Great Pace...good twist on well known ground

Would you listen to Cryptid again? Why?

Yes , see to if I missed anything..Plus I love bigfoot stuff

What did you like best about this story?

The answer to why we never find the bones

What about Sean Schroeder’s performance did you like?

the pace

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

All urban legends have shred's of truth

Any additional comments?

For a first effort, correct? I found it pace well and entertained. I look forward to the next project from this writer. Perhaps a series ala repairman Jack, Sandman Slim or Joe Pitt

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3 people found this helpful

Narrator did poor job of transitioning

Would you listen to Cryptid again? Why?

Yes, good story.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

When there was a change of location or pace of the story there was no pause to allow your brain to reset. It was one sentence after another. Very disappointing in an otherwise good story.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No

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2 people found this helpful

Hubby loves this

Merged all of the popular Bigfoot lore with modern conspiracy theories into a thrilling action packed adventure

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1 person found this helpful

Not bad If you're interested in the legend

This book should be re recorded with a little more attention to detail as far as how things are pronounced And please for the love of Jesus and all the saints get rid of the terrible accents the accents are almost distracting from the dialog Other than those 2 things the narrator does a pretty decent job And the story is pretty interesting

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Best book I have ever listening to

The author did a great job in keeping me interested through the whole thing; at the same time, the author did a terrific job in painting the story in my mind, plus Adding real info made it sound like these events actually happened. It brought fire back into a subject that i used to love, and brings back the question "what's out there in remote ares like the pacific north west"

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1 person found this helpful

Interesting, action packed, but . . . .

I love a good, creepy, adventure yarn in the spirit of James Rollins or David Golemon, and I really thought I'd found one here. And the premise is wonderful, and the story is well laid out and moves right along.

But . . . there is way too much expounding and lecturing in between the action sequences. It almost reaches the point of preaching about endangered species, government and the like. If it were a printed book, I'd be skipping those sections. They get old after the second time you've heard them. By the fifth, I'm done with them.

In addition, the author tells us 'about' what is happening, rather than writing the scene. And the hyperbole gets almost laughable by the end. He also uses the same expressions over and over. For example, the puppet master who manipulates the marionette strings behind the shadows of the stage, is fine the first time (if maybe a little over the top), but by the third time it's repeated, I'm ready to move on. I get it, all right?

And where one descriptive word would do, the author seems to think 10 would be better. For example ,the phrase 'she was lovely' would, in Penz's world, be 'She was as lovely as the sun through the fragrant pine needles on a summer's day casting dancing shadows on the bright grass'. (I kid you not). It gets pretty laughable at times.

In addition, the author's foreshadowing is about as subtle as a sledge hammer. It's inappropriate, and adds a jarring note throughout. He made his point with describing the Cryptid. He doesn't need to go into the more personal attributes of his characters. It tends to be rather grating, and doesn't fit with the flow of his narrative. He needs to trust his readers to 'get it' without beating them over the head!

Overall, the plot and story are great, and the pieces hold together well. If the author could cut about three hours of redundant posturing and over-the-top language out of the story, he'd have a winner. I hope to see better things of this author as he matures as a writer. So ultimately, worth listening too, but won't listen to it again.

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9 people found this helpful

Not what I was expecting

Is there anything you would change about this book?

I am not sure what I was expecting from this book, but it did not deliver. I was certainly not anticipating the evolutionary phenomenon that this book put out. Because of this, I had a really hard time getting into the book or even caring. In short, I was severely let down. Had not that been the case, I think it is an average book: Average writing, average intensity, and average ability to hold the reader. It was nothing special, but also not terrible.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Sean Schroeder?

I will say that the narrator should NEVER do an Australian accent ever again. He should be forced to do community service to the people of Australia for that performance. I am not saying that I could do any better, but I could certainly not do worse. Also, it sounded like he recorded this at his home computer. It did not sound like a polished production.

Was Cryptid worth the listening time?

If you have nothing better to listen to, with low expectations, this will not disapoint. However, if you want to be blown away, caught in a whirlwind of suspense or even challenge your thinking on a topic, skip this book.

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3 people found this helpful

A conspiracy thriller with a unique antagonist...

Cryptid is a fast-moving conspiracy thriller with all the elements you expect in this genre: shadowy government assassins, greedy corporate interests, corrupt politicians, nut-job conspiracy theorists, and a sexy, skeptical scientist in way over her head. What makes Cryptid stand out most of all is it's ten foot tall furry antagonist that might actually exist - Bigfoot. He's stinky, stealthy, and incredibly strong and violent and one giant ape you don't want to make mad.

The pace and story are good. It's easy to suspend disbelief for most of the elements. I had a hard time imagining a shadow organization inside the National Park Service, but I got over that as the plot developed and the motivations became apparent. The action is suspenseful, tense, and unpredictable. It will keep you on the edge of your seat from start to finish.

Penz includes factual tidbits of science, history, and Bigfoot lore throughout that really added to my enjoyment of Cryptid. I was also very impressed with Penz's knowledge of the Pacific Northwest - he paints a vivid image of the Olympic National Forest that made me both intrigued and fearful of ever visiting it.

Cryptid is a quality story and an excellent first novel. I thoroughly enjoyed it and would recommend it to any reader who enjoys thrillers.

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2 people found this helpful

Narration not so good

The narrator has a good voice. Unfortunately there are many words that he mispronounced. It only gets annoying when the words are used multiple times. Also the narration I'd kind of flat. like it's being read for the first time while recording. The story is okay. Not great. Fun concept though

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terrible narration

What would have made Cryptid better?

I could not finish the first chapter, The narration put me to sleep, it could be a great story
but there was no feeling in the reading

What didn’t you like about Sean Schroeder’s performance?

It was monotone, no emotion came through the reading.

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