Momma McIntosh

The OG Master of Horror

Revisado: 01-05-22

You simply can’t get better than Richard Matheson. I’m glad King recognizes what an influence he was on his own work, because the similarities between “The Distributor” and “Needful Things” are so profound that one can’t help but wonder if Matheson’s estate shouldn’t get a cut of every copy of NT that King sells.

The stories are brilliant, obviously, and the narrators are perfectly chosen. This is my favorite Audible purchase ever, in so many downloads I can’t begin to count them. If you’re wondering if you’ll be entertained, just stop wondering. But be wary if you’re home alone, on a dark night. Sleep might not come easily after these tales!

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So Much Potential, But...

Revisado: 09-17-20

I really, REALLY wanted to like this book. Unlike many reviewers here, I did not receive this book for free. I actually spent one of my credits on it, because I absolutely love anything on the supernatural, true crime, etc.

The stories are interesting. There’s only one huge problem.

The narration is ABYSMAL.

The voice of the first narrator has got to be computerized. It sounds like one of those YouTube videos that uses a robotic voice instead of the content creator using their own. When I listened to the sample, it didn’t bother me that much.

After hours, however, it’s absolutely untenable. Unlistenable.

The robotic voice, the strange pronounciations ( saying “uh-ouija board” instead of “ouija board”, for one), the total lack of any emotion, the over-enunciation, etc., is just too much to handle.

I’m going to return this one and get my credit back. I’ve made it a few chapters in and can no longer handle the robotic reading.

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Gave King Another Chance... And I Am Disappointed

Revisado: 05-22-20

I've been a fan of King since I was a little kid, snatched up my Dad's copy of "Twelve Past Midnight" and scared the living bejezus out of myself before I was even a teenager. I read everything he'd ever written, almost. (Except the Dark Tower series. Sorry. I could never get into it. I know that's sacrilege to King groupies.) I then drifted away after I couldn't get through _Gerald's Game_ and hadn't been back in a while except for the collections of short stories.

Then I decided to give this a try. The narration is fantastic. Just absolutely awesome. After I finish this review, I may go look to see if the narrator has done any other books, because I have a credit burning a hole in my pocket.

But the story didn't catch me. I was all in at the beginning. Loved the story of the drifter who get the job as the night knocker, loved the sheriff character, loved the people in the town, loved the description of the kid and his family, kid gets taken to The Institute.... and I found my mind wandering. I won't be repetitive and rehash everything that I see everyone else has said, but.... they're right. It just isn't engaging, there are a lot of questions without answers, the motive isn't clear, it gets frustrating.

Not worth my precious credit, unfortunately.

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Perfect Narration for a Perfect Novel

Revisado: 12-31-19

I have always loved Gone With the Wind, the movie, although ever since my first viewing when I was perhaps ten (38 years ago), I had a number of questions. I had intended to read the book for years in order to hopefully answer those questions, but at a lofty 1,037 pages... I never found the time as a high school or college student, a young professional, then a busy mother. There was never enough time. I don't know why it took me so long to think about finding it on Audible, but I have been riveted for the past two weeks, spending 3-4 hours a day listening as I go about my daily routine. All of my questions have been answered. I don't need to sing the praises of Margaret Mitchell's epic story. It is a classic. It won a Pulitzer Prize. It is one of the greatest of all time, and no controversy about applying modern sensibilities to standards of the past does anything whatsoever to lessen the greatness. The book is great. Everyone who is anyone knows it is great. This goes without saying.

This narration is what I need to applaud. Linda Stephens is the best narrator on this earth, I am now convinced. It is not hyperbole to say that her acting skill and her masterful talent with accents made the listening experience an addiction. She not only effortlessly gives each character their own "voice", in pitch and speed and tone and other essential little personal nuances... her talent with accents is unreal. It is enough that she can switch between Gerald O'Hara's Irish brogue and Scarlett's Atlanta southern accent, but the fact that she can get the VARIETY of southern accents correctly is nothing short of genius. As a native Texan, it never fails to make me roll my eyes the way actors and actresses who play Texans in a movie (I'm looking at you, Julia Roberts) just throw down a garden-variety southern accent and call it a day. In reality, there are so many regional variants that anyone who knows the difference is annoyed by hearing a one-size-fits-all approach. Linda Stephens absolutely nails everything, from the differences in a coastal southern accent vs deep south, the clipped speech style of the upper class Wilkes versus the coarser, drawling style of characters like Archie and Will Benteen. Her accents for Mammy, Prissy, Pork, Uncle Peter, and the like also differ while still reflecting the correct speech patterns and accents of the day. Absolutely remarkable. The amount of work it must have been for Ms. Stephens to research all of these characters and develop these characters using only her voice.... incredible. Whatever she was paid, it wasn't enough.

