Lynne

Story pretty decent. Narration pretty horrible.

Revisado: 03-25-21

The book is a decent medical thriller, and although I have zero medical training, I think I understood the twists and turns of each medical diagnostic and speculation.
I would say the last couple of chapters were a little disappointing and almost anticlimactic.
However, I struggled to listen because the narrator, Dick Hill, is so bad at voices that I cringe when he voices women (who sound like simpering wimps), kids (who sound like someone on a cartoon), or a southern accent, like in this book.
He cannot pull it off. I was born and raised in Texas. I know southern accents—up to a point. A Texas drawl is not the same as a southern accent, but his accents sound like some damn Yankee who is acting in a bad movie. It reminds me of the movies from the early years where Hollywood didn’t bother finding actors who fit the role, just hired some pretty face.
I purchased the book over a year ago before my first experience with Hill’s narrating style, but because I wanted a good long book for a long drive I decided to not return it (I’m not sure I could have anyway), despite the fact that I realized so late that Hill was the narrator. In the past, I have returned several others he narrated because I couldn’t finish it as well as rejected several because he is the narrator.
I will have to be more careful in the future.

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Good L’Amour classic, but poor audio quality

Revisado: 03-22-21

The narrator sounded just like an old cowhand. I enjoyed his voice.
But, like others had noted, the audio quality was very poor.
1) clearly no editing had been done
2) the audio “tone” changed several times as if different equipment had been switched out and back again.
3) His occasional stumbles (natural enough) and coughs/clearing voice were left in.
At first, it was easy to overlook, but towards the past couple of chapters it became disruptive.
Audible should pull this book and do some editing before rereleasing it.

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Love the story, the narration not so much

Revisado: 12-21-20

The story is top-notch and well written. Not being privy to the workings of the LAPD, I found the twists and turns fascinating.
What I didn't like about it was the narration. Dick Hill's voice is ok in the actual narrating, but when he tries to change his voice for the characters, I was really turned off and the book became an ordeal to listen to.
His female voices made them sound like weak, simpering, conniving bimbos and if women spoke that way around me, I'd quickly tell them to speak like a person or walk away. And, I'm a woman.
If men really like that kind of female, then the men are as unintelligent as the women they seem to prefer.
The story was great, but I will never listen to another book with this narrator. I'll buy the printed book first.

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Oh my gosh!

Revisado: 12-02-20

review for Captain to Captain

I did not like this book. I have to be honest and say that the author is very familiar with the Star Trek universe.
And I kind of liked the technological references. But, it is dry and hard to get through.
I did not like the dialogue. It was incredibly stilted. A very primitive culture such as the one on the planet Usilde would not have the vocabulary that they used in the novel. I know that a “universal translator” was used, but even then, the stone aged peoples would not have comprehended such things as that they live on a planet.
Some of the dialogue was actually laughable, “listen to my woeful tale.” Seriously?
The aliens from the alternate reality were almost as bad. Giant snails/slugs and their commander's constant ranting that sounded so false that I began to wonder if it was written by a 6th grader.
I could not connect the woman (Number One) on the episode, The Cage, with the woman in the novel. I simply couldn't see it. Men narrating women's voices doesn't really work, especially since he kept giving Captain Una a higher pitched voice than Majel Barrett had. Her voice was very deep for a woman, kind of like the voice young smoke would have before age and 2-pack of cigarettes a day would ruin.
And finally, the narrator’s poor attempts at English accents were painful.
I think the book would have been better if the author had gotten someone else to write the dialogue and the narrator had not try so hard to create accents that he knew nothing of.
I will be exchanging the book.

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Hard to follow

Revisado: 08-13-20

I love the Brother Athelstan books in print. But the narration leaves much to be desired. I really couldn’t follow the story at all.

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Too slow

Revisado: 01-21-20

I could not get into this book. And I LOVE Han Solo.
It was hard to finish.

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An Unknown Story of Apollo 11's LOR

Revisado: 07-21-19

This Audible Original is a real eye-opener.
It’s the story of the man behind the Lunar Orbit Rendevous (LOR). It’s how the moon landings became possible by allowing a “module” to separate and land on the moon, then take off again and dock with the Lunar orbiter in order to return to the Earth.
But, there is a lot of conflict behind the scenes and a lot of backstabbing. The originator of the idea, John Houbolt is repeatedly mocked, ridiculed, publicly insulted by his colleagues. Yet, in the end, his ideas ARE adopted.
What’s more, Werner von Braun doesn’t like the idea either, but he, too comes to realize that it was the right idea AND publicly proclaims it during the Apollo 11 mission.
Even after the Apollo missions, including Apollo 13, where the LOR is what actually saves the lives of the astronauts, some of his colleagues still sabotage his reputation and legacy.
The worst, I think was the letter written by Robert Gilruth that was so bad that I wonder how he could have slept at night.
To know that this nasty backbiting went on is somewhat disconcerting.
John Houbolt, though didn’t stop trying to get his proper recognition. He was clearly not a modest man and did not win him any friends.
In the end, it is recognized that the LOR was the ONLY way to get to the moon, especially for the late 60s and early 70s. Nothing else could have possibly work. The technology simply had not yet been developed to have allowed it.
It is concluded that the moon mission was rushed. Kennedy’s promise to be on the moon and safely home again by the end of the decade left the engineers little time to develop and put into practical use a space ship that could complete the task.
Soon, it is hoped, we’ll return to the moon, but with better technology, but it’s over budget and behind schedule. It seems history does repeat itself. Time is needed to develop the more effective, and safer machines for project Artemis (Apollo’s twin sister).
NASA wants to use a “Gateway” which is kind of a space station but more like an orbital platform, which will be much smaller than a station and will be a brief stopping point between the Earth and the moon. But it won’t be so useful for the much longer trip to Mars. So, more planning is called for.
And, surprise surprise, there is more arguing and sniping of engineers and scientists at each other.
However….and this is my own opinion….NASA has had decades to be ready for this. Why aren’t they?

