A. Silverstone

Meh

Revisado: 07-08-24

There are true crime stories that you expect to tell the story of a murder. Then there are the investigative true crime stories, like Blood Territory is pitched, where you expect some novel revelation to who the culprit is or what their motivation was. Alas, Blood Territory investigates an Australian murder, and we learn very little new things. There is no be reveal at the end. It may not be the fault of journalist Mark Whittaker that he does not find some shocking story behind the murder of Jimmy O'Connell, but then he shouldn't be building the story to a fever pitch only to leave us feeling meh at the end.

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Branagh's Narration is Better than Reading

Revisado: 01-01-18

What made the experience of listening to Murder on the Orient Express [Movie Tie-in] the most enjoyable?

Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express is one of her top Hercule Poirot mysteries. Kenneth Branagh elevates it even higher with his talented audiobook version. He is a gifted actor, but as an audiobook narrator, he shines. Each character takes on a different voice and personality. Given the number of suspects in this mystery, it is important to keep them separated. Branagh with his vocal dexterity makes that easy for us. Having not read this book for many years, I forgot what a master of description that Christie is. She always leaves us guessing until Poirot wraps it up at the end.

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Interesting Interview with Daniel Handler

Revisado: 10-20-15

In this interview, Beth Anderson gets author Daniel Handler to reveal some of the secrets of his alter ego Lemony Snicket. This is a chance for fans of Snicket's series to hear a bit more about his motivations. Also, we get to hear how he squirrels out of questions he doesn't want to answer.

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Engrossing Stories of an Unfamiliar China

Revisado: 07-13-15

Journalist David Eimer gives us a fascinating book that covers ground rarely discussed in the usual Westerner-Goes-to-China genre, that of the far-flung regions of China and the minorities who live there. The title comes from one of the famous Chinese chengyu (short sayings) that translates as "The mountains are high and the emperor is far away". It is used to describe remote, lawless regions. And for some places the Eimer journeys to, the description is still apt. Eimer travels to the far Northwest - Xinjiang, the Southeast - Yunnan, the Northeast - collectively known as Dongbei. These are not regions that are particularly easy for tourists. For the most part, Eimer is traveling to small towns where even the basic amenities of a hotel room, of sorts, and restaurant can be few and far between, not to mention his often inventive means at obtaining transport.

Eimer is a keen observationalist, and his humor-inflected writing flows naturally. One observation about certain dire pit toilets and how they could induce constipation in one suffering from dysentery; well, you don't get an image much more vivid then that.

Narrator Corey Snow is a pleasure to listen to except for his pronunciation of Chinese names and words. He uses English syllable sounds instead of Chinese pinyin. So, those familiar with the proper pronunciation cringe each time we hear the mispronounciation of a word.

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Weird Things in the Middle Kingdom

Revisado: 12-09-14

What did you like best about this story?

Troost spends quite a bit of time traveling around China, and recording his voluminous observations. It is great fun listening to Troost as he encounters strange foods, pollution, and more phlegm than one man can deal with. His wry humor will cause you to laugh out loud at places, so be wary of listening to this in public places.

Did Simon Vance do a good job differentiating all the characters? How?

Although Simon Vance does a fantastic job narrating author Troost's voice, he falls far short on the Chinese people quoted. They sound like bad imitations of Chinese people from 1930's pulp movies. Also, Vance butchers a number of Chinese words on place names in the text. A little consultation with a Chinese speaker would have helped a huge amount.

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