I loved this episode on Poirot with David Suchet so I decided it was high time to finally listen to the book on which it was based.
I was initially puI loved this episode on Poirot with David Suchet so I decided it was high time to finally listen to the book on which it was based.
I was initially put off by it NOT being narrated by Hugh Fraser as so many of the Poirot tales are but there's a good reason for this that one soon discovers. The original tale was clearly crafted as a tale told by a woman narrator who was there and was involved in the events described. While the character of nurse Amy Leatheran is in the TV episode, her role was greatly reduced in order to give Hastings a place in the episode. As with the rest of the television series, this tale was lovingly adapted but with far fewer Art Deco references and the subplot about Poirot's larcenous Countess Vera Rossakoff was added.
Hearing Karse pronounced as two syllables "Car say" just feels wrong but after listening to the earlier books, I kind of grew used to it.
Hearing "colHearing Karse pronounced as two syllables "Car say" just feels wrong but after listening to the earlier books, I kind of grew used to it.
Hearing "collegia" pronounced repeatedly with the hard G is annoying as well. It may be technically correct but anyone who uses the word for its university connotations is generally much more comfortable hearing it pronounced as akin to collegiate as might be.
Albrich pronounced as Alber Itch is definitely weird. Finally, hearing the name Myste pronounced like Misty just feels "wrong," particularly knowing that the author has been known by that nickname for a long while. Even worse in that the character of Myste is in many ways can be thought to be a doppelganger for the author....more
Read this one a number of times over the years and was happy to see it available as an audio-book via HOOPLA Amy Landon does a more than credible job Read this one a number of times over the years and was happy to see it available as an audio-book via HOOPLA Amy Landon does a more than credible job of bringing the story to life. Giving distinctive and appropriate voices to most of the main characters and not "mispronouncing" too many of the place names. (Why can't readers pronounce things like my mind voice does?)
This was the first series of Valdemar books and they were written in the late 80s. I first picked them up after reading the trilogy about Vanyel the LThis was the first series of Valdemar books and they were written in the late 80s. I first picked them up after reading the trilogy about Vanyel the Last Herald-Mage. It was fun to know the origins of some of the "ins and outs" of Valdemar whilst reading these and they certainly show an evolved Kindom, hundreds of years later than the Vanyel books. Whilst the Vanyel series will always be my favorite, these tell a great tale about Talia, a Holderkin farm girl who makes good in the "big city." Some have criticized this book for being overly violent but I felt that that was in keeping with the times portrayed.
I've re-read them a number of times and always pick up a new detail or two to appreciate which I missed on earlier reads. Listening to them this time around made some points clear that I'd tended to overlook before.
The Narrator here does an excellent job and even voices the male characters with a distinctive flair that seems to add to rather than detract from the voice acting. ...more
After listening to Christa Lewis narrate Arrows of the Queen, I pressed on to the second book in the series and Christa once again did a more than serAfter listening to Christa Lewis narrate Arrows of the Queen, I pressed on to the second book in the series and Christa once again did a more than serviceable job with the audio-book narration. The prose is clear and well paced and the main character voices are well realized. Being set on the road and containing fewer of the most well loved characters in the Valdemar saga this one was even easier on the ears than volume one.
Just re-listened to this one and it was more enjoyable listening a second time. In some ways, this is my favorite of the Heralds of Valdemar Trilogy. The issues seemed more focused and the continued character development was enjoyable. Of course, part of that might be my aversion to sad tales and knowing what's to come. ...more
I recently spotted this on HOOPLA and decided to try listening to one of my long-time favorites.
While it was a bit odd hearing Christa Lewis telling I recently spotted this on HOOPLA and decided to try listening to one of my long-time favorites.
While it was a bit odd hearing Christa Lewis telling the tale in a voice so very different from my "inner reader," she does a credible job. The pacing is fine and though several of my favorite characters sound so very different than I imagined them, by the end of the book I was fully on-board with her interpretation.
It WAS still odd that Talia, a southern bred holderkin lass, sounded so much like she'd grown up in the Scottish highlands, but the regional accent did help accentuate her "differentness" and her "homespun" qualities amid all the high born types from Haven. She also did a credible job giving voice to this impish, roguish, Skif.
Lewis's range of voices was not all that great and this tale is challenging with over a dozen of my favorite characters in attendance. Many of those that didn't have large roles in this tale didn't really sound all that distinctive, but there was very little confusion as to who was speaking when. She even did a credible job with the male voices and her Alberich wasn't as torturous to hear as I suspected it might be.
I do have a bit of a "grumble" about the pronunciation of one placename... Karse. In my mind it had always been a single syllable and sounded like it rhymed with the somewhat vulgar British slang term "arse." To hear it pronounced as the two-syllable word (as if it were Car Say) was odd every time I heard it. I suppose it could just as easily be correct that way but that begs the question of why folks from there are called Karsite and not "Kar sey an" or some such.
