JGrace

Very disappointed

Revisado: 07-05-19

An absolutely abysmal narration; monotone, slow and boring. Such a disappointment. Skip the audio and buy the book.

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A disappointment

Revisado: 12-29-18

This is a short story from Taylor’s ongoing time travel series. A very short story. Listening time came in just under 2 hours. Of the two hours, possibly 30 minutes held new material. I didn’t object when the author rehashed background from previous books in her preface, but when characters in the story reiterate exactly the same material, this was obviously padding to meet a required word count.
The actual story about an illicit ‘jump’ to the first human Mars landing was mildly entertaining. However, it suffered from the very tired, overused, body fluid jokes. And, it didn’t help that the author took the narrative voice away from Maxwell. Overall, a disappointment.

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esto le resultó útil a 5 personas

A disappointment

Revisado: 12-29-18

This is a short story from Taylor’s ongoing time travel series. A very short story. Listening time came in just under 2 hours. Of the two hours, possibly 30 minutes held new material. I didn’t object when the author rehashed background from previous books in her preface, but when characters in the story reiterate exactly the same material, this was obviously padding to meet a required word count.
The actual story about an illicit ‘jump’ to the first human Mars landing was mildly entertaining. However, it suffered from the very tired, overused, body fluid jokes. And, it didn’t help that the author took the narrative voice away from Maxwell. Overall, a disappointment.

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App has a major bug

Revisado: 10-14-18

I do not want to write a review. I want to return to my audible library to listen to books that I paid for. I am not responsible for selling more books for amazon

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Not Magical Enough

Revisado: 09-12-14

The Twelfth Enchantment - David Liss
audio performance by Susan Duerden
3 stars

It is possible that Lucy Derrick escaped from the pages of an unknown Jane Austin novel before becoming trapped in this elaborately (or perhaps randomly) plotted fantasy by David Liss. The recently orphaned and impoverished Lucy lives in England at the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. The country is gripped by the violence of the Luddite uprising, while Lucy is occupied with repelling her avaricious uncle in his plans to marry her off to a rich but disgusting mill owner. And, then there is the problem of her burgeoning magical powers and the arrival of a bewitched Lord Byron. This sounds like an engaging fantasy that I would really enjoy.

I’m not sure that I can fairly evaluate this book, because, the audio performance destroyed the narrative. I loved Susan Duerdon’s performance in the multi-voiced Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, but her reading of this book was annoying, to say the least. Her uplifted breathy inflection turned every statement into an implied question and her incredulous, little girl voice missed the wry, Austenesque, humor that David Liss was trying to inject.
I might have enjoyed a print copy of the book more than the audio, but nothing would clear up the muddled nature of this book’s magical forces and the convoluted plot. I found the story to be mildly entertaining and almost immediately forgettable.

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Disappointing, but at least it's over

Revisado: 07-28-14

I really wanted to be able to give this book at least three stars. Having read the first two books, I knew the entire premise ( vampires and witches, genetics, oh my!) was ridiculous and the writing was bad. I hoped to be entertained and amused by likable characters in unlikely settings. It did make me laugh, sometimes at the author’s deliberate humor, but mostly at how bad it was. It was funny. That would usually be enough for me to give a book three stars.

If the book might rate 3 stars for its comedic value, two things knock it back. The audio performance was dreadful. This book was the (hopefully) last book in a series. Ikeda did a great job of creating characters in the first two books. Her voicing went a long way to making those books palatable. What possible reason could there be to change the voices of major characters in the last book? Not only did the voices change, she made two major characters indistinguishable. It was like attending a play and having the lead actor substituted, without reason, by a badly prepared understudy, after the first act.

And, yes, I did know that the marital tribulations of the witch Diana and the vampire Matthew, were a thinly disguised promotion for marriage equality. Not a problem, I’m very much a supporter. But, I dislike propaganda and I hate being preached at. This book had plenty of both. It became tedious.

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The Little Grey Cells Prepare for Reatirement

Revisado: 07-01-13

The Labors of Hercules – A. Christie
Audio performance by Hugh Fraser
4 stars

Hercule Poirot is about to retire. Leaving his detecting career behind, he plans to take his little grey cells to the country where he will cultivate gourmet vegetable marrows. Before he departs, he determines to undertake 12 more cases; cases of special and particular interest, which will mirror the labors of the classical Hercules. Twelve cases that also give Agatha Christie an opportunity to write 12 wonderful short stories for the little detective.

