Mark S. Traub

Toby works for the Tramp

Revisado: 07-16-15

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

I love Toby Peters and I love Charlie Chaplin, so I would recommend this book to anyone. However, I think a background of reading some of the earlier books in the series would help to get full enjoyment out of this.

Who was your favorite character and why?

I loved Charlie Chaplin in this book. I have read several modern novels in which he was a character, and here he is significantly older and more dimensional than he was as a younger man.

What about Jim Meskimen’s performance did you like?

Meskimen has captured two voices so well they feel as if you are listening to the real men: Chaplin, with his high-voiced mid Atlantic accent, and in a cameo, Orson Welles (phenomenal). He kept the pace going and I loved his voice for Toby's downtrodden brother.

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

The last scene in the book made me cry. I cannot reveal why.

Any additional comments?

A great series of detective novels that deserves a great series of new recordings, by presenters who can do great imitative voice work. It is very difficult to find these books in print unless you haunt used-book websites, and many are only easily available on Audible. Some need to be redone sonically because they are just too old.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

Thoroughly entertaining on all counts

Revisado: 03-09-15

If you could sum up Cold City in three words, what would they be?

1990 New York

Who was your favorite character and why?

Abe is great. Alexander Cendese is perfect in his intonations and Abe is fully realized, a gem of a character.

Which scene was your favorite?

The Thanksgiving dinner is very good, as is the ambush in Staten Island. Many great set pieces here.

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

There are a lot of things going wrong in New York City in 1990, and Jack is going to fix some of them...permanently.

Any additional comments?

Fun and suspenseful, the book leaves you hanging for the sequels.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

Great Suspense from a Master

Revisado: 12-30-14

Would you listen to Jack Reacher: One Shot again? Why?

I tend not to relisten to a suspense novel where all the mystery and suspense is already known to me.

What did you like best about this story?

This was one of the best of Childs' books. A really good puzzle wrapped around good Jack Reacher action.

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

I have listened to all of Dick Hill's Harry Bosch performances. He's my favorite reader, and he's great again here. I especially loved his portrayal of Cash, the ex-Marine. What a good character brought to life well.

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

There were moments of laughter, but this wasn't a book for crying.

Any additional comments?

I could not wait to get in my car and listen to this book. Lee Child is a great suspense novelist, and he's at the top of his game here.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

Horible narration

Revisado: 12-18-14

What did you like best about Masaryk Station? What did you like least?

I love these characters, John Russell and Effie, I have followed them through 6 books and found their depth wonderful.

The narration was as bad as I've ever heard in over 600 books.

What did you like best about this story?

It was a nice wrap-up to the series (or is it a wrap-up?)

How could the performance have been better?

The performance was riddled with terrible rhythms, horrible pronunciations and boring intonations.

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

There should be a series for TV with John and Effie for the 6 books.

Any additional comments?

This book deserves a do-over with a better narrator.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

Thrilling And Satisfying

Revisado: 11-04-14

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

I already have recommended this book, though I just finished it this morning. The characters are larger than life, and the stories told are realistic depictions of action in WWII, with their real consequences for the combatants

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

Though the final set piece battle is very familiar to me ( I listened to Last Stand of the Tin Can Soldiers which is one of the author's main sources a few years ago) it is still amazing to me what happened in that battle, and of course how our characters come out of it is of paramount importance.

What about Dick Hill’s performance did you like?

Dick Hill can do no wrong. I wish he was still doing the Harry Bosch books, though I don't mind Len Cariou.

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

The end of the book is incredibly strong and moving, tears were coming down my eyes as I drove in to work today. Though that actually was going on for the last 2 hours of the book. However, answering this question directly would give away the great ending.

Any additional comments?

I had never heard of the author before this, but I shall now attempt to catch up to a career that seems to have been building for quite a while.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

esto le resultó útil a 1 persona

Fine centerpiece of the sequel damaged by narratio

Revisado: 08-22-14

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

Had the narrator of the first two books read it. I wouldn't have spent hours wondering who 2 of the main characters were. Carto and Serwilia? Just pronounce them as written, please.

What did you like best about this story?

The character of Caesar is so visceral, he is truly sympathetic. Iggulden was able to do this with Ghengis as well, to his great credit.

Would you be willing to try another one of Paul Blake’s performances?

I have to, to continue the series.

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from EMPEROR: The Field of Swords, Book 3 (Unabridged)?

Some of the politics while Caesar is offstage can be tedious, but it is necessary knowledge to understand just what is going on in Rome.

Any additional comments?

Iggulden has quickly become one of my favorite authors.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

esto le resultó útil a 1 persona

Swashbuckling at its Finest

Revisado: 04-18-14

What did you love best about Captain Blood?

The depth and breadth of the character. Though he's made to become a pirate, he has wonderful feelings and talents that make him a superb hero.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Captain Blood?

The trial in England is truly dramatic and heartbreaking.

What about Michael Maloney’s performance did you like?

Maloney's performance is key to the quality of the audiobook. He masters the accents of the Irish, English, Spanish and French characters beautifully, and his dramatic reading on the part of the villains (there are several) made the piece really work.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

That's something I don't think I could do with any book.

Any additional comments?

One must always realize that a book written close to a hundred years ago, though it was enlightened for its time, still contains the prejudices endemic to the time. A warning to people who love everything politically correct.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

esto le resultó útil a 4 personas

The centerpoint of the John Russell Series

Revisado: 01-22-14

What did you like best about this story?

We are in the middle of this story, in five parts, and also at the most dangerous time of the war for our protagonist. Every step he takes is fraught with danger, but he is more worried for his fiancé, Effie, than he is for himself.

Which scene was your favorite?

There is a scene at the docks in Danzig that is quite thrilling.

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

If you were an American in Berlin in December, 1941, how would YOU get out?

Any additional comments?

Sad to say volume 4 is not on Audible, but I am taking it on a road trip next month.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

esto le resultó útil a 1 persona

Haevy-breathing Racism

Revisado: 01-08-14

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

This book is a bit too heavy on the "Yellow Menace" storyline for me. Much as I love Pulp Novels of the 30's, this one relies too heavily on the Chinese stereotypes of that time to make it accessible to today's audience. The last story in the collection does go some to redeem a few of the stereotypes by making the lead Chinese character the hero, as opposed to the villains portrayed in the other 4 stories in the book.

What aspect of the narrators’s performance would you have changed?

The narration of the first story is so over the top it becomes a chore to listen to from time to time. Otherwise the narrators are very serviceable.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

It would be a serial on Saturday afternoon before a Universal horror movie, and, yeah, I'd see it.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

Camel Club Continues

Revisado: 03-08-11

Though I've loved some of the earlier books in this series ( I gave 5 stars to Divine Justice) this book was a rehash of several of the previous Camel Club novels. The use of sound effects, however, is childish and unnecessary. They occassionally, especially early in the book, can make it difficult to hear the narration, which is very good. Because there are so many strong female characters the producers employed a woman to read the female parts, and it made for a quicker grasp of the action as the book is read.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña