Windallion

First experience with Ted Dekker...

Revisado: 10-12-22

...LAST experience with Rob Lamont!

Alright. The book was interesting. It wasn't five-star interesting, but it was good. I thought the author made some odd choices with phrasing, and I think the readers are intentionally pushed into forming incorrect conclusions about what is actually happening. But I suppose that is a perfectly valid choice for an author to make. It just seems a bit lazy, when subtle clues can make discovery so much more fun. Regardless, the premise of the story was entertaining.

That said, the performance of this title (by Rob Lamont) very nearly made me return this book to Audible unfinished...and I've NEVER returned a title before. I've listened to books where I didn't enjoy the story, or the writing, or even the subject matter. I've even listened to several performers that I didn't really care for. But Mr. Lamont has become my new benchmark for terrible narration, voice acting, and production values.

At least three times (maybe more) I heard either the dropping of a pen/pencil or the slap of a cord strike a hard surface. That by itself would have been distracting and shows a lack of concern about the production...but it was Mr. Lamont's delivery that made listening to this title a real chore.

First off, he had two voices. One for the antagonist...and one for EVERYBODY else. And credit where credit is due. The antagonist voice wasn't half bad. But his virtually (not quite) monotone delivery, lack of distinction for all the other voices, and tendency to run sentences into one another caused me to get easily confused about which character delivered dialogue. At least until the surrounding text was read.

Secondly. Mr. Lamont is a very...umm..."breathy" reader. During moments of intensity in the book, his intakes of air made it feel like he was doing this production while out for his morning jog. And even during slower moments, the exhales on the end of words (and sharp intakes) made me think that my own (nonexistent) cardio routine is getting it done!! To say his delivery is "distracting in the extreme", just doesn't quite do the performance proper accounting.

I've maintained for years that a great narrator can elevate a book. They can't make a terrible book great, but they can make a good book better. A terrible narrator, however, can take the best book ever written (whatever that is for you personally) and make it absolute garbage. And that is why, even though I gave the story three stars, my overall rating for this book can't be more than a single star.

Don't get me wrong. Voice work is difficult to do well. I do some podcasting as a hobby, and I'm nothing to scream praises about. But I'm also not paid to do professional voice work. I don't play professional ice hockey either, but I can spot a player that isn't performing well from my armchair. And in hockey parlance...and with respect to Mr. Lamont; he needs to be released by the team outright, or at the very least sent down to the AHL to work on his game.

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Best of the series...so far...

Revisado: 05-05-22

I absolutely love this series. Before I even say a word about the author or story though; proper respect to Christopher and Jessica. Thought they did a superior job with the roles and voices. Most especially the way they interacted with one another. They surely recorded together for the interactive parts, because I thought they were seamless. It speaks well of narrators when you don't need the authors descriptive text to tell you who is speaking anymore.

And while great narrators can elevate anything they put their talents to, they can't make bad stories awesome. Contrary-wise, terrible ones can make a superb story unbearable. Thankfully, in this case the story was a good one to start with, and their considerable talents just made it that much better.

I don't understand all the hubub, in some of the reviews, about the primary plot not progressing in this book. While I can agree that we didn't get much (read: any) in the way of closure on the main plot, I personally thought that there were several new bits and twists added to it. If this ends up being the last book in the series...okay...I'll gripe. But as a "middle book", I thought it was plotted and paced very well.

MINOR SPOILERS (and a very little bit of ranting) AHEAD:
The other thing that the reviews brought up more than once was the "slut-shaming" thing...and how terrible that was. At this point in my life I'm convinced that people just can't be happy if they aren't grumping about something. I've listened to this book twice now, and Winter is my favorite of Sam's wives / girlfriends. I never got the impression (not even once) that the author was beating up his own character about prior sexual experience (regardless of the amount of said experience). To the contrary, the way that Kurtis presented the character made me think she was not in the least bit ashamed of "having had sex", but was devestated that she wanted to Sam to be her one and only...and then her nature happened to her. The horrifying part was the dark place that she went to when she failed her own expectations of faithfulness. It almost made me think of a drug addict's downward spiral. I think Kurtis has a great character in Winter, and I hope to keep seeing (hearing) her get lots of page time.

