Short Review: Character-driven sweeping tale of court intrigue, thieves, and swordsmen read beautifully by many voices and accompanied by music and sound effects. Witty and funny, a great tale.

Long Review: For those of us well read in the Fantasy genre, this is one of those books that many people expect you to have read. But I hadn’t, until about two weeks of my spare time were swallowed whole by this story.

Richard St Vier is the best swordsman. He lives in Riverside, the “other side of the tracks” which in this story is the “other side of the bridge”. Riverside is the home to thieves, swordsman, and prostitutes. They have their own rules – and those not from Riverside rarely dare to cross within its borders. Meanwhile, up on the hill across the bridge, is the nice side of town – home to the rich and the people in charge.

Much of this story is what I think of as court intrigue – people in power manipulating things behind the scenes to get more power or regain power. As is often the case, those with power use everything, and everyone, at their disposal to shift things to their liking. There are lots of beautiful parties and back room negotiations. Those in Riverside are frequently entangled in the intrigue from across the bridge and it is in midst of these entanglements that we find much of the story. In Swordspoint, duels settle disputes — and when you aren’t a swordsman yourself, then you need someone to fight in your stead. Someone like Richard St Vier, if you are very lucky.

There are a lot of characters to follow. I will admit to sometimes losing track of some of the names for a bit, but anyone important enough to demand attention would soon turn up again and I shortly got everyone sorted out. I wonder if that would have been easier had I been seeing the names rather than hearing them, but the different voices of the audiobook also helped me differentiate the characters as well – so it might not have made a difference after all.

I will admit to having thought about one of my father’s adages about stories a few times during this book: “Who is there to root for?”. Such is the way of things when so many of the characters that get a lot of ‘screen time’ are scheming against each other. It takes a while to sort out everyone’s agendas (that is part of the fun!). But it didn’t take long before I found people to root for and care about. In fact, even when I didn’t like what they were doing, I was often captivated by their machinations. Swordspoint tells quite the tale. It is one of those stories in which you can lose yourself for a while.

On top of being a great story, you might also be considering listening to Swordspoint because of its connection to the new serial story Tremontaine, available in eBook and audio installments. Tremontaine is a prequel to Swordspoint. If that leaves you uncertain about which story to start with, you might want to read the tips from the author on what order to read them.

One last tidbit about the story — in the world of Swordspoint, romantic attachments are quite varied and just as likely to be between those of the same sex as those of the opposite sex. That this is just how things are is so rare as to be a bit of a revelation. We see from the very start that Richard St Vier lives with his lover Alec in Riverside… and the story just barrels onward. No excuses, no hedging – the story tells us how each pair of people relates to one another as we go along. I loved that.

I am more accustomed to listening to more traditional audiobooks which feature a single reader from end to end. This audiobook is very different. It is halfway between a full-cast audiobook and a radio play. Lots of different voices (including a fair amount by the author), intervals of music, and even some sound effects. Click on the second Soundcloud clip below for a sample. It took some getting used to, but overall I enjoyed it. You can also learn more about the creation of the audiobook as an ‘Illumniated audiobook”. The readers were very expressive – and I never found myself confused about who was speaking. Honestly, going back to a ‘regular’ audiobook after Swordspoint took a bit of adjustment. Where was my music? My sound effects?

Book sample:

Available from Audible.com

Short Review: Elizabeth Wein continues the heart wrenching legacy begun by Codename: Verity. This is the story of Rose Justice, an American ATA pilot, who gets captured in by Nazis and is thrown into Ravensbrück concentration camp. What follows is a brutal story of trying to find hope in a hopeless situation. Wein delivers a book that will leave you emotionally spent, read by Sasha Pick.

Long Review: Rose Justice is an American ATA pilot whoâ€s come to England to help with the war effort. While transporting an Allied plane from Paris to English soil, Rose is forced to land and is promptly captured by Nazis and taken to the Ravensbrück concentration camp. Wein details the daily humiliations of concentration camp in a way that feels viscerally real.

