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Showing posts with label Audible. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Audible. Show all posts

Friday, November 16, 2018

#Audiobook #Review: 4 out of 5 stars for Deliverance by James Dickey #JamesDickey @audible_com

TITLE: Deliverance
AUTHOR: James Dickey 
NARRATOR: Will Patton
PUBLISHER: Audible, Inc.
PUBLICATION DATE: October 31, 2011 (first published 1970)
FORMAT: Unabridged audiobook
LENGTH: 7 hrs and 33 mins
GENRE: Classics, Thriller, Adventure
ASIN: B0061HS5L2
The setting is the Georgia wilderness, where the state's most remote white-water river awaits. In the thundering froth of that river, in its echoing stone canyons, four men on a canoe trip discover a freedom and exhilaration beyond compare. And then, in a moment of horror, the adventure turns into a struggle for survival as one man becomes a human hunter who is offered his own harrowing deliverance.

This classic tale is vividly read by movie and TV star and Audie Award-winning narrator Will Patton.

MY REVIEW:

Even people who haven't read Deliverance or watched the movie probably know about that one infamous scene...yeah, you know the one that I'm talking about! I've never seen the movie, and I didn't particularly care to read the book because of what I had heard. However, when I saw this audiobook featured as an Audible Daily Deal, I couldn't resist buying it. I'm so glad that I took a chance on it! This classic is far better than I expected.

 Ed Gentry and his three buddies go on a hunting/canoeing trip in a remote area of Georgia. Two of the men, Bobby and Drew, are complete novices and have no clue what they are doing so Ed pairs up with Bobby and Drew is paired up with Lewis. On the second day into their adventure, Ed and Bobby meet up with a couple of hillbillies armed with a shotgun. After Ed is secured to a tree, one of the hicks rapes Bobby at gunpoint. Just as the other man is about to force Ed to perform oral sex on him, he is shot in the chest with an arrow. The sodomizer takes off into the woods as Lewis and Drew come to Ed's rescue. Now the men are faced with a dilemma because they've killed someone and now the other man is on the loose. They debate how to handle the situation: If they turn in the body, then they will have to explain what happened in the woods; alternatively, they can bury the body and hope that it isn't found. They decide to the the latter, but they seem to have forgotten one crucial bit of information which is that the other hillbilly is still loose out there and does not intend for any of the men to get away with murder.

I nearly finished the entire audiobook in one stretch while painting. This was a fast-paced thriller, and I enjoyed it so much more than I thought that I would. 

Memorable quote:
"I bet you can squeal like a pig!"

Will Patton's narration was very good, and I thought that he was a good fit for the characters.

Jon Voight and Burt Reynolds look so young in the 1972 film adaptation. The movie trailer looks more hillbilly-ish than I thought the book was. Check it out:




MY RATING:

4 stars!! It was really good, and you should put it on your TBR if you enjoy thrillers!

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Friday, April 13, 2018

#Audiobook #Review: 4 out of 5 stars for Into the Light by Aleatha Romig @AleathaRomig @audible_com

SERIES: The Light, Book #1
AUTHOR: Aleatha Romig
NARRATORS: Kevin T. Collins, Erin deWard and Noah Michael Levine
PUBLISHER: Audible Studios
PUBLICATION DATE: June 14, 2016
FORMAT: Unabridged audiobook
LENGTH: 13 hrs and 17 mins
GENRE: Mystery
ASIN: B01GSJGJNI
Sara Adams awakes blind, unable to remember the most basic details of her life, but her darkness seems a blessing when she discovers the terrors of The Light.

Stella Montgomery investigates the news from the mean streets of Detroit, where she's noticed a disturbing trend: Young women are vanishing. When her best friend disappears, Stella digs for answers - despite warnings from her police detective boyfriend - following a twisted trail that leads her through the city's most dangerous and forsaken precincts. There she uncovers something more sinister than she could have imagined: a shadowy organization known as The Light, led by the enigmatic Father Gabriel.

