I just finished up Terry Pratchett’s Thud!, and am now into Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. I’ve listened to a handful of Pratchett audio books, and they've all been narrated by Stephen Briggs, who does an outstanding job. I wish the AL:VH narrator was half as good as Briggs. He’s not terrible, just a bit dull in his delivery.
I've been way behind on audiobook reviews. I recently did Warren Ellis' Gun Machine narrated by the excellent actor Reg E. Cathey (The Wire, Oz, a thousand other things).
I thought it was a very good mix of crime procedural and cultural satire. Crooked Little Vein was like that, too, although I feel like Ellis did a better job of mixing the elements this time, so that the story didn't get to so absurd that that the suspense to get lost in all the gonzo.
I would say the exception to this, and for me the weakest parts of the novel, are the several times the main character would turn on the police band and hear about such a litany of ridiculous, this-would-be-front-page-for-days horrors that it made the New York City of the story a cartoon place. Mega City One or Gotham rather than NYC. That hurt the story because the other larger than life excesses in the story were actually possible. And every time that radio went on, the size and horror of the case the main detective was working on would actually get lessened by that horror montage.
But that is me being picky. Overall I thought the book was strong, and it was a fast, engaging listen. It felt like more of Ellis' voice that I love in his comics work was in this book than in Crooked Little Vein. (And, as a fan of his all too short Hellblazer run, I thought it was fun to see him take the concept of maps of a city, physical and spiritual, and continue to explore it). I would suggest Ellis fans check it out.
I've been way behind on audiobook reviews. I recently did Warren Ellis' Gun Machine narrated by the excellent actor Reg E. Cathey (The Wire, Oz, a thousand other things).
I thought it was a very good mix of crime procedural and cultural satire. Crooked Little Vein was like that, too, although I feel like Ellis did a better job of mixing the elements this time, so that the story didn't get to so absurd that that the suspense to get lost in all the gonzo.
I would say the exception to this, and for me the weakest parts of the novel, are the several times the main character would turn on the police band and hear about such a litany of ridiculous, this-would-be-front-page-for-days horrors that it made the New York City of the story a cartoon place. Mega City One or Gotham rather than NYC. That hurt the story because the other larger than life excesses in the story were actually possible. And every time that radio went on, the size and horror of the case the main detective was working on would actually get lessened by that horror montage.
But that is me being picky. Overall I thought the book was strong, and it was a fast, engaging listen. It felt like more of Ellis' voice that I love in his comics work was in this book than in Crooked Little Vein. (And, as a fan of his all too short Hellblazer run, I thought it was fun to see him take the concept of maps of a city, physical and spiritual, and continue to explore it). I would suggest Ellis fans check it out.
Similar thoug hts i have reading murder stories, especially series. The main character detectives have cases once or twice a year that are so gruesome or spectacular that in real life theyd make national headlines and be talked about for decades... But they happen to this person every year.
I've been way behind on audiobook reviews. I recently did Warren Ellis' Gun Machine narrated by the excellent actor Reg E. Cathey (The Wire, Oz, a thousand other things).
I thought it was a very good mix of crime procedural and cultural satire. Crooked Little Vein was like that, too, although I feel like Ellis did a better job of mixing the elements this time, so that the story didn't get to so absurd that that the suspense to get lost in all the gonzo.
I would say the exception to this, and for me the weakest parts of the novel, are the several times the main character would turn on the police band and hear about such a litany of ridiculous, this-would-be-front-page-for-days horrors that it made the New York City of the story a cartoon place. Mega City One or Gotham rather than NYC. That hurt the story because the other larger than life excesses in the story were actually possible. And every time that radio went on, the size and horror of the case the main detective was working on would actually get lessened by that horror montage.
But that is me being picky. Overall I thought the book was strong, and it was a fast, engaging listen. It felt like more of Ellis' voice that I love in his comics work was in this book than in Crooked Little Vein. (And, as a fan of his all too short Hellblazer run, I thought it was fun to see him take the concept of maps of a city, physical and spiritual, and continue to explore it). I would suggest Ellis fans check it out.
Similar thoug hts i have reading murder stories, especially series. The main character detectives have cases once or twice a year that are so gruesome or spectacular that in real life theyd make national headlines and be talked about for decades... But they happen to this person every year.
Agreed. It is like the old jokes about Murder She Wrote. To come across THAT many small town murders surely that nice writer lady must be involved.
Went back and listened to the first two in the Day by Day Armageddon series. Currently on the third one (and most recent) one, Day by Day Armageddon: Shattered Hourglass.
Some of it fills in the gaps between the first two books. And the the last one fits right after the second, leading into the third. So far, excellent stuff.
Also, since Batman: Legends of Robin isn't really available in any format except cassette, let me know if you want it. I will be happy to get it to you in an easier format.
