Lynnzee

Don't Fret Over Telfer

Revisado: 12-05-20

Alright, so. If you're thinking about buying this book, I'm going to assume you've already read the first two, so I don't think I need to review the story itself, or the writing. You already know it's fantastic. I will say that it's a pretty satisfying ending, though not what I expected, exactly. I could certainly see another trilogy coming out of some new circumstances for various characters, and my fingers are definitely crossed.

What I do want to talk about is the narrator. If you're like me, you'll hear "read by John Telfer" at the beginning and feel your heart sink, and immediately rush to the reviews for insight. As other comments have mentioned, it seems Christian Rodska is ill and undergoing chemotherapy. I wish him the absolute best; he is a fantastic narrator and breathed life into the first two books of this series. I believe I might not have stuck around through a slightly slow beginning if he weren't so talented.

John Telfer is a very different kind of narrator, though not in any way bad. He's very good and has a pretty decent range. The accent he's using is sort of more polished; it almost feels like we've stepped out of the streets of a frontier city and into a high court somewhere. I read a few reviews that absolutely reviled this aspect of his narration in particular, but I didn't mind it so much. His voices for Vlora and Michel were pretty spot-on with what Rodska has already established. The most affected character was Ben Styke, which is sad because I believe his personality really shone through his voice. Honestly, it was jarring at first.

However, I have to assume Telfer made this decision because he couldn't quite pull off that particular voice in the same way Rodska could, and I respect him for not trying, and for putting his own creative spin on it. It would have been worse for him to try to imitate Rodska and falling short. After I got used to it, it really didn't bother me.

I did take off a star in the performance category due to (as you'll see in other comments) some weird changes in pronunciation. Telfer pronounces "Sediel" and "Taniel" differently than Rodska did. Occasionally, he also pronounces "Ka-Poel" slightly differently. It's not a big deal, just kind of annoying. I didn't find it as annoying as some people did, but, frankly, I don't see how the new pronunciation could be in any way easier than the old, so I don't really see a reason for it.

In short, I'm going to join the many other comments in saying that it was an excellent book, and John Telfer (mostly) did us proud. Don't let the change in narrator discourage you from buying this audiobook. You won't regret it.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

Austen meets Smaug

Revisado: 10-30-20

I'm not gonna lie, I actually discovered this book because Stephenie Meyer mentioned it in her new Twilight novel (don't judge me, it's a guilty pleasure). When I read the description, I thought it looked interesting, and most of the reviews were promising. So I thought I would give it a try, seeing as I'm a big fan of most fantasy novels (Tolkien, Sanderson, GRRM, etc.) as well as a big fan of Regency/other time period novels like Austen, Heyer, and Agatha Christie.

Let me tell you, I'm so very glad that I did. The world the author has created is wonderful. I honestly wish there were more books, not necessarily following the same family, but just exploring the universe more. In some ways, it's so very like the Regency novels I'm used to reading. So much so that sometimes I even forgot the characters were all dragons! And then, someone would breathe fire, or talk about eating someone else, and I would remember. At the same time, the dragons are so very believable as dragons. They aren't simply human characters living in dragon bodies. They think and react in different ways. I also really loved the feeling that there was this whole rich universe and history of the dragons that we were only seeing small glimpses of.

I will say, without spoiling anything, that this was also like an Austen novel in that I felt very satisfied by the end. So, anyone who likes any amount of fantasy, as well as has a good appreciation for Austen and Heyer-type novels, please give this book a try. It's very well-written, and John Lee is fantastic as always.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

esto le resultó útil a 1 persona

A Timely Listen

Revisado: 10-30-20

Look, I love audiobooks and I love history and I especially love Rome, so I won't pretend this isn't right in the center of the Venn diagram of my interests already. But it takes me a long time to get through audiobooks, mostly because I don't have a ton of listening time throughout the week, and I find it difficult to just listen to one thing for hours at a time.

However, this audiobook held my interest pretty firmly! I finished it in less than a week, which is pretty unheard of for me even with such a short book. It's interesting, written well, and narrated well. It helps that I'm also a fan of the History of Rome podcast. If you're worried it will be dense and overwhelming, don't be. I think it's very palatable, even if you aren't a Roman history buff or even a history buff at all.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

Unexpectedly Enjoyable

Revisado: 04-26-20

I’ve seen the movie a few times and always enjoyed it. The movie was plenty scary to me as a kid and is still exciting to me as an adult, but it doesn’t really capture how viscerally terrifying the novel actually is.

