Saturday 30 March 2024

THE EYE OF THE WORLD


The Eye Of The World by Robert Jordan
Book 1 in the Wheel Of Time series
Narrated by Rosamund Pike
Genre: fantasy
Format: paperback, ebook & audiobookAudiobook


The Wheel of Time turns and Ages come and pass, leaving memories that become legend. Legend fades to myth, and even myth is long forgotten when the Age that gave it birth returns again. What was, what will be, and what is, may yet fall under the Shadow.

Moiraine Damodred arrives in Emond’s Field on a quest to find the one prophesized to stand against The Dark One, a malicious entity sowing the seeds of chaos and destruction. When a vicious band of half-men, half beasts invade the village seeking their master’s enemy, Moiraine persuades Rand al’Thor and his friends to leave their home and enter a larger unimaginable world filled with dangers waiting in the shadows and in the light.
Source: Info in the "About The Eye Of The World" was taken from GoodReads at https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/228665.The_Eye_of_the_World on 01/03/2024.


Buy Link(s):
  Audible Books


Re-Read Review:
The first time I've read this book was donkey's years ago. I have forgotten most, if not all, of the things that happened in this book. Back then, I stopped reading about halfway through Knife Of Dreams though I couldn't quite remember why. Maybe because the author died and I got discouraged thinking that there would not be a finale or a continuation of the series, then. Luckily, Brandon Sanderson came along. And now I can continue reading this series. But first a re-read.

I started remembering the wonderful world building as I read on! I also remembered the too stupid to live (tstl) elements in the book. Like you are running from danger. You are told (repeatedly) to trust no one and of the dangers. To keep your head down because of the danger. So what do you do? You tell somebody where you are staying and when you are leaving so that the enemy can find you. You laugh out loud in the middle of a crowded street that includes your enemies among the audience so that you get their attention.
At which point, I want to cheer for the bad guys to get our heroes seeing that they are jumping over obstacles to get dead! **sigh** Perrin is the only sensible one among the lot, it seems... And those are not the only times that the tstl element showed in this book.

You are running for your lives with evil pursuing you and your companions. The man who saved your life and still trying to save your life screamed at you to douse the fire. So you just look at him. No, you do not douse the fire because you are waiting for the bad guys to catch you first...

One thing I appreciate about an audiobook is that I can speed it up so that I can whizz through the tstl episodes. Makes it a whole lot less painful!

This is my first Rosamund Pike listen and I like the way she portrayed different characters with various voices. I would buy audiobooks by her again.


Quantitative Evaluation:
Story telling quality = 4
Character development = 3.5
Story itself = 4
Writing Style = 3.5
Ending = 3
World building = 5
Cover art = 4.5
Pace = (32 hrs and 55 mins listening time)
Plot = 3.5
Narration = 5


Overall Rating: 3.5 out of 5 cherries


Books In The Wheel Of Time Series:
Book 0.4: NEW SPRING Book 0.5: THE STRIKE AT SHAYUL GHUL Book 0.6: EARLIER RAVENS Book 1: THE EYE OF THE WORLD Book 2: THE GREAT HUNT Book 3: THE DRAGON REBORN Book 4: THE SHADOW RISING Book 5: THE FIRES OF HEAVEN Book 6: LORD OF CHAOS Book 7: A CROWN OF SWORDS Book 8: A PATH OF DAGGERS Book 9: WINTER'S HEART Book 10: CROSSROADS OF TWILIGHT Book 11: KNIFE OF DREAMS Book 12: THE GATHERING STORM Book 13: TOWERS OF MIDNIGHT Book 14: MEMORY OF LIGHT


 
Meet The Author

About Robert Jordan:
Robert Jordan was born in 1948 in Charleston. He was a graduate of the Citadel, the Military College of South Carolina, with a degree in physics, and served two tours in Vietnam. His hobbies included hunting, fishing, sailing, poker, chess, pool and pipe collecting. He died in September 2007.


The Narrator

About Rosamund Pike:
Academy Award nominee Rosamund Pike is regarded as a contemporary and multifaceted actress who has earned international acclaim for both her stage and film roles.

