The Ghost Bride (Audiobook)

Title: The Ghost Bride

Author: Yangsze Choo

 

Read by: Yangsze Choo

Publisher: Harper Audio (2013)

 

Genre(s): Fiction, Fantasy, Mystery, Historical Fiction

Length: 12 hours and 8 minutes

Synopsis: "Would you like to be a ghost bride?"  Li Lan is shocked by her father's suggestion.  After all, though marrying off the dead is not entirely unheard of in colonial Malaya, it is rare for the bride to be a living woman who would be condemned to a life of widowhood.  Though Li Lan has no interest in becoming such a bride, she is curious about the circumstances that led to the suggestion.  Her intended, it would seem, was the heir to the Lim family, a young man she had never even met.  Now, however, all of his family is showing a keen interest in her, from the new heir Tian Bai to his dead cousin, who's begun appearing in Li Lan's dreams and is anything but charming.

My Rating: 3 Stars

My Opinion:  I did enjoy this audiobook performance, since it is somewhat rare to find a book read by its author.  Li Lan isn't exactly the most interesting protagonist, but through her explorations, we are treated to an extensive, lushly described, and sometimes fantastical view of her world, both in life and death.  The historical notes Choo includes at the conclusion of the story are nearly as interesting as the book itself.  There's a lot going on in this story, ranging from romance to a sort of supernatural version of Law & Order.  With the historical context in place, that combination makes a lot more sense, but during my first listening, I found it somewhat difficult to work out where the story was going, and why on earth that seemed like a logical option.  Though there were things about this book that puzzled me, I did enjoy the performance overall, and the concept behind it in particular.

The Rook (Audiobook)

Title: The Rook

Author: Daniel O'Malley

Read by: Susan Duerden

Publisher: Dreamscape Media (2012)

Genre(s): Fiction, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Crime Thriller, Mystery

Length: 17 hours and 51 minutes

Synopsis: When Myfanwy Thomas awakes in a park, surrounded by corpses wearing latex gloves, she has no idea who she is or how she came to be in such a situation.  Her only clues are several letters in her pocket, addressed to her by the woman who had previously inhabited her body, the personality she'd been born with and which was mysteriously erased.  This is only the beginning of Myfanwy's trip down the rabbit hole.  Soon she begins to realize that there is far, far more to her life-- or rather, the life she's inherited-- than she could ever have guessed.  Her prior self has left her a road-map in letters and documents, but when one awakens to find oneself an administrator in the government's secret supernatural department, there are bound to be some adjustments to make.

My Rating: 3 Stars

My Opinion:  This book started well, but lost momentum before long.  I've read other reviews comparing The Rook with the film The Bourne Identity, but I really think it's really much closer to Ghostbusters.  It may have been Duerden's performance, but instead of playing as an actual thriller, this audiobook came across as a parody of one.  In truth, I can't tell which was the actual intent.  Duerden has Myfanwy sounding like a little girl rather than the competent administrator she is (repeatedly) purported to be, and the voices she adopted for some of her other characters crossed the border into ridiculous.  O'Malley has an interesting concept here, and some really unique ideas, but I did not enjoy this audiobook as much as I had hoped.

Gone Girl (Audiobook)

Title: Gone Girl

Author: Gillian Flynn

Read by: Julia Whelan and Kirby Heyborne

Publisher: Orion Publishing Group Limited (2012)

Genre(s): Fiction, Crime Thriller, Mystery, Crime

Length: 19 hours and 11 minutes

Synopsis: On the morning of her fifth wedding anniversary, Amy Dunne goes missing.  The living room of her house shows signs of a struggle, and the front door stands open when her husband, Nick Dunne, returns home.  As the investigation begins, the story unfolds from Nick's perspective, and in Amy's own words through her diary entries.  But things may not be as they seem, and halfway through the book, a whole new perspective on the events surrounding Amy's mysterious vanishing begins to emerge.  In a twisting, down-the-rabbit-hole, mystery, Gone Girl explores the complexity of human emotion and motivation, and the lengths to which we'll go for love, or hate.

My Rating: 5 Stars

My Opinion:  I had no idea what to expect when I started this book, and as I listened, I began to realize that even partway through the book, I was still not sure what to expect.  Just as I began to think I had this story figured out, a new chapter would begin and the layers would peel back in unexpected (and occasionally horrifying) revelations.  The characters are intelligent, and aware of it, which makes them intriguing if not particularly likeable.  They're manipulative, of each other and the reader, spooling out the story in calculated doses designed to keep us guessing.  Whelan and Heyborne are delightful performers given the unenviable task of bringing these faintly distasteful characters to life, and they do a marvelous job.  More than once, while listening to this book, I found myself pausing in the midst of whatever I was doing, completely absorbed in the story.  As mysteries go, it's one of the most enjoyable I've read in a long time, and though I am generally wary of mysteries as audiobooks (I find it's easier to recall the details and nuances in print, this performance and story make it worth the extra attention.  To me, it's the equivalent of a summer blockbuster film: a popular, well-known story performed well, and while it might not get critical acclaim, it was a fun way to spend my time.  

Storm Front (Audiobook)

Title: Storm Front

Author: Jim Butcher

Read by: James Marsters

Publisher: Buzzy Multimedia (2009)

Genre(s): Fiction, Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, Crime

Length: 8 hours, 1 minute

Synopsis:  Harry Dresden is a wizard.  Not a magician, available for birthday parties and parlour tricks, but a wizard.  As his advertisement reads: "Lost Items Found. Paranormal Investigations. Consulting. Advice. Reasonable Rates. No Love Potions, Endless Purses, or Other Entertainment."  But life as Chicago's only wizard is anything but straightforward.  Some consider him a charlatan, and others are terrified by the mere mention of magic.  All in all, it means that rent money is hard to come by, and Dresden often earns his keep consulting with the police department on unusual cases.  But when he's called in to solve a gruesome murder-by-magic, Dresden finds himself struggling trying to stay one step ahead of the killer.  Even worse, he's under suspicion himself!  With lives on the line, Dresden would have to risk everything to find a murderer.  How far is he willing to go?

My Rating: 5 Stars

My Opinion:  I'd been meaning to get into The Dresden Files for quite some time.  A friend in college recommended them, and I promptly filed that away for future reference in a folder in my mind which was subsequently lost.  I stumbled across it again at 4:00 am whilst paging through the books on offer at Audible.com.  Without hesitation, I downloaded Storm Front and started listening, then promptly had to stop and double check that I'd heard correctly.  Yes, I had.  In a double-dose of nerdiness, this urban fantasy gem is narrated by James Marsters, known for his role as Spike on the Joss Whedon TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer.  Even if I'd had no idea who he was, I would have enjoyed his performance.  Butcher's story comes to life in this fast-paced narrative that blends elements of classic detective stories with a modern take on fantasy.  Urban fantasy is a particular favorite sub-genre for me, and I found this perspective interesting.  It isn't high fantasy with its vast, cosmic powers left to roam on city streets.  This feels smaller and more contained somehow.  There are rules and conventions and everything feels as if it has a solid categorization: black and white where the ethereal is so often painted in shades of grey.  In general, I prefer my fantasy to feel a little less tamed, but I enjoyed that the danger here came less from supernatural power than from the very human people wielding it.

The engineering of this audiobook is slightly different from most of the others that I've heard; it ends up sounding slightly lower in quality, as there's a slight hiss in the background, but for a story set in an analog world, I found the sound less of a distraction and more part of an appropriate ambiance.  Marsters reads quickly and personably; his is a very believable voice for Dresden, an important consideration in first-person audiobooks, I think.  All in all, I loved it.  This is an eight hour book, but I found time to finish it in under a day.  Fantasy buffs, rejoice, and be sure to check this one out.

