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Stardust
- Narrated by: T. Ryder Smith
- Length: 18 hrs and 5 mins
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Publisher's summary
Hollywood, 1945. Ben Collier has just arrived from war-torn Europe to find his brother has died in mysterious circumstances. Why would a man with a beautiful wife, a successful movie career, and a heroic past choose to kill himself?
Ben enters the uneasy world beneath the glossy shine of the movie business, where politics and the dream factories collide and Communist witch hunts are rendering the biggest star makers vulnerable. Even here, where the devastation of Europe seems no more real than a painted movie set, the war casts long and dangerous shadows. When Ben learns troubling facts about his own family's past and embarks on a love affair that never should have happened, he is caught in a web of deception that shakes his moral foundation to its core.
Rich with atmosphere and period detail, Stardust flawlessly blends fact and fiction into a haunting thriller evoking both the glory days of the movies and the emergence of a dark strain of American political life.
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Berlin, between the two world wars. When an executive at the renowned Ufa film studios is found dead floating in his office bathtub, it falls to Nikolai Hoffner, a chief inspector in the Kriminalpolizei, to investigate. With the help of Fritz Lang (the German director) and Alby Pimm (leader of the most powerful crime syndicate in Berlin), Hoffner finds his case taking him beyond the world of film and into the far more treacherous landscape of Berlin's sex and drug trade.
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Masterful
- By Buzz on 03-25-11
By: Jonathan Rabb
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Cat Chaser
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- Length: 7 hrs and 42 mins
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The hero of Cat Chaser, George Moran, isn't looking for trouble but finds it anyway when he winds up in bed with the wife of a drug-dealing mob-connected Dominican cop - vicious, macho and ready to follow George to the ends of the earth, which in this case means Miami.
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Elmore Leonard and Frank Muller: Unbeatable.
- By Richard Delman on 04-20-12
By: Elmore Leonard
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A Dangerous Road
- Smokey Dalton, Book 1
- By: Kris Nelscott
- Narrated by: Mirron Willis
- Length: 11 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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Private Investigator Smokey Dalton works for Memphis, Tennessee’s black community. He has almost no interaction with the white hierarchy, even though they exist only blocks away. So he’s surprised the day a white woman walks into his Beale Street office. Laura Hathaway has sought him out because he’s a beneficiary in her mother’s will, and Laura wants to know why. So does Smokey. He’s never heard of the Hathaways, but his search will take him on a journey that will change everything he’s ever known.
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Interesting Slice of US History...but Ponderous
- By Rancher on 12-18-13
By: Kris Nelscott
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Knots and Crosses
- Inspector Rebus, Book 1
- By: Ian Rankin
- Narrated by: Michael Page
- Length: 5 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
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Detective John Rebus' city is being terrorized by a baffling series of murders…and he's tied to a maniac by an invisible knot of blood. As the ghoulish killings mount and the tabloid headlines scream, Rebus cannot stop the feverish shrieks from within his own mind. Because he isn't just one cop trying to catch a killer - he's the man who's got all the pieces to the puzzle…
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I've Read Mixed Reviews and Can Marry Them
- By Steve Mac on 02-13-16
By: Ian Rankin
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Down Cemetery Road
- By: Mick Herron
- Narrated by: Julia Franklin
- Length: 13 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
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When a house explodes in a quiet Oxford suburb and a young girl disappears in the aftermath, Sarah Tucker becomes obsessed with finding her. Accustomed to dull chores in a childless household and hosting her husband’s wearisome business clients for dinner, Sarah suddenly finds herself questioning everything she thought she knew, as her investigation reveals that people long believed dead are still among the living, while the living are fast joining the dead.
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A bit of a slog....
