July 2015 - AudiobooksNow Blog

Scary, Intense and Thrilling….”Code of Conduct”, by Brad Thor

Brad Thor has written another episode in the Scot Harvath Series (#14). Many reviewers have exclaimed that “he topped himself again”! Others have said that it reads like the action on the TV series “24”, which was a hit for many viewers. The story covers the covert actions of a secret committee that is hidden within one of the most powerful organizations in the world, whose members are considered to be untouchable. The book has many components of a scary, intense thriller and an excellent read.

It takes just a four second video of “the committee” to set a whole range of actions in motion by the book’s hero, Scot Harvath. As a counterterrorism operative, he jumps into character when asked to do a personal favor. But that request sends him on a globe-spanning journey that will expose him to international intrigue, political gamesmanship, and the most clandestine fears of the espionage world. As one reviewer commented…… “Thor isn’t at the top of his game……. he owns the entire game”.

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Caught In the Cross-hairs of a Killer…”The English Spy”, by Daniel Silva

The English Spy is another successful international spy thriller novel by author Daniel Silva. Silva has thrilled his readers with 17 spy novels featuring amazing characters and plots that have taken his brilliant hero, Gabriel Allon, around the globe and back. Silva’s background as a journalist for UPI covering the Middle East, then an executive producer with CNN, has given him some factual base as he began his first novel, The Unlikely Spy.

The English Spy features Silva’s acclaimed Israeli operative, Gabriel Allon. The author’s timing of his novels is just short of serving as a prediction of future events. The English Spy deals with the Iran nuclear negotiations, bringing that modern-day aspect seamlessly into the stories plot. Once again a former character, Madeline Hart (the English girl), gets caught in the cross-hairs of a killer and depends on Allon to survive.

It is said that Daniel Silva can write like no other in his ability to describe wondrous works of beauty on one line, then acts of raw brutality on another, with such a seamless span from one to the other. In The English Spy, he opens with a suspenseful situation, then backs it up with all the intrigue and adventure that he is famous for. The reader or listener can just sit back and enjoy the ride.

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To Kill a Mockingbird….”Go Set a Watchman”, by Haper Lee

The prestigious author of To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee, has allowed her long-lost book, Go Set a Watchman, to be published. It was written before Mockingbird, which was published in July of 1960, and portrayed lawyer Atticus Finch, losing a case he represented for a local black man, Tom Robinson, who was accused of raping a white woman. The legal representation was not popular at that time (30’s Depression Era) with the town. Many moral, ethical, and racial issues ensued. Go Set a Watchman is another controversial novel which sheds a very different light on the character of Atticus Finch. The main plot is a description of the return of Scout Finch back to her small hometown of Maycomb from New York, to visit her father. During her visit, she has flashbacks to her childhood and the chaos of the trial. These flashbacks were the material from which Mockingbird was written years later.

In 2014 Lee’s lawyer was examining her safe deposit box and found Lee’s manuscript for Watchman, which had previously been thought to be lost. The book, even though pre-Mockingbird, was initially thought to be a trilogy with it being the first, a shorter connecting novel, then Watchman as the third.

In 2006, Harper Lee wrote: “Now, 75 years later in an abundant society where people have laptops, cellphones, iPods, and minds like empty rooms, I still plod along with books”. As for the publishing of Go Set a Watchman, she stated that she is still alive, kicking, and happy that she is humbled and amazed that it is now published after all those years. One reviewer has this to say about Go Set a Watchman: “It doesn’t quite reach that standard (of Mockingbird) but it is a great read in itself…….a fan like myself will really enjoy it.

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We’re All In This Together…”Modern Romance”, by Aziz Ansari

The newly published book, Modern Romance, by author (and comedian) Aziz Ansari is a factual research-based book that attempts to explain how people are finding romance in this day and age of technology. He provides the element of humor that makes the charts and statistics more palatable to the reader of books, or to the listener of audiobooks. Ansari developed the idea for the book when he was performing his comedy routine about obsessing over a girl that he had called who had not yet returned his call. He imagined her phone had fallen into a volcano, or that maybe she was dead. And then, it hits you that she just doesn’t want to call back. And that is the scariest reason of all.

Ansari enlisted the professional expertise of Eric Klinenberg, a sociology professor at New York University, to provide the scientific data to serve as the base of the book. They held group discussions in several different cities in several different states, forums on social media, and consulted experts in the fields of sociology, psychology, and human behavior. The result is a book of simple facts, observations, advice, and comedy. The book answers one of today’s most asked questions…….why do millennials not answer the phone? As author Ansari surveys all the information, one statement seems to stand out……… “The main thing I’ve learned from this research is that we’re all in this together”.

The book is especially interesting on audiobook, since author Ansari is the narrator and what could be better than having the comedic parts of the book presented by a comedian. It gives a substantial reason to listen to this book rather than read it in paper form. Or, the best of both worlds……..do both!

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Inside His Brain….”Grey”, by E.L. James

To celebrate fictional character, Christian Grey’s birthday, author E. L. James, announced a new book which tells the erotic story of 50 Shades of Grey, from Christian’s viewpoint, entitled “Grey: Fifty Shades“. James said she had so many fans request a version of her best-selling novel which shows the billionaire playboy as seen through his own eyes.

The book was shrouded in strict secrecy, with one rumor being that a copy of the new version had been stolen. However, no proof was ever found, so the police investigation was suspended. Now, copies are circulating and reviews have started being printed. One such review said, “James’ characteristic internal monologs provide a direct line into Christian’s mind, revealing his deepest, darkest desires…..and they don’t disappoint”. (Francesca Cookery….Vietnam)

The book is said to continue in the same “harder, coarser, and more direct attitude……..destroying the criticism of some that the books are “light” erotica or “mummy porn”.

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