As happy as a monkey with two bananas in his hands

A Stab in the Dark

Revisado: 07-16-21

Let me set the scene for you. I had never heard of the authors or the narrator and I only had one credit left, before my membership was due to renew within a fortnight. Being as cheap as me, I did not want to buuy any more credit before my membership renewed, but I definitely needed something to listen too. Therefore, my selection for the this title was based solely upon listening length, it had to be long enough to get me through the time before my membership renewed. Hence why 'Iron Prince' came to the front as it certainly wins in listening length with nearly 34 hours in total! I knew having this as my only factor was probably going to lead me disappointed... I knew it was a probably a bad idea... and I wasn't wrong. Except, I was wrong! But I was wrong in a way I hadn't considered before. I was wrong because this one is so good I couldn't put it down! And pretty much listened to it within a few days. I only stopped for sleep and when people actually made me work... How rude I know! Seriously people how hard is it to turn it off and on again! Oh yeah I work in IT, sorry. But I digress.

Iron Prince took me by total surprise. I mean it isn't even in a genre I like, it comes from authors and narrators I had never listened to! Surprised in the best way possible. I can highly recommend this one.

I didn't have to speed the narration up like I do on so many other titles. If I am being totally honest the only thing that sometimes annoyed me was at times it was to pick the difference between the voices of the characters in some scenes. The voices all seemed a little to same. This is one of the titles which screams out for multiple narrators. I would have loved a RC Bray thrown into the mix... I know that this is probably not possible! But it would have been awesome.

I'm certainly going to keep a eye out for other titles from these authors and narrator! This has been one of the most enjoyable titles I have experienced in some time.

This fat IT guy says BUY BUY BUY!

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Take my money and give me the crack!

Revisado: 11-01-20

I found this one hard to put down. In fact I was tempted several times to speed the narration up just so I could hurry up and find out what would happen next.
The author and narration make a excellent combination. I’ll do my best to explain why I think this, by starting with the story itself.
The author certainly has a grasp on the the traditional theology of angels and demons. He raises questions such as ‘can angels still fall? Can angels be saved? How do angels compare to humankind? The order or structure of angels? These questions have been discussed by many scholars before and will probably continue to happen. However, the story itself makes this ‘interesting’ aspect of religion more believable… no not sure believable is the correct term. Definitely, more enjoyable anyway!
I loved the themes of sin, forgiveness, revenge, grace. But please don’t go thinking this a religious book. It certainly does have religious tones. I mean it has to given the subject matter. The very human themes creates tension within the characters that are very relatable to all. This along with the twist and turns in the plot made for a very enjoyable listen.
Now the narration. RC Bray once again knocks it out of the park. The guy is a freak.. end of story… nothing more needs to be said it is that good!
At over 17 hours worth of listening, this one has to be excellent value for money. The title does say it is part of a series. If it is I would pre order the next. But unlike so many first books in a series. This one does not leave you hanging for an ending. It just leaves you hanging waiting for more!

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Better than crack!

Revisado: 10-23-20

R.C. Bray at his finest alpha male narration duties again. I don’t know, it never seems to get old. Let me tell you how it normally goes when you get a title narrated by Mr Bray. The story either matches his style perfectly and somehow magic is made! Or his style makes a bad story somehow better. Which one is this going to be?

I thought about keeping you in tension and drawing the answer out… but then decided stuff it! This one is just great, it is one of those one’s in which his style has found the perfect story!

This is one of those titles in which there is a perfect mix of tension. Enough to keep me guessing and not enough to make it so stressful I don’t want to know. I kept on wanting to know is this time travel? Aliens? Cyborg thing? An enemy within? Or all of the above and then some more!

The military component gives me shades of ‘Master Gunnery Sergeant Flick’ from Michael Stephen’s ‘Arisen’ series, which R.C. Bray also narrated. There is also a strong element of Craig Alanson’s ‘Expeditionary Force’. Honestly, it feels as though the author has collected all the best parts of books narrated by RC Bray and put them together. Creating the perfect storm for this poor broke listener wanting to escape reality for some small portion of the day. It is so good I had to work really hard at not listening to it while working. I could if I wanted to, but the work would have distracted me from the story!

Those of us who look closely at the $ per hour rating, will be pleased. Because this title is nearly 13 hours long. I hate wasting a credit on anything which I can listen to in just a couple of commutes.

I’ll won’t give away any plot. I will just conclude with PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THINGS GOOD LET THERE BE MORE!

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More please

Revisado: 10-19-20

I have been a bit of a fan of R.R Haywood for sometime. However, I started to wane as the ‘Undead’ series began to drag on a bit too much for my liking. For me the shine of Mr Haywood had been a little tarnished. But! Holy cow batman. He is back to being the legend I thought he was! With this new one ‘A Town Called Discovery’. Right from the very start I knew I would not be pushing it aside. I liked it so much, that I gave up riding my motorcycle to work, just so I could drive my car and listen to this one! That is the highest praise I could possibly think of!

