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The Gray Man - Mark Greaney (Audio Download)
by Neo420
The Gray Man by Mark Greaney
== Plot synopsis ==
This is the first book in the Court Gentry aka 'The Gray Man' series.
Gentry is a former CIA agent, now working as one of the top assassins for hire.
At the start, we see him completing a job in Iraq and then being pulled out by a rescue team who fly in by ... plane. They are sent in by his employer.
However, Gentry soon finds out that the rescue team isn't there to get him back home safely, but there to eliminate him.
Martial ling all his lethal skills and experience, he goes on the run, so he can discover who wants him dead and why, and put an end to them before they do the same to him . . .
== My thoughts ==
I found this an enjoyable read. The plot is the basic setup that you find in most conspiracy thriller type novels. If you've read any of Robert Ludlan's novels then you'll most likely be able to guess most of the story right at the start. There's a big conspiracy and you have the CIA, big business and teams of killers all after the hero.
I thought it was competently told though. It's nothing earth shattering and you'll most likely forget it once you've finished reading it but it's fun while it lasts.
I liked the main character of Gentry, who is the typical action hero type character you get in 80's action movies. You know he can get out of any tricky situation. I have to say I never felt that he was in any real danger during any part of the novel, even when the author tried to create suspense ridden situations.
I don't expect to find much character development in these kind of thriller novels but the author manages to flesh out most of the characters that appear, so you can understand their motivations and feelings. The bad guys are painted as suitably bad, and even though Gentry is a killer for hire, he operates on his own set of moral codes, which is demonstrated to us right at the start of the novel.
I have read that this is being adapted for the big screen. They shouldn't have any real problem, as it is written in a cinematic style. It sort of felt like I was watching a movie. Usually, when authors try to write like this it gets annoying, but the author manages to pull it off. I found it easier to imagine the story in my head.
There are some well written action sequences but there could have been a lot more. The main character has to travel across Europe to a certain country, I think France. The bad guys put kill squads all the way from his start point in Turkey, to his final destination. I thought there would be lots of explosions and dead bodies littered in his wake as he makes his way through the various countries. However, there is very limited action set pieces and the ones that are employed, were very reminiscent of ones I've read in other novels including ones by Matthew Reilly.
It also appeared most of the time the main hero got away by luck / circumstance rather than by using his extensive skills / brains.
I feel it could also have been trimmed down in length slightly with the plot being so basic.
== Audio narration and availability ==
This is available for download on the Audible site (www.audible.co.uk). It is selling for £19.69 though; it may be cheaper if you have a subscription to Audible. This is unabridged and is 10 hours and 44 mins in length. It is read by Jay Snyder. I liked his voice and reading style. He has an American accent but it isn't too strong. He is also able to voice all the characters perfectly. I liked the way he was able to do the various accents like upper class English or German accents. This is another reason I liked listening to this audio book; it had a good narrator.
== Summary and recommendation ==
I give this 4 stars. It's not a masterpiece, but it's a bit of light entertainment that is fun and will keep you distracted while you are reading it.
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The Lovers - John Connolly (Audio CD)
by Neo420
The Lovers by John Connolly
== Plot synopsis ==
This is the eighth novel in the Charlie Parker series. He is a private detective who always tries to do the right thing. Most of the novels in this series have a slight supernatural element to them as the author explores the nature of evil, life after death and ... grief.
I believe this book was published both in print and audio form in 2009. It falls into the mystery / supernatural genres.
Parker's PI licence has been taken away from him. He now works in a small bar trying to make ends meet.
Having some spare time, he decides to investigate his own past and find out the circumstances around his fathers death. His father Will, a NYPD cop killed a young couple and then committed suicide when Parker was a teenager himself. He has no idea of why his father did what he did and his mother refused to talk to him about it for the rest of her remaining days.
During his investigation, he will find out more than the reason behind his father's death. He will discover the truth about his origins and the betrayal committed by his father, along with the lies he's been told by everyone close to him all his life.
He will also cross paths with two individuals whose only aim is to bring an end to his life . . .
== My thoughts ==
I have mixed feelings about this. It is ok but I didn't find it as interesting as some of the earlier novels.
There are certain sections that I enjoyed; in particular the ones where we get to see Will, Parker's father before he committed suicide and the circumstances that led up to it. I also liked learning about where Parker came from.
I wasn't as interested in the story that was set in the present. There are two individuals who are demons who have taken over the bodies of some humans who want to terminate Parker. Now I think about it, the plot reminds me a little of Terminator 2 but with a supernatural twist, instead of robots from the future.
By now I am used to the author using supernatural forces in his novels. Some aspects of this reminded me of an earlier novel called 'The Black Angel' in which there were two main demons but they were twins and not lovers, as in this.
I have to say I did like reading about the way the demons take over their human host's bodies like a parasite; slowly infecting their mind until they completely take it over. I also liked following one of the human hosts on her journey as she tries to outrun whatever is after her. She knows something is wrong with her but she can't explain what.
The pacing isn't very good I don't think which is the main thing. It picks up in certain sections then slows down again. The author could have trimmed down the novel in length and still managed to get in everything. I didn't feel there was as much going on as in earlier novels even though there are a few twists and turns along with a few red herrings to keep you guessing.
== Audio narration and availability ==
The audio CD is selling for £30.49 on the Isis Publishing site (www.isis-publishing.co.uk) though you should be able to pick this up from your local library.
Like most of the previous books in this series, this was read by Jeff Harding who's voice I am not a big fan of. However by now, I have gotten used to his voice and I can instantly recognise the voices of the main characters when he speaks any dialog for them.
== Summary and recommendation ==
I give this 3 stars. It's perfectly readable, though compared to some of the earlier novels, I would say this is somewhat lacking. I am now also used to the supernatural themes the author likes to explore so it is difficult to be surprised or interested in whatever the author throws at me in this novel.
