JULY 2014
AUDIO BOOK REVIEWS
by Jonathan Lowe
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Sandra
Brown’s early novels were very romantic,
and publishers are bringing back the early ones to
audio for the first time. (Later, she switched to
more action and adventure, with murders in the “romantic
suspense” genre.) One of these is the newly
released SUNSET EMBRACE, as read by Ellen
Archer. This is historical fiction, an intimate
story of survival set on a wagon train. I asked the
narrator how she approaches characters in romantic
suspense differently from straight mystery. Ellen
Archer: “When recording romantic suspense, I
tend to focus on creating chemistry between the characters
who are in relationship. I think it's important for
the listener to invest in the romance as much as the
suspense and not just hear it as an obligatory sex
scene, but as an viable part of the story.”
Archer should know. She also reads Second Honeymoon
by James Patterson. |
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They
say if you live long enough, you'll see trends and
styles reverse and/or return. Well, bell-bottoms haven't
made a reappearance, but the flow of people in and
out of cities is certainly going the opposite direction.
Leigh Gallagher has written a book about
"where the American Dream is moving" titled
THE END OF THE SUBURBS, read on audio by Jessica
Geffen. In it, she says that the flight from
cities into suburban developments due to crime and
congestion has gone into a U turn. Today, crime in
the suburbs is on the rise, and the nuclear family
has changed too, going on the decline, while single
person households are on the rise. So there's no need
for good schools and yards…and cars. Transportation
costs and rising oil prices make living far from work
more expensive. So the trend now is urban, with walkable
neighborhoods and cameras everywhere to document crime.
This means high rise condos and apartment buildings,
lofts with garden roofs, common spaces for sharing,
and easy access to shopping and coffee shops. This
trend is not just in America, but also overseas in
places like China and India. Consolidation of industry
and mass housing is made livable by smart architecture
and pedestrian friendly engineering. With cleaner
electric vehicles and fewer vehicles in general, air
pollution can be held in control. The downside? Population
density makes easier targets for terror. Why can't
we all get along? That may be the biggest and most
vital question of all. |
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ROBOGENESIS
by Daniel H. Wilson is the sequel to Robopocalypse,
and features Archos R-14, an A.I. that has survived
the war with man that it lost, only to gather its
forces in a surprising way again from a million sources…fed
directly into a newly assembled sentient sourcecode.
Will Takeo Nomura find a way to outwit a superhuman
intelligence again---one which uses everything from
nano-robots to butterfly drones as weapons against
humanity (as one of its side projects)? The novel
is read by MacLeod Andrews, Emily Rankin,
and Mike Chamberlain, and is always engaging
while remaining a very human story, with a command
not just of technology but also of language. The best
thing about these books is that they don't postulate
time travel to bring a Terminator from the future,
or aliens from other planets as in the Battleship
movie or the Transformers movies. Wilson, a computer
scientist, argues that robots get a bad rap, and shouldn't
be limited by human prejudice and pre-conceptions.
Technologies always evolve beyond where we think they
will, and the same will be true for robots and their
increasing presence in our lives. What's next? Will
there be a third novel, making this a trilogy? Time
will tell, but if you want to hear a postulation one
step beyond this in concept (and the movie) listen
to Transcendence 2: The Nexus Ultimatum,
my new novella performed by Christopher Vournazos
for Audible.
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In MOLLY'S GAME, a memoir by Molly Bloom,
the pseudonym author (not the character in Ulysses)
gives an inside look at the hidden world of high stakes
poker among the ultra rich, some of whom she describes
as amoral libertines with "decorative" girlfriends.
Some of their parties ran up $100,000 bar tabs, and
the richer they were the more impatient and rude. Molly
was hired initially in a service position at the upscale
restaurant "Boulevard" operated by "Riordan
Green" (again, names were changed in this true
story to protect certain celebs.) She was often denigrated
and insulted, and other times propositioned, but somehow
managed to keep her focus on winning her own game within
the game. Sex went on in back rooms as often as body
shots do in less expensive clubs…penthouses where
sex tapes are the cost of doing business, and she even
mentions seeing Paris Hilton slug an ex's new girlfriend,
and the subsequent appearance of the Hilton tape's producer.