The narration is by Carl Prekoop who narrated the ‘Extracted’ series by Haywood. Another one of my favourites. Somehow Carl’s narration always seem to be a perfect match for the characters created by Haywood. Many titles have to be sped up. However, not with this one. The speed is excellent in the narration.

I choose this title without reading any reviews, and had to work hard at not reading any while I was listening to it. Just in case a spoiler made it in the review. This is the sort of story that the listener is best to experience without any sort of hint in regards to story line or even subject matter. The mystery creates a lot of the enjoyment. I will tell you that the ‘not knowing’ feeling helps in understanding the feelings of the characters in the story. I seriously did not see the subject/plot coming in this one, it kept me on the edge of my seat until the very end. This desire to know only increased my fondness for the title! I am so glad I discovered this one!

Please let there be another one Mr Haywood!

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I love you Bob

Revisado: 05-09-18

I was getting desperate, all of my favourite series of books ‘Arisen’, ‘The Undead’ and ‘Expeditionary Force’ have either finished or waiting for the next in the series. I was… who am I kidding, ‘I am’… out of money! Truthfully I am so poor I walk down the street with one shoe, people ask me ‘did you lose a shoe?’ and I just say ‘No… I found one!’

Ok you get the picture… as a result of being poor I am very selective in the titles I purchase at the moment. I certainly don’t want to waste my money on junk! Wasting my money on junk seems to be all I have been doing lately... I have also decided it is time to increase the number of genre I listen to, so that I am not stuck in this situation like I am in now waiting for my favourite authors to release the next title in a series.

This title ‘We Are Legion’ had appeared a couple of times on my ‘based on previous’ titles but I had never taken the time to really check it out. It probably appeared on the list because I have listened to several books narrated by Ray Porter. I like Ray’s voice… but not to the same degree as R C Bray or Sean Runnette. So it was given the tentative tick for narration. The blurb interested me but didn’t really make me want to instantly smack my money down. However, the deal was done the moment I read the reviews!

Look I am just going to stop the jibber jabber! And tell you this one is definitely a winner! I would have paid more for it! The biggest problem with it is simple, it is so good, so interesting, so surprising that I listened to it in one day! So at this rate I was burning through my money faster than before! Thank goodness for pay day, because I am now able to purchase the next in the series. You’re a bad man Mr Dennis E Taylor you are like a crack dealer! You should be ashamed of yourself, you have me hooked so bad, I am like a monkey with two bananas in my hands!

Just do yourself a favour and get to know the Bobs! I love you Bob!

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Infinitely the best story I have heard this year

Revisado: 02-12-18

Just wow! It has been some time since I have listened to a story as interesting as this one. The plot in this one revolves around the question of ‘what is reality?’ ‘Infinity’, kept me coming back to it whenever ‘my reality’ got in it the way, and sadly that happened to often… curse you reality!

I was drawn to this one first because of the narrator RC Bray. I have found he can make an average story better. He is a bit like Betty Butter who brought some butter, but the butter Betty brought was bitter, so Betty Butter put the bitter butter with the better butter and make the bitter butter better’. I’m sorry, like I said my reality is not the best!

Ok back to the narration. Bray once again knocks this one out of the park! The only thing with Bray is I like to turn his speed up a notch to 1.25x. The good news is that it doesn’t affect the length of this one to much as it is over 10 hours in length. Thus offering great dollar per hour value. And let’s not forget that the story is that good! It just adds to the value! I will definitely be looking for other titles by Jeremy Robinson.

This is one of those titles that the blurb doesn’t do it justice. The blurb is correct in everything that is written, but the story comes alive and has so many different nuances running through it science friction – love – horror (although not much – so don’t be put off if that isn’t your thing). One of the greatest parts to the story is the reflections upon the humankind.

The normally restricted to zombie titled fatman is giving this one the full Monty! This one rocks! picture a fatman with no clothes on dancing with two thumbs held high in the air going ‘heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeey’… That is how excited I felt when reading this one.

PS. Some people have tracked me on the good old inter webs and asked if I receive free copies of the titles I review, or if I get paid for reviews. I can say beyond any shadow of doubt, the answer is no I have not. Some authors have offered, but I have said no.

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The Gift of Time is a Gift!

Revisado: 12-07-17

I have struck gold with my last two audio books based around time travel. First there was ‘Fata Morgana’ and now there is ‘A Gift of Time’. Everything I said about Fata Morgana holds true with this one. The value for money just in terms of dollar per hour listening is excellent (over 11 hours long). The narration is excellent. I sped the narration up to 1.25x speed simply because I was so eager to listen to the story. However, what provides the greatest value is simply the story line! It is total amazballs as we aussies would say!

The blurb does a good job at summarising a story which has more twist and turns than a cheap garden hose. I found myself constantly being surprised the development in the story. I liked how the author took some time to explain some of the problems with time travel… problems which other authors tend to ignore. Everything in the story just adds to the great character development. Not only was the character development great but Jerry Merritt just seemed to know how much tension I can handle in a story.

