Sam21

Awful voice

Revisado: 02-19-24

Turns out I have read the Kindle version years ago but I wanted to try the audiobook. Not sure why an English voice wasn’t selected. Instead we get a hoarse and nasal voice narrating with an American accent accompanied by a strange intonation. And, as others have pointed out, the dialog is completely bland and you can’t tell one character from another.

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Interesting read

Revisado: 02-04-23

Interesting overall perspective on the PRC. Wish there is an update since much has happened in the US- China relationship since the book was published. Some reviewers questioned the evidence- if you look at the hardcover or Kindle version there are many references cited. The question of whether the PRC has peaked is a topic of hot debate but recent events seem to support the premise that the country is suffering setbacks.

The narrator is not suitable. Sometimes I feel I am listening to a thriller rather than a treatise on the current state of China.

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Industrial espionage

Revisado: 11-06-22

The plot is more in sync with modern times - no more jihadists, insurgencies etc. It centers on nation states trying to gain supremacy in the new tech battlefield and how tech visionaries may have dubious moral instincts. However there seems to be some inconsistencies. Why is the CIA working within the US? Has policies changed or it doesn't pertain to industrial espionage? Why does Colt, the MC, as a junior lieutenant have enough money to stay at the Ritz for R&R and blow $2K to get a stranger a gig at a local bar to sing? Why, in the last action scene, are the good guys so amazingly poorly kitted out? All very head scratching. Colt as a CIA NOC doesn't seem very agile both mentally and physically - in fact, he's downright incompetent. I hope the author will build him up to be more accomplished in future installments (although Colt is already supposed to be an experienced agent in this installment). He seems to need others to rescue him or tell him what's going on, since he focuses a lot of his thinking on his failed love affair with Ava.

The narrator is pretty bad. Weird reading voice and robotic.

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Terrible narration mediocre plot

Revisado: 11-06-22

I only managed to get through the first book because the narration was just awful. The narrator's mispronunciations of words is cringey- dropping her t’s (I found this is called t-glottalization, an affectation of young women on the West coast), loiter sounds like lawyer, putting undue emphasis on the second syllable of contractions (couldn’t is read as “couldant”), and so forth. Moreover her voice is grating and nasal and she reads in a monotonous voice, as if she has no clue what she is reading. All these detractions made it difficult to assess the quality of the plot except to note the writing is very basic and except for fade-to-black sex scenes, it’s more geared towards preteens. The ending is a not very satisfactory. What will the heroine sorceress do in this new world?

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Repetitive minimal plot development

Revisado: 08-21-22

I’ve read a few of the books in the Orphan X series (out of order) and this is the worse. Basically for most of the plot Evan is imprisoned by a psycho who wants to steal his money and subjected to torture. Repeatedly. Same old, same old. 2/3 of the way thru Evan finally made an attempt to escape but was caught. The author had built up the Orphan X character into this superhuman, tier one operative and he sure didn't perform like one in this story. Instead he is constantly battling his paranoias, fears of the unknown and exhibits remarkably poor survivor skills. How pathetic! What a disappointment! Not to mention the author had resorted to some futuristic drug that plays tricks with Evan's brain, so much so, he acquiesces to transferring the money. All in all, a terrible book.

I think this book suffers from the second book syndrome- author is under pressure to produce a sequel but has few ideas so he pushes out this crap.

I always find Scott Brick to be monotonous yet overly dramatic at the same time.

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Horrible narrator detracts from story

Revisado: 11-06-21

I picked up this offering after listening to a long line of audio books from Vince Flynn/Ben Coes/Brad Thor/Mark Greaney/Jack Carr. I wanted a break from the never ending stream of plots involving evil fanatical jihadists intent on destroying America and Western civilization. I haven't read anything from Dan Brown since the early 2000s when his Robert Langdon books first came out. I thought this would be fun for a change.

Overall I thought the storyline was ok but not too exciting. The female protagonist was whiny and insecure and the nominal male protagonist was totally bland. I can’t relate to the other characters in the book especially the young aide to the senator, Gabrielle. She has a split personality: on the one hand, she’s as dumb as a doornail, lapping up all of the corrupt, amoral senator’s BS, spilling the beans to the press no less; on the other hand, she’s sly and ambitious, sleeping with the old man and doing his dirty work, There are a lot of other characters, none particularly memorable.

I think Dan Brown’s NASA bashing was unfair, misinformed, and too much under the belt.

The storytelling is completely marred by the awful narration as many others have noted. It's obvious the recording studio didn't do much editing at all since all the swallowing/licking/breathing noises all remain.. and they are very frequent and distracting. Sometimes he sounds like he’s gasping for breath. I tried all sorts of speakers to try to eliminate the extraneous noises but to no avail. Additionally, there are occasionally very long pauses, so long in fact, I thought the audio had crashed. So 17 years after the audiobook was released, nothing has changed. Dan Brown is a big name and he should have more say on the choice of narrators. Sigh...

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lackluster performance

Revisado: 07-09-21

SciFi aspect is pretty much "Star Trek"-light, without much depth. The MC is OK, a little too laid back to be an action hero. The woman he picks up is a brainwashed, fanatical and deceitful type that I find hard to relate to. Additionally, she's a loud mouthed, reckless, ignorant woman-child. Just as well that this is the last freebie in the series since the MC and the woman, Ciela, apparently team up in subsequent installments.

The narrator is monotonous and his pacing is off. He's totally lacking in dramatization.

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esto le resultó útil a 1 persona

Somewhat interesting

Revisado: 03-24-21

First Elvis Cole book I've read and I am not impressed. The plot wasn't too hard to decipher. The main character, Elvis, is pretty pathetic, running around like a chicken without its head throughout the book.

This book doesn't have as much profanity as the only other Crais book I read (Hostage) but that's faint praise. The language is cliched and sometimes nonsensical ("I will bring Ben home even if it kills me").

The narrator is OK, doesn't add or detract from the plot.

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Lots of action but too much profanity

Revisado: 03-20-21

This book contains a bit too much foul language for my taste. It may be how these types of people talk but the profanity never stops. I don't like most of the characters including the protagonist. He was the hostage negotiator for the LAPD swat team until a negotiation went horribly badly a couple of years ago. Since then the guy has been suffering from PTSD but refuses help, abandons his wife and daughter and moves to another city. He’s basically a nervous wreck. What I truly don’t like about this character is that he barely thinks twice before putting the 10 yr old boy who’s being held as hostage in harm’s way in order to save his own family. Call me naive but I like my crime novels to have a moral compass where at least I can identify a “good guy”. The protagonist in this book is too much of a grey character for me to embrace. I guess the best character is the 10 yr old boy.

The author uses strange turns of phrases, like “leave go”.

The action is decent but it doesn’t draw me in as some other Plus catalog thrillers I have been reading.

The narrator is pretty good.

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Neal devolves

Revisado: 02-16-21

I like the setting in Hong Kong but I really don’t like the protagonist, Neal, acting like an idiot all because he lusts after the beautiful mainland spy, who leads him time and time again into death traps. For a supposedly tough kid who grew up on the streets of New York and was trained from age 10 to be a wily, resourceful investigator, Neal is altogether ineffectual and pretty stupid. He acts like a lost puppy trailing after an animal abuser, getting kicked each time and yet returning for more.

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