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The Man He Never Was  By  cover art

The Man He Never Was

By: James L. Rubart
Narrated by: James L. Rubart
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Publisher's summary

In this fresh take on the classic Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, James L. Rubart explores the war between good and evil within each of us - and one man’s only chance to overcome the greatest divide of the soul.

What if you woke up one morning and the darkest parts of yourself were gone?

Toren Daniels vanished eight months back, and his wife and kids have moved on - with more than a little relief. Toren was a good man but carried a raging temper that often exploded without warning. So when he shows up on their doorstep out of the blue, they're shocked to see him alive. But more shocked to see he's changed. Radically.

His anger is gone. He's oddly patient. Kind. Fun. The man he always wanted to be. Toren has no clue where he's been but knows he's been utterly transformed. He focuses on three things: Finding out where he's been. Finding out how it happened. And winning back his family.

But as the months go on, his memory slowly returns. And the more the memories come, the more Torren slips back into being the man he was before. How can he hang on to the new man he’s become? And who is he really? The man he was...or the man he is?

Praise for The Man He Never Was:

“With plenty of twists and turns to keep the pages turning, The Man He Never Was expertly explores the difference between knowing and experiencing, and asks the important question: What might happen if we could see the person in the mirror as God does?” (Katie Ganshert, award-winning author of Life After)

“This is no mere novel, but a journey to the soul. Sage, deep filled with a truth of terrible beauty and the real nature of love.” (Tosca Lee, New York Times best-selling author)

“In The Man He Never Was, James L. Rubart perplexes readers in the best possible way, wooing us through the mystery of a man’s lost memory and the high stakes of his broken marriage, failed career, and an unbridled anger problem. A page-turning exploration of what it means to live truly loved.” (Mary DeMuth, author of The Muir House)

©2018 James L. Rubart (P)2018 Thomas Nelson

What listeners say about The Man He Never Was

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Somewhat Dissapointing

I generally enjoy James Rubart`s advevtures--a lot. I ordered "The Man He Never Was" on Kindle with Audible narration. It should never have been released. Chapter 31, in particular, was so fraught with do-overs, repetition of words and lines, and the authors complaints about typos (which should have been edited out), that listening became annoyingly painful. It was NOT READY FOR RELEASE. Even fans of the author`s work are likely to feel that money or credits were not well-spent.

The story was interesting. I must add that much. Notwithstanding, it was not good enough to rescue this from being an Audible flop. Hopefully, the producers and editors will clean this up and re-release it. In the meantime, a refund to those who purchased this release would be good business practice.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Chapter 31 is a mess... Covered with edits

Story itself is great! BUT.... The AUDIBLE recording starting in chapter 31 has all the edits and even one part where the reader says "gosh darnit there's a lot of typos in this book"....."these typos are driving me nuts... Driving me nuts" They say certain sentences 5 times with different inflection..... Etc..... Dozens and dozens of times starting in this chapter. Ruins the story and makes it very difficult to follow. How did this totally unedited version make it on here? Wasted money. Should have just bought the hard copy. Unfortunate.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars
  • MT
  • 04-10-19

Don’t waste your audible credit

Audio book is unedited and becomes impossible to keep listening in chapter 31-
Not sure how it made it to the audible store in this condition? I got my credit back and finished reading on kindle.
I wouldn’t read another book by this author-
Not my type of story-too much of a psychological drama and too violent for me.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

reapeats

I think I like the story but I cannot finish it as it has much multi repeating going on towards the end

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

book is very good but performance was not edited.

enjoying the book but ch 31 is a mess. at one point the reader says "gosh dernit there are a lot of typos in this book". the production editors really missed all the retakes. pretty distracting.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great story. Good Narration. Poor Production.

Great story.
Good Narration.
Story was read by the author.
Audio quality is not nearly as good on this book as with previous books. There's a thin, almost echoing sound to the recording. At least one chapter wasn't edited at all and contains an outburst by the author referencing typos in the script and has several sentences repeated.
Hopefully these issues are corrected in future books.
I'm looking forward to the next book...

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Unfinished

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

I wouldn't recommend they buy it on audible, as the production is unfinished

Would you be willing to try another book from James L. Rubart? Why or why not?

I would possibly purchase another novel by the author.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

The narrator was unedited. He said things in various different tones of voice over and over and he even said phrases like "man there a lot of typos in this book".

Was The Man He Never Was worth the listening time?

Perhaps if they actually finished it.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars
  • JD
  • 10-25-21

Painful story and audio

Although the book has an interesting concept, “taming the inner demon of anger”, it is painful to listen to. First, there are too many descriptions of Torne’s anger and verbal abuse. Then there is an especially horrible scene with his father beating him at age 10, And most of all, there are his pathetic attempts to win his wife back while barely holding his anger in. We all know that men like him don’t change, no matter how many bible verses they read, even with the supposed help he got in the mystery place in the Southwest. I found that I didn’t care to finish the book, and if the book ended with family reconciliation, that would be a sad ending. The audio in the book was abysmal. The voice is fine when Torne is speaking. But when the speaker tries to use a woman’s voice, it is laughable. When he uses a young persons voice, he sounds like he is mentally retarded. Maybe the book will appeal to the more violent types of ball players, but I didn’t care for it.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A difficult journey

We’ve all met men like Torren. Angry. Out of control. Repeatedly repentant. Self-loathing and shame color their world. A world strewn with the debris of broken relationships and continued failures. Surrender is hard. Only the Light of Jesus and God’s unfailing and unconditional love can heal the shame and bring lasting change. A wonderful story of difficult choices and second chances.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

This book was awesome !!

Yes I think I need to go to this octagonal room!!!
Rubart does it again! He surprised me and drove me through all the emotions of his characters.

Be blessed

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