dean6805

Aspires To Mediocrity

Revisado: 05-29-24

This book screams “I was at the top of my high school writing class.“ The narration shrugs and winks “hey, it’s a paycheck.” the editing says nothing, because it is nonexistent.

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Good Story, So-So Narration

Revisado: 07-20-23

Chuck Wendig delivers as always. Interesting story, not quite the same as all those other tech-gone-wrong plots. Inventive, and he keeps the humans the real monsters - because aren’t they always?

The narrator isn’t awful, but when she reads men, she makes them all sound the same - with the exception of one character with an accent. Making your voice a bit lower in pitch and creaky doesn’t make one sound more masculine; it just makes the listener fight the urge to constantly clear their throat.

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Good story. Everything else is meh

Revisado: 04-20-22

Parker is a good character, and the story is interesting and moves well. My only comment about the writing is that Connolly’s noir-style banter isn’t as clever as one would hope for. Perhaps it improves in the subsequent Parker novels - I’ll find out soon, as I plan on listening to more.

Narration: The only thing I have to say about Jeff Harding is that it’s painfully apparent he learned his New York accents from watching Looney Tunes.

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Neat Premise, Sloppy Execution

Revisado: 04-20-21

The premise is interesting: what would happen if vampires got onto a submarine? The execution was... not as interesting. Opportunities to build dread were dulled by stale turns of phrase. No kidding, one paragraph included the phrase "it will work; it HAS to work!" and was immediately followed up with "it was their last, best hope." I don't usually write negative reviews, but this book demands one. I'm thankful this was a free selection, or else I'd be asking for a credit back.

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Great, Original Story, So-So Storytelling

Revisado: 08-21-17

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

Maybe. Depends on how aware of writing craft the person is. Heuvelt has created a truly novel and frightening story with Hex, but the actual writing of the story stumbled somewhat. I'm not sure if the story was written in Dutch and translated or written originally in English, but there are several clunky passages in the book, and he relies on one or two turns of phrase a bit too often. If you can get past this, and can deal with a tale that starts somewhat darkly and then proceeds to go full-on hellish midnight, you'll most likely enjoy this book.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Probably Katherine. Her character undergoes a transformation that is subtle yet inexorable: She moves from being darkly comical to supremely horrific to oddly sympathetic in a manner that is a tribute to the writer's ability to conceive and develop such a mysterious-and truly unusual- character.

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

Pretty good characterizations of a large number of characters. I found his voice irritating for only one of the characters - and that character was supposed to be irritating.

Do you think Hex needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

Nope. I can't see the story going any further, unless Heuvelt wishes to explore neighboring towns or exploit the military overseers angle.

Any additional comments?

This was a somewhat hard book to rate for me, stars-wise. The novelty of the story impressed me, along with the turns the author led me down. And I mean down. This is a truly dark book, and Heuvelt plumbs that deep darkness without flinching. I only wish his writing had been more polished. That said, this is still a good work, and I'm certain that future work from this author will only continue to improve.

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Story & Narration: Good. Listening: Too Much Work.

Revisado: 04-19-17

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

For the story, absolutely. For the ease of listening, no. It shouldn't take this much mental work to follow scene shifts. To the person who produced this audiobook (if you're reading this): You did a poor job, leaving absolutely no pauses in between scenes. The result is disorienting at best, and utterly confusing at times. Basically, it listens like a really long book with no paragraph breaks.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Probably Tranquility, for its wry humor and the calm wisdom it exudes. As for a human character, Syrinx. Her strength and determination, along with the unbreakable link she shares with Oenone make her a wonderful character to follow. The reader constantly hopes that Joshua Calvert is a better person than he seems to be throughout the book, but is never really given evidence of such a character shift. All the more reason to read the next book.

Have you listened to any of John Lee’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No, but I hope that other recordings of his work are better edited. Lee is a bit daunting for a yank to listen to at first, but one becomes accustomed to his accents and cadence over time. As stated previously, the editing makes this book more work than it should be.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Frustration more than anything. The format simply makes the listener work to keep up with who is who and what's happening. The very bad editing job made that a much more difficult task than it ever should have been.

Any additional comments?

Whoever produced this book did every single listener a disservice by removing the breaks between scenes. There are effectively no pauses between scenes and chapters. The effect is jarring, and I found myself having to replay portions so that I could orient myself to the setting and characters. This didn't just happen once, but dozens of times.

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