If there's any complaint I have about the book...and this is truly minor...it's that Sam has enough women in his life now that giving all of them (most especially his original two) some good exposure has become almost forced. For the most part that's been fine with me. Personally, I find his later pairings to be more interesting than the earlier ones...and again...Winter is an incredibly solid (and personal favorite) addition to the mix.

So, okay. This series is not War and Peace folks. I mean, Kurtis is good...but let's have some realistic expectations here. There's a slow burn (and thus far interesting) overarching story, a lot of hooking up, and some fun "the family you choose" interactivity. If you don't like your described sex in man on woman (and a little woman on woman in the wings) form, pick a different series to invest your time in. But to label the author as misogynistic...when Sam literally accepts all of his women (rough patches and all) as they are...seems a bit irrational.

This has been a fun series, and easy series to get into. Hope Kurtis keeps up the great work. Would love to see a couple of these books drop yearly. Enjoy!

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First trip to the bayou.

Revisado: 08-30-19

Before this title, I'd never listened to anything from Molly Harper. As others have mentioned, this book was a free download a little while back; and with the very short listening time, I figured I wasn't out much to give it a try. I must admit, I really enjoyed the whole thing. Had I paid any sort of attention to it, I probably would have realized that I was starting off in the middle of a series (which is not something I generally do). But half way through the book I was already in love with some of the characters, and wished their story's were a little more "fleshed out".

Once I was interested enough to take a look, I was pleasantly surprised to find out that I was reading book 2.5. Then, a week after I finished books one and two (where my new friends from Louisiana were indeed given lots of page time), book three released.

I've enjoyed the entire run of Mystic Bayou so far. The author clearly has fun with the series, and if you're willing to take a few things on faith, each book could be enjoyed individually (most especially Even Tree Nymphs Get The Blues). But the overarching mystery of the rift problems (and who/what is causing them) continues to build. The two narrators both do a fine job, and I find that I enjoy the dual perspective for this series (though I can't say the same for some other series).

If you enjoy fun character interaction and a little sexy-time here and there...I encourage you to give this title a try. And though it might seem a little odd, I'd even suggest to begin the series with this book (as I unintentionally did). For the small investment of time, you'll get a feel for if you'll like the series as a whole.

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Nice follow-up...

Revisado: 04-20-18

What made the experience of listening to Natural Consequences the most enjoyable?

Comfortable (and some uncomfortable) growth of the characters from the first book. It was nice to see how Alex and his friends were adjusting to their lives after the events in Good Intentions.

What other book might you compare Natural Consequences to and why?

Not sure how to answer this. This series is plainly rooted in urban fantasy, but with the abundant and descriptive sexual content, it's not exactly your typical read from Patricia Briggs or Kim Harrison either (both great authors, by the way). I can't say I've read anything (except Good Intentions) that is truly a good comparison.

Which character – as performed by Tess Irondale – was your favorite?

Lorelei, by far. It's not even about what the character says, it's how Tess delivers what she says. I could listen to that for days on end...oh...I guess I practically have (22 hours each for the first two books).

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Rachel's atypical speech and actions for what most consider "angelic" behavior does crack me up. Nice of the author to make the demon generally soft spoken and eloquent...and the angel foul mouthed and brash.

Any additional comments?

Despite not personally caring for one aspect of Alex and Lorelei's evolving relationship, I thought this was a great second effort in this series.

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Liked this more than I thought I would.

Revisado: 04-16-18

Would you consider the audio edition of Good Intentions to be better than the print version?

Haven't read the print version. No need when there's a strong voice performance...and there really was!

What did you like best about this story?

That it was something I could "profitably" pass off to my wife when I was done with it. Great naughty bits, and oh yeah...cool...a story too!

What about Tess Irondale’s performance did you like?

For me, Tess is what sold this book. When she voiced the main characters, I was just blown away! A good narration makes the characters come alive, and she pulled that off.

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

Yeah...but you know...22 hours long. Took me three days to get it finished.

Any additional comments?

Folks, if you dig on this sort of content...give it a shot. On the strength of just this book, I bought the rest of the series.

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