THEFT OF SWORDS, Riyria Revelations 1

Narrated by Tim Gerard Reynolds

Contemporary Epic Fantasy

This is a contemporary Epic Fantasy with two lead characters that are talented and always in the center of the action. By that I mean that the language is standard 21^st century English with few archaisms, and what genre story worth its salt would fail to make its protagonists top flight practitioners of their craft? The book is full of murder, political intrigue, religious corruption, conniving Dwarves, genocidal Elves, brave damsels, and a satisfying plot that drives the action. By the end of this first volume Sullivan takes the listener to see hidden prisons, Elven towers and hideous magical monsters. We are told that the future of mankind is at stake. Most importantly this novel tells an interesting story. The author has stated that this first volume starts slow and that the series really starts to take off in the next. I am anticipating learning what the whole thing is really about when I listen to volume two.

One piece of philosophical wisdom that struck me was this: “A Shark doesn’t eat fish because he likes seafood. He eats them because chickens don’t swim.”

Tim Gerard Reynolds narrates with a pleasant English accent. His various character voicings are easy to distinguish and sometimes brilliant, especially when he is delivering a bit of sarcasm, which the author has served up in plenty. 

HALFWAY TO THE GRAVE: The Night Huntress, Book 1 by Jeaniene Frost.

Narrated by Tavia Gilbert

½ Romance + ½ Urban Fantasy = Vehicle for a Great Narrator

This is a loosely veiled Romance novel; a breathless love story cloaked in Urban Fantasy trappings. The protagonist Kat is motivated equally by (1) her need to fight the vampire bad guys and (2) her attraction to a man she is reluctantly falling in love with. This is an unfair gross oversimplification of the book, but does I believe accurately classify the genre in which this novel could be categorized.  I acquired this first Night Huntress installment despite suspecting the above to be true because of the comments from other listeners on the performance of the narrator Tavia Gilbert. I am always on the lookout for narrators that put on a great act and this seemed like just such an offering. I was quite pleased. Tavia Gilbert has a wide range of character voices and emotional inflections that make this book a joy to listen to. With such a talent I wish she had more outlandish characters to work with. She even knows the correct pronunciation of the much maligned word “sentient.” (Go to hour 1:37 to hear the two syllable word “SEN-shunt”) This alone is enough to endear a narrator to me. She is one of the top audiobook performers I have heard.

THE JUGGER (Parker No. 6) by Richard Stark (Donald Westlake)

I continue to be fascinated by Stark’s character Parker. He has no redeeming social values. He is an ugly human; a crook and a killer and has the emotion of a Univac. Yet still the writing is beautiful, as stark as the author’s pen name. I was going to write nom-de-plume but such cultured terms are completely out of place when talking about Parker. And that is the fascination: the writing is so seemingly simplistic that its powerful effectiveness is mysterious.

In this short novel; they are all short, so short that I consider them to be just chapters in Parker’s life; we see Parker a bit off balance. He has to extricate himself from a sticky situation that does not concern a heist. He is out of his element. He makes mistakes and, in the end, he has to regroup. I am looking forward to the further criminal adventures of Parker, and one day even aspire, there’s one of those fancy words again, hope even to figure out why these stories are so compelling. 

RUSH REVERE AND THE BRAVE PILGRIMS by Rush Limbaugh

Rush Revere and the Brave Pilgrims by Rush Limbaugh

Read by Rush Limbaugh

Rectifying Revisionist History for Kids

The strong point of this book is that it is a lesson in American history that gives a viewpoint that is not taught to our children any more. The Plymouth Colony first tried a socialistic work arrangement but had to resort to a reward system to motivate the people to do the necessary work. In these dark times when we are witnessing the European Socialist states implode under the weight of their unsustainable welfare yet still see the progressive creep toward the same failed system here on our shores.

As a work of fiction, this short book is clearly a piece is targeting young skulls full of mush. But as a history lesson it is very accessible for kids and it presents a message I want my kids to know.

Rush Limbaugh, well-known for his flowing speech when speaking unscripted off the cuff, here gives a strangely stilted reading of his own words. But there is a certain appeal to having the text read by the author. 

THE COMING OF THE THIRD REICH by Richard J. Evans

The Coming of the Third Reich by Richard J. Evans

Narrated by Sean Pratt

Hitler’s Guide to Calculated Brutality When Staging a Government Takeover

This book begins with an introduction that was a bit off-putting. I had just finished listening to William L. Shirer’s popular THE RISE AND FALL OF THE THIRD REICH (RFTR) and learned a lot from Shirer’s narrative of the inside workings of the Nazi Party. Evan’s introduction pointed out that RFTR has been universally panned by the more academic historians. I then approached the balance of the book with some trepidation; not anxious to listen to some pompous dry work of pure scholarship or to possibly have my preconceptions shattered on what I thought I knew about WWII history. What followed was less a deconstruction of my WWII knowledge than an expansion. I thought the strong point of RFTR was on the rise of the Nazi party to power but Shirer barely scratched the surface. Richard J. Evans goes into the various cultural, political and economic currents that led to the Nazi Party. He traces the history of Germanic thought back to the time of Charlemagne, to the First Reich. I found this narrative history to be eminently accessible and engaging. After listening to this book I can begin to understand why the account of RFTR was incomplete; it just does not dig deep enough into the background of the German people to offer a full understanding ot the factors that led to the rise of Adolph Hitler. The Nazi movement was a product of years of Teutonic life in the shadow of strong rulers and a patriotic fervor that bordered on religion. Evans puts forth so many interesting concepts that I think it will require a second listening for me to grasp an understanding of the factors that led to the rise of National Socialism in Germany in the 20^th century..

Sean Pratt reads the text clearly and has excellent enunciation. His narration becomes transparent quickly making assimilation of the material possible.