Janice

Tasty Hors d'oeuvres - Review for series

Revisado: 01-31-20

This series is comprised of 6 snack-sized revenge/justice stories fixing wrongs that the justice system either can't or won't put right. With an avenger called Nameless, this is a bit reminiscent of Hurwitz's Nowhere Man series, but without the full length format to fully develop character and plot. So it's important to accept the boundaries of the short story structure and just take these tales at face value. I enjoyed the creative karma dealt out by Nameless and his unknown and invisible support system. There's something satisfying about vicariously experiencing a bit of vigilante justice, and this guy does it with finesse and moves on.
One small quibble has to do with the final episode - I felt that there were loose ends left that either leaves the door open for a continuation, or was just an unfinished ending.
Although each story (except the last) can stand alone, I recommend listening to the stories in order to pick up the subtle evolution of Nameless. And I also recommend a short break (at least a day) in between listens. Because the basic set-up needs to be re-iterated in each episode, listening back-to-back would likely have them start running together. It's best to savor each on its own.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

Draws you in, production limitations disappoint

Revisado: 05-29-19

Although the format (series of phone calls) is unusual and one that I was skeptical of, I found myself drawn into the story through the characters' interactions, feeling somewhat voyeuristic. The premise is one I enjoyed, particularly with the hints of something paranormal going on. The voices were perfectly performed for the characters.

My one complaint is typical for many of the audio dramas I have listened to. When the climax occurred at the end, there was a lot of action that could not be conveyed verbally, so we had to rely on the background sound effects to try to imagine what was going on. The crashing, banging and shouting did not give enough real information as to the action, and then everything was resolved. I had to listen 2 more times to get the gist of how the resolution probably came about, but I still can't be sure. Became a disappointing anticlimax. So in spite of the good character performances, I have to take down stars because of the production faults. I think this might have worked a little better as a novella, if only to be able to explain the wrap up a little better.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

esto le resultó útil a 1 persona

Torments me too

Revisado: 04-10-18

I have read this story before and watched 2 filmed versions, and now this Audible version, vainly hoping that something new will clarify the mystery of Rachel’s character. Alas, the story remains the same, leaving me stuck with the unanswered question of “did she or didn’t she?”

Complicating the purposely ambiguous nature of Rachel is the massively unreliable POV of Philip. While Rachel is described more than once as impulsively leading with her heart, that is really a more accurate description of Philip – bitterly hating Rachel before ever meeting her, then falling hopelessly (and inexplicably) in love with her almost immediately on their introduction. His immaturity and obsession blind him to any chance of a level headed assessment of her character and intentions, leaving the reader hanging as well.

I enjoy most of DuMaurier’s writing, and I don’t always need to have tidy endings, but this one has always left me wanting more. Perhaps that was the intent, because in spite of my disappointment in the lack of clarity, I have still come back again and again, hoping for insight that never comes. Perhaps I’ve been afflicted with some of Philip’s obsession, but at this point I just have to let it go.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

esto le resultó útil a 30 personas

Throwing in the towel - totally unlistenable

Revisado: 04-10-18

I'm roughly 2 hours in and I give up. The narration has been disappointing from the beginning - the tone overly dramatic, failing to create an authentic feel for the characters. Meg and Calvin are especially over done. I was going to push through anyway, but then Mrs. Which came into the picture, and that did it. The drawn out wailing voice is unlistenable. I'll get this in print to discover the rest of the story, but because of the horrible narration, this is going back.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

esto le resultó útil a 62 personas

Dateline on Audible

Revisado: 02-14-18

I fall into the camp that did not enjoy the disjointed quality of serial podcasts rolling credits at the beginning and end of episodes, and the distracting music and sound effects. I found it very hard to hear and understand a major part of the recorded interviews (sometimes taped in noisy pubs) especially when listening in the car.

If there was more meat to the story I may have felt better about it, but I was just unable to find Sophie in the picture. That the murder remains unsolved adds to the “meh” feeling, because that renders the entire enterprise pure speculation on the facts. This was clearly just not for me.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

esto le resultó útil a 5 personas

Bring the thunder

Revisado: 02-05-18

Evan Smoak's commandment to “Never make it personal” literally goes out the window with the death of his mentor, Jack. But bloodlust gets stalled as he is forced to take on a rescue mission – Jack’s last assignment to him. Now he has a new dilemma – how to mix revenge and rescue without blowing either or both missions. The young girl, Joey, that he is now stuck with, forces him to face what he used to be before the Orphan program made him into who he is now, and this stirs conflicting feelings that he would rather not face. They are a distraction to his revenge obsession. But Joey’s distractions provide the heart and humor to the story, and even inspire Evan to start making some new commandments of his own – “Don’t fall in love with plan A”.

There are some minor nits to pick – the constant vodka and fire arms tutorials get a little old, and the sub plot with his neighbor, Mia, was an unnecessary sideline in this outing. But setting those aside, I still enjoyed the inventiveness of Evan’s schemes to vanquish the bad guys, and the continued character growth. A strong willingness to suspend disbelief is needed for this series, but if you are willing and able to just go for the ride, then Evan will take you on one wild roller-coaster, tugging on your heartstrings at the same time.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

esto le resultó útil a 43 personas

Prisoner of Zenda with it's own twist

Revisado: 01-29-18

The bare bones of this story are those of The Prisoner of Zenda – King (Emperor in this case) incapacitated by opposing faction, concealed by supporting faction, and in need of a plan to prevent exposing the Emperor’s inability to serve. From there Sanderson blazes his own trail. No mere fake double will do – a complete reconstruction of the real Emperor must be accomplished through forgery by illegal means.

