Pkr

Like Most of the "Clancy" books that are "Ghosted

Revisado: 06-13-17

Where does Tom Clancy Commander-in-Chief rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This year? Probably top 5. Ever? Way down the list in the 70s or 80s.

If you’ve listened to books by Mark Greaney before, how does this one compare?

It was typical and followed the same blueprint as all books in the series

What does Scott Brick bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Brick is one of the more capable readers and brings consistency since he has done many/most in the Ryan series.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Nothing of note. I would have been surprised if a book primarily of the action genre actually was able to do so.

Any additional comments?

I've always been a fan of the entire Ryan series of books, especially when Mr. Clancy was alive and either writing or overseeing the final product. The last several have become kind of worrisome as now it seems more about cranking out either a Jack or Jack, Jr. book to milk as much money from the franchise before the readers tire of it. It is about time to have the book where they change the Middle East into a large piece of glass and get on to the real war with China and Russia.

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It was Okay

Revisado: 06-13-17

What did you like best about The Killer? What did you like least?

There was certainly nothing special about The Killer. For being the "hero" of what is to be a series, Victor was certainly not likable or relatable in any way. It wouldn't have hurt my feelings if he had been shot/killed in the last chapter and make this the first and last book in the Assassin series.

With that being said, I have listened and read books that were worse in both respects as to story and performance and I was able to use up another 11 hours of my life without protest.

Would you recommend The Killer to your friends? Why or why not?

Eh, it wouldn't be in my top 20. It is the kind of book that if I had a hardcover I would give a friend the book rather than recommend he buy it.

Did Rob Shapiro do a good job differentiating all the characters? How?

He was decent. Like most male readers he had difficulty with the female characters. I can usually live with that flaw since I can't stand listening to the female readers available in the Audible collections.

Was The Killer worth the listening time?

Yes, but barely.

Any additional comments?

This review probably comes off more negative than it should since I did listen to the entire book and didn't feel I needed my money back or anything. Don't go in expecting a vintage Clancy or a classic like War and Peace and it should be perfectly fine.

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About What I Expected

Revisado: 01-25-16

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

I always respected Kareem's intelligence so I expected this would be a well told story. Since he is an African American, I expected some portion of the book would be devoted to the state of race relations during the time of Holmes. However, there was an overabundance of the discussion and the setting was moved to the Americas area and the slave trade. It became a little too much and detracted from the overall book.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

I'm not saying they should downplay the slavery angles, but don't harp on them either.

What three words best describe Damian Lynch’s performance?

It was okay.

Could you see Mycroft Holmes being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

In our PC world, maybe. Does anyone but Samuel Jackson play in movies anymore?

Any additional comments?

Again, the book is okay and if you have a spare credit by all means spend it here. Don't use cash money though.

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It's Not Great

Revisado: 04-21-14

What disappointed you about The Atlantis Gene?

The book was pretty dull and did not come to any meaningful ending point. The "science" was so fanciful and unlikely that the comparisons to Crichton were laughable. I know trilogy's are designed to force you to buy the second and third books in the series, but this book kept putting me to sleep and I would have to go back to the previous stopping point to keep track of their pseudo-science underpinnings. If you enjoy this book, you have a much better imagination and determination than I do.

Has The Atlantis Gene turned you off from other books in this genre?

Since this is my second favorite genre, no. But this isn't a good exemplar because of totally ridiculous assumptions as to the scientific possibilities. Time running differently on the inside and outside of a tunnel/cave on Earth was the only one I'll mention, but not the only one in the book.

What does Stephen Bel Davies bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

There was nothing really wrong with the performance although my imagination would have worked just as well. Nothing could have further enhanced my enjoyment of the material.

What character would you cut from The Atlantis Gene?

There were no characters that stood out in a bad book, so pretty much all of them.

Any additional comments?

I've said enough. I love books with a scientific foundation and I even love science fiction that takes some reasonable liberties with scientific possibilities. This was not a good example of either.

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Not a bad way to spend a few hours

Revisado: 10-08-12

What did you love best about Tiger's Claw?

It was over the top at times, but it was a typical Dale Brown thriller. Maybe the actions and responses to China were off kilter a little bit, but who knows what politicians will do when we have people like the current administration in power.

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

I wouldn't say at the edge of my seat, but it did keep my interest.

