Deception Point – Dan Brown
Reviewed by Kristin L. Walters
Truckers News Managing Editor
Listening Time: 17.5 hours
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Retail: $49.95
Genre: Adventure/Suspense
After his recent remarkable success with the long-running bestseller The Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown has written another novel showcasing his passion for adventure, technology and conspiracy theories. This one is about the estranged daughter of a presidential candidate who is sucked into a plot to discredit her father and put the incumbent president in the White House for another four years, all in the name of protecting the future of NASA.
I’m willing to bet that this book coming out in an election year is no coincidence. It focuses on dirty politics at a time when many Americans’ attentions are focused on that very thing. It seems to me a cheap ploy to attract readers to an otherwise ridiculous premise.
In its 17.5-hour unabridged audiobook version, Deception Point can be tedious at times, sounding more like a research paper than a novel in some of its drawn-out explanations of science and technology. Brown sounds like he has taken a crash course in NASA, space exploration and oceanic phenomena and wants us to know just how hard he studied.
On top of the lecturing tone is suspense so over-blown that we wait through several CDs before finding out the “discovery” that drives the rest of the book. Most of the suspense ends with predictable results, and the heroes and villains are flat, stock characters, who inspire no strong affection or interest in their well being. The circumstances these characters find themselves in are unrealistic and – worse than that – unbelievable.
But I admit, in spite of all its shortcomings, this audiobook held my interest for most of the 17.5 hours. It rarely delivered on its many build-ups, but at least its narrator’s enthusiasm and the frequent action kept me awake through many hours of driving.
Grade: C
Ride the Dark Trail – Louis L’Amour
Reviewed by Rex Huskey
Owner-operator
Baker Packing Trucking
Listening Time: 6 hours
Publisher: Random House
Retail: $25.95
Genre: Western
Plot: This is the continuing story of the Sacketts. Emily Sackett Talon is an old widow fighting to keep her land when drifter Logan Sackett rolls in to help. Sacketts always stand together, and when they do, no one stands against them long.
What was your favorite moment/scene in the book? When Em shoots at the interlopers and runs off their horse.
Which character was your favorite? Why? Em Sackett because she just won’t give in nor back up at all, and at 67 she has seen it all.
Did the book have a message or a theme that stood out to you? Family is family, and when they need help, you always go.
What did you like about the book? Dislike? Louis L’Amour is one of my all-time favorite authors, and his stories of the Sackett family are my favorites.
Would you recommend?: Yes, for Western lovers, it’s a must.
Narrator’s style: Terrence Mann has the voice and range to make a book come alive and all the players seem real and right there with you.
How would you grade the book? A+
Notables
Chasing the Devil – by Sheriff David Reichert
For 20 years, Sheriff David Reichert of King County, Washington, was a man with a single, all-consuming obsession: to capture a serial killer who would become known nationwide by the name of the river he used as a dumping ground, the Green River killer.
Chasing the Devil is Sheriff Reichert’s first-person account of this tireless quest, with the help of the best investigators in the Northwest, to track down a brutal murderer.
Doggedly following all leads, grimly examining each body as the victim count rose, Reichert befriended the victims’ families, publicly challenged the killer, and risked his own safety – and the endurance of his family – before he finally found his madman. The search led Reichert and his colleagues tracking leads not just through the vast terrain of King County but even across the country. And in one of the cases’ most chilling turns, Reichert’s investigation brought him face-to-face with another infamous killer, Ted Bundy, who stalled for time before his execution by offering rare insights into the psyche of a like-minded fiend. After nearly 20 years of killings and 20 years of single-minded pursuit, Reichert knew he finally had his man when he cornered a truck painter named Gary Ridgway. But it took remarkable advances in forensic science before Ridgway’s guilt could be proved beyond a shadow of a doubt.
Chasing the Devil is the story of Reichert’s odyssey, filled with breathtaking near misses and startling revelations.
6 hours on 5 CDs
Retail: $29.98
TimeWarner AudioBooks
Drivers, here is your chance to review the latest audiobooks. Tell our readers what you like or dislike about the plot and characters, and why you would recommend it to other drivers. At left is one of the audiobooks available in the Truckers News audiobook library. Contact Kristin Walters at (800) 633-5953, ext. 1204, or via e-mail at [email protected] to reserve an audiobook. It will be sent to you free of charge for your review. Audiobooks are available on a first-call, first-served basis.
Audiobook Sources
Audiobooks may be purchased or rented from the following sources:
AUDIO ADVENTURES, (800) 551-6692, for 14-day rental of most major titles.
BOOKS NOW, (800) 266-5766, for purchase.
OASIS AUDIO, www.oasisaudio.com, for purchase.
Simon & Schuster Audio, (800) 223-2336, for purchase.
Audiobooks from these publishers, Random House, Time Warner and Topics Entertainment are available for purchase from www.amazon.com, www.barnesandnoble.com and www.borders.com.