Either way, if your eyes are tired and you're not quite done with your regular Valdemar fix you could do worse than listen to this audio....more
Having recently read several somewhat negative reviews of The Front Runner, a book that I consider one of the seminal works of gay literature, I decidHaving recently read several somewhat negative reviews of The Front Runner, a book that I consider one of the seminal works of gay literature, I decided it was time to revisit this old favorite. Out of curiosity I decided to check out the audio-book version and I’m certainly glad that I did.
Truly living up to its title, this powerful book was itself, a Front Runner. It told a story that many in America were ready for, and many others needed to hear. For those of us that lived through this era, the book is still as clear, and as relevant as when it was first released. Most importantly, it’s true …as only a fictional story can be.
I’ll forever remember discovering this classic tale one summer while at college. My embarrassment at the register buying it, was not unlike the first time I bought condoms. Surreptitiously transferring it from my backpack to my bedside table, I purposely waited until my roommate left for his girlfriend’s before feeling that I could read it. Once started I couldn’t put it down. I read through the night. I still remember feeling shattered, and a bit like the world had shifted, as the sun rose the next morning. I finished it in one go, it was truly heart-rending, so much so that I couldn’t bring myself to re-read it for several years.
The story is told in first person, almost as a confession, from the POV of Harlan Brown. Harlan was a gay man who’d come of age in a pre-Stonewall straight world. He’s an ex-Marine, an ex-Villanova miler, a divorced father of two sons, and an ex-high-end hustler. All that and yet still closeted, he’s quietly, somewhat contentedly, coaching track at a prestigious small private college when the book begins.
Then three Olympic level collegiate runners lose their spots on Oregon’s premier team after coming out to their old coach. When they show up on his doorstep and ask to join his team, Harlan’s calm, closeted, collegiate life is shattered. I think it was “Fair do’s” considering how this book shattered me.
Harlan Brown is still only a partly enlightened man. While today his attitudes and ways of expressing himself may seem unacceptable by modern standards, they’re authentic and believable to anyone who experienced that time first hand. Harlan’s overly prim use of the word semen rather than cum, his use of “the gays” as a collective noun, his casual misogyny, even his lamenting the end of the crew-cut are all evocative of an earlier, less enlightened time.
Enter Billy Sive, a young man who grew up in San Francisco, knowing who and what he was. A vegetarian, and a Buddhist, Billy Sive is also a phenomenally gifted runner who wears his heart on his sleeve. Billy Sive, with a gay attorney father, was probably the first 2nd generation gay that any of us ever encountered. And when he expresses a romantic interest in his crusty new coach… you just know that a lot of taboos are going to be challenged.
When the two do finally come together for the first time, the fade to black surrounding the more intimate details is incredibly well handled. The first person narration by Harlan gives the perfect excuse for that reticence.
And the ending… Of course considering it’s time, it might have been expected, but it caught me totally by surprise and I’m certain I wasn’t the only one. The Bantam paperback only showed Harlan in a towel in a locker-room while Billy in a track singlet was donning his spikes. The newer cover foreshadows the ending a bit more clearly. I’ll say no more even now, for fear of spoilers, although the book is approaching its fiftieth anniversary.
Since this tale is told in first person, it’s an ideal candidate for an audio book. And Christian Rummel was a wonderful choice for narrator. Christian’s voice is perfect for the forty year old Harlan. And his measured but almost whispered vocal characterization of the younger, soft spoken Billy sheds a telling light on Billy as well. Billy’s deliberate speaking further colors the conflict surrounding their age gap. While making the issue even more real than just the text does, it also buffers any feelings that the characters are of different maturities. Also, hearing Christian’s voice as Billy when Billy lovingly talks about his father John Sive is remarkable. It adds aspects to that relationship that one is apt to miss from just reading the prose oneself. Christian’s Vince Matti voice also enhances that character. It accentuates aspects of Vince that I only really appreciated after reading the later books in the series.
In some ways, some elements of The Front Runner were autobiographical; Warren came out later in life as a lesbian. Others were prophetic; Warren went on to be involved in several cases involving homosexuality and gay rights, some of which ended up in front of the Supreme court. Strangely Warren set the book in 75, 76, and beyond even though she released it in 74. Looking at how many athletes have come out recently, one is reminded of just what a debt the community owes to this woman for writing about these struggles in the way she did at the time she did it.
If you’ve never read the book, I recommend you do. But approach it as an amazing, heart-rending, but accurate portrait of its times. Just compare this to the laughably stereotyped film Cruising that premiered six years later. One can see just how much more accurate this depiction of those times was. I can also recommend the audiobook as a good way to “get through” some of the more antiquated parts. Even if, like me, you loved the original version of this tale, I still highly recommend listening to the audio-book version. Fully respectful of the masterful text version, (I’ve read it repeatedly over the decades) there are aspects that are brought to light in this audio-book version that makes the story fresh again.
