AudiobookReviewer

ABR's full Safari audiobook review and many others can be found at Audiobook Reviewer.

SPOILER ALERT. If you have not read “Mountain Man book 1″ better read it before this one. Otherwise you will not know how everything went down.

Gus was badly hurt, between Roxann and the bikers he has sustained broken teeth, cracked ribs and other injuries. To ease his pain he found his best friend, Captain Morgan, and had a drink, or two, or three.

At the start of a cold winter Gus is hurt and alone, again. This is how book 2 starts as we continue to follow Gus’s will to survive. Through the coming months he slowly heals. During this time he drops down the well of despair and loneliness. He has long conversations with a bottle of Captain Morgan rum. Still needing supplies he makes trips to town in the truck the bikers left at his gate.

Except for Scott, every “normal” human he meets has tried to kill him. Now he doesn’t think twice about killing in self-defense. As his sanity spirals down he makes plans to get rid of all the zombies in Annapolis.

To his horror it is not only the zombies that are a threat, a new, even more deadly terror has risen.

I listened to this book straight through. Well, almost, straight through. The pace was fairly fast and the action was vicious. More problems and plot twists. The characters in this part of the story were what we could expect when the basic rules of humanity are gone. I found this part very believable and well developed.

Mr. Bray did a splendid job of bringing this book to life. I didn’t have a problem with his voices and liked the tone of his telling. Everything was clear and easy to understand. The book cover gives you the jist of this book. Audio production was without fault. Very well done. Book 3 here I come.

Audiobook purchased for review by ABR.

ABR's full Eastern Standard Tribe audiobook review and many others can be found at Audiobook Reviewer.

This quirky novel is based in the near future. You’ll recognize much of the tech, some a stretch from what we have now, some just around the corner, and others, just cool stuff invented by the author. The effect is a somewhat surreal futuristic world that you can almost relate to; just a bit removed from what we know now, like a very realistic dream.

The term “Eastern Standard Tribe” refers to a loose knit group who operate on the Eastern Time Zone of the United States. It is a group or tribe of likeminded people who are digital friends. Most have never met each other but have so much loyalty they help when one of their members get in trouble. Think of it as Facebook friends who are actual friends. It is an interesting concept that anyone on the Internet can relate to.

Throughout most of the book, you the listener are not really sure what the main character does for a living, why he has so much time to screw around, or what his extremely strange friends do either. All of it comes clear and is well worth the effort. You are also not quite sure if the main character is completely sane or if all this is some kind of psychotic episode. Again, stick with it, it’s well worth it.

It is a fun, 20 something book with a SciFi twist, a kind of “Generation X” in the 21st Century. The characters are well developed and likable (even the ones you hate). There is an especially funny scene where the main character and his girlfriend are being mugged in London. He manages to talk them out of it with his keen wit only to end up being interrogated by the bumbling police for half the night.

Narration is by P.J. Ochlan, who does an excellent job. He holds the right sense of irreverence throughout the story and the accents are well done.

Eastern Standard Tribe will not be for everyone. It is quirky and strange, sometimes breaking the forth wall by speaking directly to the listener, even revealing the structure and mechanics of the plot. It doesn’t take itself seriously and is a good ride. Listen with that in mind and you will enjoy the book quite a lot.

Audiobook provided for review by the publisher.

ABR's full Overclocked audiobook review and many others can be found at Audiobook Reviewer.

Overclocked is composed of five Novellas (or long short stories). All are future tales based on high technology affecting society in a catastrophic way. The general feeling of the stories is something like the classic SciFi of the 50s and 60s (Bradbury, Asimov, Dick, etc.), but with distinctly 21st Century themes: alienation, poor vs. rich nations, availability of high tech, terrorism, and post human technology.

Short stories are intriguing for their ability to drop us headlong into the characters and action without the slow development of a book. Doctorow is quite good at this. Within minutes of starting one of the stories, you are immersed in one of his carefully crafted worlds. The characters are unusual and believable.

In After the Siege, the main character is a teenage girl caught in the horrors of prolonged war, all of it tragic because it is so unnecessary and avoidable. As the story unfolds and we learn how the outside world is using the conflict as a form of entertainment, we are brought to a deeper level of horror and shame. Shame because we can empathize with the victims and see our own complicity in their pain.

I Row-Boat is a playful twist on Asimov’s famous novel, I Robot. Robbie the Row-Boat has gained consciousness, as have many high-tech devices. He contemplates the meaning of life as he rows tourist human divers around the Australian coral reefs. Too bad for all of them when the billions of processors imbedded into the reef cause it to gain consciousness itself, and it is angry. It is outrageous, inventive and pure fun.

When Sysadmins Ruled the Earth is a terrific story of geeks trapped inside clean rooms as the world disintegrates around them. They, and others like them around the world, survive because they are trapped in the filtered air of the computers they protect and keep running. The Internet limps along as billions die. Of course, email spam lives on. It is a story written with a lot of technical jargon and geekspeak. Don’t let that throw you, this is a good story with a lot of real human themes.

Each story is narrated by a different performer. All are excellent and bring the stories to life without flaw.

This is a decidedly high-tech group of stories. Hard SciFi at its best. If you are intrigued by technology, do not hesitate to listen to this book. If on the other hand, high-tech jargon and technological themes don’t interest you, try the audio sample first. You may still find something to enjoy, but know that these stories appeal to a specific audience and do it well. If you find yourself in the former category, you will likely enjoy these stories immensely and listen to them more than once.

Audiobook provided for review by the publisher.

ABR's full Daughter of Smoke and Bone audiobook review and many others can be found at Audiobook Reviewer.

Oh, how to begin?!?

“At the beginning”, you say. Unfortunately, I find myself at a loss for words. Which non-clichéd superlatives should I use to convey how unexpectedly much I enjoyed this book without turning your ears deaf in disbelief? Incredible! Awesome! Amazing! Yeah, those adjectives just don’t begin to describe how enamored I am with this story! There is nothing clichéd about this ingenious world.

When given the opportunity to listen-for-review, I chose this book because I thought it would be good. I didn’t expect to be utterly and completely sucked in and held captive.

This is a wonderfully imaginative YA fantasy romance with origins in mythological folklore, though not of Roman or Greek variety. Set in modern-day Prague and Marrakesh and incorporating a millennial old battle between the “good guys” and the “bad guys”, your determination of who is which will oscillate throughout this well-organized tale. (You might read elsewhere that this battle is between “angels” and “demons”, but, I assure you, not all of these “angels” are angelic and not all of these “demons” are demonic.) Being the first book of the Daughter of Smoke and Bone trilogy, this opener tells the histories of our three hero/heroines: Karou, a blue-haired, highly artistic, 17 year old (human) girl orphaned and lovingly raised by four chimaera; Akiva, a 50-year- young and eternally handsome, magically gifted, born-to-fight seraph; and Madrigal, an orphaned-by-war, compassionate, high-human aspect, pure chimaera who is a page to one of the same chimaera raising Karou.

While the three stories are interwoven in the telling, the three stories are not told in alternating chapters. Instead, the book begins with Karou’s story, then, around the 50% mark, transitions to Akiva’s tale, nearly obscuring Karou’s story. Finally, we transition to Madrigal’s history, nearly obscuring both Karou’s and Akiva’s stories, before Ms Taylor reveals the completed tapestry that is all three stories as one beautifully created piece of artwork. The first half of the story, that portion with Karou at its center, is lighter, wittier and “happier” than the second half of the story. This shift in temperature is noticeably sudden and somewhat jarring. This first book is a complete story, but not the whole story, hence, book one of a trilogy. As this installment will not leave the reader dangling over a cliff, you will be well-equipped to determine whether Ms Taylor’s creation is enticement enough to want more or satisfying enough to allow you to move on. (I, for one, am wanting more.)

