West Virginia

Hilarious

Reviewed: 01-28-22

Look this book is not going to be for everyone. Other negative reviews seem to focus on dislike of silly superhero names and abilities as well as the many junior highish references to bodily functions and sex. I won't lie as these do exist, but seriously some people need to just get over themselves. As an adult we often have so many things that are on our minds and creating stress in our world. It was refreshing to have a story that was fun, exciting and made me laugh out loud at times. This book takes the superhero genre as serious from the characters point of view but throws in ridiculous powers or restrictions (such as taking a job where you can not ask ANY questions or you will be fired). There is a basically coherent plot the story follows, there is action, and there is clear resolution at the end. There are now two follow-up books in this series. I hope that you give this book a chance and it brings some levity to your life as you listen.
The Narrator, Bihni Turpin did a good job. I found her voice pleasant and versatile with the many different characters.

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Dark & Twisted. Not Your Childhood Fairy Tale

Reviewed: 01-14-22

I'm going to start the review by letting you know that is nothing even close to being family/child friendly. You have all of the characters from the classic, but everything is very dark and very different. Personally I thought the was well written and well told story. Yes, the world this is set in is very dark, and scary, and violent. There are some very adult references. This book is not going to be for everyone and I get that. If you can get past the darkness there is still a great story to enjoy and I hope that others give it a chance.

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Humans Evil, Ruin Plant, Politicians the Same

Reviewed: 11-20-21

The basic concept of the book and story are interesting. Some of the characters are even likeable. We are a little more than a century in the future, the polar ice caps have melted and sea level has risen by 50 feet or more across the globe, our modern day costal cities are now underwater, or have floating island skyscrapers. I knew going into the book there would be global warming/eco friendly aspects of the storyline, but it just went way overboard on multiple occasions, in my opinion. The other aspect that I didn't realize going into the book was how much focus would be put on politics and that also went extreme. I accept that people have different points of view and opinions from my own, but I just felt at times like I was the dead horse that was still being beaten. I listened to the book at an accelerated 1.5 speed and feel like a good 6-8 hours of the Environmental and Political views could have been eliminated without changing the basic story and outcome.
The Narrators did a great job, and it was nice to have each of the main characters have their own voice.

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1 person found this helpful

Kept You Guessing Until The End

Reviewed: 09-22-21

This is not the Harlan Coben book I have listened to, and I doubt it will be my last. I find that he writes interesting characters, who remain consistent throughout the story. This book has multiple different storylines that seem unrelated. Then you start to see an intersection sprinkled in here and there. Suddenly the pieces all start merging and BAM the connections hit like a ton of bricks, but not until the very end.
I think Steven Weber did amazing job and I would listen to his narration again. I also just realized that a second book is being released in March of 2022. I'm looking forward to going back for some more Wilde!

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1 person found this helpful

Recapturing Lighting in a Bottle!

Reviewed: 09-11-21

This is Book 4 of the Kingsbridge Series, however it is a prequel. The events in this book occur in a time period before Pillars of the Earth. The first book of the series was absolutely one of the best books I've ever listened to, and is a standard I use to determine my rating to this day. Book 2, World Without End was good, but didn't capture all of the same feels as the first. Book 3 A Column of Fire, just felt like it was missing one major character, that being the Town of Kingsbirdge, and had left me disappointed.
But WOW! This book was just as good as the first. My only complaint is that I knew in the first half hour of the story who this books "Star Crossed" couple who couldn't be together were, and basically how it would end from the start. It really didn't matter though as the characters were well developed and interesting.

I was also very excited to hear John Lee's voice again. I think he is one of the best in the business. I hope that others not only buy and listen to this book as well as the entire series. They are really worth the time!

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Outstanding Storytelling

Reviewed: 02-07-21

I have enjoyed all of Allen Eskens books. He has an amazing gift in writing a good story with believably characters. This story is an origin of sorts for Bodie Sanden whom we've met in previous books. We focus on events that occur to 15 year old Bodie that lead to him becoming the man we already know. once again nothing but outstanding storytelling that isn't afraid to explore difficult subjects, in this case racial tension in small town during the 70's.

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Solid & Twisted

Reviewed: 01-15-20

I found this to be an overall solid story, even if I was confused at times. The story is told from multiple character prospective's and encompasses events from both past and present timelines. This is what leads to some confusion at times because you forget which point of view and time you are in, or at least I did. There were a few twists in the story, many I foresaw happening, but a couple that I didn't. I suppose I listen to too many books that fall into this category so it takes a lot to hide the big reveals. Overall I enjoyed the book and was satisfied at the end.
Annette Chown was pleasant to listen to and did a good job of adding appropriate levels of emotion into the story. I would listen to other books she was reading.

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What She Didn't Know

Reviewed: 11-18-19

I've suffered through worse books, but this one is not going near the top of the list either. The description implies it is a suspense in the likes of "Girl on the Train." This is not what you get. While the writing does a good job of portraying the emotional sufferings of the family of a missing child it was a bit lacking in the suspense aspect. I had long suspected the outcome(s) that were part of the big reveal at the conclusion. Even after finishing, I'm unclear why half the book was dedicated to the emotional toil the lead officer is suffering a year after the case is over. I'm also unclear why the book title was chosen, A large portion of the Mother of the missing child's telling of her story is revealing a multitude of things she didn't know about friends, family and her own life prior to her son going missing. (And it is a very long list)
I was not especially keen on either narrator. There wasn't anything I found totally irritating about the voices, but, nor was there anything outstanding.

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So Very Confused

Reviewed: 10-28-19

I'm not going to say the book was horrible, because it wasn't My issue is with being, personally, very confused through out the entire book and still am now that I've finished. Ultimately, this is the story of an unlikely friendship developed between a deputy tasked with guarding a serial killer during the overnight shift. Both the deputy and killer lapse into stories/memories from the past and this is where my confusion comes around. It is often difficult to know where we are in time and sometimes which character the memory is from. I like the characters but was just distracted by all the jumping around in time. Should you choose this book I hope that you do not have the same problems following along.
Jim Meskimen did a good job and was pleasant on the ears. This is the first book with his narration that I have listened to and I would certainly listen to more of his work.

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Really Good, but not easily Navigatable

Reviewed: 10-22-19

I enjoyed listening to the stories of Sherlock Holmes. I didn't realize that there were only a few full length novels and then a large selection of short stories. And while I really liked hearing about the mysteries solved by Holmes and Watson I wish there were an easier way to navigate around the book. Due to the length the book was downloaded in sections and each section was simply listed chapter 1, 2, 3 ect... It would be nice to know that chapter 5 started a new short story and which one.
Simon does an amazing job and I didn't tire of his voice even after 58 hours.
I hope you enjoy this collection of timeless classic storytelling.

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