I know Crichton’s books can be a bit science-heavy, which is why I never attempted them. I got this on sale and decided to give it a shot during social distancing. I’m so happy I did! Anyone who is intimidated by lots of science terminology and is considering not giving this book a shot, don’t worry. It does a great job of making the information accessible.

Scott Brick is always an excellent narrator. I would recommend this book to anyone!

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

Not the book I wanted but the one I deserved

Revisado: 03-28-19

If you’re looking for a very cozy English mystery, like I was, this is very much not it. Other reviews might have told me this to begin with, but I didn’t read them before I bought it, honestly.

This book turned out to be a relatively suspenseful and even somewhat chilling (in the loosest sense of the word) mystery with only some very mild elements of the whodunnit mysteries I am accustomed to. What I can say about it is that it in general has a very bittersweet tone from the beginning to the end, and a satisfying ending. I felt very attached to every single one of the characters, no matter how minor they were. I suffered and celebrated with them. The narration was beautiful and seamless. It wasn’t what I expected, but it scratched an itch I didn’t even know I had. If you’re a fan of mysteries and some mild suspense, I can’t recommend it enough. Kudos to Kate Saunders and Anna Bentinck on this one!

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

esto le resultó útil a 1 persona

A lot of fun

Revisado: 04-14-18

I’m not going to lie, I bought this book because it was on sale, and I ended up really enjoying it! It’s pretty funny in places, it’s got an interesting story line, plenty of intrigue, and a lot of potential for more books. It’s not serious reading by any means, but I had a lot of fun reading it. The narrator’s Belgian accent leaves something to be desired, and she did tend to end all of her sentences as if they were a question, but apart from that I thought she did a pretty good job. If you’re looking for a few laughs and some light reading, this is the book for you!

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

Now I know why these two were bundled together

Revisado: 03-18-18

Man in the Brown Suit:

An excellent story, if just a tad bit sexist in places. I suppose I can’t ask too much of an author from the 20s and 30s. Emilia Fox isn’t my favorite narrator, but she did an admirable job. The audio quality was just a tad subpar on this recording.

4:50 from Paddington:

Absolutely unreadable. I barely got a few minutes in. The audio quality is horrible. I suppose they had to stick it with another Christie in order to sell it at all.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

A classic for a reason

Revisado: 03-02-18

In print, I found these novels absolutely unreadable. As an audiobook, they are positively delightful! If you’ve ever wanted to read them but found them a bit too dense, give them a listen. I know a lot of people complain about the songs, but I feel the narrator is talented enough that he can be given a pass for not quite being a singer—and also, I thought it almost added a bit of flavor!

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

More than a murder

Revisado: 02-19-18

The story itself seems simple enough: a beautiful French woman, brutally murdered outside her holiday home in rural Ireland. But it quickly becomes more than that: there’s amateur espionage, perjury, and potential police corruption. There’s a battle between suspect and public opinion, and there’s international intrigue. What I appreciated was that, despite all of this, the creators of the series did their best to continually remind listeners that this is about the death of a woman, a woman who had a brother, parents, nieces and nephews, a husband and children and, eventually, grandchildren. I appreciate the astonishing amount of work the creators put into this; they organized it in the most cohesive way possible. All in all, an engrossing listen!

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

The Great Train..............Robbery

Revisado: 02-08-18

This is the first Michael Crichton book I’ve read, and I wasn’t disappointed! It melded historical nonfiction and fiction incredibly well; parts of it were dramatized, interspersed with explanations of certain aspects of Victorian England to provide context for the dramatized bits. The writing itself was engaging, and even through the recounting of historical events and facts I was never bored.

My lone complaint is the narrator. His voices were really very good, with each character distinguished well from another. But he would often pause inexplicably in the middle of a sentence as if for emphasis when no emphasis was required, while other times he would move so hastily through between dialogue and prose that his words blurred together. I would definitely suggest listening at the regular speed rather than the 1.25 to avoid this last problem.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

esto le resultó útil a 1 persona