ArchStanton
- 8
- reviews
- 17
- helpful votes
- 16
- ratings
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Wounds
- Stories
- By: Nathan Ballingrud
- Narrated by: Corey Brill, Danny Campbell, Matthew Lloyd Davies, and others
- Length: 9 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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Wounds is a confounding, strange, and utterly entrancing collection of six stories, including one new novella from Shirley Jackson Award-winning author Nathan Ballingrud. From the eerie dread descending upon a New Orleans dive bartender after a cell phone is left behind in a rollicking bar fight in The Visible Filth to the search for the map of hell in “The Butcher’s Table”, Ballingrud’s beautifully crafted stories are riveting in their quietly terrifying depictions of the murky line between the known and the unknown.
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Amazing collection
- By V on 04-18-19
- Wounds
- Stories
- By: Nathan Ballingrud
- Narrated by: Corey Brill, Danny Campbell, Matthew Lloyd Davies, Rebekkah Ross, Jacques Roy
Mixed feelings
Reviewed: 12-06-22
I would echo several comments in other review. This one left me with many mixed feelings.
While I think the stories succeed greatly with the aesthetics and imagery of horror, I didn't find myself gripped with terror or suspense. It boiled down to beautifully described ... gore. I would not say it was "scary" though, just gruesome. This is partly because I didn't feel attached to many of the characters, so i wasn't necessarily worried about them. None the less, the writing itself is often fantastic and so it grips you with curiosity rather than suspense.
The individual stories are very clever and imaginative. Most had a really intriguing plot and setting, which produced an immediate sense of excitement at being drawn into the narrative. That said, every one (except the last) seemed to end about halfway through the third act, leaving me wanting more of a sense of closure.
There are a few common threads throughout all the stories, with the first and last serving as bookends. In fact, the last (and my favorite) entry - The Buther's Block- ends up being a sort of prequel to the first. It also provides some context and exposition for the collection, even a sense of closure. Kind of. If you find yourself halfway through or more, and not sure if you want to finish, I recommend sticking it out for The Butcher's Block, which is excellent.
The narration is first class, though I did have trouble with hearing the softer spoken parts of The Butcher's Block.
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Motorcycle Therapy
- A Canadian Adventure in Central America
- By: Jeremy Kroeker
- Narrated by: Jeremy Kroeker
- Length: 4 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
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From the Canadian Rockies to the Panamanian jungle, Motorcycle Therapy rumbles with comic adventure as two men, fleeing failed relationships, test the limits of their motorcycles and their friendship. Join the horn-honking, signal-flashing, wheelie-popping pair as they endure painful bee stings, painful snake bites, and (when they talk to girls) painful humiliation.
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hard for me not to like
- By ArchStanton on 11-03-22
- Motorcycle Therapy
- A Canadian Adventure in Central America
- By: Jeremy Kroeker
- Narrated by: Jeremy Kroeker
hard for me not to like
Reviewed: 11-03-22
This largely comes across as a series of collected vignettes and snapshots from a trip, so the are many times when you wish it would dive deeper but it does not. That said, there are also lots of Easter egg moments scattered throughout with touching insight.
Mostly though, being a rider, and having been on trips with a riding companion, I found so much of it to be SO relatable (the turn signal thing!).
The author comes across as insightful, honest, and generally likable including all the flaws to which he readily admits.
Overall, I'd say the story is true, heartfelt, sweet, and enjoyable. The narration might have come across a bit better with a more seasoned professional reading it.
I have ordered "Through Dust and Darkness" print version, which just arrived, and can't wait to get started.
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Project Hail Mary
- By: Andy Weir
- Narrated by: Ray Porter
- Length: 16 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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Ryland Grace is the sole survivor on a desperate, last-chance mission - and if he fails, humanity and the Earth itself will perish. Except that right now, he doesn't know that. He can't even remember his own name, let alone the nature of his assignment or how to complete it. All he knows is that he's been asleep for a very, very long time. And he's just been awakened to find himself millions of miles from home, with nothing but two corpses for company.
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Bazinga
- By Davidgonzalezsr on 05-04-21
- Project Hail Mary
- By: Andy Weir
- Narrated by: Ray Porter
excellent
Reviewed: 01-11-22
Very fresh, smart, and original with perfect narration. At first I thought this was goung to be a re-telling of The Martian (smart guy uses science to survive in space). It is not! The use of critical thinking and scientific inquiry remains prominent, but the story has lots of unexpected turns and additions which I don't want to spoil. If you're thinking about it, don't hesitate.
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Berkley Street Series Books 1 - 9
- Haunted House and Ghost Stories Collection
- By: Ron Ripley
- Narrated by: Thom Bowers
- Length: 66 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
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Shane Ryan returns to his hometown of Nashua, and the childhood memories that have haunted him throughout his life. Something sinister prowls the shadows of his family home. And a darkness threatens to destroy all he holds dear.
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Amazing series for just one credit!!
