Glenn

Long but worth it!

Revisado: 08-19-06

This book was a journey through time. Extraordinarily well-written, Littel has a way of providing detail and nuance in a way that few others I've read do. The 40+ hours I was very concerned about since I'd never listened to one that long and I was not sure if it could sustain my interest that long. But boy did it. Great characters that I cared about, good history lesson, and an author I will add to my "must listen" list.

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Better than I ever thought

Revisado: 06-03-06

After hearing all the hype about this book (and now the movie), I was not expecting to enjoy it as much as I did. I had already heard Bart Ehrman's "Truth and Fiction in the DaVinci Code" and so I was prepared from a fact vs. fiction point of view but I seriously think that this book would be as good as it was.

It was a first-rate listen and "page-turner". The book takes you for a ride and does not tell you ahead of time the way the movie is supposed to (I've not seen the movie but I think the book may have spoiled it for me). The narrator is truly excellent with his voices and his own background narration was a terrific neutral canvas which he painted his characters. I tip my hat to Dan Brown and hope he continues to write such terrific novels--controversy or not.
Oh! And in this unabridged version, there is a bonus recording of the author in front of a live audience which is very interesting to hear because it was prior to the opening of the film.

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Twisty plot riddled with cliches

Revisado: 04-21-06

Scott Brick does a great job with this book, but I don't know how many times Balducci uses the phrase "Shot back" or "shot across" or some other weak phrase. He has too few words for too many scenes and it quickly becomes apparent. The plot twist will keep you guessing, but I found some of the clue threads almost non-apparent; at the "big reveal" the detective goes through a series of explanations that really are a stretch. Finally the differences between what the author can imagine and what the coroner describes are huge. It is too clear that he took notes during his forensic research and wanted to put them on paper to describe every gruesome detail, but his own imagination brings us tired wording.

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The ending is a bit contrived

Revisado: 04-21-06

Agree with others that after Lions Game, Brick does not continue with as snappy a delivery for this book as he'd already done for John Corey. Still liked him, but it was not as satisfying as Lions Game--even if Lions Game may pick up again sometime in the future. I continue to like his relationship with Kate and there were very interesting moments and theories, but after a big build-up, the final chapter was very much a let-down. Granted that there is an interview at the end with the Author that helps explain his choices, but on balance, a promising book that he should have gone with an alternate ending.

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Terrific. A

Revisado: 09-22-05

First book by this author, but I chose it because of the narrator Scott Brick. It did not disappoint at any level except that now I have to read/get the book which follows. Wonderful cliffhanger situations, twists and interesting characters; all performed wonderfully by Scott Brick--one of the best readers I've heard since George Guidel--Books on Tape knows how to pick great readers.

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Narrator Changed for this Production

Revisado: 09-08-05

This is a warning to all you who like/love Scott Brick, who narrated (so well) the unabridged version of Book One of this series: John Bedford Lloyd narrates the Audible abridged version of Book One AND Audible unabridged Book Two.

Why is this? Because Random House Audio has JBL reading the novel for all their publications of this book series, and Books on Tape has Scott reading their production. Audible has Books on Tape as the source for the unabridged version of Book One and then switched to Random House for the unabriged Book Two.

So when you continue on to Audible's unabridged version Book Two, expecting to hear Scott, what you will instead hear Random House's John Bedford Lloyd reading it. Lloyd is not as good as Scott IMHO, but he does a reasonable job overall, perhaps overdoing some female parts.

Narrator not withstanding, this is still a good book (bit too much review of Book One though to start) and has me anxiously waiting for Dean to complete the Book Three.

I hope Audible returns to the Books on Tape version, with Scott Brick, when Dean releases the third book in about a year from now--without a collaborator this time (he admits he is not a good collaborator).

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Scott Brick Narrates Book One Only, Not Book Two

Revisado: 09-08-05

This is a warning to all you who like/love Scott Brick, who narrates (so well) the unabridged version of Book One of this series: John Bedford Lloyd narrates the Audible abridged version of Book One AND Audible unabridged Book Two.

Why is this? Because Random House Audio has JBL reading the novel for all their publications of this book series, and Books on Tape has Scott reading their production. Audible has Books on Tape as the source for the unabridged version of Book One and then switched to Random House for the unabriged Book Two.

So when you continue on to Audible's unabridged version Book Two, expecting to hear Scott, what you will instead hear Random House's John Bedford Lloyd reading it. Lloyd is not as good as Scott IMHO, but he does a reasonable job overall, perhaps overdoing some female parts.

I hope Audible returns to the Books on Tape version, with Scott Brick, when Dean releases the third book in about a year from now--without a collaborator this time (he admits he is not a good collaborator).

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What a ride!

Revisado: 08-20-05

I couldn't wait to find out the next part of this series when this book ended. Koontz, unlike his other books, does not go on and on with extended descriptions, which got annoying fast. This book painted it's scenes so visually and cleanly, I was engrossed from first chapter. The reader is excellent and performs this reading so well, I want to hear other books from him.

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Like Crusade Period Movies? You'll love this.

Revisado: 08-02-05

I'm a big fan of Patterson. This is a Medieval tale full of knights, damsels, ladies, baddies (noblemen), and village people; all painted with broad, shallow strokes. The performance is great, but the narrator probably should have done it with a French accent rather than English. The story moves like screenplay and is a bit predictable and stereotypical. Bad buys are REALLY bad, good guys REALLY good. To get a sense of how this book plays, think about all Errol Flynn, Robin Hood-Maid Marianne, or Lancelot and Guinevere styled movies and how the acting was there. Very nobel words, black and white emotions, and everything played out with such a staged quality.

This is how this entire book "reads". If you like this style, you will love this book. If you don't and want more of the old Patterson style, you won't find it here. Even so, this is a "page turner" and I found myself wanting to know what happens next. Definitely different for him (maybe it is the coauthor who gave it this feel), but not bad if you like novels that don't force you to think hard.

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Awesome Alternate Reality

Revisado: 06-04-05

This was the book where I was introduced to Neal Stephenson and his imaginative, edgy, way of writing. It's fresh, tech-edged, and like a wack upside the head to hear how he has fleshed out this metaverse. I also liked the research and analogies he used to illustrate his points as to how this could happen. Religious references or no, I never felt that this book bashed Christianity, but maybe its theory of the origins of the Bible would surprise some.

Made me want to look for more books from Neal. "Diamond Age" was on the longish side, but the world there too was very well defined. Neal does tend to get wordy and in too much detail sometimes in order to show you that his ideas are grounded either in science or math or some facts that he's like to use as his springboard. But all in all, I can highly recommend Snow Crash--especially people who like technical-gadgets and an intelligent story.

Finally: Neal apparently does not believe his readers are stupid, and he does not write that way. This too is another reason I recommend this book.

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