Shannon Vance
- 14
- reviews
- 0
- helpful votes
- 26
- ratings
-
Exit Strategy
- By: Martha Wells
- Narrated by: Kevin R. Free
- Length: 3 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Having traveled the width of the galaxy to unearth details of its own murderous transgressions, as well as those of the GrayCris Corporation, Murderbot is heading home to help Dr. Mensah - its former owner (protector? friend?) - submit evidence that could prevent GrayCris from destroying more colonists in its never-ending quest for profit. But who's going to believe a SecUnit gone rogue? And what will become of it when it's caught?
-
-
New favorite series! Best I've read in YEARS!!!
- By Jaime on 10-02-18
- Exit Strategy
- By: Martha Wells
- Narrated by: Kevin R. Free
Great finale for the first 4 novelas
Reviewed: 06-20-25
It was great to have the same narrator throughout the novela series. The Murderbot Chronicles are deeply engaging, thought-provoking, and entertaining. There are moral/ethical issues, great action scenes, and perfect world building. I love Murderbot!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers
- By: Jesse Q. Sutanto
- Narrated by: Eunice Wong
- Length: 10 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Vera Wong is a lonely little old lady—ah, lady of a certain age—who lives above her forgotten tea shop in the middle of San Francisco’s Chinatown. Despite living alone, Vera is not needy, oh no. She likes nothing more than sipping on a good cup of Wulong and doing some healthy detective work on the Internet about what her Gen-Z son is up to. Then one morning, Vera trudges downstairs to find a curious thing—a dead man in the middle of her tea shop.
-
-
So far,surprisingly charming-OUTSTANDING narration
- By Christine T on 03-20-23
- Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers
- By: Jesse Q. Sutanto
- Narrated by: Eunice Wong
Delightful
Reviewed: 05-05-25
The story is rather predictable, as far as murder mysteries go, but no matter. Vera Wong is a force of nature and now I wish there was a real Chinese tea house nearby since coffee probably is making me rather anxious, as Vera would say. It is a lovely little heart warming story with an ending that makes you smile, but is not treacly. I loved it!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
The Unmaking of June Farrow
- A Novel
- By: Adrienne Young
- Narrated by: Brittany Pressley
- Length: 10 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the small mountain town of Jasper, North Carolina, June Farrow is waiting for fate to find her. The Farrow women are known for their thriving flower farm—and the mysterious curse that has plagued their family line. The whole town remembers the madness that led to Susanna Farrow’s disappearance, leaving June to be raised by her grandmother and haunted by rumors.
-
-
Original storyline
- By Emmaline on 10-30-23
- The Unmaking of June Farrow
- A Novel
- By: Adrienne Young
- Narrated by: Brittany Pressley
An innovative approach to time travel
Reviewed: 05-23-24
In many ways this is such a good book. I enjoyed getting to know the characters and I thought the time travel element was intriguing. But the narrative was also laborious and sometimes frustrating. I believe the author could have gone on with the story instead of circling and recircling the internal agonies of June, the main character. I appreciated the attention to detail with the old ways of tobacco farming. I also think the timeline would have altered more due to June’s actions, but who knows, it is time travel.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
The Wager
- A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder
- By: David Grann
- Narrated by: Dion Graham, David Grann
- Length: 8 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On January 28, 1742, a ramshackle vessel of patched-together wood and cloth washed up on the coast of Brazil. Inside were thirty emaciated men, barely alive, and they had an extraordinary tale to tell. They were survivors of His Majesty’s Ship the Wager, a British vessel that had left England in 1740 on a secret mission during an imperial war with Spain. While the Wager had been chasing a Spanish treasure-filled galleon known as “the prize of all the oceans,” it had wrecked on a desolate island off the coast of Patagonia.
