DWD's Reviews

Good story but not terribly original, but fun nonetheless. Read by Boyd Gaines Approximately 3 hours I heard Vespers as an abridged audiobook and I will talk about that aspect at the end. If you saw any of Hollywood's animal disaster B movies (Giant ants, snakes, bugs, etc. that attack humanity) than you get the idea behind this book. Normally placid bats are attacking people and gathering in a murderous swarm above New York City. Meanwhile, something else - something very large - is killing people in the subway tunnels. Will the animal expert and the rough cop be able to save the day? Even though the plot is formulaic, I still found myself wanting to know what happened next. I couldn't wait to pop the tape in the player as soon as I got in the car! The audiobook is read by Boyd Gaines who does a phenomenal job. Every character has a unique and distinct voice in accent. 5 stars for him, if I could. I rate this audiobook 4 stars out of 5. Reviewed on September

I admit it, I saw the name on the cover and picked it up... ...and after the first 50 pages I thought to myself, "Uh-oh. He's done it again and screwed up for all of the world to see." In case you were under a rock during the O.J. Simpson trial - Darden was the male prosecutor. And, it first it did seem that Lawless was floundering and going to be another bust for Darden. Christopher Darden during the infamous O.J. trial. However, what I mistook for floundering was actually the plot being carefully laid out - including intricate subplots, betrayals (lots of betrayals) and bizarre dead ends that mislead the reader to the very last page. When you finally get a handle on what the bad guys are up to you then wonder which guys are the bad guys, which are the good guys and who is just out for themselves. When this book finally played out, it was well worth the initial confusion. I'll be looking for more books. I rate this book 5 stars out of 5. It can be found o

An excellent, gripping, morally challenging novel. Published by HarperAudio in 2000. Read by Campbell Scott. Duration: Approximately 3 hours. Abridged. I am reviewing Rising Phoenix as an abridged audiobook and will make specific comments on that aspect of it at the end of this review. I have drudged and slogged my way through a number of books and books on tape lately and this one was like a bolt of lightning - it came out of nowhere and really was a welcome surprise for me. I won't go into many of the plot details - however, this is a great bit of writing. The premise is thought-provoking, to say the least. The main idea is that someone decides to poison the supply of illegal drugs in order to truly scare everyone straight. The idea of drugs killing you are no longer just an abstract possibility, it is an immediate reality. In a nice twist, the antagonist is well-developed and the protagonists are not. The story is plot-driven and by that I mean we don't get bogg

A Truly Enjoyable Meandering History Publishers Weekly criticized this book The Pursuit of Happiness in Times of War for not truly exploring the meanings behind Jefferson's famous phrase from the Declaration of Independence that lists among the rights of all people the rights to "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." To be fair to Cannon, he does explore that and both explicitly and implicitly tells the reader that the genius of the phrase is that it is so hard to define. It can be used by people from all over the political landscape to define their goals and they are all using it correctly (I think he does this rather brilliantly in the chapter concerning anti-war protesters vs. George W. Bush.) The Publishers Weekly review correctly points out that Cannon's focus is, at times, lacking. However, the text is still informative and well-written. I would compare it to a pleasant conversation that strays a bit from its original focus but eventually does retu

A lot of soap opera, a little legal thriller Published by Brilliance Audio in 2003. Duration: Approximately 3 hours. Read by Laurel Merlington Abridged I listened to Acts of Malice as an abridged audiobook and I'm hoping some of the problems I have with the book were really due to the abridgment. Problems: 1. her son Bob - he never speaks. He never does anything but be the perfect son who never, ever does anything wrong while mom sometimes spends outrageous hours out of the home. Watch out for this kid - he's going to be trouble! 2. Her son Bob says nothing, nothing at all about mom getting married to a man she just started re-dating while he's off on a trip to Germany (apparently unplanned since the tapes bring it up as he's packing the day before). 3. I don't know about you, but I think it would be pretty unethical to start dating the prosecutor during your defendant's murder trial. 4. The book spent much more time on the character's co

Great twists. Good book. Abridged version leaves some things out. Published by Brilliance Audio Read by Dale Hull Duration: About 3 hours Abridged Just to let you know, I heard The Pied Piper as an audiobook, rather than having read it. I will discuss specific issues about the audiobook aspect of it later. This was a scary, sad thriller. Children are being abducted from their bedrooms across Seattle and, in reality, all across the country and Seattle's finest are out to stop the kidnappings. Obstacles in their path include very poor teamwork with the FBI and there's another kidnapping very close to home...but I won't spoil it for you by telling you who. Good police work ensues and it is satisfying to go along with the police as they slowly amass their clues and get closer and closer. Once the reader finds out the truth, there's still quite a bit of work to do to wrap it all up - including a cross-country chase. Its a good, good thriller and I would have