Although the book is set in a series with Codename: Verity, there is very little that remains from the first book in the series. Rose Under Fire focuses on the survival and search for hope of a single individual who, unlike the protagonists of Verity, is American. There are planes and heartbreak for the reader but that’s pretty much where the similarities end. Rose Under Fire is a much more brutal and a much darker book than Verity ever was. This is not necessarily a bad thing as such but it’s important for the reader to know that this is an emotionally draining book, which is not entirely unexpected from Wein as an author.

As it was for Codename: Verity, Rose Under Fire is extensively researched and while fictional, no doubt shows a composite of many real lives. The atrocities described in the book really happened in Ravensbrück and the visceral details Wein provides only serve to make it more real. She does not pull any punches.

Sasha Pick does a good job of setting the scene with her voice acting and distinguishes characters easily. She conveys the emotions in the book in an understated way that manages to not take away from the listener. However, some of the voices she lends to the characters start to get a little tiring with the sheer brutality of the book.

I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who loved Codename: Verity and anyone who is a fan of historical fiction, especially books set in the second World War. It gives a voice to rarely heard viewpoints. However I don’t think anyone should go into this unprepared. The book will leave you chewed up and spit out. Allow me to recommend spending some time on Emergency Kitten! afterward.

Dark Bayou by Ashley Blake

Author: Ashley Blake
Reader: Ted Brooks
Available exclusively from Audible.com

Short Review: This storytelling intertwines the historical events which contribute to its modern day consequences. Gives you the feeling that the crazy, wild west isn’t so far removed from us. A mystery where violent scenes unfold in detail.

Long review: Ted Brooks, as a reader, gives one the impression that he is an accomplished, professional voice over actor, and the effect is like listening to a movie trailer or a documentary film. While very well spoken, most of the book feels like it is being read out loud to you, rather than enveloping the listener in the character performances. With that being said, I believe that listening to this book probably helped with Louisiana style pronunciations and speaking styles that I may not have garnered by a visual reading.

We begin the story with its historical context, honest and gruesome in a style of Stephen King. We play time traveler, learning all the area history between 1897 and 1992 in Beaux River, Louisiana. Freddy Tango is dealing with an unusual set of dramatic and violent events. By all suspicions, the ghost of murderous “Man On The Road” Percy Yates is after him and his loved ones; but this is recognized as impossible. Who could be behind these attacks on Freddy Tango, and why?

There are some necessary by-the-book plot points, and a few clever twists. One advantage to having this available as an audiobook over having the hard copy was that I didn’t know when the story was ending. Bonus points for that.

The story is intriguing enough to overcome some of the lack of character depth. The female characters specifically don’t speak with female personalities. The violence and death which occur in the book are rarely paired with average human reactions.

I suggest this is an entertaining read for trying to puzzle out the well-thought out historical mystery concept.

Mr Mercedes

Author: Stephen King

Reader: Will Patton

Short Review: Engaging story that lets you into the minds of a very horrible person and his current target. Written and read with such realism that your stomach will twist, and you’ll be tempted to cover your ears.

Long Review: Detective Bill Hodges retired with a couple open cases he can’t forget about. The Mercedes Killer takes advantage of the fact that the Detective can’t forget about the horrific events, and begins a correspondence with him. What is the motivation for the contact? What skills and connections can the detective use in his attempt to bring the killer to justice?  What ethical lines get crossed? And just how many more people will be in danger?

The listener is drawn in further and further, as is Detective Hodges. You want to stop listening because you don’t want to believe that people can think these things and do these things– but, like driving by a car crash, you can’t stop yourself from wanting to know more. Will Patton does a great job as reader, helping to flesh out the characters in your mind’s eye. He does a particularly masterful job of sharing a written note in the book that must have diagrammed emphasis that could’ve been lost by another reader.

While the story gives some comfort in having small plot items that are predictable, Stephen King pulls no punches with gruesome details. It’s as if he’s setting you up to knock you down. This is not an audiobook to listen to with your small children in the car. The book encompasses gory death, sexual situations, and more uncomfortable, taboo subjects. It is not adding these elements for sensationalism, but rather for furtherance of the point of the book.