Ms Taylor is a gifted storyteller, precisely knowing how to intrigue and captivate her audience, both young and old. With every character, major and minor, modern day and ancient day, chimaera, seraph and human, this author deepens her narrative with stories within stories. She paints incredible characters unique to anything I’ve ever read. Laini Taylor incorporates passages both poignant to the story, to the story within the story and extractable to the readers’ world. (This one made me laugh the most: “I don’t know many rules to live by,” he’d said. “But here’s one. It’s simple. Don’t put anything unnecessary into yourself. No poisons or chemicals, no fumes or smoke or alcohol, no sharp objects, no inessential needles—drug or tattoo—and… no inessential penises, either.”) Miss Taylor masterfully carries her readers at her pace through emotions, (full-body anger, soul-cratering guilt, humbling thankfulness, heart-wrenching sorrow, new-found-love joy, torturous anguish), through histories, and through relationships (friendly, familial, adaptively familial, and adversarial). I’d be hard-pressed to imagine who would not enjoy this book.

As I listened to the audio version of this book, narrated by Khristine Hvam, I cannot comment on the editing of the printed version. At 12 ½ hours, the audio book is wonderfully narrated by Ms Hvam as she gives voice to humans and creatures alike, not once reminding me that I was listening rather than experiencing. Her characters were recognizably distinguishable, accents consistent throughout the chapters and her voice easy to listen to. Though I am certain I would have enjoyed this book just as much if I had read it rather than listened to it, I am not as certain I would have created as many opportunities to read as I did to continue to listen.

I see that there are intentions to create a movie based on this book/series. I look forward to the opportunity to see Laini Taylor’s characters come to life. I thank the author for the opportunity to listen to this audio book in exchange for a review. Now, I am off to purchase the next book in the series!

Audiobook provided for review by the publisher.

ABR's full Going Home audiobook review and many others can be found at Audiobook Reviewer.

The cover of this book is right on. One man, a long road ahead of him and unknown dangers to face.

Starts out with Morgan Carter sitting in his car trying to figure out why is stopped running. He tries his cell and it is out too. So is his LP. All electronics are dead. EMP or CSF he decides and it must have been a big one. Good thing he had his survival pack with him. It’s 250 miles home and he only has two feet to get him there. Morgan is just over 6ft. and around 250 lbs. “Not all of it muscle.”

When he allowed, a young college girl, Jess, to join him the writer changed to third person. It was also that way when Thad, a huge Black man, asked to join him. When it was Morgan it was always first person. Three strangers with a long trip ahead. They were all trying to get home. Morgan had the knowledge and equipment to help them survive and Thad was intimidating on his own. Jess was learning to live in the new world..
I have read several other novels along these lines. I liked W. Johnston’s series. What made this one a little different and interesting was the first person telling of Morgan’s part. Morgan’s take and insights into what had happened and was happening gave life to his journey. He knew what to expect from other people they would meet. “Trust No One” was his motto. Most people he met were just confused and afraid. Others were vicious bullies who took what they wanted.

If you like this action/adventure survival type of book you won’t go wrong with this series.

Read by Duke Fontaine and he did a good job of it. His narration was clear and concise. Could have done better with some of the voices, but no big deal. I liked the sound of his voice. It was an exciting novel.

Production was faultless and smooth. Not jumps, empty spaces, or static.

Audiobook purchased for review by ABR.

ABR's full Railroad! Volume One: Rodger Dodger audiobook review and many others can be found at Audiobook Reviewer.

This was my first Steampunk anything! It is fast paced for a first time listener – I had to start it over a second time just to make sure I was clear on what was happening. The thing that popped into my head was “pay no attention to the man behind the curtain” type feeling I had when I heard the narrator begin with the story line.

I enjoyed the gruffness of Carpenter (Rodger Dodger) and his many questions about the train as it helped to describe what was going on. Professor Hieronymus J. Dittmeyer, Ph.D., M.D. was excellent as an eccentric professor and inventor. Ched, I’m not sure about but I took him as a possible zombie or perhaps in the same shape as the group of train robbers – enhanced!

The inventions in this story were fantastic. They were clearly described and important to the storyline. Everything was described in a rich vocabulary and visually stimulating. The brief glimpse into Rodger Dodger was enlightening and thought evoking.

