C. Brown

My First 5-Star Audio Book Review

Revisado: 02-26-23

I've heard of Beth for at least 20 years, but didn't really know much about her (other than the fact that she was a popular speaker for women) until I stumbled across her on Twitter 3-4 years ago...where she continually blessed me with her insights and her deep love for Jesus. I have marveled at the tragic hordes who seem to live for nothing more than to condemn her from their twisted fundamentalist dungeon cells. I just don't get it. While obviously joyous and fun-loving, Beth has never seemed full of herself to me, nor to promote anything other than Jesus and his love for us. But they are so hung up on her gender, and always looking for any opportunity to twist her words in order to claim that she's a false teacher...it's just so sad. Anyway, she tells the story of a legitimately messy life here. We've all had our own messes, and still do, as she does. That's why we all discovered the need for a Savior. She's a beautiful storyteller. Her voice is very listenable. I listened to this book pretty close to nonstop, and I'm so glad I did. I would heartily recommend it to those who are thirsty and curious, as well as to the millions of us who love and appreciate Beth. She really poured her heart into this one!

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Fresh for this genre

Revisado: 09-10-22

I have read all but one of Daly's books so far, and found them all enjoyable enough. But this one held my interest the most. Some familiar characters from his other books. Some new one, and a new setting. I thought the characters were solid and mostly showed some progress throughout the tale. Definitely so over the past few books for the protagonist.

The narration was decent, nothing special. I never could tell yet if the Chief's name started with a Bl or Bu...I'd swear I heard it clearly both ways.

With most things I read, I feel like they could have benefited by being 5-10% more brief. I felt that way a bit here. Also sometimes, writers push a little too hard to make a point or reinforce a character trait.

But I really enjoyed this overall, and would recommend it to anyone looking for something to invest a little time in. I tend to listen while I am doing other things that don't occupy my mind. I find this kind of genre perfect for that level of listening.

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Better Than The Reviews Led Me To Believe

Revisado: 05-25-22

I noted that Chris Pratt is starring in a movie adaptation this summer, so I plucked this one out of my library (having not started it previously). The reviews led me to believe that all the characters would be flat and everything would feel one-sided in a partisan sense.

My take: I thought it was quite well-written. Probably not as strong yet at Vince Flynn or Daniel Silva, but not far off. I'll be listening to more. I found the protagonist interesting, flawed and vulnerable. I'm not overly big on revenge...more on the taking down evil side...but the way this was set up, it wouldn't have felt complete with the guy who had lost so much not being terribly vengeful.

I am generally aware of partisan attacks (and I do not like them at all), but I just didn't feel that was a driving force with this one. People are allowed to like who they like, some generalities are more true than we'd like to admit (otherwise, they would have been abandoned long ago...) and I felt like the enemy here was corruption and greed...which can quite easy be carried out by both sides.

I thought Ray Porter did a fine job of narrating. There were little things that he just clearly didn't know (and didn't take the time to check...for example, that FOIA stands for Freedom of Information Act and is pronounced "foya"...despite the fact that they are often in the news). And there were the occasional sentences where he seemed to slightly miss the meaning and emphasize the wrong words. But as someone who has narrated a few books himself...those things can be hard to avoid, especially in a tome this long. Overall Narrator Grade: A-

I will be listening to more of Jack Carr...actually, I came back to find the next book in the series just now. So, all I can say is: I wouldn't be put off by negative reviews of this one. An overall rating of 4.7 should tell you more about this one than the few who seemed determined to hate it or be offended.

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Great Story, Well-Told

Revisado: 12-18-21

I found this a truly enjoyable read. A long-time Ohio State fan (football and basketball), I was not terribly familiar with Kirk's story. Just some general outlines. But this filled in a lot of his history, including challenges, opportunities, scares and a fair amount about family trauma from his younger years that continues to have some impact even into his 50s. I loved the behind-the-scenes stuff about Ohio State and other major football programs. And maybe or maybe not surprisingly, there were a few interesting touchpoints for me personally: 1) i was a regular listener to the Columbus radio station where he worked until 2011. 2) His Taco Bell story was really funny, and I went thru the drive-thru that day when his partner handed me my lunch and Kirk was standing right behind him. 3) Finally, Jorge the Dentist (also called George in the book) has been my dentist for at least 20 years.

