Christopher Meeks
- 17
- reviews
- 27
- helpful votes
- 29
- ratings
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Drop City
- By: T. C. Boyle
- Narrated by: Richard Poe
- Length: 18 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 390
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 213
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Story4 out of 5 stars 209
T.C. Boyle is hailed as "America's most imaginative contemporary novelist" ( Newsweek). In 1970, a California commune pulls up stakes and moves to the harsh interior of Alaska. The members establish Drop City, a back-to-the-land town, on a foundation of peace and free love. But their idealism cannot prevent tension from rippling through the group. The results are anything but predictable in this honest, surprising evocation of a time period and its enduring beliefs.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Dig this...
- By Lynne on 03-15-04
- Drop City
- By: T. C. Boyle
- Narrated by: Richard Poe
DROP CITY Builds Beautifully
Reviewed: 06-04-24
Having loved T.C. Boyle’s short stories and his novels “Tortilla Curtain” and “Outside Looking In,” I’d bought his novel “Drop City,” a story about hippies in 1970 living in a Northern California commune named Drop City. Boyle had captured Timothy Leary and the counterculture so well in “Outside Looking In” that I wanted more. However, “Drop City” lay dormant by my bedside because its 444 pages felt intimidating. I parked it on a bookshelf for “someday.”
Then I saw the book available on Audible, narrated by Richard Poe, and I grabbed it. The Audible book is so good—Poe’s voice so smooth and urgent—that I found myself reading from the printed book at times just to see certain sentences in ink. For instance, the book starts with, “The morning was a fish in a net, glistening and wriggling at the dead black border of her consciousness.” This is Star, one of the five main characters of the book along with around another dozen players including Norm, whose inheritance pays the bills. Star, not long out of high school and in a job in the “plastic world,” has left Back East with her high-school acquaintance, Ronnie, who now calls himself Pan. At the commune, she meets Marco, who is trying to dodge the draft, and they become an item.
Boyle captures the seventies adroitly, not making fun of his cast, but capturing details of the times including the easy use of marijuana, amphetamines, LSD, and sex. About seventy pages in, Boyle takes us far from California, to Alaska, and to thirty-one-year-old Sess Harder, living along a river as a trapper near the tiny town of Boynton, Alaska, four hours by car from Fairbanks. He has an opposite life where life is about survival, and the wrong step on a frozen river can cost you your life. He meets twenty-seven-year-old Pamela from Anchorage, who interviews him as husband material as she wants to live near Boynton, too.
After Drop City in California has a run-in with the law, Norm takes his group to Boynton, Alaska, where he inherited a cabin and land. Boyle crashes the frontier life together with the counterculture, and amazing things happen. He brings into focus various drives and contrasts for a meaningful life. Boyle spins this tale like Tom Wolfe crossed with Jack London. The winter in Boynton, with seventy-below-zero days could be right out of London’s novel “Call of the Wild” or his short story “To Build a Fire.” The details bring you there.
One example is when, the summer day after Sess and Pamela marry in Boynton, they discover that the man who crashed their wedding party, ex-Marine Joe Bosky, had traveled to their cabin and killed his dogs used for pulling a sled in the winter. This was about Sess’s livelihood as a trapper. Sess wants to find and murder Bosky, but Pamela says he’d likely go to jail. They argue. Boyle writes, “Down the rise, two hundred feet away, the river played a soft tinkling accompaniment to the shrugs and whispers of their conversation, and it could have been the silken rustle of a piano in a dark lounge.”
The only drawback to listening to this book is when you hit a great sentence like that, unless you hit the button to rewind thirty seconds, it’s gone forever. At times I was wishing I could find a magic pen to highlight the audio.
The book is over twenty years old at this point, but it remains fresh. It’ll be a classic.
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Down the River unto the Sea
- By: Walter Mosley
- Narrated by: Dion Graham
- Length: 7 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 3,323
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 3,037
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Story4 out of 5 stars 3,030
Joe King Oliver was one of the NYPD's finest investigators until he was framed for sexual assault by unknown enemies within the force. A decade has passed since his release from Rikers, and he now runs a private detective agency with the help of his teenage daughter. Physically and emotionally broken by the brutality he suffered while behind bars, King leads a solitary life, his work and his daughter the only lights. When he receives a letter from his accuser confessing that she was paid to frame him years ago, King decides to find out who wanted him gone and why.
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5 out of 5 stars
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So.Damn.Good.
