Joel Kitchen

First Koontz Book: Excellent

Revisado: 12-24-17

What did you love best about Odd Thomas?

I've read a few books about young adults, not a lot. Most of the time I find them making decisions that are simply too mature for someone of that age range. Sure, there are exceptions, some people at 20 are very mature, but most are simply 20 years old. I found Odd Thomas very believable.

What other book might you compare Odd Thomas to and why?

I don't normally read books in the genre of the supernatural/paranormal. The notable exception is Butcher's, Harry Dresden, have all of those. Like Harry, Thomas is real in unreal situations. There's no problem sitting in a coffee shop, looking up, and thinking, "That guy is what Thomas would look like."

What does David Aaron Baker bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

That fact that Backer performs the characters without overexerting his talent is what I love. Each character is everyday, someone would meet on the street or someone you know. Baker does, he doesn't have to try.

If you could rename Odd Thomas, what would you call it?

It is the title, perfect name. But, maybe, "My Day," or, "Around the Corner."

Any additional comments?

I can't say I'm ready to dive into Koontz because of this book, but it is excellent. If you have young people in your life that you are trying to get interested in audio books, this would be a really good choice.

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One of those, "Took several hours of my life . . .

Revisado: 12-24-17

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

I like to read several reviews before getting a book, and many people loved this one. Honestly, some people that enjoy romance novels might like it more. That's not a criticism of the genre or readers, but it is along those lines.

Would you ever listen to anything by Dave Duncan again?

I love Dave Duncan and the Alchemist series is excellent!

What did you like about the performance? What did you dislike?

Nothing wrong with the reading at all. I feel there are two kinds of narrators, readers and performers. Mil Nicholson is a reader, and a fine one. All the time listening to this book I kept thinking of books she should read. Wish Audible would redo, "Lord of the Rings." She's be on my list for that.

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from Magic Casement?

The whole book was filled with unbelievable people and situations. To edit it would be to end up changing the whole book.

Any additional comments?

The book is filled with unbelievable situations and characters. I know that fantasy if filled with Samuel Taylor Coleridge's suspension of disbelief. But there has to be some realism to anchor the story. Characters who walk up to each other and have vocabulary that simply wouldn't appear in the society the book is set in is only one example of the problems with this book.

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The Honor of a Thief

Revisado: 05-23-10

I was once asked what I thought the greatest American fairytale was and I had to say Puzo's, 'The Godfather.' The venerated Don, honor among thieves, all of it is a fiction, but great fiction. It plays to the same chord as King Arthur, nobility of spirit. Scott Lynch captures the same spirit in 'The Lies of Locke Lamora." He creates an honorable underworld, where the hero thieves steal only from the undeserving rich (though they decide who and who isn't 'undeserving', in the same means knights decide who is 'good' and who isn't) It is a great pace that never slows down. It did take me a moment to get use to listening to the flashbacks that come between chapters.

Michael Page does a great read, being able to separate each character's unique personality, and there are several. But he also keeps the narrator's voice apart from the characters which is important in this book.

One last thing is to be aware of the harsh language and brutality of the book. The characters are in no way angels and Lynch captures it through word and action. It doesn't deter from the book, actually helps make it more authentic to the 'honorable thief' genre.

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The city is a lady . . .

Revisado: 05-08-10

If you don't know about cheap detective novels, you might want to read up on them a bit. My father loved Mickey Spillane and Boston Blackey, or more recently John D. McDonald's, Travis Magee. That is the tradition that Mike Resnick uses to write about the hidden Manhattan. "Stalking the Unicorn," really does do a great job at taking a humorous jaunt. The genre isn't about deep character development, that's not the point of this kind of literature. It is more about just enjoying the story about someone's experience. It is like buying someone a beer to hear a humorous story. You don't need details about their life, it is just a story.

Peter Ganim does a fine job at reading. Through the entire book I kept thinking his interpretation of the main character's voice sounded familiar. Then it dawned on me, Steven Wright. If you like deadpan humor, you are going to love Ganim's reading.

