Bryan

Outstanding!

Revisado: 06-09-14

Would you listen to The Djinn again? Why?

Yes. This was an amazingly well written and well read story. I think I've found a new author to follow!

What did you like best about this story?

The supernatural aspect of the subject matter was rather enticing, but the djinn himself was a fascinating character

What about Wayne Farrell’s performance did you like?

There are layers and layers of subtlety to Wayne's performance. For example, one character who is a leper had an ever-so-slight mushiness to his words. The characters were easily discernible.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

yup. and I basically did.

Any additional comments?

more detailed review to follow on my blog. I'm so glad I listened to this!

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Great story for kids!

Revisado: 06-02-14

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes, if they had kids. This is the kind of story kids, esp elementary school level, will eat up.

What did you like best about this story?

Two things: 1. There was a bit more of a modeling of good behavior in this book, which is important in kids stories and lent more contrast to the villain. 2. The princess was clever, which I appreciated.

What about Karen Krause’s performance did you like?

Karen does a really nice job of differentiating her characters. You really never have any trouble telling who is who.

Any additional comments?

My 6 year old really enjoyed this a lot. If you have kids, this is well worth the listen. Adults may find the story itself to be a bit too much below their level but it's really geared, in my opinion, for the younger audiences.

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Enraptured my son

Revisado: 06-01-14

OK, I'm going to write this review free-form. The questions posed by Audible are not fitting for me on this one. This unbiased review was in exchange for a reviewer copy. It's even more unbiased by the fact that I played it to its audience: my younger kids (ages 11 and 6). Both of them enjoyed the story quite a bit, though my 11 year old had heard it before. Being a fantasy fan, though, my 11 year old noted that the manticore description was actually that of a pegasus, but this was proof of her multitasking skills at the time as she was listening while doing something else.

The story is a great story for children and this rang true with my little focus group. It has many of the elements of fantasy that usually attracts children. It also shows consequences of actions. As is the case with many of the older classic books like this, the characters are able to be broad and less about subtle subtext. Children absorb that better.

Karen's narration of the piece expressed this wide display of characterizations, ranging from the young prince to be king to the nurse's haughty attitude to the advisor's high-brow reactions. I've heard Karen use a number of voices between this and another book and she takes the British variations and plays with them in a way that allows the listeners to differentiate the characters easily.

This is a short piece. Good for short attention spans of kids. They will really enjoy it. My 6 year loved it and when I asked how many stars I should give it he said "as many stars as you can!"

The composite review among the three of us was actually 4.5, but the 6 year old (notably THE TARGET AUDIENCE) was so overwhelmingly enamored with this that we gave it all 5's. :)

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Clever concept!

Revisado: 05-19-14

What did you love best about Prime Suspects?

The concept is fantastic! The duplicitous notion of the same basic man cloned into so many different aspects of the same murder mystery (hard to answer w/o giving things away here!!) was extremely well thought out, especially in the notion of how each starts at the same point but develops some differently defining characteristic, making them not so clone-like afterall, yet all thinking on the same vein, creating complications along the way

What was one of the most memorable moments of Prime Suspects?

His interaction with Victoria and Carol at Victoria's apartment

Have you listened to any of Jeffrey Kafer’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Yes, a non-fiction piece. This was different. I'll admit that I went into this already of the opinion that Kafer is a strong narrator, having heard his rendition of Age of Context, but not sure what to expect from fiction. I had high expectations. I think he met them, but not the way I expected him to, which I liked even more. In every narrator you can gleam something different, some strength they have. Kafer has a real knack for the subtle. He was not broad with his characters (ironic given they were clones, right?), but painted them together somewhat seamlessly so you rarely had trouble differentiating them and in the end I think that paid off rather nicely. Seriously 42 people of the same genes? It takes a Kafer to make that come across in audio!

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Surprisingly fascinating

Revisado: 05-18-14

What did you love best about Coyote Lost at Sea?

I wasn't sure what to expect. The story of Mike Plant really shouldn't have any reason to fascinate me so much and yet it did. Julia's writing skills play a large role in that, not to mention the dynamic personality of Mike Plant.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Mike was an interesting character

Which character – as performed by Kitty Hendrix – was your favorite?

No simple answer to this, but what I found more important were two things: (1) Kitty was very believable and I felt like I was listening to the author herself and (2) I was very pleased to find that when other characters came in there was excellent differentiation, esp men's voices!