- By Jabulile on 03-08-18
- Down the River unto the Sea
- By: Walter Mosley
- Narrated by: Dion Graham
Dark, Masterful, and Surprising
Reviewed: 03-06-23
I finished listening to this book minutes ago, It's been a few years since I've read a Walter Mosley mystery, and this is the first time I've listened to one of his books. I don't remember his stories getting so dark, but that may be memory playing tricks. After all, the character of Mouse in his Easy Rawlins mysteries made things dark and dangerous. There's an equally engaging and dangerous character in this book named Mel. That's just one of the many brilliant things about this book, which voice actor Dion Graham brings acutely to life..
At a few points, I could only think how there are too many people in the world who do terrible things. The protagonist, a private detective named Joe King Oliver, runs into many such people. The insights, the texture, the imagery in this book is exceptional. The writing is flawless.
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Everybody Knows
- A Novel
- By: Jordan Harper
- Narrated by: Megan Tusing, William DeMeritt
- Length: 9 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 216
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 201
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Story4 out of 5 stars 201
Welcome to Mae Pruett’s Los Angeles, where “Nobody talks. But everybody whispers.” As a “black-bag” publicist tasked not with letting the good news out but keeping the bad news in, Mae works for one of LA’s most powerful and sought-after crisis PR firms, at the center of a sprawling web of lawyers, PR flaks, and private security firms she calls “The Beast.” They protect the rich and powerful and depraved by any means necessary.
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1 out of 5 stars
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Dreck!
- By cindy m on 06-09-23
- Everybody Knows
- A Novel
- By: Jordan Harper
- Narrated by: Megan Tusing, William DeMeritt
Masterful -- I Had to Keep Listening
Reviewed: 01-23-23
It’s not often I read a really great new novel, so I have to tell you about this one, "Everybody Knows," by Jordan Harper. The publisher calls it an L.A. Noir mystery, but it goes beyond that. It’s really our world and how we live it in. It’s about how we get the news that we do, including on social media.
I have a friend who feels that our popular “reliable” mass media such as NPR, The New York Times, and the Los Angeles Times, often reflect what the powers that be want them to reflect. He prefers reading Consortium News and news from the Southern Poverty Law Center. Otherwise, what we hear is what the billionaires want us to hear through various manipulations.
"Everybody Knows" takes in such a theme from the point of view of a public relations agency in Los Angeles. Its many clients include the studios, stars, and politicians. The novel points out that the information that gets to us is often a narrative spun by a publicist, and the publicist protagonist, Mae Pruett, specializes in turning what might be a scandal into a benefit. She uses the notion that "give the public horror or heartstrings." Thus, a popular actress who is about to start a movie but who has come away from a weekend of debauchery with sex and drugs, injuring her face, will likely lose the movie and her career. Instead, Mae gets out that the star's loveable dog, overzealous, nipped her face out of love. Social media loves it.
I mention this because the book gets darker and darker, where we see that the PR agency as well as a Blackwater-like security company, a network, newspapers, and so much more are owned by a billionaire who really controls everything, and people die with impunity.
Mae's boss Dan, who gets killed early on and inspires Mae to find out why, has the saying, "Don't worry about the truth. It's not that the truth isn't important. It just doesn't matter. A lie that isn't believed by anyone can still have power if it gives permission to people to do what they want to do anyway.” A bloody glove that doesn’t fit is all you need. “Give them horror or give them heartstrings. Nothing else sticks."
I found the book as powerful as the 1974 movie The Parallax View with Warren Beatty, yet it doesn't have as bleak an ending. This book has one last great twist.
I listened to the book on Audible, and there are two voice actors, Megan Tusing and William DeMeritt, both amazing. I usually listen only to books in my car, but this one put me on edge so much, I had to keep listening at home on my AirPods. I recommend this especially for book clubs as there’s plenty to discuss in terms of theme and society, yet it’s also gripping with twist after twist.
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The Enlightenment Project
- By: Lynn Hightower
- Narrated by: Danny Deferrari
- Length: 8 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 11
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 11
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 11
Noah Archer is a renowned neurosurgeon, with an impressive success record. He has a happy home with his beloved wife, Moira, their two adopted sons, and a dog who’s a very good girl. But Noah keeps a dark secret, shared only with his old friend Father Perry Cavanaugh. When he was just a boy, he was possessed by a demon - and it was only thanks to the exorcist priest that he survived.
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2 out of 5 stars
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Only 2 hours
- By Brad Haws on 12-30-22
- The Enlightenment Project
- By: Lynn Hightower
- Narrated by: Danny Deferrari
An "Exorcist" with Many Unique Twists
Reviewed: 04-02-22
I bought this book because I'd loved the audio version of Hightower's novel, "The Piper". I knew nothing of "The Enlightenment Project" going in. Quickly, we're introduced to brain surgeon Noah Archer, practicing in Lexington, Kentucky. He has a research project going, dubbed "The Enlightenment Project." As an eleven-year-old boy, he'd felt a strange presence inside him, something evil, and as he neared suicide, a Catholic priest had helped him get rid of this presence. After that, he'd wondered what had happened to him scientifically, none of this devil, mumbo-jumbo stuff. He became a brain specialist because he was curious how religious belief and the brain worked, much like a cover story in Time Magazine a dozen years ago. His project observes the brains of supposedly inhabited people.
When one of his patients with brain cancer shows up completely cured after he should have died within a week, Noah tries to figure out how his brain stimulation might have helped. He's starting to think maybe there is, indeed, a devil and it was involved in Noah's project.
Noah's wife, Moira, doesn't buy this at all. This novel, too, becomes an involving love story where two partners love each other, but one starts having beliefs outside the norm.
At first, the story revolves around deep science and how brains function, so I expected it would stay scientific. Then the story moves into "The Exorcist" territory and also becomes the kind of book Stephen King might write. I loved it. Hightower puts you on edge in every chapter. If this wasn't an audiobook, it'd be called a page-turner. Let's say I drove a lot more than normal just to listen to the book.
Narrator Danny Deferrari does a fabulous job. I happen to be a writer, too, and I'd consider using him for one of my books. He's friendly, reads well, and pulls you along.
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Peril
- By: Bob Woodward, Robert Costa
- Narrated by: Robert Petkoff
- Length: 13 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 7,808
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 6,530
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 6,473
The transition from President Donald J. Trump to President Joseph R. Biden Jr. stands as one of the most dangerous periods in American history. But as number one internationally best-selling author Bob Woodward and acclaimed reporter Robert Costa reveal for the first time, it was far more than just a domestic political crisis. Woodward and Costa interviewed more than 200 people at the center of the turmoil, resulting in more than 6,000 pages of transcripts - and a spellbinding and definitive portrait of a nation on the brink.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Clear Portrait of Chaotic Presidential Transition
- By Peter W. Kalnin on 09-21-21
- Peril
- By: Bob Woodward, Robert Costa
- Narrated by: Robert Petkoff
Mesmerizing and Chilling via Woodward and Costa
Reviewed: 03-15-22
While a House Committee continues to look into January 6th, this book, "Peril," reveals what the committee is also finding. You get a deep sense of how Trump worked -- sometimes with good intentions (well, rarely) and often with his ego running on high, wanting to punish Democrats as well as Republicans who disagree with him.
The first part of the book, with Trump still president, put me on the edge of my seat, feeling Trump might get away with some of his orders, some which may skirt the law and be unlawful. I also gained some respect for McConnell, who may be doing things that frustrate me personally but he wasn't afraid to stand up to Trump. Lindsey Graham is similar that way. Graham has told Trump over and over he lost, and if Trump can accept it, then he may take the 2024 election by storm. If he can't get over it--and Trump's ego keeps taking him down--then Trump won't get the suburban voters he needs.
By the end of the book, I could see how those who fear Trump might return have good reason to do so. Trump finds people who can do his bidding. Look at Giuliani (who represented Purdue Pharma, by the way, as I learned in the Hulu series "Dopesick.")
I also loved learning what happened when Biden came into office. Biden may be too low-key for his own good. It's clear Biden is not afraid of confrontation, and yet he does not toot his own horn. He sees service as mandatory. Helping people is his reason for being alive. You will get a better sense of both Trump and Biden in reading this book, which will give you insights for what's happening in the news now,
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The Last Thing He Told Me
- A Novel
- By: Laura Dave
- Narrated by: Rebecca Lowman
- Length: 8 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 58,254
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 50,740
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 50,592
Before Owen Michaels disappears, he smuggles a note to his beloved wife of one year: Protect her. Despite her confusion and fear, Hannah Hall knows exactly to whom the note refers—Owen’s sixteen-year-old daughter, Bailey. Bailey, who lost her mother tragically as a child. Bailey, who wants absolutely nothing to do with her new stepmother. As Hannah’s increasingly desperate calls to Owen go unanswered, as the FBI arrests Owen’s boss, as a US marshal and federal agents arrive at her Sausalito home unannounced, Hannah quickly realizes her husband isn’t who he said he was.
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1 out of 5 stars
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The worst book I have ever heard
- By Amazon Customer on 05-14-21
- The Last Thing He Told Me
- A Novel
- By: Laura Dave
- Narrated by: Rebecca Lowman
I Took a Chance -- and It is Fabulous
Reviewed: 02-15-22
I just noticed a few low-rated reviews for this book, which deeply puzzle me. Everything about this book is great. I wish I wrote it.
