Cynthia M. Suprenant

Morality-free Characters!

Revisado: 03-18-23

I'm not goody-two-shoes. But for me to even tolerate a story, there has to be at least one decent person in it. I don't care if it's someone who does wrong in a sincere effort to do the bigger right thing.

In this book, the main characters were all seriously morally flawed. It was all about doing the wrong thing to avoid getting caught and punished for doing the wrong thing in the first place. I listened to the entire book because I almost couldn't believe it. I kept waiting for the moment of redemption, and it never came, or it was so muted in comparison to the amorality of the rest of it to be negligible. No spoiler, but the one guy who was the least bad was the simpleton.

Whose world is this?

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I'm sure the narrator is good elsewhere

Revisado: 12-29-22

I gave this a solid try. I read the reviews, but thought, "How bad can it be?" Well, worse than I thought. I couldn't get accustomed to his voice, the lack of identifiable "voices", the rather snotty tone of Rapp, whom I'd NEVER envisioned as snotty before. The narrator made Rapp sound more like Sir Roger Moore's "James Bond" than Sean Connery's, or Daniel Craig's.

I'm sure this narrator does a fine job on some other books, and I don't want to hurt his feelings, but I couldn't complete the book and returned it. Thank you, Audible, for allowing my return.

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Perhaps one of my favorites to date!

Revisado: 11-03-22

First, I jolted a bit at the new narrator. Gabriel Allon didn't sound like I expected him to sound. But I've ended up very much enjoying Mr. Ballerini's narration -- in particular, his proper pronunciation of the non-English words. He's a keeper!

Second, yeah, there were a few political allusions that perhaps didn't have to be in the story for narrative purposes. They didn't bother me. I'm reading or listening for the whole experience of the novel -- not to have my beliefs stroked or my feelings hurt.

I enjoyed this story particularly because of how it described art, the art world, forgeries, hedge fund overreach, etc. Something new to think about! I also love that Gabriel Allon is not gone -- when his character ends, I will sorely miss him.

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Please write faster, Mr. Lyntton!

Revisado: 04-29-22

I was hooked within the first five minutes of listening. As others have said, the languages and accents, the author/narrator's intonation, his knowing what to rush through, when to pause, etc., increases enjoyment of this fast-paced story! The story itself was fascinating, and made me long for more. Alas, I'm now halfway through "Hyde Park Deception", also a fine story, and that's it. Mr. Lyntton, in the name of all that is good, please write faster!

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Wish there wasn't so much cursing and vulgarity.

Revisado: 01-03-22

I'd give this entire series five stars in each category but for the cursing and vulgarity. I enjoy post-apocalyptic fiction, and I've grown attached to these characters and their situation.

Now, I'm not some kind of Church Lady, but the foul language detracts from my enjoyment. I've been known to utter a "colorful phrase" from time to time (sometimes very loudly), but the amount of it here makes the characters seem stupid. And they're not! They're survivors, making a life and a society. I listen to these as audiobooks, and sometimes, I'm embarrassed to even hear three foul words uttered in a sentence and a half. Who talks like this, over and over again?

So, great series. Wish I had the time to read the books rather than listening to them when I do other things, because I don't think I'd find the written words as stupid sounding. The vulgarity adds nothing to a great story!

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Thoroughly enjoyed this work.

Revisado: 08-16-21

I always look forward to the Gabriel Allon series. This was a good one, with plenty of action, and the brooding we expect from Gabriel. I missed Ciara a bit, I missed discussions of art and restoration which weren't prominent in this installment. And imagine the surprise when it wasn't George Guidall's voice! It was hard to get used to someone else voicing Silva's works. But midway through, I'd adapted and enjoyed the new voicing. I enjoyed a little more of the Allon "backstory", too, and the Viennese bombing narrative.

I experienced the Trump Administration and the events that happened during it much as were described in this novel. The mentioning of those things didn't bother me as it seems to have bothered many reviewers. I'm a fan of "national security"-type novels, so I've listened to plenty that portray events that have occurred that are thinly-veiled criticisms of presidential administrations of Democratic Party administrations. Some are portraits of incompetence and corruption among apparent progressives.

All of this is fiction. I don't need to have fiction necessarily comport with my own political beliefs or orientation to enjoy it, to have it provoke my thoughts, etc.

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Extraordinary!

Revisado: 12-23-19

I'm so grateful that this book was made available via Audible. I do love to read, but some books strike me as special when read aloud or performed. This is one of them!

I listen when walking the pasture, tending animals, doing laundry and other household chores. I savored it -- for the stories and speeches about our history and ideals, for the hooks it dropped into my education in history (I'm a physicist and lawyer, not a historian) from many years gone by. I highly recommend this book -- whether in print or via audio edition -- as a very useful reacquainting with an interesting range of American events, persons, ideals, and history.

Thumbs up to the narrator -- the pace, the intonation, the familiarity with the subject that permitted correct phrasing, pauses and the like, well, just perfect.

Thank you.

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Extraordinary

Revisado: 11-14-18

This book popped up as an "also narrated by Will Patton" promotion after I finished another Audible title. I love how Will Patton reads, so in spite of the fact that I'd seen the movie and knew the story, I purchased it.

Oh, my!!! I thought the movie was very memorable years ago, but the story was much more. Will Patton makes James Dickey's prose and this novel well worth the listen.

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Too disturbing for me

Revisado: 10-05-16

I thought this was a very interesting story. I got about two thirds of the way through it, however, and it started to seem increasingly disturbing to me -- the outrageous amount of violence. It wasn't just violence, it was extreme malevolent violence... if there were a prize for the best descriptions of violent murders and events, this book would be up for it. I'm sure it wouldn't bother some people, but for some reason it bothered me. I felt sorry to abandon the story and the premise, but, I like to sleep soundly.

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