Mobilis

A pleasant surprise

Revisado: 06-15-10

I bought the book based on a recommendation from a friend, expecting nothing other than a pleasant few hours.

After the first half hour, though, I was completely hooked.

This book isn't about religion, per se, there's no hidden Christian message, or a message from any other religion, either.

Instead, this is a story of a selfish, greedy woman who, in the moment before she thinks she will die, promises to live a better life, to "do good", and is delivered from what would have ended as a fatal automobile accident.

The ensuing story tells how she works to transform herself, in a way that comes across as plausible and possible here in the real world.

One caveat - I expected chick-lit from this title, and I think that's how it's classed on Audible, but it's not really chick-lit; it's a little more thought-provoking than the regular, garden-variety read-for-fun fiction.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

esto le resultó útil a 6 personas

Best. Audiobook. Ever

Revisado: 06-15-10

I loved "It" when it first came out; over the years I've purchased, re-read, and lost copy after copy, then watched the movie and fell out of love with the title.

When I saw it was available for download, I hemmed and hawed over spending the credit, because the movie was so very disappointing, and had made me forget all the great qualities of the original story.

Steven Weber's enthusiastic narration takes a great book to heights even Stephen King must be a little gleeful about.

If you're on the fence about downloading the book, just go for it. You won't regret it.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

Bleh

Revisado: 06-01-10

There's no nice way to say it - if the movie Labyrinth and the book Alice In Wonderland had an exceptionally ugly and annoying baby, it would be The Iron King.

I agree that there are elements of the book which are exceptionally well done, blending old myths with modern interpretations.

The technical elements are basically good - the reader is great, and the mythology is interesting, but the characters are either overdeveloped and undershared, or overshared and and underdeveloped.

Most importantly, the protagonist is all over the place - she's inconsistent and not in a good way. She's got backbone, she's a coward, she believes nothing, she believes everything she's told.

I don't feel I have to LIKE every character in every book, but if I can't connect with the protagonist, or if the whole story feels like a really bad re-telling of a couple of other fairy tales, it's just 12 hours of wasted time.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

esto le resultó útil a 47 personas

How refreshing

Revisado: 06-01-10

This book makes an exceptionally nice change from others in this genre, mainly because the protagonist is a strong, independent woman who actually likes herself, and is comfortable with her lot in life. It's very nice to read a story in which the heroine isn't complaining endlessly about her life, or gnashing her teeth over how to make some preternatural being fall in love with her.

There are a few weak points concerning the writing; another reviewer mentioned that the writer points out her own jokes fairly often, and this really IS kind of annoying. The dialogue is kind of stilted in places, and a significant portion of the book is written from the POV of her cat-spirit, which takes a bit of getting used to.

For those who are tired of the violent and/or explicit sex that's so prevalent in urban fantasy, you'll find this book a nice change.

All in all, I consider this a good, solid debut novel in the Jane Yellowrock series, and I look forward to reading more.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

esto le resultó útil a 211 personas

Another great Iles book

Revisado: 09-15-09

I'm a fan of Greg Iles' work, and I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I'm also kind of a Dick Hill fan, and have often bought books by authors I know nothing about, just because he's the narrator.

Dick Hill's only failing is his inability to give voice to female characters. Maybe he gets nagged a lot at home, because when he does a female voice, she generally sounds pretty shrieky and excitable, so I see where some of the other reviewers come from.

Still, I enjoyed the book thoroughly, and would certainly recommend it very highly.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

esto le resultó útil a 2 personas

It's ok, but...

Revisado: 09-15-09

I read all kinds of sf and fantasy books, as well as mysteries, thrillers, horror, etc.

When I read books that are set in a time and place where swords and daggers are normal weapons, and horses are used for transportation, and people live in castles, I don't expect to read about how things smelled like disinfectant, or about how superglue is used to close a wound, or how sleeping pills are administered.

In short, I enjoyed the premise of this book, but I didn't enjoy some of the cross-genre wording. It made the book feel kind of slapdash, as though no editing was done.

I don't think the book was a complete waste of credits, but I'm not sure that I'll bother with any of the other books in the series.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

esto le resultó útil a 5 personas

Cyber-bridges give creepy depth

Revisado: 09-15-09

Level 26 is a cross-platform experience; it's a book backed up by some wickedly creepy online content. Honestly, though, without the cyber-bridges, I probably would have given this book only three stars.

The book was created by the same guy who created the CSI television shows, and since I tend to like dark, gritty fiction, I liked this very much. That said, there wasn't a lot of character development, and everyone fits neatly into one little box; the good guys are all good, and the bad guys are bad, and the government is shadowy and cruel.

If you like books that are both creepy and gory, you'll like this. If you like police procedurals, you probably won't, because it requires a very strong suspension of disbelief, both in the abilities of the antagonist and the ham-handed attitudes and overall incompetence of law enforcement.

This book is the gory equivalent of chick-lit; light in plot and character development, heavy in timekilling fictional fun. I enjoyed the book and the online content VERY much, and look forward to the sequel.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

esto le resultó útil a 11 personas