Margaret H

Great character portrayed by a remarkable narrator

Revisado: 03-09-14

If you could sum up The Martian in three words, what would they be?

This story is science fiction based on a knowledge of science fact. The story details how one man survives on the surface of Mars after being abandoned by his crewmates who very reasonably thought he was dead. By turns funny and nerdy, the best thing about the book is the self-effacing character of Mark's log narration. It is perfectly rendered by R. C. Gray, who does an amazing job throughout the book. He captures Mark's persistent, optimistic, never-give-up, never-take-himself-too-seriously character in every line of the narration. I was sorry to see the book end. I would love a sequel of Mark's adventures returning to earth and facing celebrity afterward. I'm sure he would refuse to take the hoopla seriously.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

There were many moments, but the standout was rejoining the crew.

Any additional comments?

This book is highly recommended to science and adventure-lovers. While an engineer may appreciate the technical aspects of the book more than others, that is not what makes the story amazing. It is Mark's character that really gets you. Women would want to love him for his humor and heroism and men would want him as a best, if nerdy, friend.

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Love, Love, Love This Series!

Revisado: 02-08-14

Would you listen to Earthly Delights again? Why?

I simply adore this series. They are cozy murder mysteries with a bit of romance. They make me smile from start to finish without angering me at the injustice of life or appalling me with bloody crime. Life can be bad enough without dwelling on it. Corinna refuses to dwell on the bad or evil aspects of life. She works hard and enjoys life. She has cats. She bakes bread and lives above the shop. She has friends - quirky, eccentric, delightful friends. She is positive and she is rewarded for all those things. And she solves mysteries that frighten or worry her friends.

Which character – as performed by Louise Siversen – was your favorite?

Corinna - see above. But I love all the characters: Daniel, Jason, Marowy, all 3 cats ...

Any additional comments?

I've read the first 3 books. They are all excellent, but for the most fun, start with the first one, "Earthly Delights", to get the full background on Corinna, the Mouse Police, and the setting. As for the setting: it's Melbourne Australia and Corinna uses Aussie expressions: e.g. - goods lift instead of freight elevator, adding -ie to the first syllable of a word to shorten it, etc. There are some expressions I didn't catch, but I understand most of them. They add another note of color and delight to listening to the stories. The narrator is excellent with a strong Aussie accent, but she's easy to understand. I just wish there were more than 6 books in the series.

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Good story with a good albeit female narrator

Revisado: 01-13-13

If you could sum up A Game of Chance in three words, what would they be?

Disappointing, but only because this book was not as terrifically 5 stars as the preceding two. Note that I HATE "woman in jeopardy" stories, but then Chance must use the woman he loves as bait BOTH to catch the bad guy and to free her from a life on the run. But he should have let her in on it and trusted her to be strong enough to help him end her life of terror. In addition, Chance isn't careful enouth of Sunny after he tricks her into the line of fire.

What other book might you compare A Game of Chance to and why?

Mackenzie's Pleasure - much better story featuring Chance's brother Zane featuring a strong heroine who refuses to be a victim after she's kidnapped by terrorists from a rich socialite's life. Also, Zane is much more focused on protecting his lover in that story than Chance is, even after he realizes she's the target of a perverted madman.

What does Kali Dziuba bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

I would have preferred the same male narrator as the preceding books in the series because this series have such very tough, take-charge male protagonists from a very male family. Another review that deplores the female narrator is way off base. She does an excellent job

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

When Chance realizes that Sunny is running from her father not acting as his agent

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Delightful Characters

Revisado: 12-04-12

If you could sum up The Case of the Missing Servant in three words, what would they be?

Amusing intricate mystery

What did you like best about this story?

I enjoy the family life of the lead character Puri, especially his mother Mummyji. Their interactions are amusing while still advancing one of the subplots that enliven the story. Similarly, the characters of Puri's various operatives as they investigate one or another mystery are by turns delightful and effective in turning up clues. Throughout the book, Indian culture and daily life provide an exotic background without minimizing the effects of poverty and corruption on the lives of the Indian people.

What about Sam Dastor’s performance did you like?

His narration is excellent. His accents and enunciation make the characters come alive and enhance the setting of the story.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

It made me smile and chuckle while keeping me hooked on the central mystery as well as the two subplots.

Any additional comments?

This is the second of Tarquin Hall's mysteries I have read. The first (The Man Who Died Laughing) was more exotic and involved unusual characters - gods and magicians, while this one seemed more down to earth. With Sam Dastor's wonderful narration, I'll order the the rest of the series to enjoy.

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A Revelation

Revisado: 08-20-10

This beautifully written, superbly narrated biography of H.L. Mencken seduced me with its language and insight into an amazingly complex enigma of a writer. I had never read anything by either Mencken or Manchester and this book proved a revelation to me. All I new of Mencken was his name as mentioned in movies of the 30's and in Inherit the Wind and his reputation as a tart-tongued pundit, so I was surprised by the breadth of his work. As a result, I have already ordered one Mencken book in paperback from Amazon (sadly not available in either audible or Kindle) and will investigate other Manchester bios in my preferred formats.
Anthony Heald's narration is marvelous - sarcastic, boisterous, warm, sad, or sweet by turns as appropriate to the text. This audio book is highly recommended.

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Great Audiobook!

Revisado: 06-28-10

This is a well-written and beautifully-read audiobook!. Most of the main American characters are well-known, but the most fascinating and riveting, Gilbert Winant, was completely unknown to me. I've read a lot of WWII history from American historians, as well as 2 Churchill biographies. Nevertheless, I found that this description of American efforts in WWII London contained a great deal of information that was completely new to me, and insights on Americans who famously lived and worked in London during the war that I'd never encountered before. A wonderful, smoothly-written work of history, and Arthur Morey's narration is uniformly excellent. Highest recommendation.

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Another Disappointment

Revisado: 12-23-09

Grafton's alphabet mystery series has been in decline since P is for Peril, but this latest is even worse than T is for Trespass. The story is unfocused, overlong, and not at all well plotted. My advice regarding Grafton's books is to start with A and continue through N, then stop. It's been downhill from there, with the exception of S is for Silence. Unfortunately, the earlier mysteries are not available at Audible.

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An All Time Favorite Novel

Revisado: 12-15-09

This is one of the best novels I've ever read and Robin Bailey's audio narration is perfect. The quiet tone of the book's narrator, both as written by Shute and underplayed by Bailey, makes the Malaysian WWII horrors described listenable without stopping, except to rewind and relisten occasionally. The un-ending British/Australian stiff-upper-lip recollection of what happened is typical of another time and place. The characterizations, as in all Nevil Shute novels, makes the story riveting. The ultimate happy resolution, while completely foreseeable, is nuanced in unexpected ways and keeps the listener involved to the end.

I wish there were more Nevil Shute books available on audio. I rented one about the Australian flying doctor service some 20 years ago from Books on Tape that was excellent. That one isn't even available in used print (Amazon). Surely there are more novels on audio from Australia or England that Audible/Amazon could obtain rights to and bring to their readers.

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Hard to listen to

Revisado: 12-15-09

This story is well told, although I found all the characters, their location and where the fire was with respect to the towns named very hard to follow. But the treatment of the rangers made it very hard for me to listen to it. The followup of what happened after Pulaski's ill treatment somewhat redeemed a hard listen.

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Delicious Murder Mystery

Revisado: 10-12-07

This is my favorite Ann Granger mystery. It is a simply delicious village cozy featuring an old deteriorating estate house, poison, a mysterious relative and murder. Great fun.

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