Nancy

Great story, characters, narration.(but...).

Revisado: 07-11-15

Would you listen to Death By Water again? Why?

LOVE the whole "Phryne" series and the narrator does such a great job that I hate to quibble about this: I wish she'd quit trying to sing. She has a middling-pleasant singing voice but her pitch is off and it gets rather excruciating. On the whole, she is not alone, as most narrators come up with a monstrous "fail" when it comes to this. She's not quite as bad as some narrators tho.One was awful at singing to the point that I "returned" the book. Other than that, she does a terrific job with characterisations, voices and, esp accents. I'll just put my fingers in my ears for the singing.
As to a re-read, the characters and dialogue are so good that this is half the pleasure of reading Ms Greenwood's work. She creates a wonderful milieu that pulls right into the world of her characters.

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

ALWAYS a great plot and it's hard to guess "who dunnit." I hate a mystery-plot where I have a good idea about halfway thru as to who the malefactor is, so appreciate that this writer can keep you guessing.

What about Stephanie Daniel’s performance did you like?

Voices, characterisations and ACCENTS! (a lot of narrators fall short..a HORRIBLE example being "Miss Partridge's Home for Peculiar Children" which inspired me to ask for a return/refund!)

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Thank God, it's Phryne!

Any additional comments?

see above about the singing.

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great story, good narration, but, skip the intro!

Revisado: 04-08-15

Where does The White Mountains rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

very good

What was one of the most memorable moments of The White Mountains?

haven't finished listening

Which scene was your favorite?

haven't finished listening

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

not necessarily..enjoying it in "chunks"

Any additional comments?

Why the reader has to include the author's comments about writing it, getting it published, blah blah blah...not particularly interesting. A whole 10 minutes wasted on that.
When you read a print book, you have the option of skipping that, so, kind of annoying to be forced to listen to it.

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esto le resultó útil a 4 personas

down with Dotrice

Revisado: 03-16-15

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

No. The narration ruins the whole thing

How could the performance have been better?

The publisher could have hired somebody else, like Jim Dale, or ANYBODY BUT Dotrice who seems to have been drunk from Vol 2 onward. When he started "Channeling" Winston
Churchill for "Big Daddy Lannister" I threw in the towel and asked for a refund.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

Well, watching the HBO series.

Any additional comments?

The first volume came our with a different narrator and it was excellent. That seems to have disappeared when they got a "name" to do it. Unfortunately, the "name" seems to have either sleepwalked through it or showed up four sheets to the wind. He's sloppy with the names, pronouncing them differently throughout, and the voices he chooses for the characters all sounded the same to me! For some reason, he picks "rustic" for everybody. What's that about? I really wish the publisher would plow some of the huge profits from this into redoing the whole audio series.

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accents are excruciating

Revisado: 03-30-14

Where does Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

love it

What did you like best about this story?

very imaginative and "different" in terms of fantasy-writing

What aspect of Jesse Bernstein’s performance would you have changed?

His attempts at the accents are excuciatingly-awful. Sounds like a typical American touriist trying to "sound English." Otherwise, the reading is fine..but, honestly, the accent-attempts are atrocious.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

wish I could

Any additional comments?

why do you engage readers who cannot handle foreign words (as in at least one of the "Temperence Brennan" books where the reader mangles the French so badly it's like "nails on the blackboard") or accents effectively. Surely, there are other actors out there who can do just as good a reading and make the accents work. Of course, then you get that appalling reading of the "Game of Thrones' books by no less than Roy Dotrice..who I found so awful I asked for a refund!)

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It will go to your head!

Revisado: 12-21-13

What did you love best about The Billionaire's Vinegar?

Aside from being an entertaining "story" that reads like a mystery (which it is, really) I learned a good deal about wine. It's fascinating and reveals a world about which most of us know very little, that is, the "wine market."
This reminded me very much of another of my favourite "true-life-mysteries," "The Island of Lost Maps" about discovering a "serial thief" of rare maps. Lots of info imparted in a fascinating and fascinatED way. Great read...pour yourself a nice glass of something lovely and dig in!

