The point of these quick takes posts is to catch up on my “To Write About” stack—emphasizing pithiness, not thoroughness. Here are some recent-ish audiobooks.
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The Treadstone Exileby Joshua Hood, Ron Butler (Narrator) |
(the official blurb)
I thought the first novel in the series was a heckuva thrill ride, but a little thin on character and believability. Still, the follow-up sounded fun.
Wow, was I wrong. The characters were just as thin (maybe thinner), I didn’t ever get invested in—or even mildly curious about—the plot. The action scenes were great, though.
Still, I think I’m done with the series.
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Warping Minds & Other Misdemeanorsby Annette Marie, Rob Jacobson, Iggy Toma (Narrator) |
(the official blurb)
This book (and series, I guess) kicks off in the aftermath of Three Mages and a Margarita—and I love the idea of multiple series that are interwoven yet independent. It’s going to get difficult to track at some point, I bet, but that’s on me.
When the officials sweep in to clean up after 3 Mages one of the mages arrested is a low-powered psychic, Kit Morris. Really, the MPD is more interested in who Kit can lead them to than him—and they’re playing hardball with him to get to his higher-powered pals.
What ensues is Kit trying to play the Agent who’s trying to get him to flip and looking for a chance to escape (and neither working too well). A strange alliance forms between them.
I had a lot of fun with this one, maybe more than I did with its predecessor. Iggy Toma sold me on the characters, too, I really enjoyed the narration. I’m looking forward to spending more time in this world.
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In a Sunburned Countryby Bill Bryson |
(the official blurb)
I remember reading Bryson’s The Mother Tongue back in the ’90s and have often thought about trying him again—but anytime the thought occurred to me, I couldn’t find one of his books available. So when I saw this as available from the library I jumped on it. Not the best move.
This is a travelogue of a trip or two that Bryson took around Australia. It’s fairly amusing, mildly interesting, and not a complete waste of time. That’s about all I can say for it—the few pages/minutes he spends on Cricket were laugh-out-loud funny. The rest of the book barely maintained my interest.
Your results may vary, but this just didn’t do it for me.
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Pray for Silenceby Linda Castillo, Kathleen McInerney (Narrator) |
(the official blurb)
At the rate these books are going, by the time this book reaches book 14 (expected next year), I don’t see how anyone is going to be left alive in Painters Mill. A small town like this just can’t take a lot of mass murders, can it?
But for now, Book 2 still has a nice, bustling community full of people. In fact, an Amish family moved to town about a year ago. But when we meet them, they’re the victims of murder. Chief Kate Burkholder comes across one of the most disturbing crime scenes I’ve seen in fiction—and that’s saying something. But as Kate digs into the family’s past trying to find a motive for the butchery, it seems that the gruesome murders weren’t the worse expression of evil in the novel.
Gripping story, solid narration by Kathleen McInerney, but I could use a little more growth in Kate. Still, I’m going to be back for more pretty soon.
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