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A Great Book I Didn't Like

Revisado: 01-15-10

Literature majors have to read a huge cross section of writing. Hopefully, at one time or another, they will learn that there are books out there that have every reason to be great works, but they just don't like them.

JS&MN is like that for me. I listened to the book twice, to give it a fair listening. When I was done my conclusion was that some books were, in fact, written to be read, not read aloud. The need to fall to foot notes or appendices for some given information would often break train of thought. This wouldn't happen while you were actually reading. Don't get me wrong, it does fit the genre and time period, it was just hard for me to sometimes stay in a slower section when some note came up about someone who is, perhaps, mentioned only in passing. Also the transition between one passage and the other isn't clear cut in a reading. For me, at the beginning, two of the characters, Black and Strange, get hard to separate.

Now, my whining aside, the book is an excellent choice. Ms. Clarke does a wonderful job at keeping faithful to the English arrogance of the era. You have to understand that it was just something that they expected, everything English was superior, from education to their society. Who wouldn't want to be English? But just when it is easy to become complacent, she sneaks a twist at the end that isn't shocking but unexpected.

If you are a listener who sits down to place your entire attention on a book, I cannot suggest JS&MN more. If, like me, you find yourself doing other things while you listen, this book might be one of those you have to stop and back up, to listen to something you missed.

The reading was superior, and I've heard a few that were not so I know. His inflection and rhythm are what a listener expects in a novel about England at the time of Napoleon. The casual air of assumed superiority in every situation was fantastic. In the future I will look up books based on their being read by Mr. Prebble.

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Always Worth the Money

Revisado: 02-14-09

Someone asked me if I caught the Super Bowl on television. I said no, the new multimillion dollar players don't seemed to be anything like me. When I was young, even famous athletes, like Joe Namath, seemed like people you might encounter at your neighborhood bar once in awhile, famous but one of us mugs. This is why I like the character Harry Dresden.

Jim Butcher creates a great character that you'd love to sit down with and have a beer and pizza, just to listen to what he's been up to today. You might run into Harry walking across your street and yell hello while he's out with Mouse. The humanity of the character doesn't dim his powerful, ever growing, powers as a wizard. Butcher does follow an old, 'Sam Spade,' formula, true, but the characters are so good you don't care and find yourself glad of the time it took to read it through.

I am hoping that soon all the Harry Dresden books are here at Audible. You really do need to read them from the beginning in order to not only appreciate the plot you're reading now, but to understand the subplot that flows through all the books. But you can still listen to 'Small Favors' by itself, so grab a beer (or your favorite beverage) some pizza, turn out the lights, and get on a case with Harry.

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Sometimes the Reader

Revisado: 02-14-09

I enjoy reading a good fantasy book here at Audible. This wasn't one of them. "Wizard's First Rule," was purchased when the first in a series sale was going on and I'm glad the price was low. But this is my first experience not being sure if it was actually the book itself, or the reading of the book, that I found below par.

From the beginning chapter the book took on a tone of a book classified under young, or perhaps teenage reader. Later that would be proven very wrong in one section when the story goes into sado-masochism and another that describes a violent rape attempt. In my mind the rest of the book took on a lighter mood, and these sections simply appeared to attempt a darker edge. That is the author.

But then I began wondering if my dissatisfaction wasn't the book so much as the narrator. After finishing the book I went back and listened to several sections. One example is that of the dragon that appears to help the main character. The narrator changes his voice to that of a bad attempt at Maye West. Another is of a spoiled princess that sounds like a character from an old Bugs Bunny cartoon. I'm not sure which was more out of place.

Many people love this series or it wouldn't have gone on to other books. When you consider this review just remember that. Personally though, whether it was the author or the narrator, this was a bad choice on my part and a waste of time. There are much better series out there, from Edding's trilogy, 'The Belgariad', to the seemingly never ending 'Wheel of Time,' by Robert Jordan (perhaps the best deal on Audible).

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