Bad people do some unfeeling, bad things, and we can only hope that there are more clever good guys than bad guys in this world.

The Big Sleep

Author: Raymond Chandler
Reader: Full Cast: Toby Stephens, Kelly Burke, Barbara Barnes, Madeleine Potter, Leah Brotherhood, Sam Dale, Sean Baker, Iain Batchelor, Henry Devas, Jude Akuwudike

Available from Audible.com

Short Review: A fun, dramatized read of Chandler’s hard-boiled classic.

Long Review: I haven’t listened to many audiobooks that featured a full cast, but I’m a big fan of film noir and hard-boiled detective stories, so this seemed like the perfect opportunity to explore the BBC’s Radio 4 series of dramatized classics. I adore Chandler’s style and had read the book on paper, so I knew the story itself would entertain me. I think most of Chandler’s books are worth reading a few times, and this is one of my favorite ones.

The story hangs on Philip Marlowe, and Toby Stephens’ Marlowe is pitch-perfect throughout. His voice is nice and deep and gravelly, and he knows how to sell the lines. The rest of the cast does a great job as well–the production team was clearly careful about casting and rehearsal–two things I wish were more standard parts of the audiobook production process.

The music and sound effects are good too. I expected to be put-off a bit by the level of orchestration and number of effects, but I found it enthralling. This is a short audiobook, so I didn’t have time to get tired of the bells and whistles–well–the bangs and engine noise. It didn’t bother me one bit.

I’ll probably stock up on the other titles in the series. I think they’ll make perfect road trip fare, and I have plenty of driving to do this summer.

Author:  Lois McMaster Bujold
Reader: Grover Gardner

Extras: Brief tutorial from the author on the order in which her books should be read.

Short Review: Intrigue and romance dominate the scene as cousin Ivan finally gets his day in the sun. A great addition to the Vorkosigan series, this time with Miles only in a supporting role. Gardner is still as great as ever.

Long Review: While this book clearly can stand on its own, it will be a particular delight to those who are long time Vorkosigan Saga fans. Always in the past, Ivan has been the straight man to cousin Miles’s crazy mad-cap plans. I always knew he was no idiot, despite frequent claims by many to the contrary.

So this time it is Ivan’s turn. He is minding his own business, keeping his head down and doing his job well (as he is wont to do) when a lovely lady in a bad situation is dropped into his lap. Ever the gentleman and with an eye for how bad things could get if he doesn’t help, Ivan steps in to try and untangle things. The tangle resists simple resolution (this is a Vorkosigan book after all) and the full scale of it stretches from Kommar to Jackson’s Hole to Barrayar. It also stretches back in time, likely to the immense pleasure of hardcore fans as it fills in a few interesting historical tidbits. Even though I sometimes felt like Ivan would have been happier to hand this story over to anyone else, by not too far in he is as captivated as we are by those who need his help.

I smiled a lot during this book. If you have read your way through the Vorkosigan books to this point, there will be a number of familiar faces to enjoy – some in cameos, some with larger roles. I also really enjoyed the new characters – especially the leading lady Tej. Bujold has a knack for creating characters with a balance of flaws and appealing traits that blend into someone you expect you would like to meet in person.

The story has threads of both intrigue and romance. It didn’t have quite the breakneck pace of a Miles novel, but the story suits the characters and is captivating and entertaining.

Grover Gardner is still one of my most favorite audio book readers, and this is just another great example of his artistry. It is always clear who is speaking and his rhythm for the narration is clear and pleasing.

For those who keep track of such things, according to Bujold’s chronology, this book takes place before Cryoburn though it was published after it.

Author: Erin Morgenstern
Reader: Jim Dale

Short Review: The Locus Award winning novel is an enthralling story of magic, love, and struggle beautifully read by Jim Dale.

