Grace

I cannot handle the narrator

Revisado: 02-25-25

I seem to be the only one stuck on the narrator but his delivery feels so odd. Something about the cadence, the shaky voice, it leaves me feeling unsettled. Perhaps this is the point, but I am *too* uncomfortable. The rise and fall of his voice and vocal fry take me in and out of the story. I'll be interested for a few minutes but suddenly I'm back on this roller coaster of up-down reading. I don't know how else to explain it....

I suppose everything starts to sound the same when each sentence carries the same emphasis and inflection as the last. Crouch has range in delivery but that range is applied to each line equally and it's dull. I listened to his rendition of "These Violent Delights" and liked his performance, so I'm surprised by my annoyance with "Inspection."

Either way, I've restarted this two to three times now and cannot make it past hour four as I'm too stuck on the delivery.

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Overall great—but the audio editing could use some work

Revisado: 01-17-25

I can’t be the only one who kept hearing the narrator gulp or smack her lips inbetween lines. Normally that’s edited out but it’s like production missed the first few chapters. Drove me crazy

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Good story, rough audio

Revisado: 12-14-24

I love Nick Cutter and this fit in nicely with his body of work. Not his most unique and outrageous story, but still a good time. Reminiscent of The Troop in terms of plot devices, body horror, chapter styles.

What I found frustrating about this was the audio quality. It sounded like two different people were reading mid paragraph.

Sometimes you can tell when a part of a book was re-recorded and added on back in—there’s a slight change in volume or voice—but it rarely detracts from the story. However, it happens SO OFTEN during The Breach I was hyper aware of it. Took me out of the story every time.

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Narration ruins it—read instead

Revisado: 08-05-23

The narration is so stale that I almost gave up, but a skim through the reviews kept me going. In the end it was…fine. Had I read this instead listening the story may have hit different. However the bland delivery left me feeling just as “meh” by story as I was by the narration.

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Simple, silly, could be more fun with a different narrator

Revisado: 09-17-20

Horrorstör was exactly what I expected: fun, silly, a good thrill.

There were a few flaws in the story; for instance the primary character is boring and, at times irritating, all other characters in the book lack dimension, and the allusions to capitalism/working class jobs as akin to prison/prison labor was a bit overplayed. However, most of us aren’t going to dive into this book searching for astounding anti-capitalism allegories (hint: you won’t get that), we’re here for the ghost story! And trust me, there’s some spooky moments, goofy cheap thrills, PG13(ish) body horror, and more. The supernatural aspect makes this worth a quick listen if you can handle the narration.

If you go into this book with the right expectations, the biggest flaw you’re going to find is the narration. The female narrator does not change tone or inflection to match character’s moods. Her dialogue delivery follows the same cadence, ebb, and flow whether the character is “screaming in pain” or “lazily responding.” The lack of tone variation makes it hard to immerse oneself in the story—you’re always aware that someone is reading out loud, like a parent reading you a bedtime story.

If you’re looking to spend a credit on this audio title, I’d say keep your money and buy/borrow the actual book instead. If you’ve got access to this book for free (via prime membership) then I’d say it’s worth a quick listen. If you can get past the narration, Horrorstör will entertain you and maybe give you something new and spooky to consider next time you’re wandering IKEA.

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Can't get past Joan Hickson's narration

Revisado: 05-14-19

An audiobook combo of Agatha Christie novels is hard to pass up, but I highly recommend you do. Hickson is difficult to listen to. Her inflection, her voice, her style of reading--it's the same for every character. It's difficult to tell who is speaking when and about what.

I am sure that Fraser's portion of this book, "The Mysterious Affair at Styles," is great. Fraser is phenomenal as Hercule Poirot. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to make it to his book as I could not make it through Hickson's tale.

Honestly, I'm just going to buy these stories individually rather than sit through Hickson's narration. "Murder at the Vicarage" is also available with Richard E. Grant as the narrator and I highly recommend you pick that up instead if you're interested in hearing the first Miss Marple book.

