CarrierofLadders

Epic

Revisado: 08-06-18

This was a great listen. While it's not the full Shahnameh (it ends around the death of Rustam), it was a truly epic listen, full of wise kings, proud heros, and surprisingly complex lessons about the virtues of patience, tolerance, and courage. It is not simply tales of physical bravery, but also of strained family relationships and the tragic consequences of pride. The narration sometimes is a little distracting (the women all sound the same, for example), as are the sound effects, but the music and the ambience is general helps keep the pace exciting and engaging. I loved this story and am now going to read the whole translation. 5/5!

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Bierce's Most Unnerving Tales

Revisado: 11-14-17

One can get many versions of Ambrose Bierce's stories on audiobook. The benefit of this collection is a decent narrator and some well-chosen sound effects and dramatic music. The selection of stories is excellent; "Incidence at Owl Creek Bridge" and "An Inhabitant of Carcosa" being classics, though I greatly enjoyed the memorable "A Baffled Ambuscade" which I had never read before. These are classic American ghost stories, and fans of Poe and Lovecraft will enjoy Bierce, as well as those who like short fiction set in the era of the American Civil War and later Nineteenth Century.

Charlton Griffin's narration is up to normal standards (though his spirit medium voice sounds like your uncle trying to impersonate Gollum after a few glasses of red wine), though I perfer the voice he uses for the classics to his sometimes laconic midwestern twang and southern drawl. Music plays a notable role in heightening the tension, something Audio Connoisseur doesn't do much in my experience, but the result is actually rather frightening when you are alone in your house listening in the dead of night. I downloaded these to get in a Halloween Spirit and this audiobook accomplished that with gusto. AUDIBLE 20 REVIEW SWEEPSTAKES ENTRY

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Ends in 1990 (First Edition)

Revisado: 10-30-16

Peter Mansfield's History of the Middle East has become an anglophone classic account of the region, with the emphasis on the long 19th century onwards (most everything prior is covered concisely in the first two chapters). The work has gone through at least 5 editions, updating accordingly; this a lovely recording of the very first, published in 1991. Anyone hoping to learn about the oftentimes confusing modern situation would be advised that this recording ends prior to the swift defeat of Iraqi Forces in the 1991 Gulf War (as it is known to Americans) with profound implications for the contemporary Middle East. Imbued with a little foreknowledge, it is like watching a Western that cuts to credits at the moment the shooters begin unholstering their guns. However, this does not remove the value of the contextual history of the prior centuries, which provides a deeply enriching understanding of today's complicated political, social, and economic situation (the roots of the Syrian War, for example, are very evident even in 1991, admittedly with the benefit of some hindsight). And though Mansfield (who died in 1996) is not supremely prophetic, he does make some predictions that were prescient. The narration is also clear, if not animated (though the one voice modulation, in imitation of Churchill's droning voice, was appreciated if only for its silliness). So it is highly recommended, but with the caveat that it is now almost 30 years dated.

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Outstanding

Revisado: 09-28-15

This is by far the best audible production I have ever purchased. Joe Morton's theatrical performance is excellent, carrying with it a vast range of energy and emotion, investing a whole world of Ellison's characters with life while also maintaining the mental world of our Invisible narrator. The story is rich and complex, raising questions that persist into our times. At once a profoundly incisive commentary on contemporary society as it confronted African Americans in the early twentieth century, the hard matter of a man trying to make his destiny and fulfill his human promise in a world which cannot recognize him for doing so. Supremely thoughtful and bitterly realistic, the novel can often be uncomfortable reading that challenges, in its honesty, the illusions that underpin cruelty and shallow ideology. Yet, as Ellison's characters would tell you: that's how it really is. Great reading of a great book that has been even better the second time around, I highly recommend!

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