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Now I Remember Why I Don't Care for these Books

Revisado: 07-10-19

The premise of the book is interesting. The characters are somewhat likable. But, I didn't care for it.
In LA, the Detective Peter Decker is driving at night and finds a toddler swinging on a swing set. Her pajamas are covered in blood and since she seems to be healthy (even laughing), it's clearly not hers. And it's a lot of blood--someone is hurt bad. Or dead.
The case take Decker and his partner Marge Dunn to a family of beekeepers and a house loaded with putrefying corpses. Shotguns make a terrible mess and this crime scene is no exception.
At the same time, an army buddy from Vietnam is accused of violent rape and asks for Decker's help. Decker tries to get to the bottom of this as well as solve the beekeeper murders.
The plot is full of twists and turns and the killer(s) are/is only revealed in the last 15 minutes of the book. Kinda took me by surprise and I can usually figure out the killers in most novels fairly quickly.
OK. So why do I not care for the book?
It's a personal thing, really. I'm really turned off by the excessive use of the F-word. And believe me, that word (along with other curse words) is used liberally. But, even that was not the straw that broke the camel's back.
Faye Kellerman claims to be an orthodox Jew, yet the characters in her books use God's name in a most vulgar way throughout her novels. This is not something that most orthodox Jews would do.
The characters also use "Christ" & "Jesus" in the same way. I have known orthodox Jews (and some not so orthodox) for years, and they simply would not use Christ's name in this way. Any religious person, Jewish or Christian, wouldn't use God's name in such a derisive way. That's a big taboo in the Orthodox community. I'm not talking Hasidic, just orthodox.
I've read Kellerman's books before and always didn't pick up another because of this reason. After a couple of years, I'd pick up another and would be reminded as why I'm not particularly fond of the author or her books, even if they are otherwise well written.
It's a shame.

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Only one thing spoiled this for me

Revisado: 06-26-19

I really did enjoy this book. I think the Oregon Files is probably the best series by Clive Cussler.
The rest below contains some spoiler alerts!
The prologue gives some insight to how the book will play out--sort of. It opens in the early 19th century when Napoleon Bonaparte is kidnapped from his prison island and an imposter is left in his place. It would seem that the Emperor had stolen a vast treasure during his disastrous foray into Russia. Unable to carry it back to France, he hides it. Therefore, he is kidnapped in order to reveal where he left it.
From there, we find out that there is a computerized bank robbery that leaves Juan Cabrillo and his crew a little short of funds since they had banked much of their considerable assets in that particular financial institution.
Juan and his crew are determined to recover the money but also stop the hacker and her father (both are downright nasty characters) from stealing anymore money and prevent them from even worse damage to the EU. Oh, did I mention that the hacker and her father try to place the blame for the robbery on the bank president and then force his Tesla into the middle of the Monaco Grand Prix and then into a fuel truck causing a truly horrific explosion? At the end, there were seven dead and the father/daughter team seem to get away scot free. A family bred in hell, to be sure.
In the process of chasing down the dastardly duo, a member of Juan's crew is lost. I won't say who, but you'll be very sad when you find out.
In this particular book, Juan is reunited with his CIA friend, Gretchen, and their previous close relationship becomes even closer. Sigh. That was the part of the book that was not good to me.
Is it wrong for me to be jealous of a fictional character?? (Caution--another spoiler alert--I'm glad she didn't join Juan's Corporation in the end. I didn't like her.)
Oh yeah--What about the kidnapped Napoleon?? Well, in this case, I won't spoil it for you. You're gonna have to read (or listen, like I did) to find out.

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Good story, but

Revisado: 05-05-19

I enjoyed the book, listening to it in several ways-either with my earbuds, or on my truck’s Bluetooth radio or on Alexa.
Learning Count Dooku’s origins filled in a lot of blanks I had.
From his years as a Jedi Initiate to Padawan, to Knight.
But his own free will often leads him into trouble (something I can sympathize with) especially when his relationship with a female knight who often goes rogue herself.
But Dooku’s slide into the dark side culminates in murder.
The story is mostly narrated by a woman, Ventress, who is first taught by a Jedi, Ky Narec, who is killed (and later haunts her mind), and then by the dark lord Dooku. She is the perfect accomplice despite the voice in her head trying to turn her away from the dark side.
The only thing I really didn’t like was the actress who is the voice of Ventress.
She spoke with a constant sneer kind of like some Disney witch. Other than that, I enjoy the book.

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