But mostly this is the first person story of how a girl
from Loveland Colorado got involved in staging games
for wealthy men, luring them by working her growing
contact list, while listening to gossip she wasn't supposed
to repeat. The subtitle is a mouthful: "From Hollywood's
Elite, to Wall Street's Billionaire Boys Club, My High
Stakes Adventure in the World of Underground Poker."
She insists that she walked the tightrope of legality,
taking only "tips" for her services by those
wanting to be included in future games. The Heidi Fleiss
of gambling, Bloom has things to say about the shallow
vanity of playboys and their bimbos, and about stars
like Ben Affleck, who was smart with his bets (unlike,
say, Michael Jordan.) Tobey McGuire is described as
"a poor loser," willing to disparage those
below his station, having fun at their expense. Then,
after an armed robbery in her own home, she was called
to appear in court on the case involving a bookmaking
operation run out of a Trump tower apartment where she'd
"spent many nights." The Feds had been watching
her due to association with the crimes of Russian mobsters
she didn't even know. She was convicted, and, now broke,
awaits sentencing. And yet---most surprisingly of all---she
doesn't regret taking the chances she did. Narrated
by the always engaging Cassandra Campbell,
the audiobook version captures the tone you'd imagine
the author taking, in this sad commentary and confessional
on gambling culture and the insanity of our obsession
with money, power, and fame. |
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Driven
people are motivated to win, often at any cost. What
does "winning" mean? Well, that depends
on who you ask. According to Roland Lazenby
in MICHAEL JORDAN: THE LIFE, the
basketball icon was a complex man whose influences
include the murder of his father, his estrangement
from his family, and "a bipolar personality."
The book is deeply researched, going back into the
childhood and family history of Jordan to discover
facts and secrets never before revealed. The author
likes Jordan, and is indebted to him for preventing
his fall on one occasion off a loading dock, but is
clearly in investigative journalist mode about setting
the record straight while building a complete picture
of motivations coming from background. Narrator
Bob Souer sounds like a sports announcer,
if Frontline had one. If Frontline does a documentary
about Jordan, it will certainly include this book,
which says almost as much about the NBA as it does
about its best-ever player. You will certainly learn
more here about the ups and downs of being a hyper-competitive
player and gambler than anywhere else. Would you want
to be him? Millions say yes, regardless of the price.
But few who say this are willing to pay that price,
nor might they understand and enjoy what they "own"
when they achieve goals which are only stepping stones
to higher goals. If pride goes before a fall, and
ego inflation the ultimate high, what does it all
mean for Jordan or for NBA's latest player, Steve
Ballmer, whose sub-par biography, only in print, is
titled Bad Boy Ballmer? Everyone has to answer
that for themselves. |
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Finally, Paris Hilton doesn't show up in THE
HILTONS: The True Story of an American Dynasty
until the 16th and final CD. The great granddaughter
of Conrad Hilton, Paris has a very insignificant role
in the rich history of the hotel magnate, whose early
career in Texas started when he purchased his first
hotel on borrowed money. A devout Catholic, Conrad counted
Zsa Zsa Gabor as one of his failed marriages, while
his son Nicky married Elizabeth Taylor with tragic results.
The bitter fights over Conrad's will form part of the
narrative, as Barron contests the handling of increased
value of shares (Conrad was stingy when it came to his
heirs, expecting them to make it largely on their own,
and left most of his money to charity.) How Conrad amassed
such wealth is examined, particularly his philosophy
of use of space, quality and taste, and honesty in business
dealings. Barron's initial denial of a hotel license
in Atlantic City (due to an associate's ties) forms
another section, culminating in the purchase by Donald
Trump. Trump's involvement may have led to his sponsoring
of Paris later in modeling. Read by the engaging
and talented actor Robert Petkoff, the audiobook
tells a multi-generation spanning story with fascinating
insights into the times from the eyes of the privileged,
showing that one must use what they have to succeed
or they will fail on their own…although it helps
to have a name to dazzle those who believe it's mostly
"luck." Author J. Randy Taraborrelli
is author of bios of Marilyn Monroe, the Kennedy women,
Frank Sinatra, Diana Ross, and Michael Jackson. |
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