What did you like best about this story?

The information about wines and the market.

Which scene was your favorite?

Not so much "scenes" in here as it is not fiction. Love the parts set in the auction-houses, tho.

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

well, no, other than just enjoying it thoroughly.

Any additional comments?

A great listen!! Excellent narration. It's hard to read something factual without sounding like a lecture, but, the narrator here does a great job of making it sound exciting and adventurous.

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good reader but a couple of cringes!

Revisado: 09-06-13

What made the experience of listening to Murder Below Montparnasse the most enjoyable?

The reader handles most of the French quite well, and does a very good job with the Slavic characters...although she seems unable to pronounce anything with "in" in it..as in "Tin-Tin"...she persists in pronouncing it as "on" as if it were "ton-ton." This is everytime she encounters that particular nasal.
SO, four stars, not five.
Other than that - the usual fun adventures of "THe Perils of Aimée" etc..great "read" and otherwise great reading.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Murder Below Montparnasse?

Everytime she gets close to her mother.

Which scene was your favorite?

Not one in particulare

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

just enjoyed it

Any additional comments?

looking forward to the next installment..PLEASE have the reader run over her "nasals" (-;

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dreadfully amateurish

Revisado: 07-22-13

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

professional standards

Would you ever listen to anything by M. Saylor Billings again?

no

How could the performance have been better?

professional standards

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

no

Any additional comments?

I wish I hadn't bought the first four at the same time. The acting, the production/recording are worse than a bunch of HS freshman would come up with.

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I really enjoyed this book,except for.....

Revisado: 06-22-13

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

Yes, very entertaining.

What other book might you compare Island in the Sea of Time to and why?

Any of the "alternative universe" themed books.

Have you listened to any of Todd McLaren’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No, I hadn't

Did Island in the Sea of Time inspire you to do anything?

Unfortunatley, it only "inspired" me to spend the entire day listening to it. LOL

Any additional comments?

I did find myself skipping over the battle-scenes. Little too much of that, whence the decision not to give it full stars for "story" and "overall." I'd have enjoyed hearing more about how the Nantucketers cope. I am a professional weaver, with avocational pursuits in other fibre arts, basket-making and pottery, so I have often imagined how I would contribute if there were a disaster that cut our community off and what other resources would be available to us. (I think we'd do rather well, actually, this being an agricultural area with lots of game, as well.) Antrhopologically, there are not TOO many holes in the story. It is VERY well-imagined and rendered. The reading is spot-on and VERY good. Excellent descriptions, that kind of draw you into the story.The books definitely improve with each volume, altho the 25 hours spent on the first one were enjoyable and fun.I DID get a lot of knitting done!!! And my dogs, all seven of them, love it when I take a day off and keep the bed or couch warm LOL again.

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some of the acting is excuciatingly awful

Revisado: 04-13-13

Would you try another book from Gareth Tilley and/or Jerry Robbins and The Colonial Radio Players ?

I'd need to hear it first, based on this one

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

the story is ok

How did the narrator detract from the book?

Some of the acting is dreadfully amateurish, esp the attempts at Brit accents. Don't know where they get these people. Either they don't pay their actors much or they make do with volunteers. It's teeth-clinchingly awful/

Do you think Jarrem Lee - Ghost Hunter needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

No

Any additional comments?

get some help with accents...FAST!

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GREAT production

Revisado: 11-29-12

Would you listen to The Forgotten again? Why?

Don't think so, it's a mystery, so, once you know "who dunnit" it's over. Baldacci is a terrific story-teller, but that's about it, altho he does a great job setting the scenes. I definitely like his work enough to keep buying his books....will that work???

Who was your favorite character and why?

Gotta be the ex-baker!

What does Ron McLarty and Orlagh Cassidy bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

TERRIFIC READING! Great job with the voices! The occasional sound-effects are kind of nice.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

N/A

Any additional comments?

Good story-telling, excellent descriptive writing, as well...Baldacci can really "put you there."

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