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Stick with the movie

Revisado: 05-12-24

There's a reason you never knew the movie was based on a book. This is more like a novelization. The movie is the original vision even though it came later. I came across this right after the 4K Blu-ray of the movie was announced by Criterion. I remembered seeing the movie back in the 90s and liking it somewhat so maybe worth another look. Then I bought this book from Audible and it was just terrible. I listened to 20 minutes of the obnoxious, multi-narrator garbage before pulling the plug. I had the feeling that the movie would be about the same because the general tone of the obnoxious characters made me remember the movie a little more. But I had already ordered it so when it came I watched it anyway and was very pleasantly surprised. Yes, the characters of the movie are horrible, narcissistic people but nuanced with great performances. Don't know how Gus Van Sant was able to distill that vision from this terrible novel. So give this a miss but watch the movie if you haven't already and watch it again if you forgot from the 90s.

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Bad Writer! Bad!

Revisado: 01-22-24

The first 3 quarters of this book was a top-notch dog story but the author seemed to have a sudden change of heart toward the end and throw everything away on a rushed ending that doesn't fit the rest of the narrative in any way. It's like he just got bored and started to curse his lot writing cutesy dog books and wanted to punish his readers. Stupid me, I already bought the 3rd book in the series (Kindle only, not Audible) while the book was still good.

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More Dog Less Romance

Revisado: 12-25-23

I have enjoyed other books in this series, but this one has only a superficial veneer of dogginess, It's mainly a romance. I would say about 10% dog, 90% romance. I don't mind a dog story with a romantic veneer, but I don't read romances just for their own sake, unless it's Jane Austen level. Not the drivel that is mass-produced these days. The two dogs on the cover just make an occasional cameo appearance in this novel. This was supposed to be my dog book of the week but I was pretty disappointed. The dogs need to figure more prominently than this. At least 50/50, if there has to be a romance. Nothing wrong with Mara Wilson's narration.

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Who Let the Dogs Out!

Revisado: 07-03-23

I make a point of listening to one dog book every week and I was worried this would be one of those books that is basically a romance with an occasional reference to dogs, like the other book by this author, "Who Rescued Who". That was about 75% romance and 25% dog at best. I don't know how I ended up with this book after reading that one but this one really let the dogs out and flipped the ratio to about 75% dog. A little romance doesn't hurt because dogs bring people together but it can quickly suffocate the more appealing dog narrative if you're not careful. This one found just the right balance. Dogs have people in their lives so you have to spend some time with them too but the dog is what sells the book. This book had a rather large cast of dog characters and the main human was a dog trainer so dogs and dog issues stayed front and center.

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Fragmentary

Revisado: 06-23-23

Stories are too short and plotless to add up to much. Gathered together in a single volume they collapse under their own weightlessness. But all would be nice observations as part of a larger, connected narrative. I hope Claire writes a full-length novel someday!

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Transcendent Genre Fiction! The Best Kind!

Revisado: 06-11-23

Umm... YES! More books like this, please! This is a werewolf story like Kafka's Metamorphosis, not accidentally referenced many times in this book, is a giant bug story. Genre books are often on autopilot, with the best of them occasionally lifting out of the formula to only hint at something inspiring. This one reverses the trend. It's solid inspiration, with the tropes necessary to be included in a genre only occasionally being touched on. It's just damn good writing. Totally original. Reminds me of the great novels of Philip K. Dick that were based more deeply on a personal truth than cranking out another sci-fi tale.

This is my second Streiber book but it certainly won't be my last! The last book was The Wolfen, which was also good but not nearly as good as this.

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Tantalizing!

Revisado: 02-05-23

This is must-read sci-fi. Can't wait for the next installment of the proposed series. I started listening at 2x speed because I didn't know anything about it going in except I needed a sci-fi title to listen to. I got it on sale so I didn't really have any other reason for choosing it. Then I kept listening at 2x for most of the book because I couldn't stand the suspense! I'm careful not to say anything about the story because you should let it tell itself and enjoy! I very rarely take the time to review but there were a couple of misguided negative reviews in there and that needs to get nipped in the bud. This is sci-fi at it's very best without a doubt.

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Enjoyable Missing Orville Episode

Revisado: 10-10-22

I was taken aback at first about the way overlong "teaser" section where we're stuck in Nazi Germany again for more than half the short 3-hour runtime. But when the Orville finally comes along things fall into place and it becomes a pretty good Orville story. Hope Seth MacFarlane writes some more Orville stories for audio.

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Not a Dog Story, Just a Romance

Revisado: 09-26-22

Each book in this series has a cute dog on the cover. The dog in the first and second books only makes a couple of cameo appearances, not a main aspect of the story. The romance element wasn't terrible, and I was interested enough to finish, but the books are out-of-balance without a significant dog story to offset the silly human dramas. I listened to the second book in the series only because it was free with Audible Plus and again the dog was just an extra, though featured prominently on the cover. I don't know if the dog takes center stage in the 3rd book and beyond and I will probably never find out. If you like romance novels, you might enjoy this series, but I was in the mood for a good dog story.

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Don't Shoot the Narrator!

Revisado: 08-28-22

I was a little concerned about committing to a 43-hour listen with a narrator who has been thoroughly disparaged by those who have taken time to review this title, but I don't read anymore if I can help it, only listen, and this was the only way to hear this title. I was surprised to find the narrator thoroughly engaging. More of an asset to the material than a liability. It is true that there's an occasional mispronunciation, but it didn't detract from the experience for me. I'm sure I couldn't read a 43-hour book out loud without fumbling occasionally. Unfortunately, a lot of mispronunciations seem to get by into the final audiobook release of many titles. It's not the narrator's fault that the editors were taking a nap. But, like it or not, this is probably the only audiobook we'll ever get for this title, which is an absolute, must-listen for true crime fans. It's right up there with In Cold Blood and Helter Skelter as a classic of the genre. This is how it's done, folks. You don't just list facts in an emotionless way, you get inside the heads and emotions of all the characters and really feel the immediacy of the crimes and their aftermaths as if you're in the moment. There's too little of that in modern tales of true crime, basically written by hacks instead of a Pulitzer Prize winner.

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