Audio Reviews

King's latest novel is a fantastically eerie tale in line with his best psychological thrillers. John Slattery offers a triumphal performance—his firm, gripping tone perfectly suits this story of the darker side of human memory and creativity. The characters are each so different and complicated, creating a challenge for even the most seasoned narrator. But Slattery does the near-impossible and physically becomes Edgar Freemantle. In fact, the two become so inseparable the listener almost feels guilty listening to his heartfelt confessions. King's vision of Freemantle's fictional personal memoir demands a narrator so believable and solid in his delivery that it seems almost impossible. But Slattery creates a truly moving experience, commanding and truthful. Simultaneous release with the Scribner hardcover (Reviews, Dec., 10). (Feb.)

Simon Prebble, a consummate professional among narrators, plays Kunzru's middle-aged protagonist, who relates his adolescent-into-adulthood journey that has gradually brought him to his current state of misery. From the outset Prebble helps structure the kind of suspense and tension Kunzru created so superbly in The Impressionist. The story opens at Christopher's 50th birthday party. But he is no longer Christopher; “Michael Frame” now leads a yuppie suburban family life he describes meticulously and with witty, bitter irony. He exists in a sort of “mental crouch,” waiting, knowing that “even now, in days, or even hours, my life here will be over.” Initiated as a 1960s teen into a counterculture, anti-Vietnam, anti-imperialist commune, he falls for the gutsy, freewheeling Anna. Wanting to win her, he ends up blowing up bathrooms and buildings. But he is forever dogged by a creepy childhood acquaintance named Miles, who, in the end, blackmails him into working for the people he always bitterly opposed. Kunzru's descriptions of places and events are sometimes too long and Christopher's lifetime attachment to Anna is a bit hard to swallow. But Kunzru delivers a gripping tale. Simultaneous release with the Dutton hardcover. (Feb.)

Stabenow's political suspense tale is well realized by Lorelei King, who offers deeply conflicted characters despite some cheesy dialogue and a plot line that seems all too familiar nowadays. King is the bright spot in this lackluster tale, capturing a variety of tones and dialects, including an incredible Pakistani accent that doesn't sound forced or over the top. Her pace is neither too fast nor too slow, and she knows exactly how to build tension at any moment. King guides listeners through the story, keeping them interested and involved even when Stabenow seems to lose interest. It is King's well-rounded narration that will keep listeners engaged, not Stabenow's story. Simultaneous release with the St. Martin's Minotaur hardcover (Reviews, Dec. 10). (Feb.)

Franklin reintroduces the second coming of Adelia Aguilar, a character who first appeared in Mistress of the Art of Death. Kate Reading captures her brilliantly through a wonderful and eerie reading. She has a voice made for narration; steady and firm in her pitch-perfect delivery, she draws upon the foggy atmosphere created by Franklin and sets the tone vividly with her classical British accent. Reading has such a firm understanding of the story that each word becomes as crucial as the last, creating a dramatic entertainment for the listener. Her characters, including the evil Queen Eleanor, a distressed King Henry II and of course Aguilar herself, are all well-rounded, with Reading perfecting a variety of gritty dialects to fit accordingly. Reading has a knack for this genre of story; with an inherent ability to captivate her audience from start to finish. Simultaneous release with the Putnam hardcover (Reviews, Nov. 12). (Feb.)

A Mississippi jury returns a $41-million verdict against a chemical company accused of dumping carcinogenic waste into a small town's water supply. The company's ruthless billionaire CEO is thwarted and the good guys (a courageous young woman who lost her husband and child and her two lawyers who've gone half a million dollars in debt preparing her case) receives its just reward. This sounds like the end of a Grisham legal thriller, but instead it's the beginning of a book-length lesson in how greed and big business have corrupted our electoral and judicial systems. Grisham's characters are over-the-top. The CEO and the other equally overdone villains—his venal trophy wife, a self-serving senator and a pair of smarmy political fixers—as well as the unbelievably good-hearted, self-sacrificing lawyers and an honorable state judge, are one dimensional. Michael Beck, with his natural Southern drawl, does a fine job of adding credibility and nuance to the large cast. But his efforts are for naught. In fact, the more he makes us feel for these characters, the less apt we are to be satisfied with the sourball moral of Grisham's downbeat discourse. Simultaneous release with the Doubleday hardcover (reviewed online). (Jan.)

