Upright Ape

Terrible narration, overused deadly dozen theme

Reviewed: 07-29-19

The story starts with the overused "Deadly Dozen" theme: an end-game convict is given a chance at freedom on the condition that he participates in some sort of perilous mission. I knew this was the setup from the plot description, but some of the glowing reviews led me to believe (yes, I was led, I let it happen, my fault, blah blah blah) that S.J. Morden had done a decent job with the old cliche.

He didn't. The beginning is a very tired rehash of the "born to be bad" enlistment process.

In addition, the narration was terrible - dull, slow and monotonous, with poorly acted characterizations.

A big thumbs down on One Way.

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Just plain stupid

Reviewed: 01-06-18

What disappointed you about Artifact?

Adolescent writing. Inane metaphors, some accompanied by idiotic stereotypes ("He looked Russian, being extremely white as only Russians and Canadians seemed able to achieve"). One dimensional characters straight out of juvenile science fiction pulps of the 1930's.

How could the performance have been better?

Luke Daniels could have at least pretended to be interested in the content he was reading. He is an actor, after all. Or is he?

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

None.

Any additional comments?

Next time I consider an audiobook narrated by Luke Daniels, I'll pay closer attention to the sample recording.

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3 people found this helpful

Gen-Z Morons in Space

Reviewed: 12-23-17

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

If you like YA Sci-Fi (rhymes with "Hi-Fi") populated with characters who are one-dimensional Gen-Z morons, this is the book for you.

What could Larry Niven and Gregory Benford have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

They could have written the novel themselves. They've clearly delegated the entire task of authoring this turkey to home-schooled tween ghost writers.

Would you be willing to try another one of Zach Villa’s performances?

Well, he was able to accurately portray the human ramship's captain as the clueless parent of equally brain-dead adolescents, so he does have that much talent. I am curious to see how well he can handle equally challenging roles in other novels.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

At one point a member of the human crew is attacked by a small carnivore native to the "Bowl". She squeals "Why'd it DO that?" Why, indeed? "Astonishment" is the only way I can describe my reaction to how badly written "Bowl" is, with its unending drivel of equally squealing dialogue.

Any additional comments?

Don't be fooled by the star power of the authors associated with "Bowl of Heaven." Larry Niven and Gregory Benford have written some of the all-time greatest Science Fiction novels, such as Niven's Ringworld series and Benford's Galactic Center Saga. However, the association of their names with "Bowl," while not necessarily deliberately fraudulent, is at the very least misleading. Niven and Benford are nowhere in evidence here.

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Narrator horrible

Reviewed: 05-07-16

Would you try another book from Elly Griffiths and/or Clare Corbett?

See my review for the previous entry, The Dying Fall. As far as I'm concerned, A Room Full of Bones is the last audiobook in the series, unless the narrator for The Dying Fall and all subsequent audiobooks is replaced.

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8 people found this helpful

Change in narrator ruined the audiobook series

Reviewed: 05-07-16

What did you like best about Dying Fall? What did you like least?

The story was about as well written as the previous entries in the series. Unfortunately the amateurish narration ruined this and the subsequent entry I've read, The Outcast Dead. Clare Corbett renders all of the characters' voices, especially those of children and males, as unbearable caricatures of over-emoted stereotypes. I struggled through the entirety of The Dying Fall in an effort to continue the series, and because I hoped that possibly Clare Corbett's narration would improve in later volumes. That didn't happen. Her narration in The Outcast Dead was so poorly done that I couldn't finish the book.

If you’ve listened to books by Elly Griffiths before, how does this one compare?

See other comments about the narrator.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Clare Corbett?

A brain dead question. Jane McDowell or someone with her talent should have been been hired as narrator. The publishers either couldn't or wouldn't do that, for the usual reasons that they give when explaining their failures and collecting their bonuses.

Do you think Dying Fall needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

I think it needs a replacement with a new narrator, not just a follow-up. The previously published follow-ups narrated by Clare Corbett should also be re-released with a different narrator. Ideally, Jane McDowell should be that different narrator.

Any additional comments?

I am applying for refunds for The Dying Fall and the Outcast Dead. I will not be listening to The Ghost Fields unless the narrator is changed.As of this date, 05/06/2016, the latest entry, The Woman in Blue, is available on Amazon in print and Kindle editions only. If an audiobook version is released, I hope that the narrator is not Clare Corbett. Otherwise, I'm through with this series.

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4 people found this helpful

Like the series, like Marsters but like Glover too

Reviewed: 04-23-15

What about James Marsters’s performance did you like?

It's consistent with the rest of the series and excellent.

Any additional comments?

While I appreciate Audible's going the extra mile to deliver a free copy of the narration by James Marsters, I'm also a huge fan of John Glover. I'm happy to keep both versions, and I applaud both narrators.

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1 person found this helpful

Extremely annoying narration

Reviewed: 02-28-14

Would you try another book from Ralph Compton and Dusty Richards and/or Scott Sowers?

I would certainly buy another book by Ralph Compton and Dusty Richards. I would not buy any book narrated by Scott Sowers.

What was most disappointing about Ralph Compton and Dusty Richards ’s story?

Because of the poor narration, I couldn't listen to more than the first 2 or 3 chapters of the novel. What I did hear sounded like a fairly generic tale about an itinerant war veteran, struggling to find a place to live and encountering the usual problems - hostile townsfolk, random gunslingers, war widows, etc.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

Scott Sower's characterizations were adequate as far as the sounds of the voices went. The problem with his narration was that he paused a few seconds between EVERY sentence. These pauses completely wrecked the story's continuity and frustrated me to the point where I put the book aside after listening to no more than 3 chapters.

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from North to the Salt Fork?

I would not have cut any scenes. After listening to the first audio "draft", I would have instructed Scott Sowers to eliminate the pauses. If he could not do so, I would have assigned a different narrator to the project.

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Amateurish, uneven production

Reviewed: 12-27-10

This production is so badly done for so many reasons that I hardly know where to start with this review. I'll try using highlights:

1. Hercule Poirot speaks with an English accent. The performer makes a poor attempt to mimic a French accent but fails utterly.
2. One performer does produce a believable French accent. The only problem is that the character speaking that accent is from Spain!
3. The abridgment is careless and sloppy. Audio fades are used during critical conversations and events, disrupting the continuity. The arrivals and departures of key characters have been removed in several places, making it impossible to know who is and isn't present at the start of any scene.
4. Hercule Poirot is a minor player. He does nothing but say things like "Yes, curious" and "No, curious" for most of the production. His presence in England is never explained satisfactorily. No time at all is given to his thoughts, emotions, and ideas. Even at the end, when he manufactures his solution, he states facts and evidence he's never discussed or seen in this butchered production.

If you are a fan of Agatha Christie and/or Hercule Poirot, avoid this half-baked BBC attempt to milk the Christie cash cow. The milk is sour.

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4 people found this helpful