The story is ostensibly about a rock-n-roll band in Astoria, New York, in the late 1980s, led by 19-year-old Checker Secretti, a charismatic and enigmatic burgeoning rock god.
Checker is enigmatic for a reason, and that reason smacks you upside the head toward the end of the audiobook. It is then that all the little clues along the way fall into place and you realize that Shriver built one story atop another, revealing this to have much more depth than expected.
In fact, you may find yourself compelled, as did this audiophile, to listen to it again with an entirely new mindset.
All in all, a clever piece of writing from a woman who went on to win the 2005 Orange Prize for Fiction, a prestigious award given to female authors whose books have been published in the United Kingdom.
Shriver quotes rock lyrics and comes up with a few interesting ones of her own. Narrator MacLeod Andrews mostly reads them, which seems a little jarring until he finally sings one snippet from a song and it becomes clear that reading is a better option.
Other than this small flaw, he sounds young and confident or vulnerable and deflated when need be. He has clear diction,
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Science fiction fans should take note of Robert J. Sawyer's "Flashforward," a thoughtful look at the world-wide reaction to a glimpse into the future. Though very introspective, this fits the bill as true science fiction, being that a machine is the catalyst for the two-minute glimpse 20 years ahead.
In fact, this is an all encompassing science fiction, as there is also a murder mystery, relationship and romance problems, and a thoughtful, philosophical look at they way people handle knowledge and the influences that alter our futures.
Though the story starts out with a bang (actually an accident involving particle physics) it slows down until the ending is downright plodding and bordering on the esoteric.
This really could have benefitted from a firm editor not afraid to trim the bloat. Still, it is entertaining enough to plug into, though you may want to borrow it from the library instead of buying it. And it does make a nice companion to the ABC TV series on which it is based.
Sawyer also gets credit for moving the point of view seamlessly from character to character.
Narrator Mark Deakins is clearly well trained. His voice is deep, somewhat resonant, and authoritative. He convincingly masters an international cast of characters and keeps the pace moving along. The only problem with the production is that the pauses between sections are not long enough.
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Philippa Gregory's "White Queen" poses quite the dilemma. It is beautifully read by Bianca Amato and begins with lovely, mood-setting dulcimer music. Unfortunately, is it so severely abridged that only about half of the original novel remains.
Elizabeth Woodville was a widowed commoner with two sons when she married Edward IV of England and became queen consort. When Edward died, she was called a witch and a hussy by her enemies, who swore that Edward was already married to another, thus rendering her children illegitimate. The crown went to her brother-in-law, Richard III.
It has long been rumored that Richard killed Elizabeth's and Edward's two young sons, princes both, in the Tower of London, though nothing definitive has ever been proven.
While the audio does address the mystery of the two princes and spins a lovely romantic tale of true and courtly love between Elizabeth and Edward, it also dips into the mystical. Elizabeth and her mother are described as descendents of the water witch Melusina, and therefore able to conjure storms when need be. That just about takes the wind out of these historical sails, because by the time the book was truncated we were left with a prettily told fairy tale and little else.
The entire romance between Elizabeth's daughter and her greedy uncle Richard is left out, as is much detail. Whatever color there may have been in the book is expunged. Very little is described about the era itself and we jump ahead in great leaps.
Abridged or not, this was not Gregory's strongest effort. Still, she is a much acclaimed historical novelist who had clearly done her research and can deftly turn out a lovely phrase and realistic dialogue.
And then there is the delightful Amato. The narrator does not change her voice for different characters, but simply reads, even if there is nothing simplistic about her delivery.
She has a regal manner, sounding patrician without coming across as false or pretentious. Her voice can be tremulous with fear or steely with anger. Amato's narration is mesmerizing and almost good enough to forgive the novel's disappointments.
Rochelle O'Gorman is a syndicated audiobook reviewer.
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