Rosamund recently starred in A United Kingdom opposite David Oyelowo which tells the true story of Seretse Khama, a member of the royal family in South Africa. Khama sparked international outrage when he married a white woman in 1948, and was exiled from his home country by the British Government in 1951. The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2016 and opened the London Film Festival in October 2016. In the coming year, she will star in HHHH with director Cedric Jimenez and co-starring Jason Clarke, Jack O’Connell and Jack Reynor. The film tells the story of Heydrich (Clarke), the highest-ranked Nazi officer who was considered to be the mastermind of the “Final Solution” and was assassinated by two resistance paratroopers in 1942. Rosamund will play Lina Heydrich, an aristocrat who was married to Heydrich and reportedly introduced her husband to the Nazi ideology. Rosamund recently wrapped production on the film Entebbe, directed by José Padhila, about the Entebbe hostage crisis of 1976 where two Palestinians and two Germans hijacked an Air France plane en route from Tel Aviv and held 246 passengers and crew hostage at Entebbe Airport, Uganda. Rosamund plays Brigitte Kuhlmann, a German revolutionary who was one of the hijackers. Just before that, Rosamund finished production on Hostiles, directed by Scott Cooper, which tells the story of a legendary Army captain who reluctantly agrees to escort a Cheyenne chief and his family through dangerous territory. She co-stars with Christian Bale.

One further film is completed that will also come out in 2017: Radar Pictures’ political thriller High Wire Act, in which Rosamund starts opposite Jon Hamm. Brad Anderson directs, in a script from Tony Gilroy, about a retired U.S. diplomat and CIA operative attempting a rescue mission in 1980s’ Beirut. Rosamund plays the field agent responsible for Mason Skiles' (Hamm) safety, as he is called back into service to save a former colleague.

Rosamund recently starred in David Fincher's film, Gone Girl, in which she played ‘Amy Dunne’, opposite Ben Affleck. Gone Girl was adapted for the screen by the best-selling book's original author, Gillian Flynn. The film emerged as a box office hit in October 2014, earning over $215 million in global ticket sales. The movie and Rosamund's performance both earned widespread critical acclaim. Richard Lawson of Vanity Fair wrote that the film is "Smartly shot, detailed ... and performed" and called Rosamund's portrayal as "a star-makingly good performance, spellbinding in its operatic mix of tones and temperatures." Todd McCarthy of The Hollywood Reporter reviewed that Rosamund "is powerful and commanding ... Physically and emotionally, Rosamund looks to have immersed herself in this profoundly calculating character, and the results are impressive."

As such, Rosamund was nominated for an Academy Award, a SAG Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Critics’ Choice Movie Award and was honored in February 2015 at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival. She was also honored with the ‘Breakthrough Performance Award’ at the 26th Annual Palm Springs Film Festival for her role in Gone Girl as well as honored for her performance at the Women in Film & TV (UK) Awards. Additionally, Rosamund won many film critics’ awards for her portrayal including the Austin Film Critics Association Award, Utah Film Critics Association Award, and Oklahoma Film Critics’ Circle Award in addition to being nominated for a London Critics’ Circle Film Award, St. Louis Film Critics Award, Phoenix Film Critics Society, International Press Academy Satellite Award, Women’s Image Network Award, Georgia Film Critics Association Award, Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Award and the Washington DC Area Film Critics Award.

Earlier in 2014, Rosamund starred opposite Simon Pegg, Stellen Skarsgard and Toni Collette in Peter Chelsom's Hector and the Search for Happiness. Additionally, she starred in Andy Hamilton and Guy Jenkin's part improvised BBC comedy What We Did on Our Holiday alongside Billy Connolly and David Tennant. Prior to that Rosamund starred in Barney's Version opposite Paul Giamatti. The film, which premiered at the Venice Film Festival, and went on to receive rave reviews at the Toronto International Film Festival, is a love story poignantly captures the life of the politically incorrect, irascible and fearlessly blunt Barney Panofsky (Giamatti) and the women he has loved in his life. Rosamund's work in the film earned her a London Critics' Circle Award for "British Actress of the Year" and a Genie Award nomination for best actress.

Rosamund received critical acclaim for her work as Helen in Lone Scherfig's Academy Award Nominated Film An Education, opposite Peter Sarsgaard and Carey Mulligan. Received well at the Sundance Film Festival in 2009, An Education continued to garner critical acclaim with Academy Award, Golden Globe, BAFTA, Film Critics nominations, and a win for Best Foreign Film at the Independent Spirit Awards.