Trigger Warnings: There are plenty of homophobic comments, some out-dated terminology and a description of one victim of childhood sexual abuse that many may find troubling… as well as some gun violence....more
Welsh werewolves? A decades ago conflict between “shifters” and Humans has settled into an uneasy truce. Due to their genetics, shifters are humans-plWelsh werewolves? A decades ago conflict between “shifters” and Humans has settled into an uneasy truce. Due to their genetics, shifters are humans-plus, but given their attitudes, tend to be secretive, insular, migratory and unwelcome in most “human” towns and villages. In this tale werewolf shifters are the modern day equivalent of gypsies.
Quinn, one of our main characters lives with his human aunt in a small Welsh village where he helps her run a news agent shop/convenience store. Quinn’s mom and dad both died long ago. He knows little about them, but he and his aunt Ruth get along quite happily – despite Quinn’s being the only out gay lad in the village. Quinn was outed as gay a few years back when caught “experimenting” with a school-mate.
But then a group of shifters arrive in the area. Quinn has always been a bit fascinated by the idea of shifters. He’s powerfully drawn to Kellan, a young shifter male, that he first spots skinny-dipping in the local quarry.
When Quinn forgets to take his “epilepsy meds” one day, and notices his senses seem to have improved. The story, and his fascination with Kellan, take a wild turn.
I Grew up with a mom who was bi-polar, so this story spoke to me on a different level as well. When I was young Mom had some episodes where she went off her meds, snared by the euphoria that the onset of a manic phase engenders. But things can quickly get out of control. Most of the time she felt that emotional stability was worth missing some of the elation that that impending mania engenders. Seeing the disruption that “slips” like this caused first hand, I could really sympathize with Quinn’s Aunt Ruth and her decision. And yet, seeing how Quinn was deprived of making that decision for himself, for as long as he was, did indeed feel unfair.
Ultimately this is just a book that tells a good story. Enough drama to keep it interesting, with a literal “big bad wolf” posing a real threat, and some small-town, small-minded, “shifter-phobic” bigotry that made matters worse. But we’re dealing with basically good-hearted, if somewhat naive people. This has a happy ending that suggests that if we can come together and work toward the community good, things can get better.
As with so many other Jay Northcote books, Hamish Long does the narration. He gives us great pacing and ably acted male and female voices. The distinctive Welsh accents were well done. There was just enough of that English verbal class distinction present as well. This was super voice acting as both the many men's and the women's voices were well done as to timbre and dialect while being age-correct and easily distinctive.
Given that bigotry (and racism?) is such a factor in this story, the one accent that seemed just a bit off was the one “American southern” accent. That accent was attributed to Sam, a building contractor. It’s pretty clear from the text that he’s African-American. While his accent clearly sounded “American,” it had more of a "creosote-laden cowboy twang” of the west, rather than a "molasses-coated southern” feel as suggested in the text.
And while race isn’t always evident in an accent, it generally is a component. So much so that this mid-western born-and-raised “yank” has been surprised a few times to learn that a particular voice actor is black after hearing no clue in their vocals.
That said the other accents and voices are handled masterfully here. First the females since they seem to be in the majority in this tale... Quinn's Aunt, his best friend's Tash, her mom Wendy, Kellan's mom the shifter pack leader, even the two old village gossips all have clearly unique "voices" and it's a bit hard to believe that one voice actor is doing all these voices so seamlessly.
The same is true for the men's voices. Quinn and Kellan have their distinct voices of course, but so do the village policeman, Kellan's work-mates, several key villagers all are distinct, and recognizable when their bits of dialogue come up. Their voices are even appropriate as to class, age & fit their written personas.
This low angst tale of first love is definitely a title that will make it into my frequent re-listen queue.
Read this again after a bit of a hiatus. The story hold up and thought the writing is somewhat amateurish, the storytelling makes up for most of that.Read this again after a bit of a hiatus. The story hold up and thought the writing is somewhat amateurish, the storytelling makes up for most of that. I WAS pulled out of the story by Ms. Meyers continual misuse of adverbs. She almost always uses the adjective form of the the word rather than the adverbial form. And she contorts her prose to put the adverbs at the end of sentences. It's as if she read somewhere that a "good" writer scans their text for words ending in "LY" and then removes them using some other way of conveying the idea.