The main thing I liked was learning about Parkers past and his family.
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The Song of Hiawatha - Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (Audio Book)
by ladybracknell
I was first introduced to this poem as a child of about seven or eight years old when I was given a rather battered book by an elderly family friend. It gave me a lifelong love of poetry, especially narrative verse as well as showing me an entirely different view of the Native American to the one I had previously known. This wasn't the ... entire poem but an abridged version for children covering the boyhood, youth and early adulthood of Hiawatha and from the instant I opened the book and saw the first illustration showing a twilight scene of a lonely wigwam pitched beside a lake with a backdrop of tall, dark pine trees, I was utterly captivated.
Growing up in the 1950s, arguably the golden era of the American Western, I'd already been subjected to the prevailing view of Red Indians, as they were called in those un-PC days, as violent savages who were intent on the destruction of the noble white settlers of America. In this poem, however, I was presented with a picture of the Native American before the advent of the white man and though I'm sure it's a highly romanticised, not to mention somewhat sanitised view of the life of a Native American, it also showed a totally opposite perspective to that which most children then were being spoon fed both on TV and at the cinema.
Synopsis:
Hiawatha is the son of Mudjekeewis, the West Wind who seduced his mother Wenonah who gives birth to Hiawatha. When Mudjekeewis abandons Wenonah, she dies of a broken heart leaving Hiawatha to be raised by his grandmother, Nokomis. He is to be the saviour of the Indian nation as predicted by Gitche Manito and through his actions he brings about peace and prosperity to his people. The poem narrates his legendary life.
The poet:
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was an American poet who based his Song of Hiawatha on an amalgamation of many North American Indian folk tales but mainly on those of the Ojibwee, a tribe who lived on the shores of Lake Superior. He also used the writings of Henry Rowe Schoolcraft, a superintendent of Indian affairs, who had collected information about the indigenous peoples of North America, including their folk tales and traditions, and these were woven into the fabric of his epic poem, along with many words from the Ojibwee language. The poem was first published in 1855 and received considerable acclaim, though it also had its detractors who accused Longfellow of plagiarising a similar narrative poem from Finland. Although it has gone in and out of fashion ever since publication, it remains an enduring tribute to a people and way of life that has gone forever.
My opinion:
When I saw this recording in my local library, I couldn't resist borrowing it to listen once again to the story which had so captured my imagination all those years ago. The book from my childhood had long since disappeared and had only been about half the length of the entire poem so I was curious to hear it in its entirety.
This recording is from Naxos Audiobooks and lasts for just under 4 hours. It's read by William Hootkins, an American by the sound of him but with one of those attractive American voices lacking any stridency. He's softly spoken with just a hint of accent; there's a slight rolling of his r's and a lengthening of his vowels. In fact, William Hootkins sounds a little like Orson Wells.
When I read this poem as a child, I was struck by its rhythm which is measured and hypnotic and fits perfectly with the narrative, sounding as it does almost like the tom-tom beat of an Indian war dance. This rhythm isn't quite as evident in this recording although the hypnotic elements are definitely there and, in fact, sometimes sound quite monotonous but that could just be down to the narrator.
Listening to this poem with adult ears, the influences on Longfellow are quite obvious. Although the setting is a world away from Ancient Greece, there is something Homeric about the adventures of Hiawatha, especially as his story is also interwoven with Native American mythology in the same way that the journeys of Ulysses included a large proportion of Greek mythology. There is also something Biblical about the story in that Hiawatha is created from the union of a god with a mortal woman and Gitche Manito, the Great Spirit predicts this child will be the saviour of the people: a Jesus Christ of the Indian nation?
'I shall send a Prophet to you,
A deliverer of the nations,
Who shall guide you and shall teach you,
Who shall toil and suffer with you.
If you listen to his counsels,
You will multiply and prosper.
If his warnings pass unheeded,
You shall fade away and perish.'
The poem was every bit as lyrical and entrancing as I remembered and Longfellow paints incredible pictures with his words describing the North American wilderness as it was long before any white European set his foot upon the land and began the systematic destruction of the indigenous population. It details a beautiful landscape of lakes and rivers, forests and mountains and demonstrates how closely and harmoniously the Native American lived with nature.
The illustration I mentioned from my childhood book is a case in point. The artist had perfectly captured the image as described by Longfellow.
'By the shores of Gitche Gumee
By the shining Big-Sea-Water
Stood the wigwam of Nokomis,
Daughter of the Moon, Nokomis.
Dark behind it rose the forest,
Rose the black and gloomy pine trees,
Rose the firs with cones upon them.
Bright before it beat the Water,
Beat the clear and sunny water,
Beat the shining Big-Sea-Water'
This is an excellent recording of a wonderful poem and will certainly enthral adults and older children alike. I think, however, younger children would probably enjoy this tale in book form, preferably illustrated, which would help them understand it more. The sections that deal with Hiawatha's childhood and youth would be particularly appealing to younger children as Longfellow delivers an almost Disneyesque depiction of Hiawatha's childhood and his affinity with the animals.
I've never been to America so haven't visited any reservations but I've been told by people who have that modern day Native Americans are, in the main, a rather sorry sight. This is a romantic depiction of the 'noble savage' as viewed from a nineteenth century white man's perspective but it's a story which is told sympathetically and I couldn't help but feel great sorrow that the true natives of America have been destroyed by the European interlopers.
Book details:
Audio versions:
Naxos Audiobooks £13.99 for 3 disc audio format
Or £5.19 for MP3 download from Amazon
Paperback editions:
Adult and children's versions available from 1p plus postage
Kindle edition:
Various Kindle editions are available including a free copy. There is also an illustrated children's version available for the Kindle at £1.87
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