Alfred Bulltop Stormalong

Interesting Premise Made Better by Reader

Revisado: 08-29-15

Would you listen to Mysterious Happenings and Conundrums, Inc. again? Why?

Perhaps I should listen to this book again, as there were several details that I feel I may have missed in my first listening - especially trying to determine the species of most of the cast (human or animal?).

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

The story's swamp setting and colorful cast of character voices got my attention right off the bat, and I couldn't help but be reminded of the old comic strip 'Pogo', which was populated by talking woodland creatures. I must have had that talking animal comic strip in mind so much that I assumed that the entire cast were comprised of talking animals, a misapprehension that was only confirmed by the presence of a talking beaver. Later in the story I realized that some of the cast were humans, and I never fully untangled that question in my first listening. I was bored by the well-worn solution to one of the books mysteries, which made me wonder if this was in fact intended as juvenile fiction, however, there were instances where the author gave these characters profane dialogue and casual adult attitudes that clashed with the previously established quaint nature of this magical swamp setting. The society of magic users isn't a new concept but it has been done better by other authors. In this book it feels like we've just sprinkled on some Harry Potter HOWEVER that doesn't mean that I don't think that there's not an opportunity for improvement, because the initial concept is still interesting and could lead to a fun series of books featuring these paranormal investigations.

Have you listened to any of Barbara Benjamin-Creel’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I have listened to one other book by this voice actor but the previous audio book was a modern day fantasy story and did not provide a reason to feature the sort of colorful cartoonish style characters in this book. It felt very nearly like listening to an animated cartoon during some scenes, which speaks to her voice skills.

Any additional comments?

Less snazzy/glib dialogue and more time building characters and their back stories so that the reader/listener will remember if the characters were humans or talking animals. The author might want to consider whether they're aiming at a juvenile audience or an adult audience and adjust the dialogue accordingly.

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Missed Opportunities

Revisado: 08-08-15

Neal Stephenson has proven himself as a gifted author several times over. Reamde has a promising premise with all the right ingredients for a techno-thriller, but it misses so many opportunities along the way that it ultimately disappoints.

At the beginning I assumed that Stephenson would be pitting the founder of a Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game (MMORPG) against a mysterious movement within the virtual world of his video game. Later, I assumed it would find our (ever-growing) list of protagonists playing out a massively complicated battle in both the real world and the videogame world, with some interesting blurring of those lines.

Instead, it boiled down to events straight out a C-grade action movie.

I'm disappointed with the missed opportunities in this book. I heard them whizzing past as we went from wooden action sequence to the next. I almost wonder if Mr. Stephenson were under some form of duress during the writing of this novel, writing the book in this manner to send out a signal to his fans: "You people KNOW that I'm a better writer than this. Send help!"

Several people have criticized the reader for this book, but I found his voice to lend authority to the sections pertaining to weapons and all things outdoors. I was confused at one point to hear him refer to a "submarine gun" instead of a "submachine gun" and am wondering if that error was in the book, the script, or if it were some sort of slip by the reader. There is a reference to an out-of-place chapter in several reviews and I believe that I may have experienced this as well but put it down to hitting the wrong button on my phone app.

I'm going to pretend Neal pressed the wrong button when he submitted this manuscript.

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Terrible Narration

Revisado: 12-01-14

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

Re-record the book using the narrator from The Baroque Cycle

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

I've read the book. The story is less exciting and robust than Baroque Cycle, but interesting technically. I'm having trouble getting into the audiobook because of the profoundly bad reading by the narrator.

How could the performance have been better?

If it had been read by anyone else. Possibly someone off the street. I would rather listen to a hobo read this than the current narrator.

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

Neal Stephenson is a gifted author and I consider this to be the silent 4th volume in the Baroque Cycle, but the person who decided to use Lefty Readsbadly as the narrator should be keelhauled.

Any additional comments?

Yes, the narrator sucked. Hard.

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Terrible Narration

Revisado: 12-01-14

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

Re-record the book using the narrator from The Baroque Cycle

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

I've read the book. The story is less exciting and robust than Baroque Cycle, but interesting technically. I'm having trouble getting into the audiobook because of the profoundly bad reading by the narrator.

How could the performance have been better?

If it had been read by anyone else. Possibly someone off the street. I would rather listen to a hobo read this than the current narrator.

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

Neal Stephenson is a gifted author and I consider this to be the silent 4th volume in the Baroque Cycle, but the person who decided to use Lefty Readsbadly as the narrator should be keelhauled.

Any additional comments?

Yes, the narrator sucked. Hard.

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Apocalyptic Zagging

Revisado: 07-28-14

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

Yes. I would recommend this book to my friends who are literate fans of the post-apocalyptic genre.

Would you be willing to try another book from Noah Chinn? Why or why not?

Possibly. The plot uses a clever means of squeezing more life from a fairly well-worn genre. The internal monologues for the main character were entertaining and well read.

What does Barbara Benjamin-Creel bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

The main character's internal monologues have an authentic self-deprecating playful feeling to them... the kind of verve that pulls a character off the page and into the room with you.

Could you see Trooper #4 being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

Possibly a movie of the week or an installment on an anthology show.

Any additional comments?

This was my first audiobook and it was entertaining.

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