Sean O'Skea

I never cared to know that about London.

Revisado: 08-21-16

I Never Knew That About London by Christopher Winn is well read by Timothy Bentinck and is a mildly diverting listen for those interested in London’s long history. It is organized by neighborhood and can be hard to follow especially in the audio version without the benefit of page layout clues.

It is basically a long list of random facts about London locations organized only by their rough proximity. The information can be extremely esoteric. Along the lines of, “On this street lived Terry Dunno the drummer for an early 60s band you’ve never heard of, as well as John Whosit the green-grocer credited with introducing the avocado to London in 1912. Both houses were demolished in 1970.”

Christopher Winn frequently references the locations for film shoots, but they tend to be rather obvious such as, “Notting Hill drew international attention as the setting for the 1999 movie, Notting Hill.” Or so obscure you will wonder why he included them such as his several references to locations for the 2003 film Johnny English.

I could imagine a Londoner picking up this book at the library and learning a few interesting facts about their neighborhood to share at the pub but it’s far too trivial for anyone interested in an actual history. On Audible try London a Short History of the Greatest City in the World from the Great Courses or A. N. Wilsons’ very brief but compelling London A History. For the tourist looking for greater depth of understanding the excellent Rough Guide to London (not on Audible) gives historical context, points out hidden oddities and obscure sites, as well as giving you the practical information you need to visit the city. This guide book is written with more context and humor than Mr Winn manages.

I Never Knew That About London is entertaining and in a scattered way, informative, but it feels more like sitting down and reading the questions and answers off Trivial Pursuit cards than anything you will remember once its ten hours are over.

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Familiar and fun if not very exciting

Revisado: 12-16-15

A fun, old fashioned tea-cup adventure in the footsteps of Elizabeth Peters/Barbara Michaels. If you enjoy the Vicky Bliss or other 1st person scholar-heroine mysteries, you’ll like this. Despite some appallingly bad British and Scottish accents, it is charmingly narrated by Allyson Ryan—this isn’t helped by Pandian’s outdated and clunky Brit slang. I was waiting for “Blimey, it’s a fair cop gov’ner.” The story is a bit vague at times and strangely slows down toward the climax. There are some cliché characters like the arrogant Brit ex-boyfriend and mysterious new boyfriend that seem like Peters’ Sir John divided in two. There are the typical archeological site characters, friendly busybody innkeeper, etc. But although there is nothing new in these formulaic characters they are surprisingly familiar and comfortable to be with. I wish Jaya’s Indian heritage was more than just a biographical footnote. Although not brilliant, as a first-in-the-series it does leave you wanting more if for no other reason than to hope the characters flesh out a bit more. I will look forward to the next one.

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So much hope, so much disappointment

Revisado: 09-15-15

I was excited and eager to listen to Atlantis by David Gibbins hoping to find a new series.

The first few chapters were promising with some plausible theories about the Atlantis story. Then our team of archeologists/navy seals meets the ridiculously well-funded baddie who would make a Bond villain blush. With no build up or suspense, suddenly our heroes have discovered and explored Atlantis. Whenever they are faced with a technical problem they just happen to have a prototype of some science fiction tool onboard that handles it. Deus ex Machina indeed.

From there the book devolves into a narrative form of the Jane’s military almanac. Every weapon, vessel, and tool is tediously described while the dialogue and plot come to a near halt.

Why can’t we just have an adventure novel? Why does every villain have to be a billionaire terrorist at the head of secret global syndicate of infinite resources? Why does every hero have to be a cross between Capitan Kirk and Rambo?

If you are a fan of over-the-top “action” novels like those pumped out by Clive Cussler, then you’ll probably enjoy Atlantis, its cardboard characters, forgettable plot, and ludicrous paramilitary technical babble. If you are looking for believable characters with interesting motivations, well-crafted environments, and exciting and compelling storytelling then give this a pass.

One redeeming feature of the audio book is the excellent voice acting work of James Langton. It’s a shame the text isn’t anywhere near as good as his performance.

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Great read (listen)!

Revisado: 08-26-13

What a charming surprise! I bought this title on one of the $4.99 pop-up sales based on the narrator and Sherlock Holmes. I was greatly disappointed when it became clear early on this was going to be yet another Jack-the-Ripper story--somehow I missed the subtitle. It seems Jack is showing up in an inordinate amount of books these days and I’m a bit tired of him. However, I was very impressed by the Author’s handling of the historic facts. Whether I want to or not, I am very familiar with the events (due to having read of them in four or five previous books!) and Faye has woven them into the story effortlessly. Best of all, she gives us a truly believable—almost inevitable—conclusion! So many books, especially historical fiction, have frustratingly banal or implausible endings to account for the plot’s events remaining obscured to history—this frequently makes the last chapters of a book the most disappointing. Faye’s ending, in contrast, is not only gratifying but makes perfect sense. She’s mastered the Conan Doyle/Victorian voice while maintaining modern pacing and tone. I believe fans of the cannon will be pleased with Ms. Faye’s offering to the Holmesian literature.

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