NK

Second Book Blues

Reviewed: 09-10-24

I made it 38 minutes and had to stop. Many of the characters were 2-dimensionally evil and the accents were overkill. As is often the case, the first book was good and second book feels rushed. I blame the remnants of the publishing industry.

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Great Start - Lost Interest

Reviewed: 09-10-24

I liked this book for the first 6 hours, then lost interest. I couldn't make it to the end. Edoardo is always a pleasure.

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Great Story, Weird Voice

Reviewed: 06-27-24

I really enjoyed the story. It has a very good balance between providing information and letting you figure it out for yourself. I don't really understand the different races and what they are trying to do but I feel it and it is satisfying to read.

I agree with other reviewers that Astor's voice did not work. I winced at every "ain't" and was very distracted at attempts to give her a white trash accent. I don't think it adds anything to the book.

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Unreadable

Reviewed: 11-22-23

This book is a good reminder that winners of the big awards are more than often unreadable. Edoardo Ballerini's amazing voice got me through half of what proved to be a series of bios and obits of hateful robber barons.

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Lovely Language and Attempts to Surprise

Reviewed: 09-07-23

John Boyne is a master of the language and a joy to read. Unfortunately, in The Absolutist, he decided to repeatedly withhold from the reader. Even more unfortunately, these attempts to surprise fail and each one is predictable. I spent far too much time waiting for a trap to be sprung. The ending, though not predictable, was too melodramatic for my taste. I give 4 stars for the language and 2 for the story.

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A Kind of Children's Book

Reviewed: 10-26-22

I didn't realize this was a kind of children's book. You wouldn't think so since it includes genocide of by humans and animals but the narrative style is simple and targets kids. I love Philip Kerr but couldn't get through this one.

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Enjoyable stories, heavy on message

Reviewed: 09-09-22

I enjoyed this well written book with good characters and enjoyable story lines. Despite being very heavy on message the stories carried me to their slightly confusing endings. The author was an excellent narrator.

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Dull and Drawn Out

Reviewed: 08-09-22

I was happy until about 6 hours and thoroughly bored by 7 hours of this book. By that time I didn't care who committed the murder of the thoroughly unlikable victim and I stopped.

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Great Stories, Small Annoyances

Reviewed: 07-20-22

I really like the stories behind the cases. The are original and clever. The regular characters are likeable and interesting. The narrator is very good and a perfect fit for the character. My general pet peeve is that everyone who testifies uses the same two-word style of answering: "I am, He did, I was, She has. etc." More variety in speech patters would be less annoying and more realistic. The word cement is used incorrectly several times by many clients in this book. Cement is a component of concrete, the correct word.

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1 person found this helpful

Fun but Slow and Long

Reviewed: 06-13-22

I'm giving this three stars instead of two and plus this less than stellar review. I felt like this was a 12-hour book and a 16-hour package. Many of the sections could have been trimmed making for a better pacing and a better book. That said, it was an interesting concept that was often fun to read.

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