A Game of Thrones (Audiobook)

Title: A Game of Thrones

 

Author: George R. R. Martin

 

Read by: Roy Dotrice

Publisher: Random House Audio (2003)

 

Genre(s): Fiction, Fantasy

Length: N/A

Synopsis: The Seven Kingdoms have enjoyed an uneasy peace since Robert Baratheon and his allies ousted the Targaryen line and claimed the Iron Throne.  With the last heirs of the Targaryen line exiled to the Free Cities beyond the sea, King Robert's days of war are over, and he's grown overly fond of his luxurious life in King's Landing.  Far to the north, his friend and ally Eddard Stark, Lord of Winterfell, is glad to avoid the political maneuvering of the capital, content to watch over his lands and his family.  But not all families are content with their lot.  Queen Cirsei Lannister has deadly secrets that threaten to upend the kingdom, and, far across the sea, the heirs of House Targaryen, the Blood of the Dragon, have not forgotten their birthright.    Winter is coming, and the Seven Kingdoms stand on the brink of war on multiple fronts.  The board is set, and the game of thrones begun; who will arise the winner?

My Rating: 5 Stars

My Opinion:  This was one of the most stunningly performed audiobooks I have ever had the pleasure of hearing.  Dotrice maintains distinctive voices for each one of the multitude of characters in this complex tale without resorting to caricature.  Without a such skilled performer narrating, the story would have been all but impossible to follow.  At 33 hours and 50 minutes long, this unabridged version still posed an occasional challenge of comprehension.  The alternating chapters and their multiple interwoven plots require a sort of mental gymnastics to keep straight without the visual signposts of text.  The characters, however, deserve nothing less.  They are fascinatingly constructed, each with flaws and strengths that lift them off the page into three dimensions.  Everyone has his or her own agenda, and the lengths to which some will go to pursue them are incredible.  The story is a rich tapestry of political intrigue and high fantasy, written in an accessible and compelling set of voices.  For those whose knowledge of this series comes exclusively from the televised version, I would recommend taking a look at the original, whether text or audiobook.  Perhaps I'm beating the point to death, but the complexity of this story is really what lies at its heart.  People are not simple, and if it takes nearly 34 hours to tell the first part of their story, so be it.

Dracula (Audiobook)

Title: Dracula

 

Author: Bram Stoker

 

Read by: Alan Cumming, Tim Curry, Simon Vance, Katherine Kellgren, Susan Duerden, John Lee, Graeme Malcolm, Steven Crossley, Simon Prebble, James Adams

Publisher: Audible Unabridged (2012)

 

Genre(s): Fiction, Fantasy, Classics, Horror, Audiobook

Length: N/A

Synopsis: The mysterious happenings surrounding a group of friends and the enigmatic Transylvanian nobleman, Count Dracula, are revealed through the personal papers of those involved.  From Jonathan Harker's perilous first visit to Castle Dracula to the Holmes-esque musings of Dr. Van Helsing, here is the whole story of this most famous of vampires performed by an all-star cast of voice actors.

 

My Rating: 5 Stars

My Opinion:  I have not read the text version of Bram Stoker's Dracula.  Nor have I seen the movies, actually.  I know the story, of course (who doesn't?), but this was my first encounter with the original, and I must say I was absolutely delighted.  The structure of the story lends itself well to a full cast of performers, reading out "their" diary entries, letters, and newspaper clippings as the story of the Transylvanian count unfolds, and the horror in the voices of these skilled actors is more effective, I think, than any big-budget Hollywood film.  In fact, not being able to see, even just the text, adds to the nerve-wracking nature of this experience.  There's no looking back to double check that the door was locked and barred, and no peeking ahead to see if that dog in the street was really the count in disguise.  By the time the true nature of the count was revealed, I was completely hooked.  I listened to the vast majority of this book in one sitting (true, that one sitting was a twelve hour drive and there wasn't much else to do, but I think the point is still valid).  My one disappointment comes not from this performance, but from the text itself.  After so much build up, risk, and peril... the end of the book degenerates into repetition, followed by a quick, neat ending that doesn't feel nearly as satisfyingly emotional as the rest of the text.  There's not even a sense of shock that the whole ordeal is over.  Even with the brief, sentimental epilogue, it simply ends.  Though the text ends poorly, in my opinion, the legacy clearly lives on, and as Halloween gets closer, I'm sure we'll see still more the effects this classic work of literature had on our culture.  