I enjoyed this one immensely and I will be keeping an eye out for any other titles from the author.

This fast fat man is giving this one the full works – Two thumbs up with a very big and long Fonzie ‘heeeeeeey’ with a smile that says ‘I am like a monkey with a new banana!’

PS. I should mention that normal services will return shortly… I will return to reviewing zombie genre very soon.

PPS. Some people have tracked me on the good old inter webs and asked if I receive free copies of the titles I review, or if I get paid for reviews. I can say beyond any shadow of doubt, the answer is no I have not. Some authors have offered, but I have said no.

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Best one I have heard in some time!

Revisado: 10-10-17

I often measure the value of a story by how annoyed I feel when real life gets in the way of listening to the story, and I have been annoyed a lot this week with all the interruptions I have had while listening to this one. I know the whole time travel in war thing has been done before. However, this one is done well, very well! Another major factor in the value I place on a title on audible is the total listening length. I am always a little dubious about paying full price for a title that is under 10 hours in length. This is mainly due to the fact I find most of today's titles to be a tad slow in narration, as I result I tend to speed them up to 1.25x speed. This one is no different, I sped it up to 1.25x speed, but it is just over 12 hours in length, so it is all good! These two factors alone bode well for a positive review.

The narration is excellent. The narrator did a great job with multiple characters all with different accents both male and female. There was a couple of clicks and pops in the narration. However, not enough to cause any real grief, I didn't even bother re downloading the title to determine if it was just a corrupted download. I wouldn't have any problems with listening to Macleod Andrews again.

The blurb does an excellent job in summarising the story, and to tell you more about the story would be to spoil the plot. However, I have to say something about the ending. I loved the personal nature of it. This would have to be one of the most enjoyable endings I have listened to in a long time! This one left me very good!

This fast fatman who is now hanging out for a holiday, is giving this one the full two fat thumbs up with a very big and long fonzie 'heeeeeeey' with a smile that says 'I am like a monkey with a new banana!'

PS. I should mention that normal services will return shortly... I will return to reviewing zombie genre very soon.

PPS. Some people have tracked me on the good old inter webs and asked if I receive free copies of the titles I review, or if I get paid for reviews. I can say beyond any shadow of doubt, the answer is no I have not. Some authors have offered, but I have said no.

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another book more addictive than crack!

Revisado: 10-04-17

'Please forgive me father, for I have sinned'... I have continued to stray from my usual zombie genre and again I am rewarded for doing so. I couldn't ask for any better value for money, 'The Pen and the Sword' is over 17 hours in length and more importantly it is another great listen!

Jonathan Davis does an excellent job in what must be a very difficult narration... so many very different characters. This one would be an ideal candidate for multiple narrators! The speed of the narration was acceptable, like nearly all of today's titles I sped it up a tad to 1.25x speed.

I loved the tension that is raised through the story... the title 'pen and the sword' fits the story perfectly. The last chapter and the prologue are awesome and left me wanting more. I have already ordered the third one!

I suspected without the alien or 'watchers' part of the story I would have grown tired of the story, but Olan Thorensen seems to have struck the perfect balance with Joe Colsco's life and trails and the role of the 'watchers'. I am really looking forward to see how that pans out in the future.

This fast fatman who is out of place in a world without zombies is giving this the full monty! Two fat thumbs held high in the air with a very big and long fonzie 'heeeeeeey' with a stupid I just eaten a donut grin. In others words 'I like it... I like it a lot!'

PS. Some people have tracked me on the good old inter webs and asked if I receive free copies of the titles I review, or if I get paid for reviews. I can say beyond any shadow of doubt, the answer is no I have not. Some authors have offered, but I have said no.

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Best value for money in a long time!

Revisado: 09-05-17

There is certainly a lot to like about this one. Firstly, the author creates the perfect amount of tension through developing characters who are just ordinary people and putting them in an extra ordinary situation. The tension is further developed through the plot itself, the overall reason for disaster and the way some characters respond to the disaster. It all helps creates a level of realism which made me wonder... what I would be like in this situation?

Secondly, there is nothing to complain about in regards to sound quality and the quality of the narration. Maybe, slightly slow... I sped it up a notch to 1.25x speed, but I might have done that because I was so eager to hear the story.

Thirdly, and most importantly I finished this one with a good deal of satisfaction, knowing that I had received excellent value for money... it is over 24 hours in length!

Lastly, I know this probably won't happen. But it is possible for this story to continue. I really hope the author does. I would even pre order a copy! Please don't take this point to mean that I was not happy with the ending and or that it leaves you hanging waiting for an incomplete story to finish. Because it isn't like that all!

In summary, I am happy that I brought this one as opposed to my usual zombie genre. The world’s fastest fat man is giving this two thumbs up and a very long and cheerful 'heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeey'

PS. Some people have tracked me on the good old inter webs and asked if I receive free copies of the titles I review, or if I get paid for reviews. I can say beyond any shadow of doubt, the answer is no I have not. Some authors have offered, but I have said no.

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