...this had it all.

Worst Patterson book I've ever had & I kept it too long to exchange it.

SPOILER ALERT...

I'm a fan of most of the Patterson books. Got tired of Alex Cross. Got tired of the Women's Murder Club even quicker. So that just leaves his single books not part of any series. My absolute favorite Patterson novel is The Jester and none of his works of collaborations have come close to as entertaining on every level.

It says this book was released in 2008, yet every pop culture reference would be lost on anyone much younger than my 57 years who caught all of them. Not the biggest negative, but I found it very odd for a book from 2008 that makes references to most pop culture asides that would just MIGHT be understood by people listening in the late 1990s.

The worst parts are the mother. She is unbelievably NYC stereotype rich with messed up kids all no older than mid teens. Pot smoker son, eating disorder/suicidal daughter, youngest son is the genius who has no mouth filter. Then were asked to believe her brother in law owns NOTHING except a used 1968 Harley and a duffle bag of clothes. And hasn't ever voted or paid income tax yet he's in his 40s as a deck hand for rich people.

Then we're told the massive yacht called 'The Family Dunne' was the reason mom is a remarried widow. Her husband was out diving from this yacht he owned and his air supply went bad and he died. Ad does to that this yacht has not been in the water or done any sailing since the husband died. I don't recall an exact time period it sat in dry dock. But it somehow got cleaned up and all checked out to sail her and her kids on this two week sail captained by the brother in law who the kids love and is a really great guy. Wow? Big Yawn.....Even worse than reading this lengthy review I took the time to write. LOL.

There is a hint of his spirit haunting haunting ONLY the brother in law with laughter coming from the engine room. Were told the brother in law had a intimate relationship with the mom before the husband died and mom broke it off while brother in law wanted it to continued, but knew she was right. How flipping cliché. Sigh.....

She makes a remark early on during two week trip on the yacht without the new husband who is a big deal high priced defense lawyer who she says she 'Loves him more than life itself.' Then we find out he DOES have a court case, BUT he also has been cheating with a women '1/2 my age plus 10' as the 'acceptable' rule for cheating men. I personally don't believe in cheating l but I also know I'm very much in the minority. What bothers me is...another cliché?? As a single, heterosexual, white male (The most unwanted and undesirable type of person on the planet. How far we've come.)...I really LIKED the young women who has no morals or not the least concern about what will happen when the truth comes out to his wife and his three step kids! Plus, she essentially throws herself at him and convinces him that he should 'f***' her because his wife will never know. Ugh!

Then we are introduced to a man who was at the dock when they left. We find out his is 'very good at making people disappear' and he refers to himself as The Magian. Geez.....

He used to work for the CIA. Then after the yacht has a few minor problems. The boat makes it through a hurricane that trashed the boat and even the main mast got hit directly by lightning and...'It fell 80 feet onto what was left of the deck'. I'm wondering how flipping big must this yacht be to have a mast fall 80 feet to the deck? The main mast of a Constitution Class war ship from the Tall Ship Era. One of these ships could hold about 20-30 crew plus all the room in the hold for supplies. Having been on one a couple of times. I have a very good idea how big a ship must be to require an 80 foot tall main mast and THIS yacht should not have a main mast that massive.
Then we find out this ex CIA guy is behind the boats problems. Never told if he knew the big storm was coming or not, but did tell us the distress transponder is broadcasting the WRONG coordinates so the Coast Guard won't find them. Final thing just to make sure the boat and ALL its people aka The Dunne Family will NEVER be found. He planted a bomb which waits until the storm passes by. We are also told these people with a completely smashed yacht broadcasting the wrong boat position. He had put in a bomb that WAITS until they play a game that gets them off the boat and into the water right before the boat blows up. Holy Sheepdip what a coincidence that was and how ridiculously cliché!

Then we find out this evil CIA guy who makes people disappear was HIRED by the cheating husband the wife loves more than life itself was hired by THE HUSBAND to kill his wife and kids. The brother in law is just a bonus.

Since writing this at the half way point in the book. I'm very certain the final cliché will be that the husband decided to kill his wife and kids because he signed a pre-nup and DEATH OF ALL FAMILY would be the ON!Y WAY the husband could get HER 100 milion dollars her husband left her. Oh my god...CLICHÉ MUCHO GRANDE!!

I can only hope the other single novels I've bought and yet to listen to are MUCH better than this very amateurish novel on every level. One last thing... for those who might have watched the Michael Douglas - Demi Moore movie called DISCLOSURE. The actor who plays the personal lack of business owner Donald Sutherland has the SAME voice as he does, but according to the The credits here and on the movie, the names don't match. For me this narrator's voice so exactly like the actor, I find it quite distracting seeing the actors face as I hear this narrators voice.

Sail into a good read!

This was a good read! The story was engaging from beginning to end. The narrators are excellent!

Fast Moving Thriller

First this has two excellent narrators, always a treat, (a man and a woman) they both do multiple voices excellently and with perfect voice timing (to compare good to very sloppy dual narration listen to the sample of 'The Honeymooners'- very poor.) In Sail the plot is fast paced and pulls you right in, no waiting for the danger to develop here.
I also liked the very few sound effects (such as gunshots or a clicking empty gun). To sum, one of the best thrillers I've ever downloaded due to all the above elements. You'd never call it literature but is sure is a very fun listen. I only wish it was an hour or two longer.

Note: The chapter numbering is confusing (big jumps between stated chapters, say 60 then 80) and I'm certain I got the longer version. I don't know how to explain this, since the plot moves SO fast or if it is a convention of a writing team to not number their sub-chapters. (It is co-written, of course.) It just makes you wonder if you aren't missing something.

Easy Summer Listening

If you're looking for a book that doesn't require you to think too much, this is an easy summer "read". I would definitely say that it was one of my favorites written by him. Perfect for the lazy, hazy days of summer!