kate

Epic tapestry of stories

Reviewed: 13-04-13

I chose this having read Pillars of the Earth. As with his other novels, Ken Follett weaves the lives of several families throughout the narrative, in this case to give an account of how both Axis and Allied countries were affected by the war. Rather than accounts of daring do on the battlefields, Follett focuses on the social and political. He shows the brutality of both fascist and communist regimes. At time it does feel that Follett is a bit heavy handed in shoehorning in his own political views, but overall I really enjoyed the narrative. John Lee is an excellent narrator who lends a sense of gravitas to the story,

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a very traditional Bond

Reviewed: 06-08-11

As the saying goes "if it ain't broke don't fix it". Deaver has embraced the standard Flemming blue-print for a Bond wholeheartedly. In an age where the general populus are well aquainted with MI5 and MI6, Bond is part of a more covert organisation. The plot was engaging and politically bang up to date. The super-sexy voice of Toby Stephens added the extra snarl that Bond needs. The book reminded me very much of Casino Royale as an introduction to Bond in a new time. I did find myself wondering whether there was some product placement in the book, though a friend who works for one of the car companies mentioned was overjoyed that Bond was in one of his cars!

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2 people found this helpful

More a discovery of vampires

Reviewed: 03-04-11

I thought this would be similar to Kelley Armstrong, but in fact it's more like Stephanie Meyer. You'll either groan or smile at the vampiric cliches, of course he'll be beautiful, there'll be a reference to him looking like a statue, and the nudity references will be coy due to his age. That aside, the characters are great fun, and being that little bit older than Meyer's creations there is a bit more well written romping. I loved the literary and historical references. The reader on this recording puts just the right amount of sensuality into her interpretation.

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medieval eastenders

Reviewed: 19-03-11

The self-justification in the introduction to this audio-book was a little off-putting but did give a tantalising reference to factual books about mediaeval architecture. Once you've got past that, this is an epic audiobook with plenty of twists and turns to keep the listener hooked.

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1 person found this helpful

Lengthy but enjoyable

Reviewed: 29-12-10

The Passage is one of the longest books I've downloaded from Audible, but it was well worth it. As the narrative is split in time and in person it doesn't feel as lengthy. Set first in the modern day and then in an apocalyptic future, the story centres on Amy, a unique girl made more unique by an ethically devoid military project. There is a sense of inevitablity throughout the plot and fate or destiny are strong themes. Despite that, the ending was still a shock.

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fast-paced criminal thriller

Reviewed: 25-09-10

Having not read anything by this author before, I wasn't sure what to expect. This was a fast-paced thrilled set in the murky world of the heroin trade, spanning South East Asia, America, Hong Kong and Northern Ireland. Escaped convict Hutch's new life is destroyed when an old prison comrade forces him to break out another man from a Thai jail. Interwoven with the main story there are horrifying vignettes of the other criminal activities surrounding the drugs trade. This dirty, shocking world was brutally portrayed in the narrative.
Despite the majority of the characters being morally dubious in some respect, the division between the 'good' and 'bad' characters becomes clear and I found myself rooting for one side. I very nearly cheered when my least favourite characters came to a sticky end!
The characterisation by the reader was excellent and really added to my enjoyment of the book. There are so many threads and characters that the use of accents helped bring each one to life.

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17 people found this helpful

priceless

Reviewed: 17-04-10

Bennett's 'butter-wouldn't-melt' delivery of this text is sublime. A wonderfully crafted story, entertainingly read.

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1 person found this helpful

Great story, well read

Reviewed: 25-11-09

Willam Hope and Laurel Lefkow do a great job of reading the split narrative of Henry, the time traveller and his wife. William Hope's voice added a great gravel edge to Henry's byronic character. The story mixes a tragic, if unusual love stopry with moments of graphic sexual description. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll blush.

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Mouthwatering

Reviewed: 25-11-09

Set in a Venetian palace kitchen, this book will make your mouth water with the sub-plot of recipes and cooking. The characters were engaging and I enjoyed the symbolism the chefs used to hide their secrets. I found some of the narrator's American pronunciation quite off-putting, particularly the word 'culinary', which necessarily features heavily!

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1 person found this helpful

Laughed so hard I cleared the train carriage

Reviewed: 20-08-09

This is not something to listen to on public transoport as your laughter may be loud enough to disturb fellow passengers.
Seth Grahame-Smith manages to integrate his schlock-horror so well into the txt, I had to go back to the original book to just make sure there weren't any zombies lurking!
Katherine Kellgren's plummy tones set the parody up perfectly. This is a great antedote for anyone who has overloaded on classic texts for literature exams.

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1 person found this helpful