As Sara struggles to understand her place in the strange world she's awakened to - an oppressive cult demanding unquestioning obedience - and her feelings for Jacob, the husband she can't recall and whose harsh and tender attentions confuse and beguile her, Stella risks all to discover the truth. But enlightenment always comes with a price....

MY REVIEW:

I saw this book featured on another blog, and that reader loved it. This was so much more disturbing than I was expecting, and I was hooked!

 Sara awakens in a hospital bed, but she has no memory of what has happened to her. She cannot see and has bandages wrapped around her eyes. A man named Jacob is with her, who claims to be her husband but Sara can't remember him at all. She is told that her eyes were damaged in the explosion and that she was also injured. Something called The Commission wants to ask her questions, and Jacob warns Sara not to embarrass him and that disobeying is not an option. The Commission is withholding water from Sara, and she is not allowed to speak with anyone else except her husband.

 Meanwhile, a woman named Stella is looking for her friend Mindy who has been missing for two weeks.

 The book is told from multiple points of view. This gripping story is dark, and I was absolutely chilled hearing about The Commission and their indoctrination process, where a woman is basically stripped of anything and all that she is to become completely submissive to her husband. She is not allowed to ask anything, as that would be seen as questioning. I cringed hearing Sara saying all the things that she was expected to say, and how effective the brainwashing was. Through Jacob's perspective, the reader learns what's really going on which gave me shudders.

 Memorable quote:
"You are not abused. You are disciplined."

 Romig is a new-to-me author, and I can't wait to read the conclusion to this duology, Away from the Dark.

This audiobook is narrated by Kevin T. Collins, Erin deWard, and Noah Michael Levine. I enjoyed them all, and deWard got the soft-spoken and meek wife part down pat! Here is a sample of the narration:



MY RATING:

4 stars!! I really enjoyed it, and you should put it on your TBR list if you enjoy mysteries.

This book qualifies as:
Posted by at 8:32 AM 2 comments
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Thursday, November 2, 2017

#Audiobook #Review: 3 out of 5 stars for The Turn of the Screw by Henry James #RIPXII #FrightFall

AUTHOR: Henry James
PUBLISHER: Audible Studios
PUBLICATION DATE: October 24, 2016 (first published 1891)
FORMAT: Unabridged audiobook
LENGTH: 4 hrs and 40 mins
GENRE: Classics, Horror, Gothic
This version of The Turn of the Screw features a soundtrack that includes music and sound effects designed to enhance the listening experience. We will send you a survey in the next few weeks to ask for your feedback on this version. Your feedback will be very helpful and is much appreciated.
Academy Award, Golden Globe, and Emmy winner Emma Thompson lends her immense talent and experienced voice to Henry James' Gothic ghost tale, The Turn of the Screw.

When a governess is hired to care for two children at a British country estate, she begins to sense an otherworldly presence around the grounds. Are they really ghosts she's seeing? Or is something far more sinister at work?

Having performed in films based on some of the greatest works in literature - including Sense and Sensibility, Howards End, Much Ado About Nothing, and Henry V - Thompson is no stranger to the classics, and she lends a graceful eloquence to this moody, macabre story. Joined by listener favorite Richard Armitage, who performs the prologue, Thompson reinvigorates this psychological thriller of life, death, evil, and the unknown.


 MY REVIEW: 

In the book’s prologue, a Christmas Eve party is in full swing and the revelers are telling each other stories. One of the party-goers, Douglas, tells about a story that was recorded in a manuscript by his sister’s governess who is now deceased.

The rest of the story is told from the point of view of the governess, so I presume that this is being told as it was written in the manuscript.

