Tom Harper (1) (1977–)

I’ve listened to a couple of podcast books in the past, but I don’t think I’ve ever listened to an audio book. To be honest, it was a pleasant experience.

Secrets of the Dead is NOT the type of book, by that I mean paperback or ebook, that I would normally read. It’s too big worded for me, and there are too many foreign words. I’d stumble over the pages and quickly loose interest. However, listening to someone read the book was totally different. The narrator, Francis Greenslade, show more was excellent. He is easy to listen to and he made those difficult words blend in to the story and brought a complicated plot to life. I was impressed ... and I learned the pronunciation of numerous words from him!

The book itself is actually two stories running parallel to each other -- one historical and one present day. I felt the historical content was well researched and totally convincing. I ‘believed’ in the characters and the events. The only drawback was the flashbacks. After a while I found them a little annoying (even if the content of the flashbacks did move the story forward). The present day storyline was also convincing, although it took me longer to settle into this side of the book. It wasn’t the characters that troubled me (those I accepted straight away), it was the events taking place. Some things seemed too convenient. Anyway, I remember thinking I’d hate to get caught up in anything similar to what was happening to Abby Cormac. I’d be terrified. Both stories were a type of murder mystery and had certain factors that tied them together.

Overall, I’d be more than willing to ‘read’ another audio book. It’s the perfect way of discovering new authors and new genres. I’m glad I gave Secrets of the Dead a chance, and while I know I would never read an actual printed book by the author, I certainly would listen to another audio book written by him. show less

https://nwhyte.livejournal.com/3766044.html

Decent thriller set in a slightly fictional Arctic research centre, where our protagonist arrives to find his boss mysteriously dead and everything in increasing disarray. Like a lot of these books, the plot depends a bit on crucial coincidence and lucky escape, and there is an sfnal McGuffin at the end which justifies the means and motivation of the bad guys, but it's entertaining enough.

I read this a number of years ago and just finished rereading it. It is a pretty good mystery and Harper gets the historical details right (other than a few liberties with actual events). Unfortunately, the characters too often come across as modern people in Byzantine costume. This is a common enough failing (e.g., Lindsey Davis putting Sam Spade in a toga), but it is a distraction.

Zodiac Station was a really interesting read, definitely not in my usual wheelhouse, but really captivating and suspenseful. It tells the story of a station in the Arctic full of scientists, a story told by a man who somehow skied across the freezing cold to a ship digging through the ice. But all is not as it seems. There was a lot of science, which is what makes it a book I wouldn't necessarily have picked up typically, but even if there were moments I didn't entirely understand, the story show more was so twisty and suspenseful I was completely drawn in. show less