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Engaging Asian Adventure/Fantasy

Revisado: 02-20-14

Where does The Warrior & The Flower rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I enjoyed listening to this a lot. The story was engaging and well worth listening to.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Tulip. So full of innocent energy. Delightfully sweet and naive.

Which scene was your favorite?

I enjoyed the interactions between Master Yi and Tulip.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

yes

Any additional comments?

While narrator of the story does sometimes have issues with the narration cadence, I thoroughly enjoyed the character voices. They were believable and well portrayed. I had no trouble following the characters and there were many.

I look forward to book 2!

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Mixed feelings

Revisado: 02-12-14

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

I think it depends on the friend. My biggest issue here may be that I forgot that the variety of romance that this falls into as a subset can have what has been referred to as "quick romance". If I have a friend that likes that style, then yes, I would recommend it. I generally like Geraldine's style. This one just didn't resonate as well for me.

If you’ve listened to books by Geraldine Allie before, how does this one compare?

I listened to the Hunters Moon story and liked that one a lot more.

Have you listened to any of Alex Hyde-White’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

In this regard, this book was better. AHW's performance in Hunters Moon was a little slow for me but in this book he had his pacing much more in tune with what I like. I thought he did a really good job with that.

Do you think Blood Moon needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

Yes. Here's the blunt truth of it all. I feel like Geraldine is testing her waters with her writing and we are getting appetizers. Well, there's a definite talent here. Expand the stories. Take us on the longer journeys. Questions were left unanswered and lots of opportunity to expand on things, esp for the main two characters and the issues with the conflict their relationship causes. There's a lot of potential there for some juicy drama.

Any additional comments?

1. The concepts of playing off of the vampire vs werewolf are time-honored and I think the use of this gives a nice opening for a wider audience. I'd love to see more character development, esp on the vampire side. more expansion of their perspective will add more layers of conflict that can be resolved. Conflicts within the pack would also be good to expand on.

2. The romance, IMO, needs to more naturally develop. There wasn't quite enough time here and things happened a little too fast. More of the tantalizing taunting and teasing, the yearning and hoping but never quite getting, the playful drawing in...

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Enjoyable fantasy

Revisado: 01-26-14

Would you listen to Hunters Moon again? Why?

It's a hard question to answer because I don't tend to have time to listen again but I did enjoy this and certainly would have no qualms about doing so.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Interestingly, I found Creature to be one of the more interesting characters, though of course one should root for the protagonist!

Which character – as performed by Alex Hyde-White – was your favorite?

Creature was probably one of my favorites, but I have a predilection of unusual voice characters.

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

I smiled pleasantly through this. No extreme reactions. I have gotten to know the author a little but had not yet had the chance to hear/read her writing style and I was quite pleasantly surprised by it. There were some very clever moments in this story.

Any additional comments?

I wanted to rate this a 5, but had to give it a 4. I felt that the story was strong and then suddenly took a rapid turn on certain parts and I would love to see Geraldine stretch her wings more on her subsequent books and really let her cleverness hold a more steady pace towards the end. The climactic scene happened a little too fast for me. As for Alex Hyde-White, you have to hear the voice change at the very end in the credits to REALLY appreciate how well he converted his voice for some of these parts and I was most impressed by that. However, for my particular ears, I would have liked his pace to be just a tad faster. Overall great job. I'm looking forward to the next installment!

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Fascinating. It's like I, Robot...only real!

Revisado: 01-26-14

What made the experience of listening to Age of Context the most enjoyable?

By far, the content was the most enticing aspect of this. I actually had volunteered to listen to this, thinking it was fiction (my fault for not reading the description more carefully) and was initially surprised to find it non-fiction...but the content of this non-fiction feels so much like reality blending in with science fiction that it held my attention raptly the whole way through.

What did you like best about this story?

Completely fascinating material. Science-fiction becoming reality in ways that can only make your jaws drop.

Have you listened to any of Jeffrey Kafer’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I have heard samples of Jeffrey Kafer's performances, but not a long-form as this one. Jeffrey does a great job of delivering the content in a way that draws you in and engrosses you in the material so smoothly that I sometimes found myself forgetting it wasn't him that wrote this!

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

wanted to, but time didn't allow. It's one of those that you wish your drive was longer so you could keep listening.

Any additional comments?

I would recommend this book to just about anyone!

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