But it was just great to learn more about his relationships with the GameDay guys (particularly Lee Corso and Chris Fallica) and the set of circumstances that gave him that opportunity in the first place. Ohio State has contributed some great sports figures to the world over the years...including Jack Nicklaus, Jerry Lucas, James Laurinaitis, Joey Galloway, Mike Vrabel, Ted Ginn, Jr., "Beanie" Wells, A.J. Hawk, Chris Spielman and Archie Griffin. But they have also come to dominate in collegiate sports broadcasting, with Kirk, Clark Kellogg (main basketball analyst at CBS), Jimmy Jackson, Spielman and a number of others over the years.

I feel like the story would have benefitted from a better editor. I could have trimmed off about 10% of it without losing much substance. But it was completely enjoyable nonetheless. If you like Kirk, or college football, or Ohio State, or sports broadcasting...I give this one two thumbs up!

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Solid Story, But Some Issues With The Reader

Revisado: 12-16-21

I enjoyed this story. It has some original concepts woven throughout which kept it interesting.

However, Conner Goff's narration...while solid overall...had a LOT of mispronunciations. Very odd. One would think that the guy isn't that well-read himself, or has lived a life where he hasn't listened to well-read people talking. When one is unfamiliar with a term, it's on them to go seek it out on YouTube or somewhere to confirm how it should be read.

Other than that...two thumbs up!

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Possibly the best yet!

Revisado: 08-18-21

I *never* go back and re-listen to books. But I have a feeling I will with this one. Exceptional story. Epic!

Ari Fliakos is a very good narrator. Unfortunately, he really needs a director on stories like this, since he is unable to catch some of his own most obvious errors...inconsistent pronunciations. Is it HEZ-bul-ah, or HEZ-uh-bul-ah? That was kind of important here. And he just mispronounces quite a few terms...as if he just isn't that media literate, or he would have heard them pronounced correctly before. And...didn't take time to look them up. These aren't hard terms. And...even if he doesn't know them...what's the director's job?

Still, a super-enjoyable story. And overall, very well narrated.

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Underwhelmed

Revisado: 06-06-21

Bought it on the recommendation of someone I respect. Nearly quit halfway thru. Stuck with it. It got better. Then lost interest again. Finished OK. Too much minutiae and meandering for my taste. I can't say that I loved Ray Porter's narration, either. The protagonist, over time, was at turns unlikable and overly predictable. Porter was OK, but began to grate on me as the story dragged on. I would watch the movie, because I think it would be paced better. And I enjoyed The Martian. But this one just left me feeling somewhat underwhelmed.

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Decent story. A tad predictable.

Revisado: 05-23-21

Decent story. A tad predictable. But George Guidall is simply the best, and made it well worth listening.

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Another Winner

Revisado: 04-04-21

I always enjoy Harlan's stuff, but this was a unique twist, which I foundnquite refreshing. I wouldn't be surprised if there are more to come in this series.

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Done with the Memory Man

Revisado: 02-23-21

I have one more of these titles in my library, but I'll never bother listening to it.

I have generally enjoyed Baldacci as an author, but this is a fairly weak series. The dialogue is so predictable that I could write most of the scenes in my sleep, and I'm not a writer, nor an aspiring one. It's just that bad. Everything said is just so damn obvious. The characters are paper thin (I've listened to 3-4 of these so far).

The narrators? Kyf is OK. Certainly not great, nothing special. But tolerable. Orlagh Cassidy? Please. She can't even be bothered to read her parts in context. She's clearly just marking time, and she doesn't deserve any further attention.

I will keep an open mind about Baldacci, because he's done some stuff I liked in the past. But his stuff is becoming more pedestrian over time. I know that a lot of these guys become huge commercial enterprises of their own, and it's obvious that they just farm out a lot of their writing. But I feel like he is one of those who has become lazy. Maybe he comes up with ideas, and gives the writers enough time to keep them generally on track. But he is probably laying on a beach somewhere instead of slaving away over a hot word processor.

And, if he can't be bothered, neither can I. There are still people who work hard to delivery freshness and quality. I'll spend my credits and hours of listening with them instead.

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