- By rhl60 on 01-26-24
By: Mick Herron
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China Trade
- The Lydia Chin/Bill Smith Series, Book 1
- By: S. J. Rozan
- Narrated by: Christine Marshall
- Length: 9 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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Asian American private investigator Lydia Chin knows New York City's Chinatown, its people, and its ways as no outsider ever could. It's a city within a city, a rich melange of smells, sounds, dark shops, and close-knit families - a world all its own. And in all of Chinatown, there is no one like Lydia, who has a nose for trouble, a disapproving Chinese mother, and a partner named Bill Smith who's been living above a bar for 16 years. Hired to find some precious stolen porcelain, Lydia follows a trail of clues from highbrow art dealers into a world of Chinese gangs.
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Main character too immature and unbelievable
- By lindy parke on 05-12-21
By: S. J. Rozan
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Aphrodite
- By: Russell Andrews
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- Length: 11 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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It looked for all the world like a terrible, tragic accident. Susanna Morgan had gotten up in the middle of the night, tripped, fallen, and broken her neck. Yet when detective Justin Westwood inspects the victim's apartment, he can't help noticing that the details don't quite add up. The glass on the bedside table is knocked over but there are no cuts on her body. The scrape on her knee looks suspiciously fresh. And then a terrified witness comes forward, confirming his worst fear.
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Just Works - Wonderfully
- By Ted on 05-03-12
By: Russell Andrews
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The Ritual Bath
- The First Peter Decker and Rina Lazarus Novel
- By: Faye Kellerman
- Narrated by: Mitchell Greenberg
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Detective Peter Decker of the LAPD is stunned when he gets the report. Someone has shattered the sanctuary of a remote yeshiva community in the California hills with an unimaginable crime. One of the women was brutally raped as she returned from the mikvah, the bathhouse where the cleansing ritual is performed.
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Good Read
- By Eva Gannon on 08-21-08
By: Faye Kellerman
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Koko
- Blue Rose Trilogy, Book 1
- By: Peter Straub
- Narrated by: Patrick Lawlor
- Length: 22 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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KOKO. Only four men knew what it meant. Now they must stop it. They are Vietnam vets — a doctor, a lawyer, a working stiff, and a writer. Very different from each other, they are nonetheless linked by a shared history and a single shattering secret. Now, they have been reunited and are about to embark on a quest that will take them from Washington, D.C., to the graveyards and fleshpots of the Far East to the human jungle of New York.
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7 hours in and I am done
- By bionichands on 01-26-12
By: Peter Straub
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Heartbreaker
- Buchanan-Renard-MacKenna, Book 1
- By: Julie Garwood
- Narrated by: Tanya Eby
- Length: 13 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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In the still shadows of the confessional, a madman tauntingly reveals his plan for a murder he is going to commit, pulling Father Thomas Madden into a twisted game by disclosing his next intended victim: Tom's sister, Laurant. In a frantic race to protect her, Tom calls upon his best friend, elite FBI agent Nick Buchanan, to track the predator who is closing in on Laurant. Now, as an electrifying attraction grows between Laurant and Nick, so does the danger - and one false move will cost both of them everything that matters.
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No struggle here.
- By Tom on 04-09-16
By: Julie Garwood
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The Mystery of Grace
- By: Charles de Lint
- Narrated by: Richard Powers, Tai Sammons
- Length: 9 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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Grace, as her friends call her, has a Ford Motor Company tattoo running down her leg and grease worked deep into her hands. She works at Sanchez Motorworks customizing hot rods. Finding the line in a classic car is her calling. Now Grace has to find the line in her own life. Grace loves John, and John loves her, and that would be wonderful, except that John, like Grace, has unfinished business: He's haunted by the childhood death of his younger brother. He's never stopped feeling responsible.
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interesting love story
- By Yuriko on 08-23-10
By: Charles de Lint
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What listeners say about Stardust
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Bay Area Girl
- 12-07-12
Hollywood as a smalltown
What made the experience of listening to Stardust the most enjoyable?
historical tidbits, movie making and studio craft, the red scare which reader "knows" but characters don't. gossip columnists and studio's power. Narrator was willing to clip and slur words just like a real person would do when tired or dismayed. Voices and pacing of lines was perfect. I think the read aloud version beats the printed text on this one.
What did you like best about this story?
authenticity and character variety
Which scene was your favorite?
the CA pools, the on the studio sets and back lots with the "fixer" Bunny, former child star.