Two wise decisions move this thriller up from the ranks of the ordinary: Scott Sowers's reading and a bonus interview with Preston by the editor-in-chief of Scientific American. Sowers, who has read Preston's work in the past with impressive results, adds a needed degree of calm and charm to this tangled tale of a giant superconducting supercollider particle accelerator called Isabella, located inside a 500-acre mesa on a Navajo reservation. Sowers gives all the characters instant credibility, from the physicist who created Isabella, to the ex-CIA man sent by the president to see what's taking so long, and especially a powerful televangelist who sees the project as blasphemy. In the interview, Preston admits he got the idea from the late L. Ron Hubbard. Sowers and Preston make this confrontation between religion and science surprisingly smart and new. Simultaneous release with the Forge hardcover (Reviews, Oct. 22). (Jan.)

Paretsky takes a break from the mystery genre with this powerful, emotionally genuine tale about the ties of love, family and religious belief in a rural Kansas community. The history of the Schapens, Grelliers and Freemantles in the Kaw River Valley dates back to the mid-19th century, but time, old grudges and religious differences have eroded the bonds of friendship. When John Freemantle's niece moves back to Douglas County, her Wiccan rituals and antiwar activism cause controversy and indirectly inspire teenager Chip Grellier to enlist in the army. After Chip's death in Iraq, the Grellier family begins falling apart. Meanwhile, the fortunes of the Schapens, devout fundamentalist Christians, rise with the emergence of an apparently perfect red heifer, the sacrifice crucial to the rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem and the Second Coming of Jesus. This audio's power is in its richly evoked characters, and Susan Ericksen's expressive, sympathetic voice partners perfectly with Paretsky's text. She distinctively voices men, women and teenagers with careful shifts in pitch, inflection and accent. In the end, listeners will be both satisfied by the realistic, uplifting ending and bereft at having to say good-bye to Paretsky's painfully real Kansans. Simultaneous release with the Putnam hardcover (Reviews, Oct. 15). (Jan.)

John Bedford Lloyd's rich, distinctive voice brings a strong sense of power to his reading of Box's first stand-alone thriller. In the rural Idaho town of Kootenai Bay, 12-year-old Annie Taylor and her younger brother, William, witness a brutal murder. Immediately the two find themselves being hunted by killers who will stop at nothing to ensure the children's silence. The two find refuge with an old rancher, Jess Rawlins, and recently retired police detective Eduardo Villatoro. Together, the two men make a desperate stand against the murderers despite being outnumbered and outgunned. Lloyd's crisp, laconic delivery easily handles a multitude of characters, accents and shifting points of view, creating just the right tone for the material and drawing the listener deep into the action of the story. He portrays his villains (a band of dirty ex-cops) with just the right amount of ruthless menace without going overboard, and he perfectly captures the essence of the aging rancher, imbuing him with the quiet strength and dignity of an iconic western hero. Simultaneous release with the St. Martin's Minotaur hardcover (Reviews, Oct. 15). (Jan.)

The sad, slow blues melodies that start and end every disk will get listeners in just the right mood for this lighthearted hard-boiled detective novel set in Depression-era California. Joyce Bean plays recently orphaned Kitty Pangborn as a perky, private school–educated young woman, who, though grieving the loss of her father, relishes her job as gal Friday to Dexter, a detective who is going steady with his whiskey bottle. Bean excels as the women characters. Rita, who reports her missing boyfriend and hires Dex, sounds every bit like a film noir dame. Brucie, a sweet-sounding woman on the lam, has a kittenish voice. Bean's male voices sound more like an adolescent boy trying to lower his voice. Since Kitty narrates the story—and does most of the detective work while Dex is sleeping off his booze—Bean keeps this frothy romp bubbling along. Thanks to the brisk, upbeat narration, this is a lark you won't want to miss. Simultaneous release with the St. Martin's Minotaur hardcover (Reviews, Nov. 19). (Jan.)

