RipsGirl

Meh

Reviewed: 06-09-24

It's really frustrating when the author doesn't remember his own story.

So many plot points were told with wrong information from the original books, and each time I heard one I got more annoyed.

I mean, don't authors keep track of events that have taken place in previous books for this very reason??

There was also zero editing done. Sentences were repeated, with slight variations between them. Storylines were out of sync, like they were copy/pasted and not reread to ensure they made sense.

I don't think I'll be moving on to the next book, there's nothing interesting going on in the story anymore.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

The Bar was Set...

Reviewed: 06-03-24

...and it wasn't reached.

There is a very clear quality difference between this book and the first three.

I read many of the other reviews, and I have to agree with them: this book is quite boring - though I do have a minor caveat, and that's that I still have a short time left in the book. Irrespective of that, I feel I've heard enough to stamp it as 'unstimulating'.

**SPOILERS AHEAD** (please scroll down to "spoilers end" for the continuation of my review, with pertinent info for women)
.
.
.
.
.
.
The MC, Zach, seems to only have half of his original personality, and Kelly was only previously (barely) interesting when she was creating drama as other characters' 'side piece'. As one of the MC's now, she puts me to sleep...which is terrific at bedtime, but I'm going to assume that isn't the direction the author wanted to go (that was sarcasm, for you 'hyper-literal' people). Unfortunately, David Achord killed off ALL of the compelling and nuanced characters.

Listen, I'm of course cognizant that it's been three years, and Zach has matured, and would also be grieving. But this isn't real life, it's a book; readers who choose the ZomPoc genre want blood, and murderous, gory action...not a romantic drama. Especially not a whole page dedicated to feeding, bathing and putting his kids to bed (snoooozzze).

Speaking of the kids...it's really unfortunate that they're back in the plot. Not only do they slow down the action, they don't add anything significant to the story. Also I can't stand children.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.

**SPOILERS END**

I feel the need to give some warning to other women reading the books...there's a demonstrable focus on women's bodies/attractiveness, along with an overt breast fetish in this book. Every new female character is first described by the size of their breasts, and how well they "fill out" a sweater. It's become tiresome, and while "Zach" has been shown to have matured in many areas, apparently the author decided he didn't want him to mature on this topic.

Another reviewer hit the nail on the head when he stated, that the author seems to be writing these books, and fulfilling his own fantasies, through Zach's 'literary life'. It's evident in how David Achord created/developed Zach: as the attractive, muscular/strong but sensitive, genius-level intelligent hero, who always gets the girl/woman. His only flaws, being a know-it-all with PTSD. Sure, he's lost people in his life, but that's not a character flaw in himself. He's David's ideal man - a super human, who is everything to everyone, and it's also getting tiring.

I'll move on to the next book (and hope that the action picks up), but that's mostly because it's free. I say 'mostly', because while I'm invested in the story, I'm not invested enough to spend my own credit on the 5th book, had it not been free.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

An Unironic Cliche

Reviewed: 07-10-23

Very cliched, stereotypical characters and writing. I often found myself rolling my eyes so far back into my head, I discovered forgotten childhood traumas.

The 'hero' and his friends are large, muscular, manly men. But as much as these guys are highly trained secret antiterrorism operatives, when the hero gets into a fight with some rando with a crush on his gf, the guy gets the drop on him??

And let's talk about the girlfriend. Of course she is a blonde bombshell, and the first time we meet her she is doing sexy yoga poses on her front lawn. Apparently she met our hero somewhere in Europe I think, as she works for the Red Cross, and he was on a secret mission.

Which is strange, because when we are with her at her office in DC, she makes it sound like she's been waiting forever to be given an opportunity to work on the front lines. When her boss finally offers her the opportunity (only because so many of her co-workers are off sick), she is ecstatic and calls her dad and sister to tell them. So how did she meet our hero Mark Steele overseas in the field?? Also, yes...you read that right, his name is Mark Steele...a little too soap opera-ish? I'm actually surprised his first name is Mark. I thought it would have been something like Cruz Steele, or maybe Mason Steele.

Anyway moving on...

We are subjected to every 'internal thought' of every character, which is really tedious, and might work well if you were actually reading the book, but doesn't translate well to the audio version. I often struggled to decipher if someone was just thinking something or saying it 'out loud'.

Let's talk about the narrator. While he does have a very raspy voice, I didn't have the same impression as other reviewers, namely that he sounds like what a heavy smoker would sound like. Unfortunately though, his voice does not lend well to a young man in the prime of his life, such as our man Cruz, I mean Mark. He's even further afield for woman's voices, except for the old ladies.

None of the characters are developed well at all, and all are extremely one dimensional. There's no relating to them or rooting for them. I really couldn't care less what happens to any of them.

And for that reason, I'm out. Thankfully I'm NOT out a credit or cash. Dodged a bullet on this one!

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

Another 'Meh'...

Reviewed: 03-13-23

I wanted to like this book... But my reticence started with the robotic narration, which is too distracting.

The story also could have been cut down by almost half, with such unnecessary details about people peripherally involved in finding the bodies and solving the crimes.

I ended up not even being able to finish...I’m returning for my credit. By the way, it's not as graphic as some of the pearl clutchers will have you believe.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

Steaming pile of…

Reviewed: 03-08-23

Crap, I’m annoyed I wasted a couple hours of my life on this dumpster fire. I wasn’t going to listen the whole way through, but Audible didn’t allow me to write a review without getting to the end.
And I felt the need to warn people reading them.
Don’t buy into all the praise in these reviews, the reviewers must be either 13 year old schoolgirls, or they’re brand new to audible and don’t actually have a reference point for good books.
Dakota needs to stick to movies, her narration was garbage. Every character had the same voice, and in between conversations she was mostly monotone.
The writing is juvenile, and as another reviewer stated, pedestrian. Full of of clichéd conversations, and unremarkable, boring characters, I wasn’t rooting for any of them. Mostly I was just hoping and waiting for it to be over. I’ll forget all about this book the minute I get up for a snack.