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3 people found this helpful
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- Lawrence
- 08-26-13
Almost a Five Star
Kanon is a favorite. His books make many another look like Ned and The Reader. He has captured the period and dialogue to a "T." As with almost I've read, the denouement is a stretch and let down. Otherwise, it's a clear five.
The narration is superb! I cannot believe it's only one person. He brings Kanon's dialogue to absolute life. The Jewish manner and speech patterns are perfectly captured.
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2 people found this helpful
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- TJM
- 06-11-12
The "Old Hollywood"
Would you consider the audio edition of Stardust to be better than the print version?
Yes, at least for me.
What does T. Ryder Smith bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?
His great character voices helped to make a complicated plot with many developed characters easier to follow. Although I really liked this book and found its period descriptions fascinating, I think I may have gotten lost in reading a print version.
Any additional comments?
I grew up in California during the period this book covers with its absurd, but scary commie hearings, and the continued work on the atom bomb by the big government labs. It was fun to hear descriptions of the emigrant community, the (now old) Hollywood mansions and all the glitter. His historical coverage rings true. I was too young to recall details of the hearings, but expect they are also pretty true to detail. Great book, but you better pay attention or you'll get lost! The plot may sound far fetched today, but it wouldn't surprise me at all to find "that only the names have been changed".
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3 people found this helpful
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- William
- 11-15-15
A bit too much soul-searching, but a good read.
Was Stardust worth the listening time?
Yes. The story line was interesting & the author covered a pivotal moment in Hollywood history. Well done!
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- Curt
- 10-03-12
Slow boil
Stardust is both brilliant and challenging. It takes "stick-with-it-ness" to get through, but the persistence is well worth the investment of time.
The book is, in some respects, like watching water come to a boil. You can see and feel the heat of the flame being applied to the pot, but there is no immediate obvious effect on the liquid inside. The heat, however, is relentless and, after a while, visible currents begin to emerge. Bubbles form, creating light turbulence. And then, suddenly, an inflection point is reached and there is chaos, as things become wildly agitated, unpredictable, and violent.
Stardust is certainly not for the impatient. Half way through, I thought I might abandon and move on to something else. The quality of the writing kept me, but I was wavering. Two-thirds of the way through, I thought the book to be an interesting character study, but rather uneventful.
Then, suddenly, with about 5 hours left, the book exploded in a spasm of activity. The rest of the book was gone in the blink of an eye.
Interestingly, with the benefit of 20/20 hindsight, every early word was necessary. Looking back, nothing could or should have been cut out. Brilliant.
A couple other thoughts on this novel: I was entranced by Joseph Kanon's Istanbul Passage and chose to read Stardust with only one book in-between. Though clearly penned by the same hand, the two books are very different.
Istanbul Passage is chock-full of rich details that transport the reader to a a bygone era in an exotic location filled with larger-than-life personalities. In its pages, the reader can touch, feel, smell, and taste Istanbul. You are there.
Stardust is the polar opposite. Hollywood as the ordinary place it is. A mirage of sorts.
Studio magnates, glamorous movie stars, high profile gossip reporters, and big time politicians are all rendered human in this story. Their imperfections, foibles, insecurities, and secrets are on full display. Yet, in the telling of this story, we experience in some of the characters nobility, selflessness, and honor. (We are also exposed to and repulsed by actions and attitudes of others.)
My advice to those who choose to read this book: stay with it. Pay attention when it's slow and keep on going. You'll be glad you did.
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5 people found this helpful
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- Mark Hancock
- 05-08-16
Kanon!
This isn't even my first Joseph Kanon novel, but it's my first written review, brief as it may be. I love LeCarre, Furst, a few others, & Joseph Kanon is in that league, among the best. Anyone who can write characters you long for yourself, where a betrayal seems deeply personal to you- the reader!- as if you were actually betrayed...well, that's the type of novel I want to invest my time with. Someone who can make me really feel the story. Life is much too short for mediocrity. So read Kanon (& when T. Ryder Smith (for this book) reads, even better! He was astounding. So many different, distinct characters. Male and female. Perfect.