What could be more apropos than hiring the face of Sauron from The Lord of the Rings to read Tolkien's newly complete version of these pre-Rings tales? Christopher Lee, the British actor beloved for his role in Peter Jackson's trilogy as well as his numerous turns in Hammer fright films, reads Tolkien's Rings precursor as if still in full makeup. Booming and vaguely menacing, Lee sounds like Sauron around the campfire, entertaining his minions with a tale of adventure and woe. Even Lee cannot sound entirely convincing bellowing some of Tolkien's invented languages, but his reading is suitably ominous. Tolkien's son, Christopher, who edited his father's book, also contributes a preface and introduction he reads himself. His voice—phlegmy and rough—provides a taste of what it might have sounded like had the author himself been available to read his own work. Simultaneous release with the Houghton Mifflin hardcover (reviewed online). (Dec.)

Even those who aren't born-and-bled fans of the horror genre should enjoy Harrison's third Rachel Morgan adventure, especially if they like lots of hot sex spiced with humor. Marguerite Gavin, who performed strongly in the earlier audio versions of Harrison's bestsellers, is the ideal choice to keep the pot bubbling: she merrily mixes charming urbanity with knowing wisdom about how real people behave. Rachel, of course, is still the toughest witch and bounty hunter in Cincinnati, Ohio—and as usual is up to her very short leather skirt in trouble. She's been abandoned by her lover, treated badly by a business partner (never trust a pixie!), and an old debt is about to be called in by an extremely irate and powerful demon known as Big Al. Add to this some frightening truths about the real powers behind the city's politicians and what really killed Rachel's father, and you've got a cross between The Sopranos and Dracula with lots of Sex in the City on the side. (Jan.)

Evanovich's latest “Between-the-Numbers” outing begins on St. Patrick's Day, when bounty hunter Stephanie Plum spots her Grandma Mazur dragging a mysterious duffel bag down the street. Then Grandma Mazur vanishes, and Stephanie's frantic mother begs Stephanie to track her down. Soon, Stephanie and her usual band of sidekicks (including sexy, inexplicably lucky Diesel) are on their way to Atlantic City and into a hilariously funny mess involving stolen mob money, a kidnapped horse and a thief/con artist who thinks he's a leprechaun. Lorelei King does the story justice, milking the prose for every drop of humor with her amusing, distinctive and superlatively accented rendition of each character. Her voices border on caricature, but that's entirely appropriate for this farcical, delightful New Jersey jelly doughnut of a novel, a satisfying snack for listeners anxiously awaiting Stephanie's 14th full-length adventure. Simultaneous release with the St. Martin's hardcover (Reviews, Dec. 24). (Jan.)

According to these well-chosen stories, a “wondrous woman” is foxy, resilient, stubborn and a bit magical. In David Haynes's “Taking Miss Kezee to the Polls,” the title character is a fiery octogenarian with a flaming red wig to match. Michael Genet delivers Miss Kezee's sassy proclamations with aplomb and brilliantly renders the bewilderment and compassion of the good-hearted young man who has been delegated to chauffeur her around town. In Kim Edward's “The Story of My Life,” Holly Hunter is pitch-perfect as the spunky teenage daughter of an antiabortion activist, reclaiming her right to individual choices. Two of the stories involve a touch of magical realism. In Allan Gurganis's “It Had Wings,” a frail widow takes full advantage of an angel who falls into her yard. Marian Seldes performs the woman's narrative slowly and carefully as surely such a woman would address us. In contrast, Kathleen Chalfant takes us slowly but sensuously through a “humble bank clerk's lust for “The Red Fox Coat” she covets until she becomes one with it. This touching and hilarious collection of well-crafted tales is beautifully rendered by its performers. (Jan.)

Narrator Tanya Eby is immensely engaging and likable in the first-person role of Cassie Shaw, a 30-year-old dyslexic nature lover who, desperate for a job, lies about having a college degree to score an administrative assistant position at a university, where she is immediately intrigued by her professor boss. Eby is perfect at conveying Cassie's quirky, well-meaning, self-deprecating and often insecure personality. Her delivery of amusing one-liners is pitch-perfect, and listeners will laugh out loud while rooting for Cassie. Eby also does a marvelous job with the other characters' voices, particularly Cassie's snobby co-worker Allison, whose dialogue fairly drips with smarmy condescension. This well-paced, entertaining story about finding one's place in the world while marching to a different drummer translates well to audio and is well worth a listen. Simultaneous release with the Delacorte hardcover (Reviews, Oct. 22). (Jan.)

With Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman taking a yearlong hiatus from active superhero status in the DC Universe, others must pick up the slack as new and wicked schemes plague Earth's inhabitants. Week by week, this audiobook follows several key characters such as Rene Montoya, the Question, Black Adam and Booster Gold as they contend with the aftereffects of the “Infinite Crisis.” The adaptation doesn't fully cover all the major story lines of the weekly comic serial of the same name, but those characters it does cover are well managed and provide exciting adventures. Graphic Audio maintains its high standard of excellence with a fully integrated mixing of music, sound effects and voices. Richard Rohan (who also directed the production) maintains a fantastic command of the narrative text, raising his voice and emphasis according to the action. The character Booster Gold is a bit overacted, with Gold's voice never quite matching his persona. Simultaneous release with the Ace paperback. (Dec.)

Tom Builder's dream is to build a cathedral, but in the meantime, he must scrounge about to find a lord that will hire him. His search pulls him and his family into the politics of 12th-century England, as different lords vie to gain control of the throne in the wake of the recently deceased king. Prior Phillip, a man raised in the monastery since childhood, also finds himself drafted into the brewing storm as he must protect the interests of a declining church. Richard E. Grant seduces readers early on with a soft and deliberate voice that is like a loud whisper. However, his full range quickly reveals itself as he delves into characters with animated voices that exert their true essence. Even throughout the narrative, Grant musters a lively voice that imbues energy into the story. The only shortcoming is that the abridgment of Follett's 1989 novel proves to be too choppy. Though the story appears complete, there still remain abrupt moments throughout the tale. Penguin Audio's unabridged version is read by John Lee and runs 41 hours. (Dec.)

Budiansky has clearly done his research on this interesting and largely unknown history of the American South, detailing the origins of America's largest homegrown terrorist sect, the Ku Klux Klan. While the tales are often disturbing and naturally disquieting, they are important stories of real men that have waited decades to be told. Phil Gigante does his very best to insure they are given the appropriate respect they deserve. He offers a solid, unwavering reading that captures the raw brutality and extreme melancholy of the period of the South's reconstruction (1865–1876). Gigante's spellbinding narration is careful never to sound too sympathetic or editorialize, but presents the author's material in an unbiased and dispassionate voice, allowing the truth within to speak for itself. Simultaneous release with the Viking hardcover (Reviews, Sept. 10). (Feb.)

Razeghi's self-help text is designed to assist the everyday genius in finding those “ah-ha” ideas like those Albert Einstein and Thomas Edison came across in the past. Razeghi presents his thoughts in a straightforward, user-friendly manner, which leaves little room for interpretation for narrator Jim Bond. Though his voice is deep and affirming, it becomes monotonous, and listeners may find themselves tuning out halfway through this seven-disc set. Bond sounds like he's simply going through the motions in an uninspired and dreary narration. While the target audience may find some of Razeghi's tips useful, there is little effort made to keep them interested for the duration. Simultaneous release with the Wiley hardcover. (Feb.)

Framing the Bush administration as a Shakespearean tragedy, Weisberg provides an intriguing interpretation of Bush and his motivations thus far. Part armchair therapist and part literary critic, Weisberg chips away at the various public and private personalities Bush has presented over the years to demonstrate his insecurities. Examining his relationships to family and friends as well as isolating particular lines of dialogue as key insights into Bush's true nature, Weisberg keenly illustrates how Bush's insecurities have played out on a global scale. Weisberg also juxtaposes Bush within his family legacy, by drawing comparisons between his style of leadership with those on the Walker side of the family. In his deep voice, Robertson Dean provides an enjoyable performance that works well with Weisberg's prose. His deliberate cadence and well-placed emphasis makes the narration easy to follow and understand. Dean projects power and energy and is sure to have listeners looking for other audiobooks he reads that offer more narrative prose. Simultaneous release with the Random House hardcover. (Jan.)

Weiner's diverting travel memoir tells the tale of a self-professed grump who sets out to find where the most contented people in the world live. The major problem is that the good idea didn't pan out. Weiner visits dozens of countries including India, Iceland and Bhutan, which have their share of socioeconomic problems. Yet Weiner deems these places as having the happiest people in the world, not truly understanding their troubles, but generalizing on the whole. The narration is also a disappointment, with Weiner slip-sliding his way through his own journal writings without passion or enthusiasm and occasional pronunciation problems. Simultaneous release with the Twelve hardcover (Reviews, Oct. 22). (Jan.)

