For me I need a book that starts off strong and this is one that holds its cards close to its vest until literally the very end. Sure the book gives tidbits of plot away but its not until the back 25% of the novel that things really start to ramp up, and when they do the book is great. My biggest problem was that I really struggled to get into the story. I am not sure if it was the translation from Swedish to English, or whether it was the difference in lifestyles, I just never connected to this book in the way that many people have. Will I go and read the subsequent two novels, possibly, but it probably won't be my first choice.

There is a lot of metaphors used throughout the novel that really ring true to the history of the world and how fragile it really is. The slight hitch in normalcy can literally transform the world around you. Although I understand that if everyone got along and worked for the common good it wouldn't make for an interesting read, but a lot of the scare tactics that the leadership of this town use are very similar that of many evil nations over the years. The book portrays this "us vs. the world" and you are either with us or against us and how quickly friends and family can become enemies. Although there is no doubt that the book could have been shorter, the amount of detail into the characters lives truly made you feel like you were part of the story. Without giving away the ending, I will say that it is not all sunshine and rainbows and really holds true to the core flow of the novel. Having spent over a day and half listening to this book I can say without a doubt that if you like these kind of novels then you have to give this a listen. There are some very mature themes (some I think he took a bit over the top) but I would say for the average adult this book does raise some interesting debate.

The book takes place leading up and to the start of World War 1 in British Africa. The story revolves around a british solider and his relationship with the African natives who are his biggest supporter throughout the novel. The first half of the book talks of the main characters war background and then his eventual transition into hunting. The last portion of this book brings up this rather unbelievable love story that has very little to do with the rest of the book. The ending is extremely underwhelming especially for such a well developed novel.

Overall I just never got into Assegai. It was excellently narrated, one of the best narrated books of teh year, it was just a shame that the book itself although beautifully written with great metaphors for life sprinkled throughout the novel, it ends up falling for short for what it could have been.

This is the first book I can honestly say I really did not enjoy on Audible. In fact the only thing that I did like was the stellar voice acting, it was truly superb. Outside of that the story had a few side stories to go along with the main narrative that could have been thrown out all together. You get literally half way through the book and they take a good hour or so exploring an avenue that really had a very poor tie in to the rest of the novel. I just didn't understand a lot of the underlying complexities to a plot line that was dense enough on its own merits. What really bothered me way Baldacci's heavy handed approach with the books message about hatred, which he spells out in far to great of lengths. To top it all off there is a very subtle love story intertwined into all of this that for me worked but it was so minute in comparison to the scope of the book that it fell flat in the end.

If you cannot tell already I was really disappointed with First Family. I thought the first time I listened through the opening chapters that maybe I just wasn't in the mood for the book, but having given it the good old college try the second time through I have to say that this is one of the most disappointing audible purchases I have made since being a member over a year ago.

What I loved about One Second After wasn't all about just understanding what would happen in the event of an EMP attack but also understanding human nature. This book gave an amazing look at how human nature can turn to desperation so quickly especially when we all are as reliant on electricity and products with chips in them to get through life. The book also brings up several other social issues like class status and how that goes out the window in an event such as this but how a small town that was once all friendly can just as quickly turn and become mortal enemies. One Second After was an emotional roller coaster from start to finish.

When it is all said and done One Second After really has stuck with me and I finished reading it over a week ago. Its one of those novels that really makes you think well after you finish it. If your into audio books I would make sure to check it out as the narrator does a heck of a job bringing the story to life. All in all this was one of my favorite books of the year and I really think everyone should be required to read it just to have an idea of what could happen to our great country if we were attacked by an EMP, it is a pretty scary world.

Paths of Glory is written by Jeffrey Archer who wrote my favorite book in the past few years A Prisoner of Birth, so when I heard Archer was coming out with a new book I bought it the day it came out. Path of Glory was no disappointment, in fact similar to the A Prisoner of Birth I got really into this book to where I was driving around just to hear more of the book. A sign of a great book is one that keeps you thinking about it even when your not reading it, and Paths of Glory was one of those books, I just couldn't get it out of my head.

What I loved about Paths of Glory was that Jeffrey Archer made him a real person, not some idol, he made mistakes, he learned from, and he kept on to accomplish his goal. I have to say that I loved this book, it was the best book I have read/listened to in 2009 and I would even think about re-listening to it if I had the time to.

As I mentioned this was the longest Audible book I have read thus far and for me that was probably Exile's worst characteristic. It was far to long and drawn out to the point where you found yourself not caring for long periods of time. The overall story is about a graduate of Harvard Law who falls in love with a woman who is already predetermined to marry another man. The story comes back thirteen years later and he is now defending her in court as she is convicted of murdering the President of Israel.

What was somewhat upsetting to me was how much detail and time they put into pointless ventures while the the ending clearly just comes to a really disappointing confusing. I understand everything can't tie up all nice in a neat bow but some semblance at the end of the book would have been nice. Overall I can't say I was overly pleased with this book, although it had a few ups it had far to many downs. If I was to give a grade to this book it would be a C-.

The book started out with a huge plot twist that has major ramifications throughout the novel. Child 44 is set in communist Russia and you follow a police Officer through his trials and tribulations of arresting those who had supposedly committed crimes against the state. I know a bit about communist Russia but this book really brought that world alive to me. It told much of the small villages hatred of the new regime and the extremely dangerous day to day life of those in bigger cities like Moscow.

This book followed a really typical progression for me it started off really fast and then came close to a complete stop leaving us with a great last hour or so of pure non stop action. The middle of this novel was really where I struggled, it seemed to kind of drag on a bit and just sort of beat around with the impending climax. But when the end came there were so many plot twists and so many questions answered that it made up for some of the less enjoyable moments of the book.

For about 1/2 of the book I was ready to just pan this novel, but for me the sign of a great book is one that even after I finish it I start to think about it through my day. The ending for Child 44 was truly a remarkable one and I would highly reccomend sticking with this book and really living through this amazing tale.

Your Heart Belongs to me first off makes 0 sense. I am not going to spoil the ending but when you invest eight hours of your life into something you want to at least have some sort of enjoyment out of the process. I just never could wrap my hands around this book. You have this really rich guy who has everything, and his heart goes bad and he suspects the world of wrong doing. The mystery unravels and everytime the book tries to make you question you instead just wonder if your supposed to care.

It wasn't a bad book but the love story was just odd, the main character was sort of odd, and I just never could connect. I got to the point about 3-4 hours in that I was thinking of giving up, but then I realized I had gotten to the point of no return, there was no choice but to go forward and just finish it out. Looking back I wish I would have just gave up it was just a really odd, somewhat depressing read that made me hesitate to want to read Dean Koontz again.

If you read the reviews of Extreme Measures on the interweb you will find that it has been highly praised, and I give a lot of that to the great character development. Both Nash and Rapp (the two main characters) are highly involved characters. You also pear into the eyes of a radical Islamist terrorist which has a really nice impact on the book. The book starts fast, slows down with some legal battles, and ends with a big bang, literally.

I couldn't have picked a better book to get back into my Audible.com fanboyism. This is a thriller in every sense of the word and is made even better by the tremendous voice naration done by George Guidall. I hear that this is a series of books about the two characters and I look forward to not only going back and reading past novels by Vince Flynn but also reading future ones. If Extreme Measures is any indication of Flynn's ability to write a great thriller, then count me in.

The best line of the book is the final words: "Senator, we will not fail." It literally had me at the edge of my seat drive home. Heck the last half hour of the book was so intense I forgot I was driving to work and I passed the exit and had to U-Turn back around this morning. This was a great novel and one that I am truly glad I read.