Matthew Swope
- 8
- reviews
- 1
- helpful vote
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The Echo Wife
- By: Sarah Gailey
- Narrated by: Xe Sands
- Length: 8 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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Martine is a genetically cloned replica made from Evelyn Caldwell’s award-winning research. She’s patient and gentle and obedient. She’s everything Evelyn swore she’d never be. And she’s having an affair with Evelyn’s husband. Now, the cheating bastard is dead, and both Caldwell wives have a mess to clean up. Good thing Evelyn Caldwell is used to getting her hands dirty.
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So many levels
- By Rachelle on 02-18-21
- The Echo Wife
- By: Sarah Gailey
- Narrated by: Xe Sands
Brilliant‼️
Reviewed: 06-26-23
Outstanding writing. Perfect, spot-on Narration. What a brilliant character study. Exquisite use of details. Simultaneously, an exploration of the emotional turmoil of divorcée, the ethics of a cutting edge researcher, the definition of humanity, and so much more.
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Edge of Tomorrow (Movie Tie-in Edition)
- All You Need Is Kill
- By: Hiroshi Sakurazaka
- Narrated by: Mike Martindale
- Length: 5 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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When the alien Mimics invade, Keiji Kiriya is just one of many recruits shoved into a suit of battle armor called a Jacket and sent out to kill. Keiji dies on the battlefield, only to be reborn each morning to fight and die again and again. On his 158th iteration, he gets a message from a mysterious ally - the female soldier known as the Full Metal Bitch. Is she the key to Keiji's escape or his final death?
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Don't like the movie edition
- By Mathew Padilla on 09-23-16
- Edge of Tomorrow (Movie Tie-in Edition)
- All You Need Is Kill
- By: Hiroshi Sakurazaka
- Narrated by: Mike Martindale
In brief…
Reviewed: 09-25-22
Narrator was satisfactory, but ideally would’ve been Japanese or at least of Japanese descent. Would’ve definitely improved the authenticity of the experience.
This story is notably different from the film, despite the advertised tie-in. The film is much better, but if you want a different take then give a listen.
I waited for a sale and I’m glad I did. This is a good story, but not worth a full-priced credit.
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Ep. 1: Who is Anna Winslow?
- By: Anthony Del Col, Cassandra Bond, JP Conway, and others
- Length: 30 mins
- Original Recording
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University student Anna Winslow, has gone missing. The circumstances of her disappearance are far from ordinary, a fact that only fellow student Melissa Lopez appears to appreciate. Motivated by an unexplained and disturbing voicemail message from Anna, on the night of her disappearance, Melissa's curiosity quickly turns into a deeper investigation, an obsession even, which she chronicles as a regular podcast — the very podcast you are about to listen to.
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So Bad
- By AudiobookWorm on 03-06-18
Engaging story, unsatisfying ending
Reviewed: 05-15-20
It hooked me from the beginning. Each episode propelled me to the next to find out what happened. And the podcast “found recordings” format was the perfect device for telling the story. But...
Horror-mysteries like this build up so much tension & anticipation that they demand a big payoff at the end. And that is this story’s one glaring weakness. It just did not deliver enough of a reveal-twist to live up to everything that came before. Otherwise, it was very entertaining for all but the last few minutes.
Fans of THE BLACK TAPES podcast should feel right at home with Unheard.
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Ep. 1: Who is Anna Winslow?
- By: Anthony Del Col, Cassandra Bond, JP Conway, and others
- Length: 30 mins
- Original Recording
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
University student Anna Winslow, has gone missing. The circumstances of her disappearance are far from ordinary, a fact that only fellow student Melissa Lopez appears to appreciate. Motivated by an unexplained and disturbing voicemail message from Anna, on the night of her disappearance, Melissa's curiosity quickly turns into a deeper investigation, an obsession even, which she chronicles as a regular podcast — the very podcast you are about to listen to.
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Too scripted and fake
- By Amazon Customer on 02-05-20
Engaging story, unsatisfying ending
Reviewed: 05-15-20
It hooked me from the beginning. Each episode propelled me to the next to find out what happened. And the podcast “found recordings” format was the perfect device for telling the story. But...
Horror-mysteries like this build up so much tension & anticipation that they demand a big payoff at the end. And that is this story’s one glaring weakness. It just did not deliver enough of a reveal-twist to live up to everything that came before. Otherwise, it was very entertaining for all but the last few minutes.
Fans of THE BLACK TAPES podcast should feel right at home with Unheard.
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The Last Policeman
- The Last Policeman, Book 1
- By: Ben H. Winters
- Narrated by: Peter Berkrot
- Length: 8 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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What’s the point in solving murders if we’re all going to die soon, anyway? Detective Hank Palace has faced this question ever since asteroid 2011GV1 hovered into view. There’s no chance left. No hope. Just six precious months until impact. The economy spirals downward while crops rot in the fields. Churches and synagogues are packed. People all over the world are walking off the job—but not Hank Palace. He’s investigating a death by hanging in a city that sees a dozen suicides every week—except this one feels suspicious, and Palace is the only cop who cares.
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Not your regular mystery
- By Victor @ theAudiobookBlog dot com on 09-20-16
- The Last Policeman
- The Last Policeman, Book 1
- By: Ben H. Winters
- Narrated by: Peter Berkrot
Intriguing Premise Not Delivered On
Reviewed: 03-16-20
My disappointment with this book comes entirely from my expectations. The premise is so clever - a dogged detective who tries to find purpose & motivation in a society that no longer values such things. There is so much space here to explore armchair philosophy and the common man’s existential struggle surrounded by common people experiencing the same in their own way. That is not what we get. The looming cataclysm does color attitudes, but Winters does not take a deep dive.
As for mysteries, I prefer when there is a chance for readers to piece things together. Or in the very least, when the clever detective ties it all together in the end for you to say, “Oh, that’s clever. I didn’t see that, but I could have connected the dots if I paid a little closer attention.” This isn’t necessary, of course. Agatha Christie, the grand dame of murder mysteries, often pulled unknown players and unseen clues out at the very end that nobody but Miss Marple or Hercule Poirot could have seen. So, it’s only a minor ding. But Winters has the ability to do it here and chose not to.
Finally, the reader didn’t do it for me. I know, when it comes to narrators, beauty is in the ear of the beholder. But to me, I feel readers are like actors and I judge them accordingly. Did they bring the character(s) to life the way I imagine them in my mind? Did they completely inhabit the character or did they occasionally sound like they were actors playing a role (or doing a voice)? Did they draw me in and keep me? Berkrot did mostly good on most levels, but I could have liked another reader to take a run at it. His tone and inflection sometimes gave me the sense that the protagonist was self-loathing rather than just uncertain. And in a world where most of the other characters were not particularly fond of his determination, the reader could have found a way to make him more universally appealing to the readers.
I wanted to like this book more than I did because the premise set high expectations. It was a pretty good murder mystery and the approaching doom did show itself in how characters comforted themselves. I just would have liked for the existential threat and it’s consequences on individuals and society to have been pulled a little more into the foreground. I won’t be finishing the series.
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Grave Peril
- The Dresden Files, Book 3
- By: Jim Butcher
- Narrated by: James Marsters
- Length: 11 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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Harry Blackstone Copperfield Dresden has had a rough couple of weeks. As the only openly practicing professional wizard in the Chicago area, he has squared off against a multitude of supernatural bad guys. Harry has won the day against demons, poltergeists, sorcerers, trolls, vampires, werewolves, and even an evil faerie godmother. You might think nothing could spook him. You would be wrong.
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Spike makes good
- By Lakejewel on 03-22-10
- Grave Peril
- The Dresden Files, Book 3
- By: Jim Butcher
- Narrated by: James Marsters
Best Dresden yet
Reviewed: 02-28-20
Storm Front hooked me. It was a fun, plot-driven page-turner that promised a fascinating world.
Fool Moon sorely disappointed after that initial thrill such that I honestly wondered if a different author ghost wrote parts of it. In fact, I quit the series after originally reading this paperback 15 years ago.
I’m glad I gave it another chance because Grave Peril feels like the author and the character come into their own. This book begins to seriously deliver on the hints and backstory and greater fantasy world Butcher’s been teasing.
Characterization is vastly improved such that I felt propelled more by the character of Harry Dresden and his relationships with those close to him than by the exciting plot twists.
The supporting cast gets more filled in and fleshed out here. Butcher’s female characters are still described in ways that cone off as fan service and they very often play the role of the damsel needing rescue. But many of the supporting characters now feel richer in their own right and in how they highlight new aspects of the titular narrator.
Harry’s romantic relationship w Susan, the tabloid journalist, builds toward some emotionally resonant and truly unpredictable moments.
Dresden has improved as a character.
Butcher has grown as a writer.
And, thankfully, Marsters gets better at bringing the words to life with each book. The apparent lack of a pop-screen on the microphone in the first book resulted in way, way too much mouth noise. I can say this has improved as the reader has also found an effective delivery that works well for Harry.
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Rot & Ruin
- By: Jonathan Maberry
- Narrated by: Brian Hutchison
- Length: 13 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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Fifteen-year-old Benny Imura lives in a world infested with zombies where, when a kid turns 15, he must get a job to continue receiving food rations. Benny has no interest in the family business of zombie killing, but figures he doesn’t have much of a choice. He’s tried out a bunch of other jobs, and hasn’t found anything he likes. But as Benny starts training with his brother, he learns things about being human that he never expected.
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Just when you thought it was safe.....
- By Amanda H. on 05-12-11
- Rot & Ruin
- By: Jonathan Maberry
- Narrated by: Brian Hutchison
A refreshing vision of life after us
Reviewed: 10-24-19
Maberry presents a refreshing view of human life after the fall. Through the eyes of two brothers, he shows us how humans inevitably sort themselves, no matter what the circumstances.
1) Those who believe might makes right. They may appear to do what’s right, but only ever because it benefits them. You can call them evil, if it suits you.
2) Those who will usually do what’s right if it’s easy, but won’t if it’s not. This makes up the bulk of us. They aren’t bad people, they just aren’t inherently good people.
3) And those who do what’s right simply because it’s right. Because if they don’t, nobody will. They are rare, but humanity is redeemed because they exist among us. You wouldn’t be wrong to call them heroes.
A 15yo boy thinks he knows how the world is. He quickly and repeatedly discovers how wrong he is. And, through that painful discovery, becomes a man.
I’ve read zombie stories that made me curious about what a zombie was before they turned and whether they feel & think. But I don’t think I’ve ever been led to feel compassion for them.
The plot develops along familiar lines - most of the “surprises” are foreshadowed - and it ends about as you’d predict it would, but it is no less satisfying for it. And ultimately, I shed a tear for the loss and the pain and the characters felt, even the pain that comes with doing the right thing.
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Day by Day Armageddon: Grey Fox
- By: J. L. Bourne
- Narrated by: Jay Snyder
- Length: 44 mins
- Unabridged
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Time is a very fluid thing, no one really has a grasp on it other than maybe how to measure it. As the maestro of the Day by Day Armageddon Universe, I have the latitude of being in control of that time. I can adjust the slider either direction, moving the timeline back and forth along the continuum. This is one of the perks of creation, the benefit in constructing something (albeit small) from nothing. Sort of makes you wonder what the maestro of the universe is up to, no? You have again stumbled upon a ticket with service through the apocalyptic wastes, but this time the train is a little bit older, a little more beat up, and maybe a little wiser. Keep your doors locked.
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What a Kill...
- By D. Parker on 03-21-14
- Day by Day Armageddon: Grey Fox
- By: J. L. Bourne
- Narrated by: Jay Snyder
This is an epilogue, not a novel
Reviewed: 10-19-19
This is decent, for what it is. Plot wise, it is satisfying enough, but showcases Bourne’s best writing in the series which makes it a bit sad that he didn’t flesh this out. This feels like a kindness to series fans - to provide some resolution to the central character we’ve cone to know over three novels. I don’t know if Bourne tired of the series or just had better writing opportunities present themselves following his success with it, but this is little more than an epilogue to quell fan demand for an ending.
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1 person found this helpful