-
-
Gasping for Air
- By Jean Engle on 04-19-23
- The Wager
- A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder
- By: David Grann
- Narrated by: Dion Graham, David Grann
Excellent Narration Brings a Gripping True Tale to Life
Reviewed: 01-04-24
This is an engaging and provocative narrative, well researched and imagined. As a professional historian, I am inspired by the engaging nature of this account. It encompasses a range of elements - nature of man, forces of nature, the named and unnamed agents/victims of colonialism, poor choices, dubious leadership, and human tenacity in the face of incredible odds.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Maybe Next Time
- A Novel
- By: Cesca Major
- Narrated by: Clare Corbett
- Length: 8 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It is an ordinary Monday and harried London literary agent Emma is flying out of the door as usual. Preoccupied with work and her ever growing to-do list, she fails to notice her lovely husband Dan seems bereft, her son can barely meet her eye, and her daughter won’t go near her. Even the dog seems sad.
-
-
Not really that great
- By Jennifer B on 11-09-23
- Maybe Next Time
- A Novel
- By: Cesca Major
- Narrated by: Clare Corbett
Haunting Cautionary Tale for Us All
Reviewed: 12-18-23
This is a beautiful book. You will care so much about the narrator and her family. You will be rooting for the family and their future. And you just might be more grateful for your loved ones and think hard about what is really important in this life and the kind of experience you want to have and legacy you want to leave.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
The Once and Future Witches
- By: Alix E. Harrow
- Narrated by: Gabra Zackman
- Length: 16 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 1893, there's no such thing as witches. There used to be, in the wild, dark days before the burnings began, but now witching is nothing but tidy charms and nursery rhymes. If the modern woman wants any measure of power, she must find it at the ballot box. But when the Eastwood sisters - James Juniper, Agnes Amaranth, and Beatrice Belladonna - join the suffragists of New Salem, they begin to pursue the forgotten words and ways that might turn the women's movement into the witch's movement.
-
-
Almost. Not quite there.
- By LovelyD on 11-29-20
- The Once and Future Witches
- By: Alix E. Harrow
- Narrated by: Gabra Zackman
Thorough Enchanting
Reviewed: 11-18-23
I enjoyed this Audible book very much. Narration was perfect, light music occasionally was welcome. The story is like an old quilt, comforting and familiar, but at the same time it is like a bright flame of a lantern, new and urgent.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Demon Copperhead
- A Novel
- By: Barbara Kingsolver
- Narrated by: Charlie Thurston
- Length: 21 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Set in the mountains of southern Appalachia, Demon Copperhead is the story of a boy born to a teenaged single mother in a single-wide trailer, with no assets beyond his dead father’s good looks and copper-colored hair, a caustic wit, and a fierce talent for survival. Relayed in his own unsparing voice, Demon braves the modern perils of foster care, child labor, derelict schools, athletic success, addiction, disastrous loves, and crushing losses.
-
-
Wow! It’s a Masterpiece
- By Billy on 10-25-22
- Demon Copperhead
- A Novel
- By: Barbara Kingsolver
- Narrated by: Charlie Thurston
Gorgeous. Finally someone truly got southern Appalachia right
Reviewed: 06-26-23
My roots run deep through the hills and hollers of southern Appalachia. Generations back. My immediate family moved back when I started high school. Extended family had never left. County school. Cars with fancy sound systems driving around the AMC theater parking lot on Saturday nights, slow, cruising. Friday night football games. Addicted sister, to so many things including oxy. Mamaw in government housing. Salted watermelon running down my chin in a park with rhododendron and a quietly laughing creek on land first stolen from Native Americans, and then from my kin. Kingsolver has written a masterpiece. You might know the general plot points of Dickins’ David Copperfield and thus you will know general plot points here too. But this is an Appalachian book. It seared my soul, and it is true. As true as any history book or documentary. I do wonder how people not from Appalachia experience this book. For me, it was like excavating my soul. And the narrator - Thurston - so perfect. I mean, perfect. I have spent 45 years reading, first little golden books, then everything from Shakespeare to Ngugi to Lee Smith. And this is one of the Greats. To me, it is the unparalleled Great American Novel.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Murder Your Employer
- The McMasters Guide to Homicide
- By: Rupert Holmes
- Narrated by: Neil Patrick Harris, Simon Vance
- Length: 14 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Who hasn’t wondered for a split second what the world would be like if a person who is the object of your affliction ceased to exist? But then you’ve probably never heard of The McMasters Conservatory, dedicated to the consummate execution of the homicidal arts. To gain admission, a student must have an ethical reason for erasing someone who deeply deserves a fate no worse (nor better) than death. The campus of this “Poison Ivy League” college—its location unknown to even those who study there—is where you might find yourself the practice target of a classmate.