A couple months ago I mentioned I was using the voice memo feature on the phone to "read" to my girl every night. And was looking to y'all for help in smashing those pieces together into a listenable audiobook. (Thanks by the way for the suggestions). The absolute easiest way I have since discovered is through I-tunes. On an I-phone the voice memos are saved in I-tunes and can be made into a playlist and burned to CD ba-da-bing! Custom Audiobook! Now, there isn't really any cool way to clean up sound quality or add whistles and bells but on an Unsuspected Romance to Profound Difficulty scale, this was a huge win. Just thought you'd want an update. Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy CD has been successfully burned and took 4 discs just between 60-78 minutes each.
I recently posted about a Terry Pratchett audio drama on another thread, but now the BBC are starting Neil Gaimens Neverwhere, with all star cast of James McAvoy, Natalie Dormer and Anthony Head! Should be good stuff!
I recently posted about a Terry Pratchett audio drama on another thread, but now the BBC are starting Neil Gaimens Neverwhere, with all star cast of James McAvoy, Natalie Dormer and Anthony Head! Should be good stuff!
Holy cow, I had no idea this existed! All the people you mentioned, plus Benedict Cumberbatch, Bernard Cribbins, and Christopher Lee? I will listen the hell out of this! And luckily, the Beeb seems to be willing to let me stream it even though I'm in the States (they don't often do that). Thanks for the heads up!
I recently posted about a Terry Pratchett audio drama on another thread, but now the BBC are starting Neil Gaimens Neverwhere, with all star cast of James McAvoy, Natalie Dormer and Anthony Head! Should be good stuff!
The sixth and final episode will expire in less than 24hours from the time of this post. For some odd reason the first five episodes will remain available for the next year+.
I plunged into audio books with A Clash of Kings by George R R Martin. I can't help but think that this was a mistake, not due to the book's content, but the sheer length of it. I'm not convinced audio books are for me, but I'll finish this one and marked a decision either way
I'm listening to "War of the Worlds" that I got from audible.com. It's got a great cast that includes Leonard Nimoy, Brent Spiner, Gets McFadden, Wil Wheaton, Armin Shimerman and others. It's a great performance.
My library recently got the Simon Jones-narrated Hitchhiker’s Guide series on audio, so I’ve been ripping through them the past couple of weeks. Only have Mostly Harmless left.
I'm about to head on over to the gym. I'm fairly caught up on podcasts, and whatever is playing at the gym is bound to be drivel, so while I'm there I'll probably listen to that BBC production of Terry Pratchett's Eric that aired a few weeks back.
Comments
I thought it was a very good mix of crime procedural and cultural satire. Crooked Little Vein was like that, too, although I feel like Ellis did a better job of mixing the elements this time, so that the story didn't get to so absurd that that the suspense to get lost in all the gonzo.
I would say the exception to this, and for me the weakest parts of the novel, are the several times the main character would turn on the police band and hear about such a litany of ridiculous, this-would-be-front-page-for-days horrors that it made the New York City of the story a cartoon place. Mega City One or Gotham rather than NYC. That hurt the story because the other larger than life excesses in the story were actually possible. And every time that radio went on, the size and horror of the case the main detective was working on would actually get lessened by that horror montage.
But that is me being picky. Overall I thought the book was strong, and it was a fast, engaging listen. It felt like more of Ellis' voice that I love in his comics work was in this book than in Crooked Little Vein. (And, as a fan of his all too short Hellblazer run, I thought it was fun to see him take the concept of maps of a city, physical and spiritual, and continue to explore it). I would suggest Ellis fans check it out.
Tim Drake is starting out as the third Robin. From what I've listened to thus far, it covers what happened to the last Robin, in flashback.
That's right... this audiobook covers Death in the Family, in its entirety.
Oh, and Mark Hamill voices the Joker. I repeat... Mark Hamill voices the freaking Joker in all his nuke-selling, Jason Todd-killing glory.
Some of it fills in the gaps between the first two books. And the the last one fits right after the second, leading into the third. So far, excellent stuff.
It made all my female friends cry. And I definitely felt something stir.
Check it out below...
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01r522y
For some odd reason the first five episodes will remain available for the next year+.
Catch the last one while you can.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01r522y/episodes/guide
I usually don't care for non-fiction audiobooks, but this was pretty good.
Love these books. Very descriptive action scenes, without using repetitive phrasing. And characters just talking? Even better.
I've finishing up on the Mass Effect Trilogy, and was curious about this. So far. haven't been disappointed. This one deals a lot with Saren.
Good news: Iron Man comes off much better.
Bad news: I'm sorry, but Captain America was a jackass.
And O.M.I.T. is used as far as Spider-Man and MJ.