In short, a classic bit of novel perfection read by the perfect narrator. If it were possible to type a standing ovation, this is it.

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Interesting Enough Story, TERRIBLE narration.

Revisado: 10-06-19

I am going to start this review with the most confounding aspect of this audiobook - THE NARRATION.

I can't decide if Danielle Plaso is the daughter of an Audible higher-up or if she came incredibly cheaply (perhaps free?) or what, because there is absolutely no reason for this person to be a narrator for this or any other audiobook. When I first heard her childlike voice with extremely obnoxious overacting, strange cadence of speech, oddball emphasis, and horribly frequent mispronunciations, I thought perhaps that this was the voice of Amy Scobee herself. (Which would make it a bit more excusable, as she is a non-professional with a limited education.) But to find out that this person is, apparently, a professional narrator.... Well, perhaps I need to put my in resume, because they're obviously hiring anybody with a pulse.

I would think that one of the first qualifications for a narrator would be the ability to correctly pronounce words. There are too many instances to mention, but three of the most egregious include her pronouncing "corps" as "corpse", repeatedly pronouncing "supposedly" as "supposABly", and -- the most hilarious one of all -- destroying the French phrase "de rigueur" by pronouncing it "dee rigger". I literally spit my Diet Coke out in shock when I heard that last one. All of this is absolutely unforgivable for a narrator. Her awful narration made the audiobook nearly unlistenable. I bought this audiobook months ago and have just recently managed to finish it because I could only stand Plaso's narration for very short periods of time.

As far as the book, I can best describe it as simply okay. Having gotten into a "cults" phase of interest, and given that Scientology is the gift that just keeps on giving as far as entertaining craziness, I have read or listened to more than half a dozen books about Scientology. I found this book very repetitive, with story after story of "Amy disappoints the psychotic David M,", "Amy gets punished", "Amy gets back into the good graces of the church and gets a new post", lather, rinse, repeat. There was one instance where I thought that perhaps my app had glitched, because I was sure I had heard this story before, involving a briefcase containing important files being stolen from a vehicle and ending up in the hands of a homeless person. Either that same exact situation happened more than once to Tommy Davis, or the story was told twice in the same book, in different chapters and using slightly different wording. It sometimes felt disjointed.

There was a lot of interesting information that probably would have been easier to digest for me had I not heard most of it before in other, more well-written books read by better narrators. I am afraid the narration probably colored my opinion of the book itself. In short, I have listened to or read better books that gave me the same information as this one, even though this one was Amy's personal story. I wish Ms. Scobee nothing but the best, and my wish to support her is the only reason I did not return this book and get my money refunded due to the terrible narration.

Bottom Line: READ THIS, but please -- for the love of God -- don't listen to it.

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Riveting From Start to Finish!

Revisado: 08-11-19

As a native Texan who grew up in Richardson and lived in the towns of Plano and Wylie, this story held a particular interest for me. I couldn't believe that a crime this unbelievable happened in my neck of the woods, in neighborhoods I know of, to people who work at places I grew up passing every day, and even including a seedy hotel that has been a joke in Richardson since I was in junior high. After getting into the novel, I realized that I was a small child when this crime occurred, but it was still fascinating to hear the narrator describe the killer driving a particular route from one town to the next and me being able to recreate it in my mind's eye after having grown up there myself.

The Texas connection notwithstanding... it is a fascinating story told in a brilliant way. I was convinced I felt a certain way about the killer at the beginning of the book. A shocking revelation toward the end made my jaw drop and my feelings change, and by the very end of the book I was conflicted and thought for days about how I felt about the conclusion. Very well written, incredibly well researched, thorough, and it never lost me. Considering that I tend to have the attention span of a squirrel, this says a LOT.

If you are wondering if you should buy this one, just do it. Your only problem will be stopping the audio long enough to accomplish something else with your life if you don't have 12 hours and 32 minutes to spare all at once. LOVED IT!

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