Kevin

Lighthearted Delve into the Parahuman but Explicit

Revisado: 08-10-18

VOICE:
As far as the performance - Kirby Heyborne is an actor I've enjoyed on-screen for many years. He really brings in a lot of personality for all of the characters in his voice. All the characters, that is, except Fred, since Fred doesn't have a personality. Unfortunately, Fred is the narrator and talks for 80% of the book, so Kirby's performance, though well done and proper for the book, also plays flat. I would love to hear Kirby read a book with a broad cast of characters and a lot of dialogue! As I listened too, Kirby changed inflection and tone even before the description of the voice was described in the book, and it was really nice! He clearly studied this book ahead of time in order to PERFORM, rather than just read!
Incidentally, I'm not used to hearing Kirby swear, and I didn't love that change.

STORY:
Drew Hayes really sets up an entertaining premise - a world of parahumans (vampires, ghouls, zombies, werewolves, mages, etc) inside our current world who still take on the personality they held in the real world. Fred, the prime example, is just as plain and stuffy as a vampire as he was before he was a vampire.

The book shares 5 tales of Fred's "unadventures" and adds on a much more interesting cast than the lead with each tale. One part that wasn't my favorite was that each "episode" within the book reiterates a lot of background that were made clear in the first story. If each account were published in a serial, that would make sense, but being all compiled in one book, it was annoying.

The other annoyance is Fred himself. He is the protagonist but not so much the hero until later in the book. His first impulse is always to run away. And while in the first episode or two that played to one of the main points behind the book (you're still you, even if you're dead), it got tiresome pretty quickly. His accounting mind also processes things very orderly and clearly and he's winded in his storytelling in order to be thorough. I found myself saying out loud, "Yeah Fred, I get it. Come on man, tell me what happened next!"

Each story itself has a lot of foretelling that makes a good part of the plot somewhat predictable, but there are still twists that will have you laughing and off-guard.

Overall though, each story built the parahuman world wider than the prior and it was fun world to explore. I definitely am interested in reading/listening to the sequels.

EXPLICIT WARNING:
One note - this book certainly had a lot of language in it. I definitely wouldn't listen to this book around my kids, and I myself was very turned off by all of the F-bombs and S-words. Without all the profanity I would have happily recommended the book to friends.

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This book is IMPORTANT

Revisado: 06-02-18

Bryan Stevenson narrates a handful of striking stories - some sad, some inspiring - regarding prisoners he has personally helped in US jails, with emphasis on death row inmates. His telling of Walter McMillan's case, a narrative woven throughout the novel, is particularly captivating and would make for an exciting film, albeit a tragic one as it is all true.

As a young white male with a fairly wealthy upbringing, this book really helped me understand the plight of those in poor communities, including blacks, and their run-ins with the law more clearly than anything else I've read or seen. It has inspired me to want to DO something to help my neighbors, starting with confronting my own thoughts regarding the law and the death penalty. It has made me want to take time to hear the points of views of all involved and their histories before passing any sort of judgment.

Subsequent to listening to this book, I watched Bryan's TedTalk and found him to be a humble yet impressive orator. I'm very glad it was him who read this book.

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Superior Narration for an Excellent Book

Revisado: 09-21-17

Not only is McCullough an extremely highly-regarded, well-renowned and very accomplished scholar, he is an agreeable narrator and has the perfect tone and rhythm for this book. The book on its own is fascinating but having the author and historian himself read it makes the audio version a treasure. Very exciting narrative and I wish it went on for the entire length of the war rather than just the titular year!

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Captivating Narration

Revisado: 12-26-15

BJ does a fantastic job narrating. Most of the book it is pretty obvious who is speaking based on the accents and tone BJ uses. He's not perfect in his accents but it's not bad at all and gives you a real feel for the tale Doyle is weaving. Harrison's Sherlock voice feels spot on for the character.

The stories are about an hour long each and fascinating, albeit formulaic in their delivery. It's like watching an hour long detective show but better!

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