I've heard that technique proposed in other writing forums and it's based on a solid concept. If you are continually using adverbs, it IS wise to scan your work looking at words ending in "ly." If you find too many (and that's a judgement call in itself) then perhaps you should spend time looking for some more expressive verbs. Using exact instead of very accurate, gorgeous instead of very beautiful, costly instead of very expensive generally makes for better, more expressive writing. But simply dropping the ly and sticking the modifier words at the end of the sentence doesn't improve things much. Though it can make for variety, sometimes. ...more
I recently re-read this book (after reading many others by this author) I initially rated it only 4 stars because of the deux ex-machina resolution/plI recently re-read this book (after reading many others by this author) I initially rated it only 4 stars because of the deux ex-machina resolution/plot twist toward the end. However, with a year since my last reading and going into this knowing what was coming I'd award that fifth star this time.
It was foreshadowed in a number of small ways and, even knowing what was coming, the plot development in question brought tears to my eyes. Some see it as "too convenient" but occasionally life does bring us surprises - a writer shouldn't be penalized for including them in his work.
This book had a special resonance for me in that I was good friends with an international flight attendant for a number of years and years after we'd sort of drifted apart I'd found out that he'd passed away under unexpected circumstances.
Still, if you haven't read this, you should. Bell's books span a lot more time than is common in this genre but they really do have a perspective and a "wisdom gained of years" quality that's hard to portray in any other way, It's even better the second time around....more
Another great series of mysteries solved by the redoubtable Miss Marple.
These short stories are each presented by members of a group recounting mysteAnother great series of mysteries solved by the redoubtable Miss Marple.
These short stories are each presented by members of a group recounting mysteries and challenging the others of the group to solve them. Of course, Miss Marple is always right in the end.
I've got the audiobook version as narrated by Joan Hickson who many consider the perfect Miss Marple. This book is PERFECT for an audiobook in that it's primarily a group of people sitting around recounting mysteries where they know the answers and are challenging the others to solve them. This makes it unnecessary to have more than one narrator doing dialogue and not all of the people are equally competent at recounting their mysteries. It's eminently re-listenable.
Love that they twice use the word benignant. Pity that I lived 50+ years knowing the word malignant but never realizing that benignant was a word too....more
While the original fanfic is great, it's even more fun to hear FayJay do her own audiobook version. Check it out.While the original fanfic is great, it's even more fun to hear FayJay do her own audiobook version. Check it out....more
Two years ago Aaron's life as he knew it ended when he and his best friend Juliet stopped to give directions to the men in the beat-up van that hailedTwo years ago Aaron's life as he knew it ended when he and his best friend Juliet stopped to give directions to the men in the beat-up van that hailed them. Now Juliet is in the cemetery and most days Aaron wishes he was too. Instead he lives in state of near constant terror unable to look at his scarred face in the mirror or even shower his burned and scarred body without flashing back on the horrifying events of that day. His sleep is full of nightmares and even the slightest touch of his loving mother sends him into a downward spiral toward terror that only heavy doses of tranquilizers and anti-anxiety meds have seemed to make a dent in.
And yet when Aaron's mother pushes him to take a computer course at a community college, Aaron is forced to interact with Spencer, a deaf boy with issues of his own. Yet, somehow these two misfits find a way closer to normalcy through each other.
This story has some minor flaws and some parts aren't quite as credible as they might have been but somehow that doesn't matter much amid such a compelling tale. These two wounded souls just charm their way into your heart. And it's not just the two protagonists. The author has crafted a heartwarming story and has created a number of deeply sympathetic characters. I love the relationship Aaron has with his mother. I love his two brothers, I love Spenser's father. I've always had a thing for characters willing to let their vulnerability show and these characters are all vulnerable and endearing.
Some other reviewers have criticized this title asserting that for a story that relies so much on psychology and the practice of psychiatry, the details in this area were particularly weak, particularly as to patient confidentiality) but if one can suspend disbelief, accept the inaccuracies and just move on, this is one of the most heart-rending stories I've read in a decade.
For those that can manage to maintain that willing suspension of disbelief, this may well be one of those books that you love and read again and again. Perhaps it's all those plaintive Simon & Garfunkel songs I was exposed to in my youth, along with movies like Brian's Song, or even books like Love Story, Death Be Not Proud, and Thursday's Child, but I do love a good three hankie story. This is one of the best I've seen in yonks. Plus it has the added attraction of having a hopeful ending and a sequel that I can't wait to read, Spencer.
On an afternote... I listened to the audio-book version of this narrated by Tyler Stevens rather than reading the text version. Stevens did a great job with the narration and the voices of the main characters are easily distinguished and fit well with my conception of the characters. Stevens also did a brilliant job of switching between Spencer's cadences as a deaf speaker and the more common cadences of the hearing speakers. One strange thing I noted though was in an early sex scene between the deaf Spencer and a delivery man. Somehow hearing the inner monologue of a deaf man and his concerns in an audio format, while it sounds a bit twisted, actually made the eroticism of the scene really work well. It made for one of the hottest sex scenes I've encountered in a book in years.
*** Note: I received a copy of this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest and impartial review ***...more
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