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MJ

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I Am Not a Serial Killer Audiobook By Dan Wells cover art

Combo of ok writing but sub-par narration

Overall
2 out of 5 stars
Performance
1 out of 5 stars
Story
3 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 01-09-15

I read the other reviews - I was warned. But I listened to a sample and thought, "The narrator isn't bad. I'll give it a shot."

Yeah, I should have heeded their advice. The narrator starts out as tolerable, but it just wore me down the further I got into the book. And while the subject of the book is interesting, the writing isn't enough to entice me to finish the book. When you're wincing at the thought of listening again, that's not a good sign.

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The Rising Audiobook By Brian Keene cover art

Interesting origin story but ...

Overall
1 out of 5 stars
Performance
1 out of 5 stars
Story
1 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 12-13-14

First, I will say that this is an interesting slant on the standard zombie apocalypse. But that's that last bit of positive feeling I have for this book. I've read a fair number of apocalypse novels but the level of violence directed against female characters was significant to the point that I'm still bothered by it about a month after listening to this.

Hold up now. I know what you're going to say. "It's a book about the apocalypse. It's supposed to show humankind breaking down to the cesspool we crawled out of." Sure. I get that. And again, I read a lot of books like this. I'm not coming at this review from a void.

Over and over again, women are subjected to beatings, rapes and imprisonment. The pretty ones are put in a "meat wagon" where they are sexually assaulted pretty much on a continuous basis. At one point, the main female character coaches the women on how to endure the rape and then kills another woman imprisoned with them within a few pages.

And the frequency of this abuse to all the women characters is what really heats up my irritation. Frankly, it feels a bit personal - as if the author has a real hatred against women and is using the book to work that out.

If you listen to you, you can make up your own mind how you feel about it overall and this specific issue. But I prefer a book that presents women as complex characters as opposed to 2-D meat bags designed for punishment.

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This is a great series

Overall
5 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Story
5 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 10-01-12

I've really enjoyed this entire series. The content is fresh and interesting and it's very well written and performed. The dog stuff gets a little too cutsey sometimes but that's a very small part of a fantastic book.

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Eerie tale, well read

Overall
4 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Story
3 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 12-21-11

ffffooooooooorrrrrraaakkkkkkk

I'm walking the dog in broad daylight, listening to the book and when the narrator makes this sound - the sound of the antagonist's labored breathing - I stop, hunch up and start looking over my shoulder. Wonderfully eerie, adept job of narration with one of the best American accents I've heard from a British narrator. The book serves up some serious suspense, with an amazingly creepy scene (where a female character is infected with - oh wait - better not spoil the plot for you) that still disturbs me when I inadvertently remember it.

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3 people found this helpful

Welcome back, Lucas!

Overall
5 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 06-05-11

Extremely well written, narrated and produced. I took longer walks and drives to hear more. I've been reading this series for ages. However, the ones of late seemed a bit (I hate to say this but) stale. This book revitalizes the series and gives you back that whole ticking time bomb intensity.

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3 people found this helpful