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- Richard Delman
- 04-27-15
Joseph Kanon owns this little corner of history.
Where does Stardust rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?
It's very good, but not among the top fifty, given that I've read about a thousand books, and I don't really enjoy history. Mr. Kanon, though, is a master of this little corner of the world, and Mr. Smith, whom I've never heard before, is a truly excellent narrator. The scope of the book is very large. It is about Hollywood during the period when WWII was turning into the Red Scare of the late '40's and early '50's, what came to be known as the McCarthy era. The protagonist is Ben Collier, a soldier who comes home to find that his brother Danny has died mysteriously, either at his own hand or that of another. Ben doesn't believe that his brother would kill himself. Ben very quickly becomes involved with Danny's widow, Liesl, and with the head of a movie studio, Carl Laszner. From there the plot winds around the hills and canyons of Los Angeles, with Minnesota's Senator Ken Minot standing in for Wisconsin's Senator McCarthy. The vicious hysteria which is whipped up by the anti-pinko forces is unstoppable, and it eventually comes very close to destroying the entertainment industry, taking with it, one cannot fail to note, the large expat Jewish community which has become the backbone of that industry. This is extremely good writing and narration, and held my interest in what eventually became a long book.
Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?
Yes, very much so, as I said above. The romance between Ben and Liesl is beautifully played, with the reader never really knowing what is real and what is scripted. The weasels of The Committee worm their way through the community in such a subversive and nasty way that you can easily see how good people can get caught up in the vicious finger-pointing, so very much the echo of Nazi Jew-blaming (and so very much worse, so horrendously much worse). The plot jumps around from LA to Europe to Mexico and back again, and you find yourself constantly looking over Ben's shoulder, whispering to him, "watch out, they're real!" It is brilliant writing.
Which scene was your favorite?
I didn't have a favorite scene. I was particularly pleased with the narrator's ability to put the small touches on the German attempts on English words, making characters sound so much like Colonel Klink. The book is a pleasure to listen to, even at this length, where many authors would really start to push their luck with me (ahem, Dennis Lehane and James Lee Burke).
Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?
A lot of the book moved me. Much of the romance between Ben and Liesl was just perfectly nuanced, full of lust and the awareness of Danny and the confusion that comes with feelings that most of us don't really understand. So many of us try to make "sense" of love, when, according to the scriptwriter of the movie Oh Brother, Where Art Thou, "It is a fool who searches for logic in the chambers of the human heart." Wish I'd said that.
Any additional comments?
This audiobook is way worth your time and money.
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8 people found this helpful
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- Amazon Customer
- 09-23-20
Multifaceted mystery from the post WW2 Hollywood
Couldn’t stop listening. Well written, well executed. Made me check out more Joseph Kanon books.
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- Sarah B. Rickman
- 08-04-23
Riveting Story, Real and Revelatory of an Era
This is my second Kanon book. The stories grab you. Consider them not only excellent reads, but an eye opener to history. Not all authors can do that. He does!
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- Nyna P
- 05-10-15
PERVERSION OF HISTORY OF THE MCCARTHY ERA
Would you try another book from Joseph Kanon and/or T. Ryder Smith?
A thousand times No! It actually deserves negative stars.
How could the performance have been better?
Ryder Smith should have refused to read this trash.
What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?
Incredulity. Kanon attributes the congressional witch-hunt to a twisted plot by lying, commie killers to influence public opinion and learn America's secrets. Among the plotters in Hollywood are some of the refugee German intellectuals who escaped from the Nazis. I'm old enough to recall the fear that pervaded the land in the 50s. See Woody Allen's "The Front" for the truth about Hollywood and the Un-American committee.
Any additional comments?
If the falsification of this shameful episode in our 20th century history is not enough, the sloppy writing adds insult to injury. Drawn in by the promise of a story of Hollywood and the blacklist, I was repelled and insulted by the perversion of reality.
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3 people found this helpful