Now that those other audio books are out of the way, I’ve been waiting impatiently to listen to Hannibal Rising by Thomas Harris. This is actually the first book by this author I’ve read (or listened to in this case) - the movies were great, and so I’d like to listen to this one prior to watching the movie, which comes out in February.

I started listening on my iPod about a couple of hours ago, and had to stop roughly 30 minutes into it. Just needed a good mental break.

For this particular audio book, the author has decided to be the narrator as well. It’s not an uncommon practice (Stephen King has done it a time or two), but in the case of Hannibal Rising, there’s a distinctive lack of training for this type of audio reading.

Not trying to insult Mr. Harris, but with the number of characters all introduced within the first 30 minutes of the audio book, I could only understand who was talking a small percentage of the time. Why? He failed to switch voices (although not necessary in some cases). In other words, I’m listening to a southern man (at least by his accent) trying to portray characters in World War II Germany. Every character in those 30 minutes (including back stories) all sounded alike, and therfore were hard for me to distinguish.

Is it a flaw? Of course not. It may simply be the way Mr. Harris wishes to narrate. Unfortunately, unless there’s another way to distinguish between characters, I can tell it’s going to be a bumpy ride.

I’ll stick with it to the end though, simply because I have faith in the story - and know that it’ll turn out to be a great one.

I will post a review of the audio book as soon as I’m finished. In the meantime, you can follow along with your own copy. If you have any reviews or opinions regarding this book, feel free to leave a comment.

Alright folks, I’ve finished Thr3e (the unabridged audio book download) by Ted Dekker, and I have to admit - it turned out to be an incredible story!

This is one of those rare books where you will never figure out the ending until it slaps you in the face, but in this case, it hit me like a ton of bricks. Big kudos to the author on this one, as it was very unexpected.

For those of you not following my recent posts, there are a few pros and cons to this audio book. To begin with, and I can’t quite pinpoint why, but the first 20 to 30 minutes of the audio book was awfully hard to get into. I think it was a mixture of the slow start (like most books) and the voice actor’s uncommon voice and audio quality. I cursed myself for thinking I picked out another poor audio book, and almost quit early. But since I bought it, I forced myself to the end - and it was well worth the first few minutes of annoyances.

After that, the narrator warmed up nicely, and from that point on, the rest of the story was a pleasure to listen to.

As for the story, it’s a slight variation of stories in the past (which all are of course), but Ted Dekker does a great job in making this one suspensful and full of thought-provoking issues (mainly the battle between Good and Evil within each of us).

The characters were very well thought out (they had to be - wink, wink - you’ll understand later).

There was one issue with the story that really annoyed the hell out of me though, and that was the lack of punishment one of the characters deserved in the end. In my perfect little story-book world, the lady (I think you’ll understand later as well - dont’ want to spoil it for you) should be tormented nicely, at least in my opinion. I just don’t have the sympathy that the characters did in the book.

If you haven’t downloaded Thr3e (the unabridged audio book version), then I recommend that you do. It’s well worth the time and money in my opinion.

If you have any strong feelings (good or evil) about this audio book, feel free to drop us a line, or comment through our blog. We’d love to hear what you have to say!

Just a quick update to this post. 

I have to admit, I’m a bit surprised at the quick turnaround of this audio book. The voice actor grated on my nerves for the first 30 minutes or so, but either I got used to him, or he improved up to this point. The best part is the story line. It’s progressed very nicely so far, and has me wanting to listen to the rest of it now.

I imagine I’ll be done with the novel by mid next week, and will be happy to throw a review up for the rest of you. Have you read it, or listened to it yet? If so, how about dropping us a line or comment and letting us know what you thought of it.

If you haven’t done so, you should download your copy of this audio book, if you feel like keeping up with me. Get more information here.

For those Hannibal Lecter fans out there, the “prequel” to the entire Hannibal story is expected to hit theaters the first week of February.

I for one have enjoyed the previous movies made (maybe with the slight exception of the Red Dragon), and can’t wait to see what this one is going to be like - the previews were great.

Before I do though, I’m planning on listening to the audio book, of course titled Hannibal Rising prior to watching it. It’ll make the movie more enjoyable with the extra background info you’ll get from the audio book.

If you’re interested, click here to read more about the Hannibal Rising downloadable audio book.

Well, I have to see what the fuss is about in regards to Thr3e (unabridged audio book) by Ted Dekker. It’s getting some good ratings here and there, so as always, I’m curious to see how good it is.

I will go ahead and say this right now: I’ve listened to the first 20 minutes or so, and I’m not overly thrilled at the moment. Why? Whoever the narrator is, and whoever is responsible for the audio quality didn’t really do their jobs properly. I almost feel as if I’m listening to a scratchy Garrison Keiler (from A Prarie Home Companion). If you know who he is, he’s got a “nice”, jovial-sounding voice - kind of a bad match when you’re reading a horror/suspense/mystery type of book. Just imagine Mr. Rogers reading the Exorcist…

But enough of that. I’m judging the quality of this audio book based solely on this issue. I’ll throw a review up as soon as I’m finished. Hopefully it’ll be a good one.

By the way, if you’re not an audio book junky yet (like myself), then why not give it a try? Sign up with Audible.com today, and receive three free downloadable audio books (of your choice) at no cost or risk.

All audio book products have been updated in our database for 01/14/2007. Make sure to visit AudioBookGeek.com and find that next perfect audio book!

Well folks, Stephen King has done it again (although I was a bit worried for the first half that he might’ve missed this time).

Lisey’s Story (unabridged) was a great listen, and was made even more so by the professional voice of actress Mare Winningham. The story really took off at about the halfway point, which I have to say I almost gave up before then (gasp). It’s rare that I drop a Stephen King book, but this one was close. The first half was, simply put, boring - as it was really used for Lisey’s backstory and introduction.

But, once that was through, whew! Here’s what I liked about it, and disliked about it:

Pros:

1) Super theme. It kept me hanging until the very last moment. This is in true Stephen King fashion, of course.
2) Characters were well developed. I especially loved Scooter (the young Scott), as well as his Father. Lisey, the main character, was pretty well put together. I was a bit put off by the age range of the older characters (Lisey was in her 50’s in this book). It just seemed a bit off. You would expect this kind of energy and excitement (within the plot) to be associated with a younger crowd - if that makes any sense.

Cons:

1) Too many flashbacks/backstory. One of the gripes other listeners had was the fact that Stephen King kept jumping back and forth too many times at the beginning of the story. This is true. It was a bit hard to keep up with what was present and past for the first half. Afterwards, it started straightening out, and became easier to follow.

2) A couple of the characters seemed a little displaced from the story. That is to say, one or two didn’t really seem to have a place in the story (should’ve been left out), as I don’t think they forwarded the story much. Lisey’s sister (the self-mutilator) was somewhat of an example.

Other than that - excellent!

Yeah, so it’s a short review. Although Stephen King isn’t the world’s best literary artist, he does have an incredible talent for story telling. Lisey’s Story wasn’t much different from his others, and was definitely worth the time and money to listen to. And like i’ve said over and over in the past - the narrative voice (Mare Winningham) makes all the difference in the world, between a poor audio book, and a great one! Trust me, you’ll fall right into step with her reading.

So, have you listened to it yet? Or are you planning to soon? If so, how about dropping us a line (via email or comment) about what you think. We’d love to hear your thoughts and opinions on this story as well.

Until next time!

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