Rodger Dodger’s time in the military and later as a gun slinger was interesting and very poignant as it provided a keen insight into the man. Bringing in Lalayna and Boone were an interesting touch, pushing Dodger onto the path of his destiny.

The character and plot development was strong and flowed nicely together.

I look forward to hearing the rest of this adventure!

The narrator, JoBe Cerny did an excellent job of making the story seem surreal. He was difficult to understand when he was Ched but by making him a little difficult to understand one can gleam and that perhaps Ched is unique and when he speaks, he is one you need to stop and heed. Seems he knows more than he lets on and the narrator helps portray this accurately.

Julia Farmer did an excellent job as LaLayna. Definitely the mistress of seduction and innocence all rolled into one with a hint of a deep hidden dark personality with other things going on.

I enjoyed the book, the reading and look forward to more.

There were no issues with the production, everything went smoothly.

Audiobook provided for review by the author.

ABR's full Bastial Explosion audiobook review and many others can be found at Audiobook Reviewer.

Bastial Explosion is the third novel in the series The Rhythm of Rivalry written by B.T. Narro. This novel follows the wartime activities of a group of students, both human and of other races. The students at this academy learn special skills such as potion making, fighting, magic, and psyche. They are sent on missions because of the academy is a critical component of the war effort. In addition, the novel follows the movements of two of the enemy species, Krepps. One of the Krepps is allied with the humans that are the main characters and novel is exploring his adjustment to living amongst the humans.

First and foremost, one of the biggest issues that I have with this novel, is that it cannot stand alone. At the beginning, different races were being introduced by name as if the reader should already know them. This would have been the case if I had read the first two books. As I had not, I needed to do some research on the internet to get an idea of what the premise of the whole series was and get familiar with some basics that were mentioned. As soon as I did that, I felt much better about the entire book, but I definitely felt as if I was missing some things. It was as if, I has started a novel in the middle. Similarly, the end of was abrupt without much conclusion in this novel.

However, listening to this novel got me hooked. While some of the dialogue and romantic motivations were a little juvenile, the action in the novel is captivating and the world building pretty great. My mind did not wander and I was anxious to see what happened next. I think the character development could be improved. Sometime they seemed a little flat and their actions simply plot devices.

While Lesley Ann Fogle did a great job with the different voices, there were two aspects of the narration that bothered me a lot. First, and minor, at least in the beginning, I noticed an echo-y quality to the sound, implying that the narrator was sitting in a room were the sound carries. It was distracting and probably a production quality issue. Second, and more important, the ends of chapters were not read with any finality. At the end of every chapter, it seemed like the conversations were chopped off. While this might be partially the fault of the author, a narrator should be able to accomplish this. With the long pause between chapters and I kept thinking that my phone app had shut down. Overall, I think reading the previous novels would've helped me feel secure in my knowledge about what was going on and reading, rather than listening to the audiobook, would have been a better experience for me.

Audiobook provided for review by the narrator.

ABR's full Atlas audiobook review and many others can be found at Audiobook Reviewer.

If you like military novels set in the future, you will likely be drawn to Atlas. More than half of the book is spent showing the intense military training of the main character, first through basic, then Special Forces. Along the way he stays with his friends and a girlfriend he met in basic training. The world is set 2500 years in the future, with the earth divided into two halves, one side rich and lazy and the other poor and violent. Most of the military is conscripted from illegal immigrants breaking into the rich size. Wars are not fought on earth, but in proxy wars in space between those with epicanthic folds and those without (Asians vs. Westerners).

There is nothing very new about the idea of this book and story line is pretty basic and predicable. Much of the grueling military training is entertaining, but the listener wonders why they do so much cold water training if they are fighting in space. The writer also seems to lack imagination with regard to the weapons of the future, basic 20th Century machine guns and rocket launchers. When the main character gets in trouble during a battle, he takes morphine for the pain, making him drowsy enough to fall asleep, but later gets most of his intestines replaced by a 3-D printer. These odd lapses will be frustrating for hard Sci-Fi fans.