 The story takes place in England at a country home named Bly. A governess was hired by a man to care for his niece and nephew, and he moves them to Bly which he thinks is better suited for the children. Meanwhile, he stays at a different house in town and the children, Miles and his younger sister Flora, never see their uncle. They live with a housekeeper, Mrs. Grose. The governess is enchanted by Miles and Flora, and she can scarcely believe when Miles comes home with a note from the school informing her that he has been expelled. She can’t imagine what he could have possibly done, but she disregards the note and never questions Miles about it!

The governess sees a man prowling around on the property and peeping in the windows and, later, a woman. From the governess’ descriptions, Mrs. Grose deduces that the man is Peter Quint and the woman is Miss Jessel, both of whom used to work at Bly but both are now deceased. The governess is determined to protect the children from the ghosts, although no one else has seen the ghosts except for her.

 I won’t spoil the ending, but the interpretation is ambiguous. I don’t know whether the governess imagined the ghosts, or whether they were real!

 Richard Armitage narrated the prologue, and Emma Thompson narrated the rest of the story. Both were wonderful. Thompson made the governess sound a bit mad, so that definitely influences my opinion on the state of the governess’ mind. I quite enjoyed this enhanced audio production, with sound effects and music. I loved hearing the crackling of the fire during the prologue, and the other nice touches like horse’s hooves. It added to the setting of the story and made me feel like I was there.

 There are numerous different film adaptations, including: 1974 starring Lynn Redgrave, 1992 starring Patsy Kensit, 1999 starring Jodhi May, and 2009 starring Michelle Dockery. Which one to start with?!

MY RATING:
3 stars!! It was good, and I enjoyed it!

This book qualifies as:
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Friday, May 26, 2017

#Audiobook #Review: 4 out of 5 stars for Day by Day Armageddon by J.L. Bourne @jlbourne @audible_com

SERIES: Day by Day Armageddon, Book #1
AUTHOR: J.L. Bourne
NARRATOR: Jay Snyder
PUBLISHER: Audible Studios
PUBLICATION DATE: July 13, 2010
FORMAT: Unabridged audiobook
LENGTH: 6 hrs and 38 mins
GENRE: Horror/Zombies, Science Fiction/Apocalyptic
Start intercept: Sporadic reports indicate chaos and violence spreading through U.S. cities. An unknown evil is sweeping the planet. The dead are rising to claim the Earth as the new dominant species in the food chain. Intercept complete.

In your hands is the handwritten journal depicting one man's struggle for survival. Trapped in the midst of global disaster, he must make decisions; choices that ultimately mean life, or the eternal curse to walk as one of them. Enter, if you will, into the world of the undead.

 MY REVIEW:

 I love apocalyptic survival stories, and the start of this series reminds me of The Walking Dead…where zombies are scary and not cheesy!

 The story is told entirely in epistolary fashion through the main character’s (“MC”) journal entries. A Naval Aviation Officer, whose name is never mentioned, chronicles the worldwide collapse due to a viral outbreak that begins in China. The US government sends medical military staff overseas to help out, but one of the doctors gets sick and is sent back home due to the inadequate care in the area. Thus, begins the spread of the virus to other parts of the world. The highly contagious disease causes victims to lose their motor function and act in an erratic manner, and it is transmitted through a bite. The victim dies and then returns to life, seeking to spread the virus to others. The undead are drawn to noise, and they can only be killed by trauma to the brain. People are ordered to stay indoors, and the MC prepares to hole up inside his home by stockpiling ammunition and other essentials and to reinforce the entrances to his home. A neighbor, John, makes contact with him using a flashlight. They soon are forced to leave the area, fleeing with John’s dog in tow. You gotta love a MC who refuses to leave someone’s dog behind! On the run, they rescue other survivors including a couple with a young girl and the group rallies together.

 It's during a time of crisis when we see one’s true nature: To be selfless or selfish. The MC is definitely selfless. He risks his own life to save others and puts himself in danger again and again. With his military training and background in aviation, he is built to survive. If it’s the end of the world, you definitely want this guy on your side! He is a great hero to this story, and I really like John as well. The men take turns carrying John’s dog as well as the little girl. These are good men who look out for others, so you can’t help but root for them! When the government orders the use of nukes on the most infested cities, the nukes actually have the opposite effect on the zombies. Instead of destroying them, the radiation actually changes them and makes them more cunning. The story is fast-paced, but the ending comes abruptly. I’m looking forward to reading the next book in the series, Day by Day Armageddon: Beyond Exile.

 Narrator Jay Snyder is new to me, and I thought he suited the MC. You would think that a book of journal entries would be boring, but Snyder doesn’t make it so. He conveys the emotions of the MC, whether that’s fear, despondency, anxiety, or hopefulness.
MY RATING:
4 stars!! It was really good, and you should put it on your TBR if you enjoy horror/zombie or science fiction/apocalyptic stories!

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Thursday, March 16, 2017

#Audiobook #Review: 4 out of 5 stars for The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood @MargaretAtwood @audible_com #CanadianAuthor #Resistance

TITLE: The Handmaid's Tale
AUTHOR: Margaret Atwood
NARRATOR: Claire Danes
PUBLISHER: Audible A-List Collection
PUBLICATION DATE: July 20, 2012 (first published 1986)
FORMAT: Unabridged audiobook
LENGTH: 11 hrs
GENRE: Classics, Science Fiction/Dystopia
Audie Award, Fiction, 2013

Margaret Atwood's popular dystopian novel The Handmaid's Tale explores a broad range of issues relating to power, gender and religious politics. Multiple Golden Globe award-winner Claire Danes (Romeo and Juliet, The Hours) gives a stirring performance of this classic in speculative fiction, one of the most powerful and widely read novels of our time.

After a staged terrorist attack kills the President and most of Congress, the government is deposed and taken over by the oppressive and all controlling Republic of Gilead. Offred, now a Handmaid serving in the household of the enigmatic Commander and his bitter wife, can remember a time when she lived with her husband and daughter and had a job, before she lost even her own name. Despite the danger, Offred learns to navigate the intimate secrets of those who control her every move, risking her life in breaking the rules in hopes of ending this oppression.

The Handmaid's Tale is part of Audible’s A-List Collection, featuring the world’s most celebrated actors narrating distinguished works of literature that each star had a hand in selecting.

 MY REVIEW:

 It’s shameful that this Canadian girl has never read Margaret Atwood! I’ve had this classic on my TBR forever, and I’ve put it off for so long. I was thrilled to see a read-a-long for this book hosted by Michelle at Gather Together and Read, which gave me the push that I needed to finally take the plunge.

The setting of the story takes place in the future, following the collapse of the American government as we know it. The President was assassinated, and a group took over and re-branded the country as the Republic of Gilead which utilizes a dictatorship that strips women of their rights. They were unable to access their bank accounts or to hold a job. Any woman of reproductive age was forced to become a Handmaid, and her body is merely a vessel for bearing children. Handmaids are “owned” by leaders called Commanders and their infertile (older) wives, and their job is to act as a surrogate to the couple. To further emphasize that a woman no longer has any rights, the Handmaid’s are renamed “of” plus the first name of the Commander she serves.

The book’s narrator is Offred, and she describes the monthly ritualistic Ceremony that takes when she is ovulating. The sex between her and the Commander is not intimate or pleasurable. They both are fully clothed, with only her dress hitched up and his pants unzipped. There is no touching or kissing, and Offred lies between the legs of the Commander’s wife (also fully clothed) who holds the hands of the Handmaid while she watches the two engage in the act to ensure that no one is enjoying it! During a regular check-up with a physician, he suggests to her that the Commander is likely sterile and offers to impregnate her. Offred is tempted, because failure to become pregnant will brand her as an “un-woman” and she would be sent to the colonies (which are never really explained, other than to say that you wouldn’t want to end up there). However, it would be too risky for them both so she turns him down. Meanwhile, the Commander propositions Offred to secretly meet with him in his study.

Through flashbacks, we learn about Offred’s life before this new world. She was married to a man named Luke, and they had a daughter. They were attempting to flee the United States to Canada when they were caught. Offred has not seen either of them since. She assumes that Luke was killed, and her daughter was likely adopted by an affluent couple.

This book was better than I expected! With today’s political unrest, this book is just as relevant today as when it was written over 30 years ago! I really enjoyed Atwood’s writing, who describes in detail the brainwashing that the Handmaids are put through. She painted a very disturbing dystopian future for women, ruled by a tyrannical government. I cannot imagine living a life like Offred, and she handles it much better than I could! She wants to survive and will do it at whatever cost. I found the whole Ceremony with the Commander and his wife abhorrent and tantamount to rape. Even though she did consent, what choice she really have?!? Having the Commander’s wife hold her hands during the Ceremony made it seem even more like the act was being forced upon Offred.

This is my first narration by Claire Danes, and I thought she did a great job at conveying Offred’s different emotions. For example, we heard Offred’s spunky side during her secret meetings with the Commander and the pain in her voice when she wonders whether her daughter was told that she was killed. Ms. Danes had me totally engaged! However, she has an odd pronunciation of the word “mauve,” which I have never heard before. I actually had to rewind and listen again to figure out what she was saying! Here is a sample of the narration:

http://samples.audible.com/special/elf/thehandmaidstale.mp3

I can't wait to watch the television series, which is set to air in April 2017. I also plan to watch the 1990 movie starring Natasha Richardson, Faye Dunaway, and Aidan Quinn.

MY RATING:
4 stars!! It was really good, and you should put it on your TBR list if you enjoy dystopia!

This book qualifies as:
Posted by at 7:30 AM 1 comments
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Friday, January 4, 2013

Audiobook Review: A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

TITLE: A Christmas Carol
SERIES: Christmas Books, Book #1
AUTHOR: Charles Dickens 
NARRATOR: Tim Curry
PUBLISHER: Audible, Inc.
PUBLICATION DATE: December 11, 2012 (first published 1843)
FORMAT: Unabridged audiobook, 3 hrs and 33 mins
GENRE: Classics, Holiday/Christmas
This version of Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol, masterfully narrated by Tim Curry, was available for a limited time last year, and now it's back. This one-of-a-kind performance puts a unique spin on a treasured classic, and served as the inspiration for the exciting new line of Audible Signature Classics, including Adventures of Huckleberry Finn with Elijah Wood, and Heart of Darkness with Kenneth Branagh. Tim Curry performs this timeless holiday story in a deliciously dark tone, returning it to its Dickensian roots with a vivid imagining of Victorian London and just the right touch of outrageous fun.

A Christmas Carol has constantly been in print since its original publication in 1849, and has been adapted for stage, television, film, and opera. It has often been credited with returning the jovial and festive atmosphere to the holiday season in Britain and North America, following the somber period that emerged during the Industrial Revolution.

The story opens on a bleak and cold Christmas Eve as Ebenezer Scrooge is closing up his office for the day. As the story progresses and Christmas morning approaches, Scrooge encounters the unforgettable characters that make this story a classic: Bob Cratchit, Tiny Tim, and, of course, the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Yet to Come.

MY REVIEW: 

I had planned to listen to this audiobook during the holidays, which I had borrowed from the library. When I received a free gift from Audible to download this latest version narrated by Tim Curry, I chose to listen to this edition instead.

Ebenezer Scrooge is a miserable old skinflint who runs Scrooge & Marley, a counting-house firm in London, England. His business partner, Jacob Marley, passed away seven years before, and Scrooge runs the firm with an iron-first. His employee, Bob Cratchit, is given a hard time when he asks to have Christmas Day off to spend in celebration with his family. Cratchit maintains that it is only once a year, and Scrooge's retort is that it is "a poor excuse for picking a man’s pocket every twenty-fifth of December!" Although Scrooge reluctantly agrees, he demands that Bob come in the following day extra early to make up for it!

When Scrooge returns home on Christmas Eve, he is startled to see that the brass knocker on his door has turned into a likeness of Jacob Marley. Later that evening, he is visited by Marley's ghost. At first, he refused to believe that Marley was real. Marley's ghost is covered in chains attached to cash-boxes, padlocks, and ledgers. Marley warns Scrooge that he is destined to the same fate if he does not change his ways, telling him: "I wear the chain I forged in life...I made it link by link, and yard by yard; I girded it on of my own free will, and my own free will I wore it." Marley foretells of the three ghosts that will visit Scrooge.

I read A Christmas Carol way back in high school, so this is a re-read for me. This classic still hasn't lost its charm. It is a heart-warming story of second chances and redemption, which makes it a perfect holiday read! One of my favourite parts of the story is during Stave Three, when Scrooge sees Tiny Tim's crutch and asks the Ghost of Christmas Present whether the boy will die. It is already apparent that the events of the evening have begun to thaw Scrooge's hardened heart.

When I saw that Tim Curry narrated this version, I was immediately intrigued because Curry has such a big personality with a booming voice to match. He didn't let me down! Tim Curry's narration was fantastic! He does an amazing job of bringing Scrooge's personality across in his narration, and I highly recommend this rendition!

Thoughts on the movie: I watched the 2009 animated version of Disney's A Christmas Carol with my children, and we absolutely loved it! Some parts were a little bit scary, so I would throw that caution out there if you have really young children. Jim Carrey does an amazing job as the voice of Scrooge, as well as the three ghosts. Gary Oldman is also memorable as Bob Cratchit and Jacob Marley.

MY RATING:

5 stars!!  I loved it, and I will likely re-read it again in the future! You should definitely read it!  A big thanks to Audible for the free copy! 

This book qualifies as: 
#1 for my 2013 Outdo Yourself Reading Challenge
#1 for my 2013 Read-a-Latte Challenge
Bonus #1 for my 2013 Where Are You Reading? Challenge
#1 for my 2013 Global Reading Challenge
#1 for my 2013 Quick Fix Challenge
#1 for my 2013 1st In A Series Challenge
#1 for my 2013 Books-in-a-Series Reading Challenge
#1 for my Mount TBR Reading Challenge 2013
#1 for my 2013 TBR Pile Reading Challenge
#1 for my Embarrassment of Riches Reading Challenge 2013
#1 for my 2013 Audio Book Challenge
#1 for my 2013 Audio Book Challenge
#1 for my 2013 Let Me Count The Ways Reading Challenge: Audio Version
#1 for my 2013 Free Reads Challenge
#1 for my 2013 Literary Exploration Reading Challenge
#1 for my 2013 Genre Variety Reading Challenge
#1 for my 2013 Reading Outside The Box Book Challenge
#1 for my 2013 Paranormal Reading Challenge
#1 for my 2013 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge
#1 for my The Classics Reading Challenge 2013
#1 for my Back to the Classics Challenge 2013
Task #10 of the Book 2 Movie 2012 Challenge
#1 for my 2013 Books To Movie Challenge
#1 for my 2013 European Reading Challenge
#1 for my Monthly Mix-up Mania: 2013 to 2015 Edition
Letter C for my 2013 A to Z Reading Challenge
#2 for my 2012 Christmas Spirit Reading Challenge    
#7 for my Semi-Charmed Winter 2012 Book Challenge
#6 for my The Classics Club Five-Year Reading Challenge   
#3 on my 1001 Books To Read Before You Die Reading Challenge
#13 for my 101 Fantasy Reading Challenge (Item #209)
#3 for my The LOST Books Perpetual Challenge 
#9 for my 1001 Children's Books You Must Read Before You Grow Up 

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