Wills offers his insights into the ties between the history of the United States and Christianity, beginning with the founding fathers all the way to the current regime. The story is enlightening and a fascinating glimpse into a relatively unexamined past. However, Mel Foster's reading is wholly uninspired and all too familiar, offering only a straightforward narration that will surely lose most listeners with its mind-numbing approach. Foster has turned himself down a notch, reading at a sluggish pace as if the audience may not be able to follow along without extreme clarity. As thought-provoking as the material is, Foster's insipid narration makes listening a chore. A Penguin Press hardcover. (Jan.)

This amusing and shrewd look at Washington politicians, bureaucrats and even Milbank's fellow reporters is endlessly entertaining, and Johnny Heller is in on the joke. He has a familiarity with the material as if he wrote it himself, allowing him to capture the true intent of every moment, be it comedy, melodrama or purely informational. His pace is swift and his “average guy” tone makes this reading work. His conversation is engaging and enjoyable; he seems to know when you're laughing and when you simply can't believe how inane politics can really be, and he's right there with you every step of the way for this fun, charming and true tale of Washington politics. Simultaneous release with the Doubleday hardcover (Reviews, Oct. 1). (Jan.)

Interconnecting a vast range of sources from Lucretius to more contemporary authors, Hitchens brings together a mix of naysayers and skeptics regarding religion and, in particular, God. While not all of his selections are by fervent atheists, Hitchens connects them in such a way as to explore how and why people have rejected religious beliefs throughout the ages. Additionally, he provides valuable introductions to many of the pieces, situating them for the listener in the context of his overall argument. While some provide great insight and questions for listeners, others are only tangentially relevant. Nicholas Ball has an agreeable voice, but when transitioning from introductions to the excerpt, he rarely pauses and listeners may not even realize the excerpt is being read. His timing and speed may work well with other material, but lacks the reflection and nuance needed for this diverse and complex work with many different writing styles. Simultaneous release with the Da Capo hardcover (Reviews, Oct. 29). (Jan.)

This Pulitzer-winning chronicle of the role the news media played in shaping the civil rights movement makes its belated audio debut. Richard Allen undertakes the vocal depictions of the players from across the race-relations spectrum with tremendous skill. He manages to portray characters instead of caricatures as the sweeping real-life drama unfolds. Given the length of the recording and the density of the material, listeners should find it particularly helpful that Allen repeats the last few sentences of the previous disc at the start of each new CD. The solid production follows the authors' straight-ahead narrative approach. Journalism students and history buffs with at least some grounding in both the conventions of the news business or the civil rights era are the natural core audience. Others may wish to familiarize themselves with more general resources before tackling such an ambitious offering. A Vintage paperback (Reviews, Nov. 9, 2006). (Jan.)

Morton's massively hyped, overly contentious and sometimes far-fetched account of Cruise's Scientology-driven life owes a lot to John Hinch's unwavering reading the material. Hinch offers a sincere, unbiased take on the material, but also manages to create a believable listening experience through his innate performance ability when assuming the roles of various characters, most notably, Cruise himself. Though there is little in the way of dialect changes and impersonation, listeners will be astounded at how close Hinch comes to capturing the Cruise persona. While the material is debatable and lacks anything profound or fresh, Hinch presents it in a way that keeps the audience thoroughly engaged throughout. Simultaneous release with the St. Martin's hardcover (reviewed online). (Jan.)

Jeff Yeager is not a brilliant audiobook reader... or is he? The premise of this very funny and practical book is that your quality of life increases as your spending decreases. Following one of his book's main edicts (“Do for yourself what you could have others do for you.”), Yeager steps up to the microphone and learns a new skill. His reading is not particularly polished, but this turns out to be his greatest strength. A natural comedian with a warm and enthusiastic Midwestern voice, Yeager is not only the author of the book; he is its main character. Listeners immediately feel they are getting useful back-fence advice from a wise next-door neighbor, who could be channeling Groucho Marx. He establishes a direct connection with listeners, who will find themselves slaying their Enoughasauruses with smiles on their faces. Simultaneous release with the Broadway hardcover (Reviews, Dec. 3). (Jan.)