Chris

Discomfortingly Eery

Revisado: 11-22-23

This is akin to a modern Catcher in the Rye if Holden were a murderer. Any age will find this depiction of teen angst and the degree to which adolescents will go to make a mark harrowing from the first second, The performances are riveting. But if you are disturbed by the disturbing, this MIGHT not be for you. The insouciance with which evil things are done is bone chilling.

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A Must Listen for the Grieving

Revisado: 09-25-23

With equal poignancy, sadness, and humor, this performance reminds us it’s okay to grieve and, hopefully, that we should give grace to those who don’t have the slightest idea how to comfort us. But most importantly, when my mom, grandfather, and nephew died within six months of each other, I tried to avoid it all completely. This story got me to poke my head outside to look around. Tomorrow, I’ll take my first step. I don’t know how I could give this higher praise. Comedic catharsis.

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Familiar But Overall Engaging

Revisado: 09-24-23

The storyline of “woman hiding from violent past” is well-worn, and this storyline doesn’t bring any original twists and turns, so if you are seeking novelty, this isn’t it. But the author gets you to care about the protagonist, and this emotional edge is nicely amplified by the voice actors’ rendition. At no point did I think about abandoning the story, which is how you know an audiobook is at least worth your time.

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Don’t Do It

Revisado: 09-14-23

This story is so ridiculously terrible. I know fiction isn’t factual, but this must be written by James Patterson, a high school student who has no idea how the law works, not THE James Patterson (or the co-writer did all the work except for adding the commas). The dialog is so bad! I love Hillary Swank, but she’s mostly phoning this in, too. There are SO many better originals from Audible.

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Hilarity

Revisado: 02-14-23

This storyline is preposterous, but it is just so hilarious to see characters who are all so oblivious, I enjoyed the whole enterprise. The satire is so biting, and the entire cast just nail it. David Harbour is incredible. The only people I envision not liking this won’t be able to deal with how self-absorbed everybody is…but that’s a big part of the gag.

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Brilliant and laugh out loud funny

Revisado: 02-06-23

I almost NEVER actually laugh out loud, but it happened at least 4-5 times during this audiobook, and I chuckled to myself repeatedly in every chapter. It is so smartly-written and wickedly satirical that I’d put it in my all-time top ten for humor, and Colbert’s delivery is top notch dead pan or over-the-top, as the narrative demands. Bravo!

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Brilliant Actors Barely Save a Trainwreck Script

Revisado: 08-14-22

Have you ever desperately wanted a project to succeed because you love the concept or people connected to it, so you are willing to overlook every flaw or rationalize away it’s absolute preposterousness and gaping logic and plot holes?

If this is not one of those times, do not listen to this under any circumstances because you will wonder what possessed such a brilliant group to do this production. The cast do their best with a script that is so horrifically bad, I LAUGHED during serious parts repeatedly and said out loud, “Are you kidding me?!?” at least ten times. I have to imagine you would get more coherent scripts without the inane, often wooden dialogue from a film-school competition. It’s that terrible. I would have given the story minus five, but I couldn’t because it’s so conceptually ripe for greatness. Maybe that’s what makes it so disappointing - a great idea losing its potential with every word.

But here is my big caveat…you could also be somebody who doesn’t remotely care about whether the story makes sense, whether every plot hole is explained away by somebody offering some ludicrous monologue, whether there is character development, or whether characters act consistently, or whether some significant plot change happens with literally no rationale or context. (Get ready for “wait, what?!” to be a common internal refrain). If so, dive in. The audio effects and production (and acting) are top notch.

But if you want the whole package of excellent script, taut and suspenseful story, equally amazing acting and production, Moriarty: The Devil’s Game is a superior Audible original offering.

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Outstanding in All Regards

Revisado: 07-10-22

Without giving away spoilers, I can offer that the storyline offers an intriguing twist on what we think we know about all the key players in the Holmes universe, and the audio effects and performance are well-crafted delivered, respectively. I was engaged emotionally and intellectually from start to finish. Highest recommendation!

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A Heartfelt Assessment

Revisado: 10-08-21

Anyone who dismisses this as an axe-grinding book can only do so by intentionally overlooking the multitude of ways Ms. Grisham admired President Trump and the First Lady, her many compliments of both of them, and her emphatic lambasting of every time the media got it wrong about them. That’s what makes the fall from grace of the Trumps in her eyes so palpable and agonizing. If you take out the names, this would be a very compelling tale of two fallen heroes - people who a very young, single mother devoted so much time and energy serving and protecting because she thought they would have her back like she had theirs. Instead, they jettisoned and turned on her as soon as she outlived her usefulness. For people who marvel at how transactional, self-centered, and inappropriate President Trump is reportedly, this account will provide yet another new round of ammunition, and the context is so well-established, even the most ardent Trump enthusiast won’t be able to say, “Yeah, she’s making that up.” We’ve heard the gist before, but somehow what she changed chronicles feels surprisingly new. And to her credit, Grisham recognizes that absolution - either from Trump and his allies or from those who disfavor the President - will never be hers. This allows her to speak with refreshing candor. My only critique about Grisham, in fact, isn’t in how well she can weave a story, which she does admirably, but rather, in how stunningly naive she was from the outset and how book smart she wasn’t. On many occasions, Grisham explains a concept or phrase to the readers that I anticipate most of you interested in this book will know already. Lastly, she does lay into her ex-boyfriend so notably you wonder if you got the whole story. But when attention is in and on the White House, it’s a good listen.

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I HAD TO STOP!

Revisado: 04-23-21

I may be the only person in America with the idiosyncratic view I’m about to share of this work, but I offer it, nonetheless, because it is my authentic reaction.

This work so meticulously addresses the tensions in the debates around our governing architecture (and with such great historical depth), you will come away feeling like a Constitutional scholar, and you will enjoy the zest the narrator brought to even the dryer concepts.

But the author has a “writing tic” that, once I caught it, I couldn’t turn it off, and it destroyed my joy. He writes as if he must get 500 SAT words into each chapter.

Lest people think I’m a hater because it was “above me,” there wasn’t a word I didn’t know, but it felt very much like having dinner with somebody determined to impress you, so he/she/they choose the most elaborate word on EVERY occasion, and it becomes overwhelming.

I recognize this is an abstract point I make, so I went at random into a chapter and pulled out two sentences to try to illustrate:

“Martin’s unswerving fealty to the primordial sovereignty of the states, and Gary’s knack for moving idiosyncratic and futile amendments had worn thin over the course of the debates. So had Mason’s self-serving penchant for casting himself the vigilant patriot, alone resisting the errors to which others were succumbing.”

If this prose excites you, I cannot recommend this book highly enough. But if you find the passage a bit....ostentatious, let’s say...you might want to consider if you can listen to phrases just like it for 18 straight hours.

I couldn’t.

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