First, I found Rebecca Lowman as the narrator astounding--a great and revealing voice. As for the story, \this isn't the kind of novel I normally go for, yet it was recommended, so I tried it and was grabbed immediately. A thirty-something woman, Hannah, who is a celebrated artisan working in wood in NYC, doesn't expect she'll ever marry, but she's not looking. Then she meets Owen, from California, and we cut to a year later, when they are married and living in his houseboat in Sausalito with his daughter, 16-year-old Bailey, He'd lost his wife and Bailey, her mother. Bailey is slowly accepting Hannah. Then Owen disappears after the software company he works for is caught in a scam. He leaves a note for Hannah: "Protect her."
So many questions: Is Owen a fraud? How come there's no trace of his online history before he and his daughter moved to Sausalito? Where is he? Where did the $600,000 in cash that he leaves come from? Why is the first person to talk with Hannah after this a U.S. Marshall and not the FBI, who come later? Why wouldn't Owen go on a work trip with her to Austin, Texas?
I couldn't wait to listen to this book to hear what happens. Author Laura Dave is masterful at offering visuals and small moments that reveal a lot. Kudos to the author.
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The Year of Magical Thinking
- By: Joan Didion
- Narrated by: Vanessa Redgrave
- Length: 1 hr and 28 mins
- Original Recording
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 9,790
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 8,640
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 8,562
When celebrated writer Joan Didion’s life was altered forever, she wrote a new chapter. In this adaptation of her iconic memoir, Didion transforms the story of the shattering loss of her husband and their daughter into a one-woman play performed by Tony Award winner Vanessa Redgrave, who originated the role on Broadway in 2007.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Difficult story, but worth it
- By Maya on 08-07-20
- The Year of Magical Thinking
- By: Joan Didion
- Narrated by: Vanessa Redgrave
Powerful. Didion Transfixes.
Reviewed: 09-05-21
I can't fully explain this special book. I've read it twice, and now have listened to it three times with Vanessa Redgrave as the narrator. Redgrave's voice draws you into Didion's world.
Joan Didion is known primarily for her potent, personal essays, even though she's written exceptional films, novels, and a stage play, co-writing some scripts with her husband, John Gregory Dunne. In this book and many of her early essays, she takes the reader through her thinking and observations, even when talking about sensitive and vulnerable matters, such as, years ago, a possible divorce and, here, the death of John.
"The Year of Magical Thinking" begins when she and John return from a New York hospital where their daughter Quintana has pneumonia and septic shock. As they sit down to dinner, John plops forward, dying in front of her. She thinks he's joking, then realizes what's happening. She calls 911, but the paramedics cannot save him. The book chronicles the year as she tries to pragmatically step forward and deal with her husband's death and her daughter's worsening condition. She can't give away John's shoes as he might come back.
While such matters are deeply sad, the writing thrusts you into how Didion, 71 at the time, copes, sees, and remembers beautiful things. As she said to the Guardian newspaper while on a book tour for this title, she wrote this as her way of confronting grief. "Well, there was nothing else to do," she said. "I had to write my way out of it because I couldn't figure out what was going on. By the time I started it -- John died December 30 (2004), I didn't start writing until October. I was out of the phase where I didn't know I was crazy. I was still crazy, but I knew it."
This is an amazing meditation. Listen to it or read it. After Didion's book came out, she wrote it as a stage play, and Vanessa Redgrave performed it on Broadway. As you listen to this book, you'll grasp how powerful the play must have also been.
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Billy Summers
- By: Stephen King
- Narrated by: Paul Sparks
- Length: 16 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 33,142
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 29,662
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 29,511
Billy Summers is a man in a room with a gun. He’s a killer for hire and the best in the business. But he’ll do the job only if the target is a truly bad guy. And now Billy wants out. But first there is one last hit. Billy is among the best snipers in the world, a decorated Iraq war vet, a Houdini when it comes to vanishing after the job is done. So what could possibly go wrong?
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5 out of 5 stars
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Absolutely amazing
- By Victor @ theAudiobookBlog dot com on 08-03-21
- Billy Summers
- By: Stephen King
- Narrated by: Paul Sparks
King at His Non-Horror Best
Reviewed: 09-04-21
This book surprised and enraptured me. I couldn’t wait to get to the car to hear more. The book's brilliance stunned me. For years, I stayed away from Steven King horror books as I could not take supernatural stories where I’d get scared. It’s too eerie. However, in the last decade in particular, King has taken his literary chops and focused on real people with real-world events, but still with compelling concepts. Take his “11/22/63,” for example, about a guy who finds a way back in time and aims to stop Lee Harvey Oswald from killing President Kennedy.
