A. Susan Adam

Breakthrough was great...the second, not so much.

Revisado: 12-20-19

"Breakthrough," the first of the series, was great. I could just see it on the big screen. My only issue was with the dolphin lady who could be so intelligent in her field and so stupid at what was going on around her at the same time. She frustrated me with her book smart/life dumb persona. In "Leap," I expected the same excellence in story line, and I suppose it was there in some sense, but was disappointed to find that for the first 66 out of the 77 chapters almost nothing good happened to the main characters. They were constantly thwarted by bad guys and brought to the brink of death to the point that, a few times, I really entertained the idea of giving up and finding a different book to listen to because this one was just so suffocatingly depressing chapter after chapter. And this hardly seems like a worthy, stand-alone book all on it's own. It's a continuation of the saga...if you can hang in there long enough to get to the next one, which I am dreading a little bit now. But I already bought it...so we'll see.

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I want to see this story up on the big screen

Revisado: 11-27-19

I usually only listen to my audio books while working in the kitchen where my iPod player is set up or while driving. So that means listening in little batches of time and returning later. This book left me on the edge of my seat and made me intentionally stretch those two experiences out longer so I could keep listening to find out what happens next. I was captivated by the story and, honestly, it's written like a big screen movie, which is where this belongs. There were a lot of characters to keep up with and it would have been easier to visually do that up on the big screen instead of just audibly in my head. Clay is a hero sufficiently compassionate enough to act in a way that creates a tenuous link with the alien humans. And that ultimately saves everyone. I was sad to have it end...and delighted to find it is only the first in a series of books. I'm queuing up the rest right now.

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Funniest thing I've every heard...I really loved i

Revisado: 06-12-19

Wow...it's rare that even funny stuff can make me laugh out loud...repeatedly. I laugh inside, in my head, but you rarely hear it on the outside. Guess I'm self contained that way. But this one...Oh...My...Goodness. I laughed through the whole, ridiculous tale. Great tale, great writing, perfect amount of detail. I could see it played out on a screen in my head, that's how well it was written.

And the outtakes at the end where the narrator cracked up and had to do it over...that was the best part. You know how when someone really laughs hard over something and you can't help but join them, cause it is infectious...it was like that.

This narrator was superb. He used different voices so you could tell the characters apart, his timing and pacing was impeccable. In large part, this was as much of a success as it was because of Phil, the narrator.

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Good thing this one was free

Revisado: 04-24-19

Honestly, I couldn't make it through this. The whiny lead character engendered no hope on my part that he'd ever make it out of his predicament. At times I wished he'd just die and get it over with I was getting so tired of his whining and self-involvement. At times I wanted to slap him to snap him out of it. He made so many epicley stupid moves I had to keep reminding myself this was a teenager and so prone to stupidity and self-involvement and whining. Honestly, unless you're a teen, no one wants to know what a teen thinks.

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Interesting premise, poor performance.

Revisado: 02-22-14

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

I found the storyline to be an interesting one but I simply could not relate to the lead character doing such stupid things to put herself in jeopardy. It's like watching a B-grade horror flick where you are screaming at the screen, "don't open the door," but they do anyway and the slasher kills them. I just lose interest when someone is that stupid, but without it this writer would not have been able to move the story forward. So, I'd have to say it's not my kind of book. I want intelligent writing with smart characters. I want to believe that these are actions and reactions I would likely take in the same circumstances...and that puts me in the middle of the mystery. It engages me in the story.

Would you ever listen to anything by Kendra Elliot again?

If this is an example of her writing style, then no...probably not.

Would you be willing to try another one of Kate Rudd’s performances?

No. Her monotone performance was distracting to the story. Her lack of vocal inflection throughout the entire book drained any suspense from what was supposed to be a suspenseful story. It also make it very difficult to distinguish between "thoughts" the characters were thinking to themselves and their actual, out loud conversations. Some performers change their voices a little so you can tell the characters apart, they are excited in exciting passages, angry in angry ones...they give you the emotion along with the words. They ACT. Sadly, this performer did none of that.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

NO. I barely was able to listen to the whole audio book; many times I just wanted to turn it off and move on to something else. If it had been a book in my hands, I probably would not have finished it. I don't think any actress worth her salt would read this and think she could make this work. The lead character is supposed to be someone you root for, feel sympathy for, and that's difficult when she is making such stupid choices that just put her in more danger. Granted, there are people like this in life, but I have no time for people like this. And they generally don't last too long because they fall prey to their poor choices. We are all born with a survival instinct, but characters such as this writer presents would lead us to believe that pride trumps survival, and I just don't buy that.

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Interesting story...poor performance

Revisado: 02-22-14

What did you like best about She Can Run? What did you like least?

The story was mostly predictable, but had a few interesting twists and the pace was good in that the story kept moving. The biggest minus was the performance.

What was one of the most memorable moments of She Can Run?

Can't really say there was one, but that was because the poor performance was distracting.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

This woman had a saccharine voice suitable to children's books and fair tales, not a murder mystery. Her lack of vocal inflection throughout the entire book drained any suspense from an otherwise suspenseful story. It also make it very difficult to distinguish between "thoughts" the characters were thinking to themselves and their actual conversations. Perhaps they are instructed not to add any acting skills to the job, but that totally ruins it for me. If a comeback is sassy, that does not come across reading it deadpan. I've noticed this in other Audible books, but not all of them. Some performers change their voices so you can tell the characters apart, they are excited in exciting passages, angry in angry ones...they give you the emotion along with the words. They ACT. Sadly, this performer did none of that.

What would have made this romance irresistible?

A performer with some acting range.

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I am loving this series

Revisado: 12-27-12

What did you like best about this story?

I like the narrator. He does the different voices so you can easily keep track of who is talking. He does a wonderful job. I am presently on the fourth book and really enjoying this whole series.

Which scene was your favorite?

I like when the Druid interacts with his dog, Oberon, a wolf hound with a one-track mind for sausages, poodles and whoever is the character of his latest bath-time story.

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Wow-I loved it

Revisado: 12-27-12

Would you listen to Mermaid again? Why?

I would, and I plan to...listen to it again, that is. What a great story. I was entranced by it because I could never quite tell where it was going to next. It was unexpected and wonderful. As in life, things just never quite worked out the way the characters hoped it would, because we are all fallible creatures.

Who was your favorite character and why?

It was hard to say...there was the princess and the mermaid. I was cheering for both...but they were at cross purposes, so they couldn't both win.

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Horrible...terrible performance

Revisado: 12-25-12

What disappointed you about The Colour of Magic?

I found the performance difficult to understand and follow. The British accent, coupled with the vocal acrobatics necessary to honor the diction of the language made it all but incomprehensible. I found I had to concentrate very hard to figure out what was being said and didn't enjoy "being read to." Other actors reading for Audible use their skills to bring the book to life, providing a change in voice for different characters so one can easily follow along. Not so here. I made maybe five minutes...realized I hadn't really understood a word being said and just chalked it up to a waste of my money.

Would you ever listen to anything by Terry Pratchett again?

No...never.

Would you be willing to try another one of Nigel Planer’s performances?

He's the reason this was such a bomb.

What character would you cut from The Colour of Magic?

I couldn't understand it well enough to have a clue about characters.

Any additional comments?

You should allow customers to return books that are such stink bombs that they don't listen to them at all so they can use their credits for something they might actually enjoy.

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