Long Review: Two magicians who have been engaging in competitions for years decide to design a new tournament: one man’s daughter vs. the other man’s student. To provide an arena for their students’ competitions, they create the Night Circus, which travels the world without any advertised schedule and opens at dusk to allow the public to view the acts and tents the two magicians’ students develop.

Morgenstern’s writing is enchanting, and she fills her novel with a number of compelling, interesting characters. The story sprawls a bit, but I find the breadth of it very enjoyable, much as I did Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell. This book is shorter and more accessible, but both are rich, detailed, and beautifully realized.

Morgenstern gives us people to love and people to hate: The magicians Hector Bowen (aka Prospero the Entertainer) and Alexander (aka Mr. A.H.) are both selfish, heartless monsters. Their students, Marco and Celia, are talented and brilliant and lovable but believable flawed. Several of the fans and performers in the circus are worthy of a great deal of attention: the clockmaker Friedrick Herr Thiessen, the boy Bailey who sneaks in and befriends a young performer, and on and on. And the descriptions of the magical feats Celia and Marco create are gorgeous.

Jim Dale, as usual, is a fantastic reader. I would listen to him recite from a phone book. His diction is crisp, his accent is comfortable and interesting to listen to, his pacing is excellent, and he clearly enjoys the material. I forget when I listen to a passable audiobook reader how much a talented actor can improve the experience of listening to a book, and then I hear someone like Dale and my listening patterns sway back to the fantastic side of the spectrum.

When all is said and done, I’ve listened to this book twice, and I am likely to listen to it every year or two from here on out. It’s a beautiful combination of novel and reader. I adored it.

Fire Will Fall

Author: Carol Plum-Ucci
Readers: Julia Whelan, Paul Michael Garcia, Eddie Lopez, Neil Shah, Kirby Heyborne and Tai Sammons

Short Review: More character driven (but still fairly suspenseful) sequel to Streams of Babel. Round robin of readers still pleasing.

Long Review: This sequel to Streams of Babel picks up shortly after the end of the prior story. I cannot review it without sharing some spoilers of the first story, so if you think that a post-9/11 suspenseful teen driven spy thriller sounds fun, go look at Streams of Babel.

For those of you who read the first book, Fire Will Fall starts with Cora, Scott, Owen and Rain (now known internationally as the ‘Trinity Four’) on their way to a secluded location to recuperate.

Shahzad and Tyler are also in their own recovery – but many miles away. The two v-spy computer geniuses just won’t let go. They are desperate to follow through and catch the bad guys who got away at the end of the last book.

The easiest thing to say is that we get another suspenseful mystery to solve with our overly clever teens who have the shadow of illness hanging over them. Plum-Ucci shares with us the emotions and fears and confusion of these teens, who in addition to dealing with normal teenage stuff (does he like me? should I call her?) spend a lot of time worrying that the people who tried to kill them might try again. In fact, they may already have killed them – just in slow motion.

I liked the first book a bit better, but this one was still worth the time for me. I like knowing what happens next to characters I care about, so this book succeeds at least on that front. The suspense is slightly lower, the action slower than in the first volume.  In fact, the author shares on her Amazon.com blog “I think of FIRE as more of a character piece..” – and that was very clear to me.

Shahzad and Tyler also get more airtime in this book than the last one. I will admit to having a large soft spot in my heart for Tyler – and this book gives him more room to try to harness his mania to save the day. I don’t have the skills to analyze the plausibility of Shahzad and Tyler’s computer hacking brilliance – but for me it wasn’t hard to just suspend disbelief for the v-spy details and stay around for the character development.

If your favorite thing about Streams of Babel was the suspenseful thriller and you don’t care much about the teen protagonists, then you should probably give this book a pass. If you are dying to know what happens next to the six teens from the last book, I think you will enjoy this book!

Reamde

Available from Audible.com

Author: Neal Stephenson
Reader: Malcolm Hillgartner

Short Review: A fantastic, well-read, fast-paced novel of hackers, criminals, anti-heroes, terrorists, and gamers.