- By Natalie @ ABookLoversLife on 09-03-18
- Berkley Street Series Books 1 - 9
- Haunted House and Ghost Stories Collection
- By: Ron Ripley
- Narrated by: Thom Bowers
gets better as it goes along
Reviewed: 01-17-19
These books are a bit odd. Violence and body horror galore, but absolutely no profanity or sex. The first few books are a bit redundant and sort of follow a format, almost like Scooby Do episodes. About halfway through, over-arching storylines develop and make it much more interesting. So overall, a good way to pass the time on my daily commute. I thought gh t the reader was adequate but came off as a bit cheesy at times.
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The Elementals
- By: Michael McDowell
- Narrated by: R.C. Bray
- Length: 8 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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After a bizarre and disturbing incident at the funeral of matriarch Marian Savage, the McCray and Savage families look forward to a restful and relaxing summer at Beldame, on Alabama's Gulf Coast, where three Victorian houses loom over the shimmering beach. Two of the houses are habitable, while the third is slowly and mysteriously being buried beneath an enormous dune of blindingly white sand. But though long uninhabited, the third house is not empty. Inside, something deadly lies in wait.
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Solid Haunted House Book - and that's rare!
- By Deziderata on 06-28-18
- The Elementals
- By: Michael McDowell
- Narrated by: R.C. Bray
creepy, macabre
Reviewed: 11-09-18
A good quick horror story, very creepy and macabre. The reader sounds a bit like Walter Cronkite giving a newscast, but his voicing of the character s is very good.
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The Troop
- By: Nick Cutter
- Narrated by: Corey Brill
- Length: 11 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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Once every year, Scoutmaster Tim Riggs leads a troop of boys into the Canadian wilderness for a weekend camping trip - a tradition as comforting and reliable as a good ghost story around a roaring bonfre. The boys are a tight-knit crew. There’s Kent, one of the most popular kids in school; Ephraim and Max, also well-liked and easygoing; then there’s Newt the nerd and Shelley the odd duck. For the most part, they all get along and are happy to be there - which makes Scoutmaster Tim’s job a little easier.
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Seriously Messed Up Gruesome Horror
- By Kim Venatries on 03-13-14
- The Troop
- By: Nick Cutter
- Narrated by: Corey Brill
Not for the squeamish
Reviewed: 11-04-18
This is by the book body horror. Well and efficiently written, though the story has a tendency to dwell on particularly gruesome scenes and force you to listen to every detail when you'd rather move on. I guess that's part of the point, though. Definitely keeps you attention.
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Blackwater: The Complete Saga
- By: Michael McDowell
- Narrated by: Matt Godfrey
- Length: 30 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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Blackwater is the saga of a small town, Perdido, Alabama, and Elinor Dammert, the stranger who arrives there under mysterious circumstances on Easter Sunday, 1919. On the surface, Elinor is gracious, charming, anxious to belong in Perdido, and eager to marry Oscar Caskey, the eldest son of Perdido's first family. But her beautiful exterior hides a shocking secret. Beneath the waters of the Perdido River, she turns into something terrifying, a creature whispered about in stories that have chilled the residents of Perdido for generations.
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A 6 Star Worthy Epic!
- By jksullycats on 10-29-17
- Blackwater: The Complete Saga
- By: Michael McDowell
- Narrated by: Matt Godfrey
wow
Reviewed: 11-04-18
Beautifully written. I can't believe that Michael McDowell has been dead over 20 years and this is the first I'd heard of him. He was an absurdly talented writer. Blackwater is basically a saga that follows a wealthy family in a small Alabama town for 50 or so years. There are some elements of horror and the supernatural but only rarely and usually to good effect. Mostly this is a drama full of good humor and dynamic, well written characters that you can't help but fall in love with. Unfortunately, Mr. McDowell wasn't afraid the let you spend hours and hours getting to know a character and becoming invested in them, only to kill them or hurt them terribly. There is no profanity or sexual content at all, the violence is occasional but can be not only graphic, but heartbreaking. As for the reader, very well done. His mild southern accent is well suited to this story. My only complaint is that 2/3's through the story he decided to give a character (James Caskey) a lisp, which drove me nuts. Otherwise, highly recommended to everyone.
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Locke & Key
- By: Joe Hill, Gabriel Rodriguez
- Narrated by: Haley Joel Osment, Tatiana Maslany, Kate Mulgrew, and others
- Length: 13 hrs and 23 mins
- Original Recording
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Based on the best-selling, award-winning graphic novel series Locke & Key - written by acclaimed suspense novelist Joe Hill (NOS4A2, Horns) and illustrated by Gabriel Rodriguez - this multicast, fully dramatized audio production brings the images and words to life.
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I WANT MY MONEY BACK!
- By Randall on 10-24-15
- Locke & Key
- By: Joe Hill, Gabriel Rodriguez
- Narrated by: Haley Joel Osment, Tatiana Maslany, Kate Mulgrew, full cast
Sometimes hard to follow in this format
Reviewed: 09-22-18
Very good story, it's just that I found it a bit hard to follow with sound effects versus exposition. This was particularly true during action sequences. Otherwise, very enjoyable.
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2 people found this helpful