Y. Maman

Hard SF with Small Town charm

Reviewed: 06-24-22

Finney does hard sci-fi well well. Following a doctor and others observing odd events in their little town. Their trying to make sense of it, while refusing or retreating from "impossible" conclusions is, I believe, as enjoyable as the original plot of what's happening. The rich dialogues of this town folks lend to well sketched characters that keep the story humming. Tabori, the reader, does wonderfully in keeping the charming dialogues engaging. I particularly enjoyed the convincing voice he gave to psychiatrist Kaufman's monologue.

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Takes you there. Great audiobook. One nitpick

Reviewed: 08-21-21

I love the movie. It's a loveletter to New York's many quirks with a great action battle of wits story in the foreground. Has the usual cops and other workders who develop quirks to cope with their jobs and smart alec banter as the lingua franca between people of different walks of life.

I was hoping this book would fill in more colors from the movie verbally and it did just that. Ackroyd gets his material and respects it. His authentic accents and pronunciations (we're talking new york grown, german international criminals, and snappy paced narrator) parallel the movie nicely.


OK, I have One personal nitpick (small early spoiler):
One "PC" decision cost some plot as a result. A famous moment in the movie has Mcclane walking in Harlem with a large sandwich shop sign strapped to him with an offensive racial slur message written in red: "I Hate N*****s". The audiobook changed that to "I Hate Everybody," a terrible decision.

The offensive message is the one that makes sense. The terrorist is bent on humiliating John, making him wear that. He also wants to get him in hot water with neighborhood locals who might pass by and take offense. An "I hate Everybody" sign would more likely get a chuckle than cause offense.

More importantly this scene is critical to us appreciating Zeus, the shop owner. Rather than getting angry at John, Zeus sees the big picture right away: That a) John might be ill and get himself hurt if some rough characters take offense and b) An altercation and possible death, especially of a cop (John identifies himself as one) could trigger a city over-reaction of bringing in many cops with "itchy trigger fingers." This scene is how we come to understand that Zeus is a good problem solver and value him later on in the story when he joins John. It wouldn't have shown his composure if John was just wearing an "I hate Everybody" sign. He wouldn't have seen this as causing a fight.

I get it. It's a terrible word and very offensive. But there's a use distinction here. The offense HAS to be made for the story to make sense (hence the movie had it). Removing it for fear of offended ears or an upset publisher, in exchange for drilling a big plot hole is somewhat cowardly.

Again, a small nitpick because most who'll purchase this probably saw the movie as well, and get the reason for the decision.

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Donaldson delivers

Reviewed: 05-21-21

I hadn't read Frankenstein since high school and wanted to revisit. The Branaugh reading looked tempting (his movie rendition was great) but it was abridged. Fortunately Jim Donaldson read this unabridged version with aplomb. His voicing for "the monster" is imbued with gravelly strength and suffering befitting it and he gives the reactions of the characters the tonal attention they deserve.

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Nice distillation

Reviewed: 03-18-21

Fine job by the cast, including Kelsey Grammar and a show stealer from whoever who played the VP candidate.
The new setting of who the conspirators were is a little PC hoaky, common for LA Theater, but luckily didn't spoil the play and added one humdinger of a performance by one cast member.

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