Here, title character “Billy Summers” is as friendly and warm as his name suggests—which is saying a lot, considering he is a hit man. However, he kills only bad people. After Billy left the Iraq war as a top sniper, he came into this line of work, rationalizing he would get rid of only truly bad people. Here, he’s to take out a fellow hit man who, a sore loser, murdered a guy in anger after a card game. Billy must wait it out in a small town in Texas for the man to be extradited. His cover is that he’s a writer needing isolation. Over many weeks, he comes to love his neighbors and others.
Billy has a backstory, which we learn as he indeed tries writing. His mother’s boyfriend killed Billy’s sister, and Billy ended up in foster care at a house always being repainted, so he called the place The House of Everlasting Paint. Take off the “t” in the last word, and you have the essence of Billy.
The first third of the book is the setup for the hit, where he has to deal with bad men to to erase a bad man. Likeable neighbors, kids, friends in his office space make him reevaluate what he’s really doing.
Then comes the day of reckoning, and King keeps the tension high—but there’s still half a book to go. The coming twists take the story to a third and fourth level, and you’re with Billy the whole way. I won’t say more to keep you listening or reading.
The audiobook is narrated vividly by Paul Sparks who seamlessly creates unique voices for each character. You'd swear there's a whole company of actors here. I narrated one of my books of short stories, "The Middle-Aged Man and the Sea," and it takes an incredible amount of work. I 'm no Paul Sparks. For me, this is a rare audiobook, brilliant in every way. Now my challenge is to find another as good.
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Rage
- By: Bob Woodward
- Narrated by: Robert Petkoff
- Length: 13 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 11,359
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 9,634
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Story5 out of 5 stars 9,550
Woodward, the number-one international bestselling author of Fear: Trump in the White House, has uncovered the precise moment the president was warned that the Covid-19 epidemic would be the biggest national security threat to his presidency. In dramatic detail, Woodward takes readers into the Oval Office as Trump’s head pops up when he is told in January 2020 that the pandemic could reach the scale of the 1918 Spanish Flu that killed 675,000 Americans.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Knock-down, drag-out
- By LEE on 09-15-20
- Rage
- By: Bob Woodward
- Narrated by: Robert Petkoff
Need to Hear
Reviewed: 11-20-20
This book changed my view of Trump. While I have not been a fan of Trump or even admire Trump – in fact, I have hated Trump — this book by Bob Woodward fascinates. I now see Trump honestly believes what he believes. He has a fatal flaw. He cannot empathize. He cannot step into another person’s shoes.
Intellectually, Trump can figure out often what he should do, but he sees himself as king. If he gives an order, he expects that people will leap to it, and he does not necessarily want to hear why it’s a bad idea.
He feels China cheated by letting this virus infect the world. He cannot understand why anyone would think him inept. He did not create the virus.
Trump is an outsized character, and Woodward takes us inside the man’s mind. It’s a scary place to be, but everyone needs to hear Trump answer questions as openly as he can. Shakespeare should be here to write another play on this man.
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Suspect
- By: Robert Crais
- Narrated by: MacLeod Andrews
- Length: 8 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 15,039
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 13,664
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 13,651
LAPD cop Scott James is not doing so well, not since a shocking nighttime assault by unidentified men killed his partner, Stephanie, nearly killed him, and left him enraged, ashamed, and ready to explode. He is unfit for duty - until he meets his new partner. Maggie is not doing so well, either. The German shepherd survived three tours in Iraq and Afghanistan sniffing explosives before she lost her handler to an IED and sniper attack, and her PTSD is as bad as Scott’s. They are each other’s last chance.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Gripping Page Turner!!
- By Jackie on 01-22-13
- Suspect
- By: Robert Crais
- Narrated by: MacLeod Andrews
Amazing Performance, Involving Story
Reviewed: 10-14-20
I have read a few books by Robert Crais before and loved his characters and tight plots. This is my first audiobook of his. MacLeod Andrews’ narration amazed me. I have had three of my books turned into audiobooks, and I’ve been quite pleased with them, but I know how difficult it is for a single narrator to create voices of other characters. Andrews must have multiple personalities. The men, the women, even a dog, have great voices. I just now looked at what else he has narrated, and I see he’s part of the new Phil Klay novel. I just downloaded it.
As a recent first-time dog owner, I also learned a lot about dogs in this book. LAPD police officer Scott James joins a K-9 unit after surviving an ambush on city streets. His partner was killed in the ambush, and he’s done his best to hide his PTSD to remain on the force. After nine months in recovery, he starts following leads in the still-open case with his attack dog Maggie at his side. It’s gripping.
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