Michael E.

Will Patton rocks.

Revisado: 09-11-20

I liked the Holly Gibney character so much, I had to go back and listen to this trilogy. Great story, great characters, wonderful reading by Will Patton.

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Meh

Revisado: 02-12-20

Are all Audicted employees millennials? It sounds like my old study hall. They review some great audiobooks, but an older voice or two would be appreciated. From an old lady.

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Meh

Revisado: 02-12-20

Are all Audicted employees millennials? It sounds like my old study hall. They review some great audiobooks, but an older voice or two would be appreciated. From an old lady.

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One of the classic novels of Vietnam

Revisado: 07-05-17

Any additional comments?

In "The 13th Valley" John del Vecchio has created a work that is captivating, engrossing, immersive, authentic and heartbreaking. It is an intense account of the members of a company in the 101st Airborne division during an operation in the Central Highlands of Vietnam in August 1970. You learn what the soldiers are thinking, feeling, and dreaming. It is also a disturbing book in many ways. And that is as it should be. One's stand for or against the Vietnam War is immaterial. The reality for the men who served in Vietnam was surviving 365 days and most counted each day assiduously.

The book is a detailed and authentic account in the sense that operational aspects of company level combat tactics are related in minute detail. Of course, there's a certain level of violence and gore. After all, it's war. But the author doesn't dwell on that. A lot of the book's realism lies in its exploration of the day-to-day struggles that are, and always have been, the lot of an infantryman in the field. That is, misery in the form of exhaustion, filth, mosquitoes, leaches, searing heat, dust, torrential rain, cold, mud, hunger, thirst, and sleep deprivation. And the seemingly endless hour of mind numbing boredom punctuated by minutes of sheer terror when contact is made.

I don't know how many times I've read "The 13th Valley" since it was first published. Probably every three or four years. Each time I read it I learn something new. Listening to the audio book was time well spent. The narrator was excellent. Being familiar with the book, I remembered the location of units at particular points in time, how they moved around, landmarks, etc. I'm also familiar with military-speak, equipment, weapons, etc. Unfortunately, Audible does not make available a supplement with the maps or the glossary found in the printed version. The maps are referenced at the end of chapters as a summary of daily activities and are necessary to get a clear picture of where units are or have been, and how those movements relate to the overall mission. Those not familiar with military jargon and nomenclature may be overwhelmed by the terms thrown around. Not having a downloadable pdf file containing the maps and glossary was disappointing and will cause frustration for some listeners. I have to give the overall rating 4/5 stars based on that shortcoming.

I think John del Vecchio's "The 13th Valley" is a classic novel of the Vietnam experience in the same way that Norman Mailer's "The Naked and the Dead" and James Jones's "The Thin Red Line" are classic fiction from World War II. There are other excellent Vietnam novels, such as "A Rumor of War," "Fields of Fire," or "Matterhorn," to name a few. I've read those and many more. I can't say that "The 13th Valley" is the best of the lot; it's just my favorite.

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Hemingway Classic

Revisado: 05-02-17

Would you try another book from Ernest Hemingway and/or William Hurt?

I will definitely listen to other Hemingway titles. I read and enjoyed his novels almost 50 years ago and am rediscovering them in my dotage.

Would you be willing to try another one of William Hurt’s performances?

I am a huge fan of William Hurt and was looking forward to this narration. Unfortunately, I found his reading to be disappointing. He has problems with some of the accents that I found inconsistent and distracting.

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Enjoyable, but not one of the best in the series

Revisado: 03-21-13

Over the years I've read the series from beginning to end twice and am listening my way through it this time. "The Ionian Mission" is not as dull or plodding as blockade duty in the Mediterranean might be, but I have never thought it offered much in the way of advancing pivotal story arcs that run through the entire series. It never seems to go anywhere (beyond blockade duty in the Med) and, in that respect, is probably an accurate reflection of the story’s setting.

I've enjoyed Simon Vance's narration of all of the books I've listened to thus far. He reads well, with just the right pace and dramatic flair. With books like the Aubrey/Maturin series, a narrator's ability to perform accents well contributes considerably to my overall enjoyment. Mess those up and, for me, the listening experience becomes irritating and annoying, and only becomes more so as the story progresses. To my opinion, Vance does a creditable job with the varied accents of the characters our protagonists encounter during their voyages. (I haven't listened to any of the O'Brian books narrated by Patrick Tull, so I'm not able to compare the two. As both versions are unabridged, I can only speculate that Tull's pacing may be slower. That might account for why his versions consistently run three to four hours longer than Simon Vance's.)

All in all, I recommend "The Ionian Mission", but don't think it's one of Patrick O’Brian’s best works. However, even with some shortcomings, I think it's worth four stars and that listening to it was time well spent.

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A mixed blessing

Revisado: 11-13-08

This is a tough call for me. I think Matt Taibbi is one of the great social commentators of his generation. He is articulate, ironic, incisive, irreverent, and witty. He isn't the least bit shy about skewering pompous, bloviating blowhards regardless of their political persuasion. His insights into the machinations of the primaries and the presidential campaign in "Rolling Stone" and on "Real Time" (HBO) made our quadrennial descent into madness almost bearable for me. So, with that in mind, I looked forward to listening to "The Great Derangement". Unfortunately, it was an underwhelming experience. I haven't seen the book, so I don't know what Audible or Random House removed during the abridgement, but I'm guessing that a lot of excellent stuff ended up on the editorial cutting room floor. I know; caveat emptor when you buy an abridgement (which is why I generally avoid them). Just the same, I was very disappointed. I give it 5 stars for content and the narrator, 2 stars for the abridgement, and a 3 overall. In the end, listening to "The Great Derangement" was like eating half a Snickers bar. What I got was really good, but it would have been a lot more satisfying to have scarfed the whole thing. Here's hoping that his latest book, "Smells Like Dead Elephants", comes to Audible in an unabridged version.

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