Charles LaBorde

Horowitz gets it right

Revisado: 09-13-15

This audiobook is superb in every way and a real gift for fans who first knew Bond from the original Fleming novels. I read my first Bond novel, "Dr. No," when I was in junior high school and read every new novel when they were first published, beginning with "On Her Majesty's Secret Service." While waiting for those last few novels published after Fleming's death, I read all the earlier novels and short stories. I have also been a fan of the numerous pastiches over the decades since Fleming's death and the end of the publications of his trunk material. There have been some good ones and a few clinkers. But Anthony Horowitz takes the prize for the most Fleming-like Bond novel in a half century. The vocal performance by David Oyelowo is equally impressive.

I must admit, I absolutely hated Horowitz' Sherlock Holmes pastiche, "Moriarty," but I am now a fan of Mr. Horowitz again. I just hope the Fleming estate can convince him to write further chapters.

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Noir in the Mexican Sun

Revisado: 07-14-15

I enjoyed John J. Asher’s The Dogs of Mexico as read by long-time film character actor Tommy G. Kendrick. The story is a somewhat familiar neo-noir tale of an ex-government guy who is being double-crossed at every turn. Asher throws in a reluctant female who may or may not be on the side of the bad guys. In tried and true noir fashion, she definitely complicates things for the hero and gets him into more trouble than he can easily handle. Kendrick is making his first foray into audiobook narration and handles the new medium with the skill of a veteran actor. He manages the multiple voices and dialects effectively, and it is in the dialogue sections that he excels, as would be expected from someone used to film and television. I’m looking forward to future pairing of this author and narrator. They make a good team with an action-packed novel that is great for those long, hot summer days.

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Vintage Spenser

Revisado: 05-23-15

Robert Parker lives in the prose of Ace Atkins and the voice of Joe Montegna. They have Spenser captured to perfection. The "he saids" are still there but in much less number. You get the style without the aggravating repetition which was only emphasized in listening to the books being read. Joe handles this masterfully. Five stars all the way.

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Worst Reader Ever

Revisado: 05-03-15

I've read or listened to all of Nesbo's novels so obviously I am a real fan, but the choice of Patti Smith to read a novel seen largely from the POV of a character named Olav and then to have her perform at such a disinterested-seeming manner truly ruined this minor effort for me. Please heed the warnings of this and other reviewers and stay away from this audiobook. Thank goodness it was a novella and blessedly short.

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A Masterpiece of Writing and Narration

Revisado: 01-05-15

Many reviewers have loathed this book, especially in its printed version. Admittedly, James Ellroy is an acquired taste, but one I fully embraced years ago. I've read every one of his novels, essays, short stories, and have found them a difficult journey worth taking. Perfidia is not the place to start, but it is more accessible than Ellroy at his most terse, such as White Jazz or The Cold Six Thousand. That being said, this first volume in his new LA Quartet is nothing short of a violent, rabid masterpiece--an over the top prose poem to violence and debauchery.

And while the novel is great by itself, it is made so much more vivid and memorable by the masterful Craig Wasson in what I believe is the single best audio book performance I have ever heard.

I read the book on the Kindle with the Audible book being read by Wasson simultaneously for one of the great reading / listening experiences of my life.

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Don't Say We Didn't Warn You

Revisado: 01-05-15

Warning: Contains spoilers at end after a stop-reading note.

By any measure this novel is a disappointment. I am at a loss as to what audience the publishers thought would enjoy this one. A Holmes fan will surely feel cheated--there's no Holmes or Watson. Furthermore, that same Holmes fan will absolutely loathe the denouement--which hangs around for almost fifty painful minutes. A dedicated mystery fan who loves solving the puzzle aspect will have figured this one out from very early on. (See below after the spoiler warning if you want to see my elaboration on this point.)

Now for the narration. The reader is so obviously English doing an American dialect that it is painful at times. With all the British and Australian actors on American television doing flawless American accents, I was surprised that the publisher chose such a weak practitioner. The most laughable moments come when the reader has a passage about his character's being from New York or referencing Boston. At those moments we get the fake Americanism laid on especially thick--Noo Yawk, Baahst'n. But my favorite is the consistent pronunciation of "drawing" with the oh-so-British pronunciation of "drawering."--a dead give-away to a fake American accent. By the way, the "American" also pronounces la-bore-a-try for that scientist's lair and some other words that have never been pronounced the way he does either by Brits or Yanks. Might I suggest that they could actually have used an American narrator who is adept at British dialect when the book shifts to such in dialogue? They have no problem changing the narrator of the lengthy denouement to Derek Jacobi, when a British narrator is needed. It is for his performance alone that I am giving this two stars in that category.

