Mark

Solid fantasy adventure

Revisado: 05-25-11

Despite being the author's first book (and having some weaknesses she identifies in the preface), this is a pretty decent book, and I enjoyed it. The setting is good, if a little vague, and there are some novel elements in the magic. The story is not overly predictable, and the reader make a good presentation of it.

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esto le resultó útil a 10 personas

Another good pulp adventure

Revisado: 04-09-11

This time Dan Brown demonstrates his complete ignorance of basic physics, which implies an equal lack of knowledge of the Catholic church. When he writes about a subject I know (e.g. cryptography or physics) he is so far off the mark that I have no doubt he is equally inaccurate when dealing with other subjects. But don't let that detract from a pretty decent adventure yarn. There are no "revelations" here (or in any of his books), but the story has pace and thrills. And if you know anything about CERN, antimatter containment, aerodynamics, or systems design, you will have quite a few good laughs too.

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Typical Brown

Revisado: 04-09-11

Brown writes a good yarn, and doesn't let facts get in the way. As someone who works with cryptographic experts, I found the cipher stuff hilariously ridiculous. And I don't like the way he changes history to make his clues work. But as pulp fiction with a silly technology premise, it's a fun ride. Believe me, the NSA are not going to worry about his "revelations".

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Wrapping up the series

Revisado: 04-09-11

This book certainly tied up the loose ends, and has some very good passages. However the final war encounter was spoiled for me because the "twist" was so obvious for a long time before the normally smart characters worked it out for themselves. I kept shouting "No, you idiots, they are [doing X]". The final dialogue scene to resolve the romance subplot was nicely done, also with some twists.

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esto le resultó útil a 1 persona

Not bad, if dated

Revisado: 04-09-11

A very good story in its day, and with some good twists, though the writing is a bit heavy and old-fashioned for a modern reader. Worth a credit if you like period fiction. The reading is rather bland, but serviceable.

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esto le resultó útil a 1 persona

A good rendition

Revisado: 03-21-11

Mr Griffin reads with energy and gives each character a very distinct accent. Mostly this works well, though some of his pronuciation sounds a little strange to a British ear. The hero's name comes out as "Horms" much of the time, and some place names like "Wool-witch" give away that the excellent British accent hides a non-native English speaker :-). That said, this is one of the best Holmes readings available.

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esto le resultó útil a 7 personas

Absolutely brilliant

Revisado: 03-19-11

I first got this Audible title many years ago, and I'm now going through it again. The reading is excellent, and the material is authoritative, entertaining and well balanced.
There are enough twists and turns for good fiction, though this is all true history.
Churchill was a complex character, and every nuance is examined, not least from the political experience of the author who held senior office in later British governments.

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esto le resultó útil a 3 personas

Disappointed

Revisado: 03-14-11

Unlike some reviewers, I really like Roy Dotrice's reading of this book, but then I'm English by birth.

What I didn't like is the plotting of the story. It was SO predictable. Every betrayal was signalled well in advance, and I just wanted to shout at the characters that they were being so stupid not to see the so-obvious warning signs blazing at them, or to spot the obvious clues for what had happened afterwards.

The country and politics is very two-dimensional to my mind, as are the vast majority of the characters.

Frankly, compare with the likes of Robert Jordan, Lois McMaster Bujold, and other modern fantasy writers, this seemed very dated and old fashioned.

I stuck with the book for about two thirds before I gave up on it. There are some excellent ideas in here, such as the sky cells and the use of the dire wolves, but the story just became too much of a drag of predictability for me as it went along. I might come back to it one day, and I'm willing to admit it has potential to improve in later volumes.

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esto le resultó útil a 1 persona

Very good rendition of classic stories

Revisado: 11-10-10

Mr Griffin reads with energy and gives each character a very distinct accent. Mostly this works well, though some of his pronuciation sounds a little strange to a British ear. The hero's name comes out as "Horms" much of the time, and some place names like "Wool-witch" give away that the excellent British accent hides a non-native English speaker :-). That said, this is one of the best Holmes readings available.

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esto le resultó útil a 7 personas

A bit of a slog

Revisado: 11-10-10

This is a looooooonnnnnggggg book. And the momentum sometimes drops way down. Some characters are left in the air for many chapters, and the various different parts seem very loosely connected.

That said, like a game of cricket or a good vintage wine, it rewards those who stick it out and let the tapestry come together. The book includes a lot of new concepts in fantasy writing, and is clearly based on a very rich backstory and "magic" system.

Michael and Kate read it excellently as always.

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