Rhett Price narrates the story with his deep rumbling baritone. His voice is interesting and appealing, but his delivery leaves a lot to be desired. Price often reads dialogue very slowly making the characters sound stupid and his accents are awful; the friend from Mexico sounds like he’s a Spanish speaking Nigerian. Much of this might be forgiven or overlooked, but the constant fumbling and mispronunciation of common words is cringe worthy.

Atlas has potential for its action and space military theme but trips over itself from a limited imagination of the future and flat characters. If this is your favorite Sci-Fi genre, give a try, going in with an open mind. Hard Sci-Fi fans should probably look elsewhere.

Audiobook provided for review by the author.

ABR's full Kyrathaba Rising audiobook review and many others can be found at Audiobook Reviewer.

Kyrathaba Rising is a post-apocalyptic world in the 2200’s and which aliens, robots and humans reside. Discovering unstableness and treachery, the humans and androids break into two fractions. One small group of four travels into a parallel world that is virtual in a sense and filled with magic, kings, orcs and such. The other fraction, a much larger group explores going deeper into the underground system they have been forced to live in since the war of human vs alien seven years prior.

Within the book one is faced with two worlds, both fighting for the same right to life and freedom from alien domination. The aliens remain above in a space ship, waiting, patiently.

I found Kyrathaba Rising to be a book one cannot listen to in bits and pieces, rather one must devote longer periods of time because it is very technical in the first 30 minutes. A hardcore science novel, it is very richly devoted to details that creates a clear understanding of what is going on and establishes character development.

It was interesting to experience the mash-up of hardcore science and fantasy, creating a connection where one would not normally see it. The plot development and character development were well executed.

The narrator, Christine Padovan did a good job of narrating. If one listened closely one could distinguish the humans from the androids because the androids spoke with the ending of their words being drawn out.

Production was good as there were no issues and no distracting background noises.

I would highly recommend this to anyone who is a hardcore science fan.

Audiobook provided for review by the narrator.

ABR's full Exodus audiobook review and many others can be found at Audiobook Reviewer.

It is far in the future and mankind has left the dying Earth to live on a terraformed Mars. Cruel syndicates (mobs) run commerce and government with an iron fist, murdering anyone who threatens their control. The main character is a hit-man who learns from his scientist sister that Mars is dying due to lack of maintenance of its nuclear power plants.

And that’s about it. This is a simplistic story of a one-dimensional character who kills his way through society to save his blubbering sister. She is being threatened by the mob who is letting Mars die so they can return to an empty Earth to build a bigger empire. If you are wondering why ruthless, megalomaniacal mobsters would destroy an entire developed, industrialized world to rebuild on one they previously abandoned, keep wondering; because you will not find the answer in this book. If you are wondering how a former hit-man can be threatened, tortured and captured multiple times, but always escape because his enemies neglect to take away his weapon, keep wondering.

Exodus reads like an outline of a story, without detail or texture. The buildings are “tall,” and night is “dark,” people get information from “media devices.” Of course this technique can give a sense of strangeness to a story, unworldliness, unfortunately in this case, the listener is simply given no soil for his imagination to grow. Mars and its inhabitants sound like a wire drawing done on a CAD program.

Al Kessel narrates Exodus and does a generally competent job. He seems to be trying hard to put excitement into the words that aren’t carrying it.

This reviewer knows the effort that goes into writing a book and respects that. Unfortunately, all that effort results in a book that is extremely difficult to listen to. If you are a fan of futuristic Sci-Fi mobster stories, you might give it a test run, but others should look elsewhere.

Audiobook provided for review by the narrator.

ABR's full The Deep audiobook review and many others can be found at Audiobook Reviewer.

This book is rather strange and disquieting. Full of flashbacks and sometimes rather confusing. The story starts out with Luke Nelson traveling 10,000 miles to meet with his estranged brother. The request came from the government and they made the travel arrangements.
There is a deadly plague that has invaded every country in the world. It makes people forget. They forget everything until they just die from starvation. Worse yet, no one knows how it is transmitted.

Luke’s brother, Clayton, may had found a cure. A miracle cure not for just this plague but for all disease. He has sent a message for Luke to join him in his research lab that is deep in the Mariana Trench.

