Wendy L

Not better than the original

Revisado: 07-17-15

This was an enjoyable listen. I found, however, that the original "narrated" version did a far better job of conveying the mental state that led to a significant decision. ( to avoid spoilers, I will not say more)

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Gripping Story, Even if You're Not a History Buff

Revisado: 06-27-15

I admit up front that I do not like to read books about history, especially military history. This book, however, kept me riveted from the start. The real-life story of the Knights of Malta and some of their Grand Masters (especially the protagonist of this episode in history, Jean Parisot de la Valette), as well as the portrait of Suleiman the Magnificent and one of his famous commanders, Dragut, brought a little-known period in the history of Christendom to life for me. It inspires, and it makes one wonder: does the West still have heroes of such faith, conviction, strength and prowess as the brave men who fended off the Ottoman Turks and helped preserve Christendom in the 16th century? (The answer to me is clear, when I consider that we ourselves have been digging tunnels under our own Christendom the past 50 years so that it is falling without even a fight.)

After reading the book, I went to Malta with 2 other people who had also read the book so that we could see what this tiny Catholic country in the center of the Mediterranean, which has played such a heroic part in world history (in 1565 as well as WWII), is like. You can walk around (or boat around) all of the places where the events recounted in this book happened. The trip was a great way to top off an excellent book.

The narrator of the audiobook has a wonderful British accent. Listening to the audiobook, in addition to reading a hard copy, helped me learn how to pronounce the complicated Maltese place names. (Reportedly, Maltese is a mix of the Arabic spoken in Sicily in the 11th century, with a lot of Italian words and some English cognates.)

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Discerning readers, think twice before starting this audiobook

Revisado: 06-27-15

The first seven hours of this audiobook were a constant internal struggle for me as I debated whether to stop then and ask Audible for a refund or keep listening in the hope it would get better. Curiosity got the better of me and I kept listening until the end. Now I wish I had spent the past 12 hours listening to something different.

The first 6 to 7 hours were mind-numbingly tedious and unsuspenseful. The most menacing moments were when the building manager would growl angrily at the tenants in a thick German accent. (If that does not sound suspenseful to you, that's precisely my point.) I thought I was listening to bad young adult fiction, as the sentences were short, the dialogue was uninspired, the characters were slackers mostly in their 20s, and there were a lot of dumb adolescent jokes. The mystery finally started to become interesting around hour seven. A couple of hours after that, the book took yet another turn and was definitely NOT for tender young readers. Though not intended by the author, I would describe this book as being in three parts, each a different genre: first, a really long "Friends" episode; second, a Scooby Doo episode; finally, an HP Lovecraft short story. The book did not particularly appeal to me, though younger readers who are not picky might find it sufficiently entertaining if they can get past the halfway mark. The F-bombs in the latter half became very annoying.

The narrator did a great job with the various characters and accents.

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Pure, uplifting enjoyment!

Revisado: 03-04-15

Among the most heartwarming of all the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series. The world seems like a better place when considered through the eyes of Mma Ramotswe. The narrator, Ms. Lecat, is perfect for the part.

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