Rosamund's past film credits include A Long Way Down, Edgar Wright's The World's End opposite Simon Pegg, Jack Reacher opposite Tom Cruise, and Wrath Of The Titans, directed by Jonathan Liebesman. In 2010, Rosamund played Lisa Hopkins in the dramatic film Made in Dagenham with Sally Hawkins, Miranda Richardson and Bob Hoskins. She was later nominated for a 2011 London Critics' Circle Award for "British Actress in a Supporting Role" for her role in the film. Others include, Johnny English Reborn, The Big Year, Women in Love, The Libertine, Pride and Prejudice, Fracture, Fugitive Pieces, Surrogates, Burning Palms, and Die Another Day.

Aside from her cinematic roles, Rosamund has continued to return to her roots in theatre on the London stage. She has starred in Gaslight, Patrick Hamilton's Victorian thriller, at the Old Vic Theater, The Donmar Warehouse Production of Madame de Sade in The West End, opposite Judi Dench, and The Royal Court Theatre production of Hitchcock Blonde, directed by Terry Johnson. With its enormous success, the play was moved to the Lyric Theater in London's West End. In 2010 Rosamund played the title role in Hedda Gabler, a performance for which she received rave reviews.



FTC Disclosure:
The ebook and audiobook were bought with private funds.
No money received for this review.

Friday 29 March 2024

BLIND RUN


Blind Run by Patricia Lewin
Book 1 in the Blind Run series
Narrated by Dick Hill
Genre: crime fiction
Format: paperback & audiobookAudiobook


About Blind Run:
Ethan Decker is a specialized 'hunter' for one of the most secretive agencies of the US government. His mission is to track down ruthless international fugitives.

But when a daring mission takes a lethal turn, he exiles himself to a remote desert in New Mexico to live in a jail of his own guilt and grief. Until a former member of his covert team arrives at his door, shepherding two children. She entrusts them to Decker’s protection and leaves without explanation.

Suddenly he's the hunted instead of the hunter and the race is on to unlock the mystery behind these two children — innocent pawns in a dark conspiracy so evil that even this former spy could not imagine the peril that lies directly in his path.
Source: Info in the "About Blind Run" was taken from GoodReads at https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36291674-blind-run on 18/03/2024.


Buy Link(s):


My Thoughts:
This is my first Patricia Lewin read and I'm so glad that I found this author!

I like the way that the author built the tension. The plot has just enough twist in it to have a lovely resolution in the end!

At first I thought that this book is some kind of science fiction where we have super-humans running around as superheroes. But no, this book is crime fiction.

Why isn't there any more books in this series? I am hoping to read about the kids and what happened to them afterwards... Because Patricia Lewin is good at character building that I want to read more about them!

This is my first Dick Hill audiobook and I would listen to him again.


Quantitative Evaluation:
Story telling quality = 5
Character development = 4.5
Story itself = 5
Writing Style = 5
Ending = 4.5
World building = 5
Cover art = 3.5
Pace = 4.5
Plot = 4
Narration = 5


Overall Rating: 5 out of 5 cherries


Books In The Blind Run Series:
Book 0.5: HIDE Book 0.75: AWAY Book 1: BLIND RUN


 
Meet The Author

About Patricia Lewin:
Patricia Lewin is the pseudonym for author, editor, and writing teacher, Pat Van Wie.

Pat’s published eleven novels for three major publishers, including: Ballantine, Bantam, and Harlequin. Her last three books were hardcover suspense novels.

Pat has also worked as an editor and taught writing workshops and classes in various formats and lengths around the country, including her local Community College.


The Narrator

About Dick Hill:
Voice actor, actor, playwright, author.

As a Golden Voice (so honored by Audiofile Magazine), winner of 3 Audies and dozens of Earphone Awards, Dick Hill brings his own personal touch of vocal creativity to every project.

He brings stories to life with a wide variety of characterizations, dialects, and accents... reviewers have compared his work to a full cast recording. His rich baritone and insightful interpretations have also earned him praise for his many non-fiction titles.

Publishers and authors speak highly of Dick's work, too. Best selling thrill-master LEE CHILD , whose award winning Jack Reacher novel ONE SHOT earned Dick an Audie nomination for best solo male narrator and is on its way to the big screen, says:

"While few audiobook fans become authors, plenty of authors become audiobook fans — especially if they're lucky enough to get Dick Hill as their voice."

You can read more reviews of Dick Hill's work and listen to audio samples. When you're ready, he'd love you to get in touch about your next project.



FTC Disclosure:
The ebook and audiobook were bought with private funds.
No money received for this review.