As Luke travels to meet his brother, he thinks back to when they were children. These flashbacks set the tone of their relationship. Clayton is a genius and a sadistic psychopath and a sociopath. He only cares about his research and the fame it brings him. The lives of his subjects have no value. He can’t understand why Clayton would want to see him. He was a animal vet. Clayton was an animal killer. He didn’t want to clean up after him again.

This is a mix of “Twilight Zone”, “Outer Limits” and “X-Factor.” Horror story at it’s best. It gets very graphic in places. I think it was too much sometimes with all the flashbacks and dream sequences. It was hard to tell sometimes if it was real or another one of Luke’s dreams, or a dream within a dream. The parts that were in the dark with only a flashlight were the most frightening.

Cory Brill has a nice voice and gave a good rendition. His dictation was flawless. Sometimes his voice was too nice, considering what he was reading.
Production was clear and without static or breaks. Overall an engrossing story.

Audiobook purchased for review by ABR.

ABR's full The Warm Hello audiobook review and many others can be found at Audiobook Reviewer.

ABR's full Beyond the Barriers audiobook review and many others can be found at Audiobook Reviewer.

“No one plans on the end of the world” no truer words spoken!

Recognizing signs that the end of the word is coming to an end, Erir Tragger, flips off the CNN News and heads off to the local Wal-mart to shop for supplies before heading off to a friends cabin in the mountains. Relying on his special forces training, Tragger feels confident he can survive the impending change.

Tragger connects with a group of survivors wanting to travel to Portland and thus begins his journey into a brief love relationship with a woman abused and nearly broken by life, a strong friendship with another special forces member and an arch rival named Lee.

Tragger finds that his special training instincts are rusty but given time he’s confident they will come back. After stopping at Walmart to gather supplies, Trigger escapes to the mountains removing himself from the end. However, his supplies dwindle driving him towards his home where more supplies are hidden.

Connecting with a group of survivors who plan to move to Portland, Tragger finds himself falling for a woman who is strong yet broken by life. He also connects with Scott another military member.

One would think that looters and zombies would be all the survivors would need to contend with but no … a new twist on the zombie genre generates green-eyed ghouls who use telepathic skills to control the zombies.

Forced to move on by another horde attack after his girlfriend is injured, he connects with others … including the snake-skin boots owned by Lee. A fierce looter with little regard to others and only out to be the biggest, baddest man around who takes what he wants.

Escaping from a ghoul camp, and another encounter with Lee has Tragger questioning his humanity – can he kill a ghoul who is nearly human or even kill his arch rival? The fate of his arch enemy who was left near deaths door in the ghoul camp is unknown but there are suspicions … an end to an excellent book! An excellent start to the next one – where is Lee??? And will his loyalty and faith in humanity get him killed – it has already blinded him, putting his and others lives in jeopardy.

During Traggers struggles, readers are naturally connected to the story and characters because of their down to earthiness and a general shared feeling of right vs wrong.

The author uses rich vocabulary to pain details for every event capturing the reader.

The audio book production was flawless. Audio Studies did an excellent job of producing this audiobook.

The narrator, Christian Rummel was excellent! He made listening to the book nail biting – he ability to project anxiety, fear, terror, and other feelings was amazing. Also his pronunciation was clear and concise.

I highly recommend this book – it captures and holds the reader mesmerized from beginning to end. The down-to-earthiness makes it more real leaving one rooted in the story. While there are common zombie behaviors, the twists in this plot makes it exciting and engrossing.

I can’t wait to read the next one!

Audiobook provided for review by the author.

ABR's full The Fire Sermon audiobook review and many others can be found at Audiobook Reviewer.

It would seem that if you compare a new book to the Hunger Games my interest will be piqued. Maybe I am a sucker, maybe I simply yearn for another series that will completely transport me to another reality.

The Fire Sermon did just what I wanted it to, in the beginning that is. The Earth has been transformed by nuclear war or fallout or something to that effect. The remaining survivors have been plagued with an interesting dilemma. There are no more only children, there are only twins being born. What Haig has termed as an Alpha and an Omega. Alpha’s are perfect in every way and the Omega’s are deformed in some fashion and it is not always obvious.

