Cynthia Franks

Great production; solid, interesting writing.

Revisado: 06-15-19

The production of the audio book is excellent. It is a fun listen. Emily is a great character, but there are some story telling flaws hard to over-look. The set-up is hard to swallow and you keep looking for something completely different to happen, but it ends up being a very familiar story with a lot of cliche.

That said, the main characters and the writing is interesting enough that I would read/listen to something else by the author.

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A lively tale.

Revisado: 03-30-19

This is a lively tale part romance and part mystery. The romance and mystery are expertly woven together along with a snapshot of ordinary life. Daniel Hill does a good job of portraying both the male and female characters in this most male of tales by Georgette Heyer. Once again we see her interest in big men and their virtues. Captain John Staples is one of her more unique characters.

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Disappointing ending

Revisado: 03-30-19

Still a good bedtime listen, but the ending is unsatisfying.

The book is brought to life well by Eve Matheson. The characters are similar to other Heyer characters, but with their individual differences. The ending fell short of what I come to expect from Georette Heyer. The main romance felt rushed.

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Delightful bedtime listen

Revisado: 03-30-19

This is a delightful listen beautifully rendered by Phyllida Nash. The characterization of the twins by Ms. Nash is subtle yet discernible. The story is satisfying for all characters.

The character of Mrs. Fancot is one of my favorite Heyer characters.

This is a great bedtime listen.

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Poignant and funny; a story that stays with you.

Revisado: 09-01-16

If you like good stories, read this. If like Science Fiction, read this. If you like revisionist history, read this. If you like television, read this. If you like 50s era stuff, read this. Read it because it is wonderful to discover a new writer and then say, “I read him when…”

“The 13 Lives of a Television Repair Man,” is a story of a son’s relationship with his mother and how he learns to cherish her. It unfolds in the world of television repair and contains both old and new technology.

Set in the late 1950s after the birth of television; boy genius, Arthur, befriends the local television repair man and quickly learns how to repair televisions. Using spare parts from the shop, he invents a machine so he can watch TV without his glasses. Turns out the machine corrects vision to 20/20. This success gives the teenage Arthur the money and renown to “muck around with” any technology he wishes. His next project causes his mother’s death, the end of the TV repair business and, eventually, the end of the world.

I don’t read a lot of science fiction, but when I do, this is the type I like. In the forefront is the emotional story of a son dealing with the guilt surrounding his mother’s death. The technology, although very interesting, supports the emotional story in the background. Science Fiction aside, I’ve not read a story like this; a son who believes his selfishness brought about the death or his mother, must come to terms with what he has done.

Actor Nick Ralph is a good choice as narrator for this book. He has a pleasing voice and uses it well to bring the other characters to life through the voice of the main character.

My only negative, and it’s a knit-pick for the writers, is there’s a point where the young inventor is overwhelmed by daily life and turns to his father for advice. Although the feelings of the son toward his mother are authentic and beautifully rendered, what the father tells the son feels phoned it, like the writer is holding something back. Like the character wanted to say or not say something else and the writer wrote it for him. It doesn’t ruin the story and may be just me, but I’d like to know what the father really said.

FOR THE WRITERS
Take note of this book. This is a self-published novel. I listened to the audiobook which is also self-produced by the author. The writing is excellent. Everything about it is quality work.
Quality drives many readers away from self-published writers, that is not the case with this book. The quality is on par with the big guys. This is how it should be done.

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A Feel-Good Fairy Tale for Adults

Revisado: 08-04-15

Why do people love this author so much? Myself included? You hear the same phrases in all her books, her characters appear to be interchangeable from novel to novel and they always end in marriage. And yet you can’t help but love them.

I think it is because Arabella could meet The Nonsuch and his wife, The Marquis and Marchioness of Alverstoke, Mr. and Mrs. Standden, The Marquis and Marchioness of Rotherham any evening at Al Max that make her books so enjoyable. It is a complete world. The world of Georette Heyer. They are not great literature, but fun reads rich in character and the little foibles of every day life. Lite and happy; they are feel-good fairy tales for adults. It is the little things like taking-in a stray dog or child; containing a gaggle of ducklings; trying one’s luck at a gambling hell; or the fear of telling a husband about another large bill that set these stories apart.

Arabella is no exception. The beautiful, feisty daughter of a rector respectfully circumstanced, goes to London for a season. Her fond parents cannot afford a second. Through a series of jests and misunderstandings, Arbella becomes the talk of the town as a great heiress; something she is not.

Although Arabella enjoys her popularity to the fullest; she realizes it makes it impossible for her to accept an offer of marriage from anyone; especially the the nonpareil, Mr Beaumaris, who she is more attracted to than she will admit.

The book includes a wonderful description of a young man losing everything through gaming his first time in London and what a gaming establishment may have been like.

The scenes of Mr. Beaumaris talking over his troubles with the little stray dog Arabella foisted on him are priceless.

The performance by Phyllida Nash is superb. It is a wonderful bedtime listen.

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esto le resultó útil a 9 personas

Once you start it, it is hard to stop.

Revisado: 01-28-15

Pulls you into a different experience of the world; yet tells a story that any son, daughter, mother, father will feel.

From the first word, you find yourself in the rich, exotic world of Chinese courtesan houses in turn-of-the-twentieth-century Shanghai. It follows the story of half-American, half-Chinese Violet Minturn from age seven into her forties as she lives and loves in Shanghai. It is a tremendous tale of three women; mother, daughter, and granddaughter; who live different lives but the bond between them is unbroken despite separations of distance and time. It taps  something I have come to realize the last few years, my mother lives in me.

For the writers, much craft can be gleaned from this book. Ask yourself why Amy Tan chose to tell Lucia’s story so late in the book? It is an inspired piece of storytelling from a master. A great example of how sex scenes should written and can be a pivotal part of a story and not set decoration.

The audio performances by Nancy Wu, Joyce Bean and Amy Tan bring the characters to life. However, this is not a good bedtime listen, it is too interesting and may keep you awake. Listen on the weekends. Once you start it, it is hard to stop.

I want my own Magic Gourd!

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This One's Okay

Revisado: 07-23-14

This one is just okay. The storytelling meanders and the characters are good, but not up Heyer's usual. I like to listen to Heyer before going to bed because I'm familiar with most of the stories and they don't keep awake. This one accomplishes that.

As usual, the performance is excellent. This is what I enjoy most about listening to these books. All the performances have been done well.

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Couldn't Stop Listening!

Revisado: 12-17-13

The movie is very good, but so is the book. It's the rare case where both are good because both are done very well. Don't think that because you seen the film, though, you know the story. You don't. Don't listen to this before you go to bed, you'll stay awaking wanting to hear what happens. This is Stephan King at his best.

Frank Muller's performance is exactly right for this. He takes you on this journey!

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I could listen to Colin Firth all day!

Revisado: 07-01-12

The best thing about this listen is Colin Firth. He has a very pleasing voice and brings the characters to life. It's a joy of a listen. I hope he does more books.

However, it is typical Graham Greene. Don't get me wrong, Graham Greene is a great writer. He brings people and places to life in a way no other writer can. But as always with Greene, a character who was raised Catholic, but no longer believes, prays to God and a miracle occurs. The character then goes thru an inner struggle questioning who they are and what they believe. If you like reading struggles of faith, you will love this book.

I personally find the subject boring. I've read the struggle before in Greene's work and just can't invest in the character's dilemma even though I like them and want them to succeed.

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