Anthony Horowitz is a very skilled writer and his earlier "House of Silk" was a minor addition to the plethora of Holmes pastiches. This outing comes a cropper. I think I'll retire to my "drawering" room and pick up a copy of something by Conan Doyle to get the taste of this one out of my mouth.

Major spoiler from this point on. Stop reading if you--for some misguided reason--plan to listen to this book.

A dedicated mystery fan who loves solving the puzzle aspect will have figured this one out from very early on--as the author says during the big surprise reveal, "Look at the title, Stupid Reader." (Of course I am paraphrasing.) If you want to see an author actually pull off a big surprise as this one intends to do, you need look no further than Agatha Christie in "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd" or even more masterfully, "The Other" by Thomas Tryon. For a stage equivalent of the big surprise moment, see or read Anthony Shaffer's "Sleuth." This one is so far off the mark that I kept hoping I was wrong where we were headed. I wasn't.

Further semi-spoiler about the narration: Is the bad dialect a hint of the true nature of the novel? I think if we are to believe that, we are giving the production team and the reader way too much credit.

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A Major Misstep from Usually Reliable Kellerman

Revisado: 10-26-14

Would you try another book from Jonathan Kellerman and Jesse Kellerman and/or John Rubinstein?

If this is your first brush with Jonathan Kellerman, do not give up on him. His Alex Delaware series continues to be fresh and engaging, and John Rubinstein's narration is superb.

What was most disappointing about Jonathan Kellerman and Jesse Kellerman ’s story?

The story is an uncomfortable mix of detective story, Biblical retelling, Jewish mysticism, and horror (for want of a better word on this last point).

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

Rubinstein's control of all the characters made the audio version bearable, despite my total disregard for the novel itself.

What character would you cut from The Golem of Hollywood?

Line them up. A total mess from beginning to end.

Any additional comments?

Let me reiterate. Jonathan Kellerman is one of my favorites and the audio versions by John Rubinstein are great listens--with the exception of this trainwreck. Pass it by but don't pass on Kellerman and Rubinstein.

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Major Disappointment from a Great Talent

Revisado: 09-02-12

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

I'm not sure why so many people have apparently enjoyed this lame psychological non-thriller from a true master of the suspense genre. I found the motivations of the central character totally implausible, the slowly revealed situation underwhelming and the characters other than the lead cardboard and wooden--especially the absurdly clueless female foil.

Would you ever listen to anything by Laura Lippman again?

I had other Lippman stand-alones on my wish list. They are no longer there.

Did the narration match the pace of the story?

The narration was the one saving grace of this audiobook--something of a miracle given the paucity of interesting material to read.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

The book was a major disappointment. I have come to expect so much more from this writer. We all have a bad day once in a while, but how many days did it take to write this misstep?

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Jim, Hire an Actor

Revisado: 01-19-11

I am a tremendous fan of James Ellroy. I've read all the books and have others from Audible so that I can enjoy them in that format as well. LA Confidential and American Tabloid are two of the great crime novels of the century. When Ellroy writes about himself it is frank to the point of giving us a lot more information than anyone really wants to learn, but I still looked forward to the chance to hear Ellroy read his own work. I have seen him in person at The Mysterious Bookshop in NYC and found him to be a fascinating speaker--delightfully candid. So when I started listening, I was shocked at how weak an entry this was. Much of the book rehashes ground he has covered much more successfully before, but that aside, Ellroy suffers from an incredible fault of overacting. His delivery of this audio book would be overacted in a football stadium. In the confines of one's home or automobile, it is a boring, grating mess.

Some authors are brilliant readers of their own work--Amy Tan, early Tony Hillerman, for example. Ellroy, who turns out a new novel every 5 to 10 years these days, needs to focus on writing and leave the reading of his books to someone who knows what he is doing. Check out the brilliant Blood's a Rover instead.

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No Godfather

Revisado: 01-19-11

This is a weak entry that Audible pushed early on. I bought it because it came highly featured and was an audio-only book with two readers, one a celebrated actor. Two problems became evident immediately. The story is a cliched Mafia potboiler, with a thinly veiled Sinatra clone who has none of the guts that the real original had. The other two major characters are weak. I believe we are supposed to care for all three of the featured characters. I cared marginally for the Jewish character who spends much of the book trying to pass as Sicilian. The other major problem is with the character voices by Joe Pantoliano--a fine character actor, who proves himself inept, if not embarrassingly comical, as a book reader. One of our three heroes is given a voice that is a shrill whine--and he's the tough one. Other reviewers have noted the Sinatra clone's mother's voice as grating. That is the understatement of this young year. Thankfully, the author kills her off about half-way through this debacle. Stay away from this one. Stick with Puzo.

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