-
-
Great idea; not so great book
- By Michael Ferris on 03-06-23
- Murder Your Employer
- The McMasters Guide to Homicide
- By: Rupert Holmes
- Narrated by: Neil Patrick Harris, Simon Vance
An Academic Approach to Murder
Reviewed: 05-24-23
Or, deletions, as one might say if they are a graduate of McMaster’s. A witty, engaging romp through an elite boarding school with deadly dangers and thrilling lessons, then a satisfying observation of 3 students’ cumulative graduating thesis projects - or murders. I thought it dragged a bit during the “university” section, but I teach at a real one, so perhaps I am jaded. The Dean of McMasters did make a very good argument for a well rounded liberal arts education. You can’t help but root for the students, and it is a cleverly imagined narrative. The delivery by the voice actors, Simon Vance and Neil Patrick Harris, was just spot on and delightful.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
The Sweetness of Water (Oprah’s Book Club)
- A Novel
- By: Nathan Harris
- Narrated by: William DeMeritt
- Length: 12 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the waning days of the Civil War, brothers Prentiss and Landry—freed by the Emancipation Proclamation—seek refuge on the homestead of George Walker and his wife, Isabelle. The Walkers, wracked by the loss of their only son to the war, hire the brothers to work their farm. Prentiss and Landry, meanwhile, plan to save money for the journey north and a chance to reunite with their mother, who was sold away when they were boys. Equal parts beauty and terror, The Sweetness of Water is an epic whose grandeur locates humanity and love amid the most harrowing circumstances.
-
-
Masterful storytelling and an exceptional audio performance
- By Pamela on 06-18-21
- The Sweetness of Water (Oprah’s Book Club)
- A Novel
- By: Nathan Harris
- Narrated by: William DeMeritt
The sweetness of a well crafted novel
Reviewed: 04-19-23
First, I must commend the exquisite verbal performance of the narrator. Bing from the South, sometimes performers of southern accents bring pain to my heart and my ears. Not so here. And the ability to create different characters of the performer of this book is awe worthy. On to the story itself… It is a profound narrative. The characters are people you care about. The scenes are wrought in spare words yet evoked so clearly. The thread of the narrative spools out and envelopes you, creating a rich tapestry. I loved this book. As a human, as a historian. I hope you will appreciate its shimmering beauty, tragedy, hope, and complexity that stills echoes from this era into our own.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
This Is How You Lose the Time War
- By: Amal El-Mohtar, Max Gladstone
- Narrated by: Cynthia Farrell, Emily Woo Zeller
- Length: 4 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Among the ashes of a dying world, an agent of the Commandment finds a letter. It reads: Burn before reading. Thus begins an unlikely correspondence between two rival agents hellbent on securing the best possible future for their warring factions. Now, what began as a taunt, a battlefield boast, becomes something more. Something epic. Something romantic. Something that could change the past and the future. Except the discovery of their bond would mean the death of each of them. There’s still a war going on, after all. And someone has to win. That’s how war works, right?
-
-
Flowery poetic word salad
- By Austin on 02-11-20
- This Is How You Lose the Time War
- By: Amal El-Mohtar, Max Gladstone
- Narrated by: Cynthia Farrell, Emily Woo Zeller
Beautiful and Imaginative
Reviewed: 04-12-23
There is no easy way to summarize this book nor its beauty. Original, epistolary, breath taking. Narrators do a great job. Try it, give it a chance, immerse yourself. You won’t be sorry.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!