The realization of this plan is a complex fantasy, somewhat short on world building in the physical sense, but long on creation of the magical world of forgers who understand and manipulate the reality of anything from a table or wall to the personality and character of an Emperor. This must be done by the prisoner Shai within 100 days or the kingdom as it stands will fall apart and she will be executed. She also realizes that to protect the secret, she is likely to be executed anyway once her services are no longer needed. Her progress is supervised by an arch enemy, Gaotona, who surprisingly is openly curious about Shai’s magic and what makes her tick.

The fascination comes from the magical realism of forgery and also the exploration of what goes into developing a person’s personality, character and responses. By extension, the characters of Shai and Gaotona are explored and changed by each other. For me this was the most interesting part of the story, and kept me moving forward to the climactic action of the end where Shai decides her own fate. A very satisfying and complete story that also hints that there may be openings for a sequel.

Sadly, I did not really like the narration, finding it oddly mechanical and lacking true connection to the characters. Still, did not reduce my enjoyment of Sanderson’s world. Can recommend, but listen to the sample first.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

esto le resultó útil a 8 personas

Manipulative train wreck

Revisado: 01-27-18

The prologue sets the scene for the final showdown between two women that we know hate each other enough to kill. Who these two are and how they got to this point is where the story has to go. Unfortunately, author Slater seems to have difficulty distinguishing tension from tedium. Having the POV switch between the adversaries in peel-back-the-onion style keeps the cards held tightly to each ones’ chest, but soon becomes repetitive, especially when it comes to the mom Judi (although Amber gets kind of tiresome too). If this had been shortened to a novella with tighter plotting, maaayybe it would have been more palatable. But the longer the secrets are just teased at, the less tension was sustained – just get on with it please.

Judi and Amber, however unlikable, are the only characters with any dimension. Son Ben was a wuss and husband Henry was a jerk, both paper thin. Story threads meant to add some unexpected interest just muddied the picture and never got resolved. In fact, even after we reach the end and find out who stands and who falls, there’s no real resolution. Scene fades, credits roll and it’s impossible to see how either of these miserable women could “win” because there’s no plausible way to get away with it. There's no attempt at explaining how the killer tries to solidify her victory. I ended feeling I had been manipulated into staring at a train wreck just to see it pull the brake at the last minute and stall on the tracks.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

esto le resultó útil a 46 personas

Stretched even my ability to lift disbelief

Revisado: 01-15-18

I am pretty good with suspending disbelief for the sake of taking the ride the author sets up. That said, when a protagonist is somewhat unbelievable from the beginning, the author needs to at least keep the character consistent. In this case, Gwen swings from being the unbelievably naive Gina, with no inkling of the dark things going on in her garage, to paranoid pistol packing helicopter mom, dodging danger from an obsessed army of internet trolls wishing death or worse on Gwen and her kids a full 4 years after her husband has been placed behind bars. Did Charles Manson or Jeffery Dahmer have that large a fan base?

I tried to just go along with Gwen’s transformation, but then she would do something completely contrary to her new paranoid reality, just to serve a specific plot point – trusting a stranger too soon, choosing not to believe her son when he shared a concern about an event on the school bus.

I also get annoyed with predictability. For me the villain was obvious from the first appearance. The red herrings were also obvious, and the background characters played out like stick figures. Dialogue was stilted – I don’t believe that teens really speak the way her kids do – especially the conveniently hostile Goth daughter. Throw in too-often repeated angsty musings in Gwen’s head, and the annoyance became repetitive. The climax at the end was over-the-top, and the use of a cliffhanger came as no surprise.

In spite of the above, I did finish the book, and the premise gave the unique POV of a family on the run from danger they did not deserve. But after the dust settled, when deciding whether to pick up Killman Creek to resolve the ending, I decided that it will likely be the same song - new verse, and since it’s certain to end with the bad guys vanquished and the family able to find their happily ever after, I decided I’m not interested in how they get there.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

esto le resultó útil a 13 personas

Hallelujah . . Hallelujah!!

Revisado: 01-05-18

Having loved both “Harold Fry” and “Perfect”, I downloaded this new Rachel Joyce release as soon as I saw it, and it jumped straight to the top of my listening list. And here in the first week of the new year, I wonder if there can possibly be a book that will top this wonderful story for the rest of 2028.

Joyce has imbued her eclectic cast of characters with life, humor, generosity, yearning and raw emotions. A true community of people who look out for each other even in the face of threats from developers and competition from slick franchise merchandisers gives us something to root for – for the neighbors individually and collectively. Frank, with his giant heart and personality is the glue holding the little strip of shop owners together. We yearn for him to finally find the right one to allow him to emerge from his carefully cultivated emotional shell that keeps him protected from any romantic commitment.

I was delighted by the many musical references punctuating the narrative, many familiar, some sending me to Google for enlightenment. Joyce drew me into this community from the first words, and never let me go until, surrounded by an alarming pile of tissues, I came to the resolution of the lives of people I have come to love dearly. This was a one-day listen, causing me to shamefully neglect my daily routine until I turned my pod off in the wee hours, thoroughly satisfied. Very highly recommended.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

esto le resultó útil a 46 personas