Katie

Life, death, loss, and forgiveness

Revisado: 03-01-25

Man - McCammon continues to be my favorite author of all time! This is a really griping tale of life, love, loss, and death. It has profound sadness but so much hope! There is darkness but also forgiveness. There is pain and redemption. “Swan Song” is my favorite book of all time but this one trails just behind. This author has a way of tapping into the human spirit that no other writer can compare to. His stories are true epics and leave me with a feeling of awe; a feeling that u just witnessed a battle of good vs. evil. His villains are quirky and memorable and his main characters are flawed and relatable. I honestly can’t get enough of this man’s writing!

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Great book with perfect narration!

Revisado: 12-17-24

I loved the narrator in the first book and love him even more in this one! This is one creepy audiobook and the narration plays a big role in that! I will be reading more from this author and checking out other books narrated by this narrator!

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Better than the first!

Revisado: 06-12-24

The author took what I loved from the first book, polished it, and learned that violence just for violence sake does not always make a good book. Where the first book sometimes used violence and gore as a crutch, Elias has evolved as an author and the violence now has more of an impact because it is not used without meaning. That’s not to say that there isn’t violence and gore here. The book is more violent and depraved in some ways than the first. It just seems to mean more.

Danny’s backstory fits perfectly and many of my favorite characters from the first book make an appearance again along with some new, memorable faces. Nick makes for an interesting “Job” character and, by the end, my heart ached for him. This book breathed life and more depth into these characters and I felt my heart go out to them.

Life isn’t always fair, but it is what we make of it.

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There will be blood… and much more!

Revisado: 06-08-24

I really loved this book but what made it absolutely memorable was the narration! Each character sounded unique and fit perfectly with how I felt the character would sound. The pace of the speaker, the dialect, the way they pronounced words… all unique! Extremely talented performer. I’m going to search through his other audiobooks and see what else I can listen to!

Ok, now onto the book. It’s fantastic. You can tell the author is still finding his footing when it comes to writing - he likes to use the same phrases like “stars swam across my vision” but that’s ok because, man, can he build a world! I felt like I could feel the rain beating down on my face and smell the carnage just around the corner. My one gripe is that, by the end, it’s as if the main character is just TOO unstoppable. It took away some of the tension since he could outsmart and outfight anybody even though he’s just a regular ol’ Joe. That said, I still adored the novel.

As soon as I finished this book, I went out and got the sequel… and my new favorite narrator is reading that one too!

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Not his best but decent

Revisado: 05-29-24

There were more “misses” than “hits” in this collection of stories but that’s probably because I loved his full length novels so much that I hold the bar high. There were some really amazing stories here “The Noose” and “Sally Under the Bed” are good examples - but a lot of the stories just seemed to rehash themes from previous ones. I’m still a fan of the author but many of these just weren’t memorable enough

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Completely gutted me.

Revisado: 05-19-24

This novel was like watching a train that you know has no brakes rushing towards the end of the line and you have no way to help. Helplessness and frustration were the emotions I felt most. Sure, there was love and beauty hidden within the pages but listening to the story completely gutted me. Totalities are hard to grasp and pure evil is perhaps the hardest for us to comprehend. It’s why serial killers fascinate most people; “How could somebody do this?”

This book is so dark that I felt claustrophobic at times. I’ve read a lot of dark stories but this one had a hold of me and wouldn’t let go. Just as I thought it was too dark and grim, I found some light in the shadows albeit not much. But even the faintest light is enough to cut through the thickest of darkness. Great story from a very talented author.

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esto le resultó útil a 18 personas

It will haunt your mind…

Revisado: 05-13-24

Wow! Nick Roberts has quite a way with words! The scenes he described were terrifying, beautiful, and dread-inducing. I found his characters relatable and flawed. I am definitely the father with his weird sense of humor. I enjoyed this book so much I immediately got two more of his audiobooks.

The narrator also deserves a big “WOW!” I’ve listened to some truly atrocious narrations lately but this guy crushed this! I’m so glad I listened to it instead of read it! The characters all had unique voices that seemed to fit their personality, Spencer used inflections and dramatic pauses to really build up tension, and his possessed voice had me biting my fingernails! Nick couldn’t have asked for a better person to narrate this outstanding novel!

I can’t wait to see what is in store for me when I listen to his next book, “Anathema”!

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Good, but slow

Revisado: 03-12-24

I started listening to this because I love his “Viral Apocalypse” series. In fact, that series may be my favorite one of all time (even though the Audible narration is atrocious)

This book was… slow. Very slow. I really love all the research and science info provided in Michael’s books but this one definitely got bogged down by it. Very interesting stuff but nothing much happens until close to the end.

Admittedly, the tension build up was great. McBride was setting the stage and the payoff was good but it should have come to a head sooner I think.

All that said, I still love this author’s prose and I am immediately starting the 2nd book in this series. I have a feeling that, now that we have the background, it the next book is going to much more engaging.

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Turn right in 600 feet…

Revisado: 02-29-24

The story is amazing - as was the first. This author is quickly becoming one of my favorites.

That’s why it pains me to say that it was a chore to finish this audiobook. The narrator is, by far, the worst I’ve heard and I’ve listened to audiobooks for as long as I can remember. I seriously played a clip for several friends and they all thought it was a text-to-chat program! I had to Google the narrator’s name because I wasn’t sure she was a real person.

Her inflections are awkward, she pauses randomly so you aren’t sure if she started a new sentence or what, her characters all sound like hollow robots - I never knew who was saying what, and she mispronounces the strangest things. “Wind through the trees” and a “winding road” are not the same word…

I know this is harsh, and I’m sorry about that, but this gal should choose a new profession… any profession to be honest. I think I’d rather her clean my teeth than listen to another book narrated by her.

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This book needs attention!

Revisado: 02-11-24

This book is one of the best post-apocalyptic books I’ve ever read! My favorite is “Swan Song” but this is right on the heels of that book. One thing is for sure - it’s leagues better than “The Stand”.

It took a while for me to get into the author’s writing style… at times it felt like I was in a Masters class on biology or nuclear fusion. Once you get over the fact that the author likes to show off how smart he is, I ended up enjoying the technical jargon by the end as it’s obvious he researched the subject matter extensively and I learned a lot of interesting info.

The characters have depth and, while some are a bit cliche (female Norman Bates in love with geek pushed to his limits) all of them are a lot of fun.

I couldn’t stop listening to this one and immediately got book 2. If King would have written this, it would be a household name. I wish Mr. McBride luck as he’s an excellent writer. I’ll be listening to all of his books in the very near future!

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