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It's really hard to care about these characters

Revisado: 07-24-18

The characters in this book are more frustrating than anything.

At first, I was excited to hear the perspective of a self-conscious mother and her sociopath seven-year-old. But as the chapters waned on, I found myself more and more bored by their woe-is-me diatribes. Add the father--who embodies most white/upper-middle class/successful male clichés like "overworked man," "breadwinner," "dotes on his daughter," "ignores problems in the family," "dismisses his wife," etc.--and the book quickly falls flat.

Every time I considered turning off the book I hesitated. The reviews were so good! I figured I must be missing something. I convinced myself the story would get better with time--but nope, it sure didn't.

I've got three to four hours left of this and I'm stopping while I'm ahead.

Baby Teeth IS NOT an awful book! In fact, it's not even bad. It's just...okay. And based on that, I'd say save your money/credit.

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No character development...just an "okay" story

Revisado: 06-30-18

I thought I would love this novel after reading the reviews. It sounded right up my alley--well written, intriguing take on the apocalypse, suspenseful, unique, etc. But the book was a dud.

First, there is no character development. By end of the novel I knew almost nothing about the main character, Mallory. I knew what she looked like, that she was often on edge, and that she liked some people more than others (who doesn't?), but that was about it.

I wanted to learn about Mallory's life and interests and her relationship with the children she cares for. I hoped for some chapters like that in McCarthy's The Road: small, seemingly insignificant moments that show the love between parent and child and the determination to protect. But nope! Just some generic sentences about how Mallory's life is stressful and her kids are kind of smart.

Second, it is quite clear Josh Malerman has no idea how birth works or the strength of umbilical cords. I am just going to leave it at that as I do not want to give anything away...but the birth scene in this was just ludicrous.

Third, the "plot twist" was weak and predictable.

Fourth, there are aspects of the book that seem to allude to a theme. In fact, there are two characters that are explained as being very similar to one another, and one assumes there will be a deeper correlation between these details as the novel progresses. Yeah no. There were a lot of interesting symbols introduced that were abandoned almost immediately.

Fifth, the exploration of the human spirit and survival in this world remained surface level throughout the entire novel. Yes, there are a few conversations about how the characters have to shift their daily habits, but I was hoping to hear how difficult it is to battle illness and disease when your'e housebound, the mental strain of being confined to one space with that many people, the nutritional effects of only eating canned goods, etc. An additional level of detail would of been much appreciated.
(I want to point out I have NEVER said this about another book--I love the "less is more" approach of authors like Hemmingway and McCarthy. However, there just wasn't enough information to make me care in this story.)

This book is going to be made into a movie and I think it makes a better screenplay than a novel.

At any rate, if you want a unique take on the apocalypse and are less interested in character development and the details of survival, this book is for you. If you're like me and you want something a bit deeper, I'd say ignore the hype and save your credit/money.

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Great performance, engaging story line

Revisado: 01-29-18

The performance was amazing. Christina Traister acted perfectly. She screamed when the author said scream, sounded shaky when the author described nervous feelings, did a great job at "crying," etc.

Overall the book was very interesting. Played out kind of like a CSI episode, minus the cheesy one-liners. Nonetheless, it's a thrilling ride. Highly recommend.

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I forced myself to get to the end--wasn't worth it

Revisado: 01-29-18

Based off of reviews, this book sounded amazing. I was excited to delve into it. However, it proved predictable and uninteresting.

Perhaps the book fell flat due to the voice actors delivery? There was a lack of fluctuation in their voices. When people "screamed," the voice actors remained monotone. When someone was "nervous," there was not even a quiver in their voice.

On top of that, the author continued to emphasize characters' deep southern drawls, but neither of the narrators did it!

I just could not get into this book. Was not for me. If an engaging performance is important to you I recommend seeking out a different story.

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esto le resultó útil a 3 personas