Meghan

Victor bevine should go back to elementary english

Reviewed: 01-24-23

it is amazing how one terrible narrator can ruin a story.
is there no one that checks this baffoons work?
learn to pronounce "lived" and especially "macabre" to names just 2. for crying out loud, I teach 10 year olds that understand the concept of silent letters better than this adult human. mad why does every nondwarf character get the same sultry voice? it's like he wanted to read crappy romance novels instead. it's not like those use complicated words like "macabre"

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1 person found this helpful

Boring, plus no character voices

Reviewed: 12-13-22

I also do NOT understand all the glowing reviews here. I’m a lifetime gamer & gave it a go but it did not catch my interest at all. However, I personally have trouble with any book that’s narrated without character voices, as it can be a bit difficult to follow who is saying what. The moment I heard the female narrator using the same exact boring, robotic voice for male & female main characters, it lost huge marks for me. Audible books, in my opinion, should be performed, not read. It creates a much more immersive listening experience.

I’m very happy for & jealous of all those that seemed to thoroughly enjoy this book though. It just wasn’t for me.

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12 people found this helpful

this is not a new release

Reviewed: 10-12-22

I don't know why it claims it is. shameless cash grab I assume. this is a rerelease.do not waste the credit on audible being shameless garbage money hounds

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11 people found this helpful

Not my favorite

Reviewed: 06-25-22

I also wish that Barbara would’ve read this story. The narrator’s intonation here sounds like she should be reading kid’s bedtime stories & I don’t mean that negatively, only that her talent is misplaced. The voices she uses for the 20-something main characters all sound like little old ladies. I was hoping that once an ACTUAL little old lady was introduced to the story, that she might recognize her mistake & change, but no. Anyway, the story here wasn’t really engaging & the prose is nowhere near on the same level as some of her other books; Flight Behavior, Prodigal Summer & Poisonwood Bible in particular, which are all EXCELLENT cover-to-cover & I would read again in a heartbeat. This one, not so much.

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"The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog..."

Reviewed: 04-11-22

I'm sorry to say that I had to check that the author was not a middle schooler before leaving this review. This book was a bland, very poorly-written slog to get through. The overall story is ok, at best, but I very much feel this was written for a YOUNG ADULT crowd. The writing is painfully trite & lacks depth. I'm used to stories with rich descriptions that are able transport you, (ie; "The Nix"), & there is none of that here. This was like reading a middle schooler's narrative essay assignment. Literally. Words & phrases are often repeated, like the word "trudged." There are huge unexplained plot holes riddled throughout & they greatly distract from the story. The canned, stereotypical things that are said & done caused me to almost constantly roll my eyes. Ie, there's a scene with people walking very late at night & a character notes they've been walking "for hours & hours & hours" which = a minimum of 6 hours, which was impossible given the time of night they left & that it was still dark out. There's a scene where someone steals a bicycle & apparently has no issue riding it home in the same knee-deep snow they "trudged" through to get into town. I could go on, but I'll spare you. The characters are neither likeable nor memorable, 1 in particular acts like a petulant child when dealing with the life & death of herself & others. Every time I heard sentences start with, "...But..." only to immediately get cut off, solidified how much I hated this book. Which, now that I'm 35, I guess I just can't stomach large doses of immaturity like that anymore.

The narrator did a decent job but had issues with accents & her semi-robotic reading voice made most of the story go by in a dull, indistinguishable blur. Her voice lacks emotion & this only brought the story down even more. For truly rich narrative experiences, I HIGHLY recommend "Circe" written by Madeline Miller & read by Perdita Weeks, & "City of Thieves" written by David Benioff & read by Ron Perlman.

I do not understand all, (or any) of the glowing reviews here, but I am happy for those that enjoyed this story. I did not & I do not recommend it

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Wow

Reviewed: 12-20-21

Embarrassed to have read this for the first time (also my first Stephen King) at 34 years old. Get this book! It wastes no time getting started & does not stop until the end. I’ve listened twice & will be again once I finish the new Outlander. Characters are great & real. Dialogue & narration is very strong. Creep factor & relevance to the current pandemic is a spot on bonus.

I feel as I am literally a part of this story as it is being told. I am with Larry in the tunnel. It’s that engrossing for me. I wish I could leave a better review. Thank you, Mr. King & Mr. Gardner, you are now one of my all-time fav books.

I hope everyone enjoys this book as much as I did/do! But if not, that’s ok too!

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Near perfect

Reviewed: 02-09-19

In my top 5 for sure. A beautiful tale that draws you in from the first word & holds your attention until the very end. Flawless narration that can somehow simultaneously lull you to sleep & keep you up into the wee hours of the morning.

It’s a good sign when I burn through a book quickly. This one took maybe 2 days & I work full-time. I read Song of Achilles immediately after, which was good, but not nearly as good, but then started this one again.

Truly a joy to experience. Highest recommendation here.

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So many emotions all at once

Reviewed: 08-07-18

OVERALL: I loved the emotional journey this story took me on. Somewhat hard to explain without spoiling but if you're anything like me, you will laugh, cry, be horrified & overcome with anger, & also have your heart warmed to its core. It is a brief glimpse into the life of a lady who has had a rather rough go of it so far.

PERFORMANCE: Top-notch. Cathleen's voice is strong & clear & she does a fine job of creating a range of voices for different characters. I'll also mention that there are a number of very emotionally charged moments in this book & she handles them beautifully. You can hear & feel the emotion in her voice like you're right there or it's happening to you.

STORY: Beautiful. I love a simple, raw look into the life of a regular person. It reminded me a lot of "A Man Called Ove." As the saying goes, "be kinder than necessary, for everyone is fighting some kind of battle." This rings very true here. I saw more than a little of myself in Eleanor & that initially scared me, but oh well, no one's perfect. The dialogue, both internal & external, is wonderful & carries along so quick & naturally that it feels like you're there. The story draws you in from the very beginning & never lags. I would definitely read this again. Highly recommend for any adult reader. Not for kids simply due to the fact that it dabbles in some pretty adult (emotional) subject matters.

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Vapid

Reviewed: 08-07-18

OVERALL: I really wanted to enjoy this but I just found it entirely too Young Adult for me. I would not recommend it to anyone looking for a challenging or edge-of-your-seat thriller/suspense type story.

PERFORMANCE: Was pretty strong however. I'd likely listen to more narrated by Nina. She is able to do a wide range of voices & she did a very good job with what she was given here.

STORY: The definition of vapid: "offering nothing that is stimulating or challenging." Exactly this. I found myself rolling my eyes often, & I realize the story was primarily about a younger crowd, but it was just way too riddled with predictable cliches & weak dialogue. ALSO for anyone squeamish, the 1st part of the story goes into extreme detail regarding the life & times of a medical examiner at a morgue, if you follow.. I'm not even sure why I finished it. Perhaps so I could leave this honest & scathing review.

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PER-FECT

Reviewed: 05-25-18

Just buy it. I've read countless, and this one stands apart. Beautiful, engrossing story with perfectly on point narration all-around. Feels like you are right there throughout every second. I really can't speak high enough of it. I saw the movie first and I'm glad I did, as it's a wonderful supplement and was very helpful to have images of the movie in mind during certain scenes. This caused it to draw me in even more.

Truly exceptional listening experience here. Can't think of anyone who wouldn't enjoy.

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