Long Review: I adore Stephenson’s books, so I was at a loss when Anathem fell short for me. When a friend told me the day after Reamde was released that I was in for a treat, I immediately rushed home and bought a copy of the audiobook. And then I rescheduled as much as I could so I could listen to it constantly until the book was over. I binged on this book like a kid with a bag of halloween candy. I loved it like I loved Snow Crash and The Diamond Age: Or, a Young Lady’s Illustrated Primer, and I love them almost as much as I love my dog.

This novel opens at the Forthrast family reunion, where we meet our protagonists. Richard owns a company that created T-Rain, a popular MMORPG, and he offers his adopted niece Zula a job working on their new game. And then all hell breaks loose. The Russian mob, hackers, terrorists, gamers, bikers, spies, special forces . . . . think of something exciting or intriguing, and chances are Stephenson found a way to incorporate it into the story with elegance and insight. Stephenson’s talent lies in his ability to pack a great deal of information into a plot that keeps moving, while also writing interesting, surprising characters. He favors intelligent, layered characters and generally makes sure at least a couple of brilliant, strong women are mainstays in his cast. I walked away from this book wanting to know these people and ask them about their experiences.

Hillgartner does a fantastic job reading the book. His regular speaking voice seems fitting for Richard, and the accents he uses for the other characters ring true. His pacing is great, his diction is clear and undistracting, and he manages to keep this very long book engaging and entertaining throughout. I plan to seek out other books he narrated for future diversions.

Author: Lois McMaster Bujold
Reader: Grover Gardner

Short Review: A new Vorkosigan adventure, same fabulous reader. A fun romp with lots of old friends, and a few new ones.

Long Review: I really enjoyed this book, but I probably wouldn’t recommend it to someone who has never read any of the rest of the Vorkosigan Saga.

For those of you in the market for the latest and greatest adventures of Miles, you will likely be happy with this. I wouldn’t say it is in the same category as the best of the series – but more like a really good reunion show where you get to see all your old favorite characters. I would list a parade of them here, but I don’t want to give away who will show up. There are lots of fun cameos – you won’t be disappointed on that front.

Grover Gardner does his usual amazing job reading. For me, the voice he uses to narrate the Vorkosigan books is my mental voice for Miles. Even when I re-read these favorites of mine, I hear Gardner’s voice in my head. At least one or two of the best in the series would be on my desert island audio book list.

One interesting thing about this book in contrast with other Miles books is that only a third of the story is told from his point of view. One third is told by his armsman Roic and the final third told by a new character Jin – a young man who meets Miles and comes to his aid. There are a few other books in the series with other points of view, but this round robin gave Bujold a chance to show us more of how others see Miles, both a trusted member of his inner circle and someone who has no idea what he is up to.

There is also a final epilogue that is told in short snippets in a total of five other points of view. I can’t tell you more than that without spoiling it, but I will say that this final section felt more like the more emotionally intense books from the middle of the series.

Will you like it? Probably. Bujold is such a fantastic story teller and Gardner is such a great reader that the two together deliver a really enjoyable package. If you are a passionate fan of the series, you might feel a little let down by the ‘just another adventure on a planet far from home’ feeling – but it is still worth a listen. Bujold manages to balance out some of the lighthearted caper feel with some more serious themes that I can’t describe without wrecking them.

If you are still reading and wondering if you should start the series – I say YES without delay. I keep meaning to review them all here, but for now it is easier to tell you to just go start at the beginning with The Warrior’s Apprentice.

You can listen to a sample online.

Cryoburn

Author: Carol Plum-Ucci
Readers: Julia Whelan, Paul Michael Garcia, Eddie Lopez, Neil Shah, Kirby Heyborne and Tai Sammons
Available from Audible.com

Short Review: Welcome a the post-9/11 world in which terrorists wield bioweapons and our best intelligence is gathered online by teenagers. Kept me listening and then made me hunt for the sequel.