If you’re looking for something that will make you think, that has multiple possible theories/suspects, and has smart and witty conversations…this is not it.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

Meh

Reviewed: 02-26-23

I’m underwhelmed by pretty much all of these stories. They’re all pretty straightforward, however one of the stories titled, The Ballad of Big Charlie, by Keith R.A. DeCandido, has me quite confused. It’s mentioned multiple times in all 3 parts of this particular story that the MC, Big Charlie, was raised in the Bronx since he was 7 months old…so how does he have a Haitian accent???

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

Another vote here for unhappiness in narrator change

Reviewed: 02-20-23

Story line is ok, it's entertaining enough to want to continue the series, but the change in narrator was initially jarring. His English accent is atrocious, and all his female voices sound whiny and obnoxious. What a shame....

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

I think I’m done at #4

Reviewed: 02-15-23

I enjoyed the first 3 books in this series (they're good enough, but not great), but this 4th book just feels like he jumped the shark. I’m finding myself rolling my eyes at so many of the situations and dialogue. I'll finish the book, but that'll be it for me.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

Good series so far...

Reviewed: 02-10-23

I’m enjoying this series, for the most part. A couple things stick out for me though:

But first I need to say this: Elliott Bales is a terrific narrator. Full stop.

I've only found one area that seems to be where Mr. Bale's weakness lies, which is the skill to create distinct voices for each of the characters. I realize this is a very difficult task, made especially hard due to the score of characters in the series. I’m also cognizant that the book's format - single-person narrative - makes that task tremendously challenging.

In some respects, the narrator can only be as good as the writing...

And the writing is only satisfactory. It often takes on a conversational style, which makes some sense as the POV interchanges among the main characters, although sometimes we get the POV of a minor/secondary character. Essentially, we are supposed to be privy to the innermost thoughts of the characters we're meant to care about, and yet...

Unfortunately, their thoughts tend to lean towards the simplistic and/or the obvious. We don't get any deep, intense thoughts or feelings, no important secrets or embarrassing insecurities. There's no introspective musings going on in any of their brains. Sure, sometimes they think about the past, and the things and people they've lost (I think mom and dad are only mentioned once in this book). It's usually said in passing though, with no genuine feelings expressed. Even as one of the survivors is unemotionally describing for the listener their 'new-normal 'fashion' accessories' (my phrasing, not from the book), consisting of various and multiple knives and guns, they don't fully pause to process what they've become. They almost seem dispassionate about the end of the world/apocalypse 😐🥱😴.

One last concern regarding the writing:

The author *always* only lets us know who just spoke AFTER the character has spoken. This means that the listener very often has no clue which character is speaking until the end of the conversation. It's not a deal breaker, but it does truly pull me 'out of' that crucial state of 'suspension of disbelief'. So instead of seamlessly 'seeing' the story in my head, I often wonder, 'Who's speaking...?', trying to consider who it might be (remember...? Mr. Bale's skill for distinct voices needs some practice 🤭), which means not paying attention to what's being read, which means needing to catch up to the story, which means constantly rewinding 30 seconds at a time 🤦🏽‍♀️. #ADHD

Of course I can only speak for myself, so I have no clue if other listeners feel the same way. But if you struggle to "stay" with a story like I do, (#ADHD) then this might be something you might want to take into consideration.

Other than that, I'm still enjoying the series, and I'll be using another credit tonight to get the 4th book!

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

Why, Stephen, why?? But also, good story.

Reviewed: 10-31-22

First, let’s get the obvious out of the way —

Mr. King…I’m pretty sure you’re not on the dole…so…why?? Why would you not hire a professional narrator or actor to read instead??

To be fair, I am cognizant that some people actually enjoy hearing an author read their own works; I’ve read some of those reviews for this very book. The author is, of course, the one person who knows the originally intended emotions, timing, emphases, etc. But Mr. King, with all due respect…you are…Just. No. Good. You’re so distractingly nasal, you put on awful accents, and every character has the exact same voice (irrespective of the awful accent/s).

I asked myself why you might want to narrate it yourself: you just might really like the sound of your own voice, or perhaps there’s a narcissistic reason for your decision (I hope not), or maybe you’ve deceived yourself, or worse, your inner circle have deceived you, and have you convinced that you are a skillful reader. Who knows…?? Please though…I beg of you…STOP. There are more novels of yours I really wanted to listen to, but now I just can’t because you are the narrator. (Sigh)

Alright. Ok, I’ve vented, and now that that’s out of the way…

I enjoyed this story when I read the paper version many years ago, but I really didn’t remember most of it. So when I happened to come across it on Audible I was eager to ‘read’ it again! I actually rarely (if ever) read/listen to a book twice - if I recall the majority of a story, especially the ending, the enjoyment just isn’t there for me in a second reading. I honestly don’t understand the joy people take in re-reading books, even classics. It’s always seemed bizarre to me. But since I couldn’t recall most of this story, I was looking forward to listening again. Also, I truly mean no offence to anyone who enjoys re-reading books. [I am also so sorry for all the tangents…credit goes to my ADHD brain]

In summary…if you’re a diehard SK fan, even with the ‘not excellent’ narration, I would recommend this book. If you’re not ‘one of us’, you may not be able to get past the dilettante reading, and may likely regret having used your precious credit (precious to me anyway). In that case, I recommend returning the book before getting too far in, and getting your credit back.

TL;DR - great SK story as (mostly) usual, awful narration by the author. Recommend only to other diehard SK fans who can get past it.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!