What did you like about the performance? What did you dislike?

The performance was decent, but the narrator was not at his best when he was doing multiple voices in a scene.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

The Devil in the Deep South China Sea

Any additional comments?

Don't expect more than it is and you will be fine. Dale Brown writes military books designed to be mainly enjoyment for men. The Americans may lose a few battles, but come out ahead in the final analysis because of maverick characters willing to do what it takes. It is not Chaucer.

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If You Want Total Eco Tripe- This Is your Book!

Revisado: 10-08-12

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

Not buying it would have come closer. Patterson outsourced the writing of "his" books long ago and I pretty much quit buying after the disaster of the mutant children books. However, I had an extra credit and literally wasted it on this book.

I have enjoyed books with somewhat similar story lines from other authors. The whole animals united against us has been done many times, but it at least had some sense to it and usually just stuck with one species. This was just moronic. We are to believe that because we drive cars and talk on cellphones that all animals will be somehow mutated to such an extent (basically over the course of a long weekend) that they will band together and start hunting humans down in the cities. It would seem pretty unlikely to me that monkeys, lions, dogs, cats, birds, bears (brown and polar), and bats would all be affected the same way at the same time. It would also be difficult to believe that the effects occurred in lightly developed Africa and New York City at the same time. Many parts of Africa do not even have cell service. We also have to believe that only a few humans are going to have the means to fight back and will not generally use mass extermination methods in doing so. We also have to believe that we can turn off the cellphones (but not necessarily the cell towers) and quit driving and the animals will go home over the weekend basically. Then, when that happens, we will then turn everything back on so that the animals will return to their man eating state without being prepared for them to do so. I'm sorry if that is a spoiler, but it actually makes it sound more intelligent than the book manages to do

Has Zoo turned you off from other books in this genre?

Does it have a genre other than that of one of the worst written, least logical, novels of all time? It has consigned the cowritten books of JP to the fiery depths of reader hell for me.

Would you listen to another book narrated by Jay Snyder?

The narrator's only major mistake was agreeing to read this book. I didn't have any problem with the performance.

What character would you cut from Zoo?

All of them? The monkey had the right idea when he started eliminating anyone that was introduced.

Any additional comments?

I think I have said enough. If this is ever read, please understand that you should not buy this book. It only encourages the author and his publisher to do more injustice to the reading community.

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Not a Typical Crichton

Revisado: 12-18-09

This book was executed well, but I wouldn't be at all surprised if some grammatical forensic scientist comes out and says that this book really wasn't written by the man himself. I was suspicious before I bought it, but I didn't see anything else that really grabbed me, so I used a credit.

I'm not saying it was a bad book, whoever wrote it had some talent. However, it did not resemble anything else that Crichton had ever done in either style or content.

Maybe he was mulling over doing one of those ghost writing deals that are the only action you see out of Patterson. Most of those are simplistic and cookie cutter and I have decided to adopt the Nancy Reagan, "Just Say No!" slogan.

This book has good narration and pace and it is decently written from a plot perspective. If it does turn out to be ghosted, at least he was going to be choosing a talented one. Who knows, next they will probably find another book in a forgotten computer at a secret apartment he kept in Dallas.

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For Those Into Faeries and Such

Revisado: 12-18-09

This book was okay, but not really my cup of tea. I knew that going in as I tend to go for police procedurals, military special ops stuff, and the type of sci-fi Crichton would write (cutting edge real life stuff taken to the next step and warped).

This book mixed in a tiny bit of detective novel with a healthy mix of mystical and did it just well enough that I didn't feel insulted by buying the book. As far as I'm concerned, that is a compliment and it is worth purchasing if you are either into this stuff or have a credit that is ready to expire.

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IMHO Suspense doesn't work in bits and pieces

Revisado: 08-05-09

I'll admit up front that I'm not a fan of the short story genre. I'm especially not a fan of long format writers trying to dip their toe into the short story genre. Most can't build suspense and bring it to a conclusion in 15 minutes or less. The whole concept was bad, although the execution was as good as you could hope for. It was boring enough that I had to quit listening on a long drive because none of the stories could generate my interest enough to keep me awake. Avoid it if you can.

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Not Great But Okay

Revisado: 07-28-09

Kind of disjointed, predictable, and lazy writing. It will fill up some time and that is about it.

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