Long Review: This book is an interesting combination of the lives of an assortment of teens, but it is far from the typical high school drama. The book opens with the death of Cora’s mom. Cora is a loner at school, which we quickly learn has a lot to do with the mom who came home from a life as a photojournalist injured and addicted to morphine.

As the story moves forward, we meet Scott Eberman (paramedic), his brother Owen and Owen’s friend Rain Steckerman (both popular high school athletes), Shahzad Hamdani (teenage computer hacker in Pakistan) and Tyler Ping (teenage computer hacker in New York). The story is told in a round robin of first person, cycling through this assortment of high school students who have all been pulled into the center of an act of bioterrorism.

With six readers, I do list this as a ‘Full Cast Audio’ book – but it isn’t really. Each voice is tied to a single character and tells their part of the story. It is a good set of voices – though I did like some better than others. That might have a bit to do with my preferring some characters over others, but it certainly wasn’t enough to take away from the enjoyment of listening to this book.

I find myself writing this review on the tenth anniversary of 9/11 and it is definitely a story that is informed by that event. It spends a lot of time chasing down terrorists via what they term ‘v-spying’, an abbreviation of virtual spying done by computer hackers trying to watch for, translate and convert into usable intelligence the online chatter of terrorists.

It is definitely an intense and suspenseful story, but in the end this is a story about six teenagers and their lives. Some of it is about being in the wrong place at the wrong time – but it quickly becomes clear that each person in this story has their own opportunity to take action. For these six, their choices and experiences reach far beyond the personal sphere – but in the end they are still teenagers. A good deal of the narrative traces the inner journey that every teen has to take as they navigate their way to adulthood.

I don’t want to tell you any more details for fear of spoiling some of the suspense. Suffice it to say that I enjoyed it and quickly sought out the sequel.

Audio sample available.

A Game of Thrones: A Song of Ice and Fire: Book One

Available from Audible.com

Author: George R. R. Martin

Reader: Roy Dotrice

Short Review: Martin’s Locus-Award winning novel, expertly read by Roy Dotrice, proves an engrossing opening to a long, unfinished series.

Long Review: I was initially hesitant to pick up this series because I had heard so many friends complain that Martin was slow to release subsequent novels in the series. I didn’t want to wind up invested in characters who might or might not have resolutions in future releases. HBO’s sneaky free preview weekend forced my hand, because seeing the opening episode of their adaptation of the story made me want to read the books before watching the TV show.

Martin’s books are long and intricate, and follow dozens of characters. I generally enjoy fantasy audiobooks because the novels themselves tend towards the narrative, mythic style I think is best read aloud. This series is a great example of that. I was immediately entranced by Dotrice’s narration. He developed different accents and styles for the varied characters, and his acting talent shines through in his reading. In many sections of the book where Martin’s wordiness might have annoyed me, Dotrice’s reading kept me interested. Were it not for Dotrice, I may not be so inclined to finish the series. Instead, I’m crossing my fingers that Martin writes fast enough to allow Dotrice to finish narrating all of the books before health problems make that impossible. I want Dotrice to read the paper to me. I love to listen to him.

Martin’s writing does suffer at times from overuse of certain tropes or words, but in general he knows how to write an engrossing, interesting tale. He makes sure none of his characters are true heroes or true villains, and he’s not shy about killing off lead characters. The story is largely medieval-styled fantasy, but Martin injects mysticism, the undead, magic, and some elements of classic mystery novels to refresh the genre. One of the most prevalent themes in the books is the odd progress of seasons in Martin’s world. Rather than living on a planet with four seasons in a year, Martin’s characters inhabit a world where seasons can last many years. The story opens as signs of waning summer are appearing, and the phrase “Winter is coming” becomes a regular refrain. As the novel progresses, many factions fight for the throne of Westeros, and the third-person narrative switches from one character’s experiences to another.

There is no shortage of specifics about the plot available online, so I’ll leave it to you to seek out as many or as few spoilers as you like. Just know that the corpses pile up and several of the characters are truly layered and intriguing. Martin might have benefited from more editing, but Dotrice’s reading makes the book is a great listen.