The Omega’s are driven from the normal society because everyone is afraid of them, or their deformities. Here’s the real kicker. If your twin dies, you die. It is that simple.

Beyond this interesting take on a post apocalyptic storyline it is a basic rebellion story. The outcasts form their own society and become overcome with hatred for those that shunned them. They rise up to try and smash those they hate and in the process loose many of their ranks.

I kept listening because I wanted something spectacular to happen. For me, it didn’t. Fairly shallow characters that left some to be desired. There was a love triangle that was contrived by Haig and never really developed.

I didn’t see the ending coming, right away, and was a good conclusion to the first book in this series. Not sure if I will continue on with it or not.

If you are craving a young adult post apocalyptic audiobook with fantastic narration, The Fire Sermon will quench it. Even though the story left a little to be desired.

Where The Fire Sermon really shines is with the performance by Lauren Fortgang. From the first second she was able to grab my attention and wouldn’t let go. There have been only a handful of narrators that I would be happy listening to them read tax law or the phone book, Fortgang is now one of them.

Audiobook provided for review by the publisher.

ABR's full In the Arms of Family (Adrian’s Undead Diary Book 6) audiobook review and many others can be found at Audiobook Reviewer.

I have been struggling with how to write a review for the sixth book in a series that I have already gushed all over and about. I mean if you are even considering this book to read or listen to you have probably experienced the first five in the series.

So I think I am going to keep this one short and sweet.

The Adrian’s Undead Diary series has become one of my favorite zombie audiobook series. For many reasons including but not limited to the following. Extremely thought out and mostly believable character development, I have been led to believe, in my head, that they are all real people that I care about. I smile when they are happy, get mad when they are, etc. All tied together with a sense of humor that is reight up my alley.

This sixth book is no different than the rest of the series. Adrian’s emotions get played with in more than one way. I particularly enjoyed some of the zombie encounters more so than in others in the series, just grittier. I feel there is a big giant almost unpushable toe pusher coming in the very near future for our gang. If you are not sure what I am talking about and enjoy humor about bodily excretions, read this series.

James Foster is one of the many reasons why this series is so popular in the audio format. He has been able to find a voice for Adrian and stuck to it unwaveringly. He added all of the subtle pauses and barely audible sounds to the performance that made me, and many others, feel as if we were right there along side of Adrian.

I will continue to be first in line to get my grubby hands, err ears, on all of the following audiobook with the duo of Foster and Philbrook. If you haven’t had the experience, what are you waiting for?

Audiobook purchased for review by ABR.

ABR's full Legion audiobook review and many others can be found at Audiobook Reviewer.

What do you do when you have 47 personalities who act separately from you and with each other? Solve crimes, of course. Stephen Leeds does not have personality disorder (at least according to him), he is completely aware of his many personalities, knows they are not real, yet interacts with them as people. Essentially they are different aspects of his brilliant mind that each have unique skills. He can call on them to help him with cryptography, handwriting analysis, chemical engineering, even languages, and come in pretty handy to solve the most challenging mysteries.

Steven Leeds and his several personalities (you don’t meet all of them, about 10) are funny, neurotic, helpful, strange and just fun. Written in the first person, you get a myopic view of Stephen Leeds’ life, but one couldn’t imagine doing this another way.

The book is very short, not much longer than a lengthy short story, even less than a novella. That is fine, it works, though if you used one credit on Audible, you might be a little disappointed how quickly it goes. The plot and the supporting characters are ridiculous and forgettable. The point of the story is the personalities and how they interact with each other and the world. It’s good fun and worth the two hour listen.

Oliver Wyman does a fine job with the narration, keeping the characters clearly defined in your ear. His pacing is good and he remains “transparent” throughout the book, leaving the story for the listener to imagine.

Don’t look for earth shattering revelations or philosophical enlightenment from Legion, just a couple of hours distraction. Overall this is a fun listen and you’ll get through it quickly with a smile on your face.

Audiobook purchased for review by ABR.