J. Olsen

Just okay

Revisado: 05-19-23

I only listened to all three books in the series because I enjoy the narrator, Katherine Kellgren. I'll listen to anything she reads. The premise of the series is clever, but not very well executed. The books are mindless fluff, at best. However, the Agatha Christie slander in the final novel will not stand! The idea that this mediocre writer would slur Christie just to justify the crummy denouement of his own mystery is unacceptable.

I'm only half-joking, here. Seriously, though, the book isn't very good.

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Not as bad as I initially thought, but still bad

Revisado: 12-21-22

No one will ever truly replace Katherine Kellgren, who was the main reason I enjoyed the Royal Spyness Series. Her absence here is truly felt. In Jasmine Blackborow’s defense, she gets MUCH better in later books, but she truly struggles here. I understand she can’t imitate the characters created by Ms. Kellgren, and she was probably wise not to try, but the overall reading is far less spirited and much less fun. Suddenly changing the pronunciation of certain words and names in Book 12 of a series was probably a bad call, too.

My biggest gripe with this book is that Georgie suddenly comes across as whiny, weak, and snobby; things she has never been before in the series. Some of this is the author’s fault (the sudden vilification of Mrs. ‘uggins, and Georgie’s condescending view of working-class people is pretty tasteless), but it is only exacerbated by Mr. Blackborow’s overall whiny performance.

I will probably skip this book when I re-listen to the series, in the future.

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We… Are… Fi-nal… Guuuuuurls

Revisado: 08-11-21

This was a frustrating listen. Such a great idea, such poor execution. The plot feels like a random assemblage of unconnected events leading towards nothing much. Some characters are added so late in the game, it feels like the author forgot to include them earlier. Other characters’ backstories are only provided long after the character has been written off as insignificant to the plot. Only one of the final girls is given any real focus and, unfortunately, she is the least likeable, least interesting of the bunch.

And, yes, the narration is as bad as other reviews suggest. The novelty of having the original Friday the 13th “final girl” read the story wears off very quickly. She reads… most… of … the… text… deathly… slow. The “scary parts” she often reads like a Kindergarten teacher at story time, with a sweet, sing-song intonation that is incongruous to the action she is detailing. It’s just bad.

I hope the movie that is in production just uses the clever framework, and builds a more sensible plot with more engaging characters around it, because nothing much here works.

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So bad...

Revisado: 07-18-21

Dan Brown's previous novels were not great literature, but they were fun reads. Provided you take the history with a grain of salt, they are fun storytelling by a mediocre writer. The story in The Lost Symbol is a dull trudge... by a BAD writer. Unlike his previous novels where characters struggled to figure out fun riddles to move closer towards solving their larger goal, this book feels more like an assemblage of random events that don't seem to be building towards anything. It's just so very, very dull.

The most painful aspect of the novel is the ending where (NO SPOILERS), after everything has been resolved, the characters have to explain what the whole thing was supposed to be about. I came very close to turning the book off because it just went on and on and on, and I just really didn't care.

The fact that Ron Howard chose to skip this book in the "Robert Landon" series should have been a pretty good warning to skip this turdburger. (Sorry, it's just THAT bad.) I don't usually bother writing reviews for books I don't enjoy, but this one was just... so bad.

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Dreadful follow-up

Revisado: 05-10-14

What would have made Deadline better?

This book lacked enough plot to justify its length. Nothing really happens, and nothing really engages the listener. The attempts at humorous quips were embarrassingly bad.

Would you ever listen to anything by Mira Grant again?

Maybe... I enjoyed the first book of the trilogy, but I have no interest in hearing the third.

How could the performance have been better?

The performer did his best with the clunky dialogue. The biggest problem was the fact that, although the narrator was male, most of the characters are female. It's much easier for female readers to perform male character than the other way around. (Sexist? Perhaps, but there it is.) For the female characters, the narrator employs either a breathy, faux-sexy voice which is beyond creepy or a clipped Valley Girl-sounding voice. (Except for the character with the last name "Garcia" which gets a squirm-inducing "Mexican" accent. The writer makes it clear she's an American born and raised, so why the accents???) Just bad.

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Good story made GREAT by an excellent narrator

Revisado: 06-29-13

Would you listen to Habits of the House again? Why?

Not a lot of plot, but tons of fascinating character, each performed to perfection by Katherine Kellgren. I chose this book because I'm missing "Downton Abbey" and because I will listen to anything read by this narrator. She does not simply read the words, she breathes life into each character. It is another faultless performance!

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

Katherine Kellgren creates such compelling and fully realized characters! It's difficult to believe that one person is playing all of these wonderful character.

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