I thought this was an exceptionally good collection. There was a bit more comedy than in many of her stories. Christie seemed to be poking fun at her little Belgian detective, gently and with affection. Hastings does not appear in any of the stories, but this is the first time I’ve read anything of the resourceful butler, George. (Mildly reminiscent of Peter Whimsy’s Bunter.) Miss Lemon remains ever resourceful and Inspector Japp appears briefly in a story that includesPoirot’s version of ‘THE woman’. I especially liked the spinster, Miss Carnady, who appears in two of the stories. She reminded me a bit of Sayers’ Miss Climpson. (I always wonder about the parallels between these great dames of mystery writing.)

Some of the stories worked better than others. A few were dated in bias and attitude. Hugh Fraser’s performance made all of them enjoyable.

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Sunlit vacation

Revisado: 06-27-13

Enchanted April –Elizabeth Von Armen
Audio performance by Eleanor Bron
3.5 stars ( round down to 3)

Four women of various ages decide to share the rent of an Italian villa for the month of April. Two of the women are bored and dissatisfied with their marriages, one is a selfish elderly widow, and the fourth is a snobbish, young, single aristocrat.

I loved the setting of this book. I want to book a month’s vacation there. Although, I would definitely choose different companions. The book was first published in 1922; so the mannerisms, concerns and personalities of these women were a bit dated. I just could not warm up to any of them. I was expecting more feminine bonding in the course of the story and was very disappointed with the arrival of the husbands. The easy resolutions in marital relations were too simplistic for the seriously troubled relationships.

At the end, I just wanted to shoo all of the annoying people out of the villa, so I could go sit on the terrace and enjoy the beautiful view in peace !

I previewed several audio versions of this book before settling on Eleanor Bron. She gave a solid performance with a good variety of voices for the different characters.

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A Woman in a Man's World

Revisado: 06-26-13

The story is told by the eunuch, Javaher, closest advisor to the Princess Pari. Javaher is uniquely positioned to navigate the treacherous political pathways of Iran’s 16th century court intrigue. While her father lives, Pari is in an unusual position of power and influence. After her father’s murder, her influence within the court decreases drastically.

This was an interesting look at historical events and a culture that are completely unknown to me. So, I can’t speak to how much this fiction conforms to fact. As a novel, this book was enjoyable reading. The descriptions were very rich and the action was well plotted. I was drawn into the conspiracy and the trauma of the story. I liked the major characters and I was saddened by the tragic events of the story. Clearly it was as dangerous to be female in the Iranian royal family as it was to be a female relation of 16th century English monarchs.

Simon Vance handles the accents and varied voices with his usual expertise. His performance goes a long way to set the exotic atmosphere of the story.

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Mists of memory

Revisado: 02-18-13

The Garden of Evening Mists- Tan Eng



“Memories I had locked away have begun to break free, like shards of ice fracturing off an arctic shelf. In sleep, these broken floes drift toward the morning light of remembrance.”


When Yun Ling first comes to Yugiri in the decade following World War Two she remembers her sister’s death and their three years in a Japanese death camp. When she returns to Yugiri 40 years later, she remembers Aritomo. Aritomo, once the Japanese emperor’s gardener, created Yugiri, the Garden of Evening Mists. The garden was designed and built before the war in the Camaron Highlands of Malaya. Yun Ling has spent most of her life trying to forget, but as her aging brain threatens to erase her memories forever, she begins to record her story.

This is an intricate, layered story that worked beautifully on every level. The prose is poetic and suited to the exotic location. As the story develops, it is filled with details about Japanese gardens, woodblock printing, and surprisingly, tattoos. The characters are flawed, complex, and very real. They are people who grapple with devastating loss, survivor guilt, divided loyalties, and dangerous secrets. In the end some of the secrets are revealed. Some of the truth will never be completely revealed. Despite the lack of definitive answers, the ending of the book felt entirely correct.

Anna Bentinck’s performance of this book was outstanding. She handled all of the character voices and accents perfectly. I was especially impressed that she was able to maintain a consistent voice for Yun Ling while perceptibly aging the voice for the different time periods of the narrative.

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