Beauty (Audiobook)

Title: Beauty

 

Author: Robin McKinley

 

Read by: Charlotte Parry

Publisher: Audible Unabridged (2013)

 

Genre(s): Fiction, Fantasy, Fairy Tales, Young Adult Fiction, Audiobook

Length: N/A

Synopsis: Beauty is a plain, bookish young woman, who feels the irony of her nickname quite keenly.  Always more comfortable with horses and books than people, she was always considered the tomboy of the family.  Her older sisters, Hope and Grace, are both lovely young society women, and all three are the darlings of their father's heart.  When a sudden change in fortune leaves the once-wealthy family impoverished and forced to leave their townhouse for a country cottage, Beauty begins to feel she's found her place at last.  She and her horse, Greatheart, are well known and liked in the little village that huddles at the edge of the great dark forest, a forest that is rumored to house a secret at its heart.  One winter, disaster strikes the family yet again, and Beauty is forced to make a decision that will take her from her family forever.  She's been set a challenge she can't begin to fathom, a challenge that will take all her wits, kindness, and perseverance to overcome: Beauty has been sent to the castle of the Beast.

 

My Rating: 4 Stars

My Opinion:  I love the print version of Beauty.  It's been a favorite for years, and when I had a chance to spend a few hours listening to the audio version, I jumped at it.  I wasn't...disappointed, per se, but the text didn't quite sparkle like it did in my own mind.  The descriptions were as vivid as I remembered them, and Parry reads well, but I found her variation in character voices distracting.  Obviously readers try to put as much of the character into their performances as possible, but I felt that she was, perhaps, trying too hard.  When only one person is presenting an entire cast of characters, the listener accepts that there are limitations to the variety of performances that the narrator can give.  We don't expect that Beauty's sisters sound completely distinct from one another, just as they probably don't in our own internalizations of the story.  It would be difficult to accept that the Beast sounds exactly like Beauty herself, but I believe that rather than overemphasizing the differences, a great deal can be accomplished by a subtle shift in cadence or inflection, a slight lowering of tone or particular emphasis on diction.  Less is more, in my opinion, and though I don't think this performance in any way devalues the text, I think that readers encountering only this audio version may not be able to fully appreciate the way the words can kindle fires all of their own accord.

Neverwhere (Audiobook)

Title: Neverwhere (Author's preferred text)

Author: Neil Gaiman 

Read by: Neil Gaiman

Publisher: Harper Audio (2007)

Genre(s): Fiction, Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, Audiobook

Length: N/A

Synopsis: Richard Mayhew lives a perfectly normal life.  Perhaps it's a bit predictable.  Perhaps his fiancee is a bit demanding.  Perhaps there's something more... but Richard's perfectly happy where he is.  Or so he believes, until a girl stumbles out of a door that isn't there and collapses, bleeding, on the pavement.  Suddenly he's tumbling down the proverbial rabbit hole into a world beneath London where Blackfriars refers to an actual order of monks and a floating market sells everything from trash to treasures at location one can only find by asking someone who already knows.  But all is not well in this strange land.  The Lady Door, the girl Richard rescued from the sidewalk, is being pursued by a pair of assassins who have already murdered her family.  With the help of the knowledgeable but capricious Marquis de Carabas and the aloof and capable woman known only as Hunter, Richard joins Door on her quest for answers, a quest that leads them far into the dangerous depths of London Below.

My Rating: 5 Stars

My Opinion:  I've read Neverwhere in text form before (though quite a long time ago), and even then I gave it a five star rating.  I've always found, however, that reading a book for oneself and hearing it read aloud are two entirely different experiences.  I bought this audiobook when I was planning for a 14 hour road trip, and I was very glad I did!  It's always interesting to hear authors read their own works, and in my opinion, Gaiman is particularly good.  He creates an entire cast of characters without being over the top in his characterizations.  The plot moves quickly through narrow twists and turns like the maze of alleys and passages in London Below while the characters' web of loyalties grows ever more tangled.  Despite the complexity, it's still easy to keep track of what's happening, even without the visual signposts provided by text.  Though I hate driving in general and road-trips in particular, I found the hours and miles flew by with the voices of Gaiman's characters drowning out the hum of tires on pavement.