Ray M Greenley

Nick Podehl is Brilliant

Revisado: 02-03-20

I enjoyed the style and humor of David Wong's writing, but the real hero here is Nick Podehl.

I was already a fan of his, which is why I jumped into this book without listening to book one of the series. Nick seemingly effortlessly channels the attitude of the characters to let the humor truly shine. His timing and tone are impeccable. It's at top-notch performance by one of the best narrators in the business. This book is worth the listen for Nick's performance alone.

The excellence of the narration in this book has been put into even more stark relief as I began listening to the third book, which switched back to the narrator of the first book in the series. Thorne is competent, but I miss Nick Podehl.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

A Fascinating and Unique Universe

Revisado: 10-14-16

The Secret King: Lethao is definitely worth listening to if you're a fan of science fiction with a bit of fantasy mixed in. It's focused around an alien race with magic-ish abilities who are fleeing to escape extermination.

Overall I enjoyed the story. There is a little bit of everything, from action to political intrigue to romance. It's epic in scope and right from the start you know you're in for an exciting journey.

I really liked the creativity involved with the 'magic' abilities that the characters all have. It operates on a physical and emotional level. It allows for some pretty interesting interactions between the characters. I only wish that there was some more information on the limits and rules of the abilities considering how big a part it can play in the characters overcoming obstacles.

The main characters were all pretty well fleshed out with one character in particular seeing some nice progression. I appreciated some of the moral quandaries that the characters had to deal with. It allowed me to invest in the characters and the story that much more.

Greg Tremblay's narration is well done with excellent pacing. Overall it's a very solid performance.

The decision to give all the characters a similar accent definitely helps to drive home their alien nature. However, I feel that particular production decision may have restricted Tremblay's range when it came to character voices.

It's clear that distinct character voices was not a priority for the narration. I understand that this is a valid creative choice that some listeners appreciate, but I'm not one of those listeners. There were several scenes where I was unable to keep track of which character was speaking. It also added to the difficulty of keeping track of characters across scenes as characters were often referred to by multiple names in different scenes (first name, last name, position, etc). Without a distinct voice to latch on to, I was lost as to who a character actually was on more than one occasion.

In the end, however, it didn't detract too greatly from my enjoyment of the book. I'm looking forward to the sequel!

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

esto le resultó útil a 1 persona

A Great Mystery That Has It All

Revisado: 04-27-15

I really enjoyed my time with this book! It's an interesting mystery story with an unlikely 'detective' that will keep you guessing. It has a great, wry sense of humor which the narrator delivers beautifully. It kept me gripped until the very end.

The plot and characters were very engaging. The mystery has depth and the characters feel like real people that I want to get to know more about. Also, the author's detailed descriptions of the Los Angeles area really helped give a strong sense of place.

The narrator does a great job. His style is pretty even and the characters don't have an extreme amount of variation in how they sound, but it works very well for tone of the story and there was just enough characterization to tell the voices apart without sounding over the top.

I'd recommend this to anyone who likes a mystery, especially if they like a good dash of humor mixed in.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

esto le resultó útil a 3 personas

An Exciting Detective Story

Revisado: 04-22-15

The Neon Goodbye is a fun, action packed detective story. The characters are interesting and believable. While the plot doesn't give you any information to figure out the solution ahead of time, the mystery does wind between suspects and keeps you guessing until the final reveal. While the body count stretched my suspension of disbelief a bit, all the main characters felt real and kept me fully engaged.

The narrator does a great job of voicing the characters, using different accents to ensure that everyone is distinguishable. He definitely performs the story and really brings it to life.

I'd recommend this book to anyone looking for a quick, fun mystery with plenty of excitement and surprises!

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

Great Performance, Story Could Have Been Better

Revisado: 03-23-15

Right from the start you know you're in for a performance as the narrator brings out the accents. He covers a range in this book, and it really helps build the characters. He delivers the character dialog with the right emotion so you can hear how the character is feeling in the voice rather than just in the narration. I also really liked the audio touches he put in when a character was addressing a group and when characters are speaking over the phone. It brings you into the book that much further.

The premise of the plot is very exciting, and I like how the author roots his story in actual historical events (although don't mistake this for historical fiction; the vast majority of the book takes place in the present). I like the follow-the-clues treasure hunt with danger hounding the protagonists.

Unfortunately, the characters weren't very deep, especially Julianna. I feel like there was a real missed opportunity with her to create a more engaging relationship between her and Eddie.

It's likely that this just isn't my style of escapism, as I might have liked to see at least a little bit of exploration into the questionable morality of some of Eddie's decisions. Admittedly, that's probably deeper than this kind of pulp adventure story is meant to go.

In the end, if you're looking for a story where you can check your brain at the door and enjoy experiencing a world where Good and Evil are defined by the one performing the action rather than the merits the action itself, you may appreciate Lafitte's Treasure. It didn't do it for me.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña