Month: July 2018

Audiobook Reviews 3.5/5: In Pursuit of Platinum by Vic Robbie

Julie Gilbert Action Adventure, Audiobooks, historical, thriller , , , , , , , , , ,

Narrated by Curt Bonnem
*Mild spoilers possible in the discussion*

Summary:

Ben Peters is called upon to undertake two big missions at once, escort a woman and her son out of France and smuggle the French supply of platinum away from Germany’s grubby hands. WWII is about to sweep over Paris and down the French countryside. Peters, Elena, Freddy, and the platinum keep barely a step ahead of destruction.

Additional Comments:

– Narration 4/5: A work like this demands a fair number of accents. The performance was overall very strong. Occasionally, it was difficult to distinguish French and German, but that didn’t happen often and didn’t really detract from enjoyment of the story.
– Characters 3/5: For the most part, they’re either likable or pure evil. Seems like the easiest way to portray somebody as evil here was to turn him into a torturer or a rapist. While I’m sure both were rampant during WWII, characterization probably would have benefitted from being a tad subtler.
– Plot 3.5/5: The initial premise – get the woman, her son, and the platinum out of France – was intriguing. Several storylines are interwoven well, but good guys and bad guys blur a bit. There are several down to the second coincidences that are hard to believe, but understandable in a thriller of this nature. There’s also one section at the end of the book that’s like 5 minutes of straight info dumping in case you missed something up to that point.
– Pacing 2.5/5: The actual execution of that plot floundered.
– Ending 2.5/5: The MC pulls through as expected for book 1 of a series, but the other part of the ending was highly contrived. The shocking secret alluded to all book was kind of anti-climatic.
– Content Warnings: Along with a smattering of normal curse words, there are 4 f-bombs and 1-2 very short but explicit adult scenes.

Conclusion:

If you’re suspension of disbelief is good, and you enjoy chase sort of thrillers, you’ll probably enjoy this.

Associate links to follow…

This Book…

Amazon Prime

 

Audible – If you’d like some free codes, please email me at [email protected] with requests for any of my works.

Try The Dark Side of Science.

 


OR


Audiobook Reviews 4/5: It’s Only a Clockwork Moon by Billy O’Shea

Julie Gilbert Audiobooks, Steampunk , , , ,

*Mild spoilers possible in the discussion*

Weird Twist on the Future Continues

Summary:

Karl Nielsen struggles to make ends meet fixing clocks in the countryside. So, when the king calls him back into service, he sort of has no choice but to take the job to deal with some debt that has accumulated over time. Meanwhile, there’s a separate storyline with some monks on a dangerous mission.

Additional Comments:

  • This is a sequel to Kingdom of Clockwork, but it can be listened to on its own. Hearing the first will give you some background into Karl and his family though.
  • Characters 4/5: Christopher’s a bit of a screwup when it comes to being a monk, but I’m guessing he’s there as comic relief. Brother Joe has some cool inventions. Karl’s a good character because he’s not perfect. He’s not a world class fighter. He’s a clockmaker, an ordinary guy trying to make it in a world gone mad.
  • Plot 4/5: Following the two different storylines is a tad disorienting because half is told in first person and half is third. That’s a find technique, but probably easier to take in when written down. I’m not entirely clear on the monks’ top-secret mission. Karl’s just trying to make it. The kingdom’s in a bit of turmoil, the queen doesn’t particularly like him, and the king’s plans are a tad eccentric. The king demands Karl make several things, including a machine that can reach space and a giant clock.
  • Narration 4/5: The author/narrator knows his story best. He performs the singing parts with gusto.
  • World-building 4.5/5: Most of the heavy lifting for world-building was accomplished in book 1 of the series, but there is enough information for newcomers to jump in.

Conclusion:

Whether you have read/heard Kingdom of Clockwork or not, if you are a fan of steampunk, you should give the series a chance. It’s one of those rare futuristic books that don’t just turn everything high tech, it moves up backwards to something well out of the dark ages but still steeped in fantasy charm.

 

Associate links to follow…

This Book…

Amazon Prime

 

Audible – If you’d like some free codes, please email me at [email protected] with requests for any of my works.


OR

Audiobook Reviews 3.45/5: The Case of the Missing Crown Jewels by Keira Ely and Robert Martin

Julie Gilbert Action Adventure, Audiobooks, London, middle grade, mystery , , , , , ,

 

Narrated by Erin Rieman and Richard Rieman

*Mild spoilers possible in the discussion*

3.45/5 Nicely Delivered Kid Story

Summary:

Keira finds a magic hat that gives her access to knowledge she might not have otherwise. She forms a detective agency with her grandfather (whom she calls Papa).  They’re called upon to discover who stole the crown jewels of England.

Additional Comments:

  • I heard the audioversion, so some of my spellings might be a tad off.
  • Narration 4/5: Very nice. It’s nice to have the male/female parts largely divided between the two narrators. The mother sounded a tad too formal, but Keira’s voice was excellent as were most of the British characters.
  • Characters 3/5: Keira and Papa and Commish are fine characters. They’re a tad stock but in a tale of this size and breadth, that’s fitting. You want your girl detective to be super smart and always wind up on top. That’s part of the charm of girl detective stories. I know Waffles is supposed to be comic relief, but he’s usually just a nuisance. (Question the validity of such a genre? Nancy Drew’s survived quite a few decades as an ace detective.)
  • Plot 2.5/5: Nonsensical at best. I get this is a kid’s book, but that doesn’t mean it should lack all sense. The crown jewels get stolen and they turn to a kid with a magic hat for the answers? They seem overly concerned with finding footprints at the crime scene.
  • World-building 2.5/5: The magic hat’s powers aren’t really well-defined. Sometimes, it seems all powerful, in which case they should have just asked it “hey, who stole the jewels and how do we catch them?” At other times, it gets broken then repaired with duct tape. Magic in a kid’s story is fine, but there should still be an established system of why it works the way it does. Spy and detective are used pretty much interchangeably here, which is annoying because they’re way different jobs. Keira and her grandfather form a detective agency, but she repeatedly refers to what they do as spying, which simply isn’t true. It’s an investigation. The doll angle is kind of cool.

Conclusion:

If you’re very good at suspending disbelief and just looking for some mindless kid charm, this is a decent choice. It’s very well-presented, even if the story is somewhat lacking in sense.

 

Associate links to follow…

This Book…

Amazon Prime

 

Audible – If you’d like some free codes, please email me at [email protected] with requests for any of my works.

Try Audible and Get Two Free Audiobooks

Or


Audiobook Reviews 4.25/5 Stealing Liberty by Jennifer Froleich

Julie Gilbert Audiobooks, dystopia, Young Adult , , , ,

Summary:

Reed Paine and Riley Paca end up at a re-education camp for children of enemies of the State. Fate or fortune places them with a group of misfits, including Sam, Oliver, Adam, Paisley/Marie, and one other girl. Although the relationships do a fair amount of shifting, they become good friends willing to risk a lot for each other.

Additional Comments:

  • Characters 4/5 – There are quite a few characters and a lot of setup. They’re fairly well-developed on the protagonist side with thorough backstories, but the villains are a tad lacking. The two teen brutes are forgettable. I do like Wanda. Totally blanking on her last name, but she’s an odd mix of mildly sadistic and control freakish.
  • Narration 4/5 – You can definitely tell male from female narrative sections, but it’s sometimes harder to tell which teenager is which based on voice alone. The voice for Wanda was amazing though (controlled, measured, chilling). To be fair, there are like 7 MCs with distinct first person sections written about them.
  • Plot 3.5/5 – The plan to steal the liberty bell is okay, but I’m with one of the characters who basically says “what’s the point”? The other half of their plan makes a lot of sense. Aside from billing this as a “stealing liberty” book, which is quite obviously going to have sequels, it’s a really big stretch that these kids would feel the need to steal the liberty bell.
  • Pacing 2/5 – There’s a LOT of setup. That slows the work down significantly, to the point of a snail’s crawl.
  • World-building 3.5/5 – Much like any dystopian future where liberty is severely restricted in the name of order and peace, the protagonists must figure out what’s right on their own. It’s a tad like any school-based drama. You can see this school being in the world of the Hunger Games.
  • Ending/sense of closure 5/5 – There’s actually a lot of room to continue the story, but it reaches a good stopping point where one could have a semi-happily ever after stamped on it and feel fulfilled. The lead up to the end where they’re blundering about a bit is less impressive, but still, at least you reach some closure.

Conclusion:

Fits comfortably in the dystopian teen drama genre. If that’s you’re thing, you’ll probably be satisfied.

Associate links to follow…

This Book…

Amazon Prime

 

Audible – If you’d like some free codes, please email me at [email protected] with requests for any of my works.