Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ

I hope everyone had a good holiday if you celebrate any of them. I did, and now that I finished lengthening my belts and stretching the wastebands of my pants we can get this discussion under way. Ahoy, ye maties!

As usual, I listened to the audiobook. I got this one as the Audible addition to the Kindle book. It was narrated by Bronson Pinchot. You may remember him from Perfect Strangers and Beverly Hills Cop. He did voices for many of the characters and they were distinct enough to keep track of who was who. He did a great job with this book and I look forward to listening to more of what he has narrated.

As for the story itself, I enjoyed that too. It's different from the usual genres I enjoy and that was refreshing. The characters were amusing and the settings kept me interested. I even laughed a few times! Out loud!

I'm beginning to think that reincarnation is a real thing and that I've had many sea voyages in my past life after having read and enjoyed the last two stories that I've brought to the group, with On Stranger Tides being one of my new favorite adventures I've had in recent memory. The story was more fantasy than horror, which I did not necessarily mind, but the mix was done just right for me to feel at home in both settings, and I think Powers crafted a world mixed of the two extremely well. I never mind budding romance in the pieces I read, and I liked Powers did his own love subplot in such a way as to not be the focus of the story, but did help move the plot along in such a way as to make the reader root for hero, making you want them to get to each other and win the fight against the forces against them.

The only negative thing I had about the novel was that I did feel like certain parts of the story dragged, especially toward the middle and end of the story. This was not the case enough for me to dislike what I was reading, but I was indeed ready for the action to rise and the threads to be tied so that the characters could reach their ultimate goals.

I do agree that parts of the novel were amusing, Jordan, and even I laughed out loud as I read the novel which is a rare occurrence indeed for reading prose. This was my first time with Tim Powers and it definitely made me appreciate his work enough that I'll probably seek out more of his fiction later on in life.

This was a fun story to read, or listen to in my case. I, too, listened to the audio version from Audible. I enjoyed the story, although it took me a bit longer to finish than I thought it would. Unlike you, Jordan, I did have a little trouble following the different voices of the characters in the beginning but was quickly acclimated to them after a few chapters.

Overall, I enjoyed the book, as it was a good adventure story with a dark and magical twist. I am a big fan of injecting humor into unlikely stories, and I agree with both of you that this book had it's amusing moments. My only 'complaint' is that the female characters lacked any real substance. Beth was basically a damsel in distress/prop. That is just the feminist in me coming out, as it didn't take away from the overall story.

I do like that this book has so much going on, that I think it would be just as fun to read a second time.

Hello! My coworkers told me about Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ and while browsing the site I found your club. I actually just read this book over the summer! Am I still allowed to participate? lol

I read this book because I loved the Pirates of the Caribbean movies and I thought this was a novelization of one. I was wrong! lol It was a good surprise though and I am happy to have read it.

Do you guys usually do audiobooks for this club? I have never listened to one.

I thought the club had been abandoned. I had no notifications that either of you had posted and had almost forgotten about this little sanctuary until Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ saw fit to tell me that we had a new member *and* that she has actually engaged us in conversation! It's a Christmas Miracle!

Anyhow, in response to Garret, yes, parts did drag. I was painting my hallway during the last half of the book and there were parts where I felt the focus of my attention shifting to the drying paint on the wall. When I realized I had zoned out I would skip the recording back a few minutes and then mysteriously zone out again. I don't care for budding romances in my reads, though. So little do I care for them that I tuned this one out like background noise until I was abruptly reminded that it existed.

Danielle, yes, the female characters were weak. It always takes me a chapter or two (or more) to figure out who is who in a new audiobook. I usually end up listening to those early chapters twice. Many audiobook narrators don't do different voices and that only makes matters worse.

Amy, glad to have a new member! To answer your question, I listen to audiobooks because I can't be bothered to sit down and read with my eyes. You aren't required to do one or the other, although we have considered doing an "Audiobook Only" month for the club. Or vice versa, for that matter. The only thing we frown on here are members who claim to have read the book and then talk about character names that appeared in the movie adaptation. I try to keep this place friendly and easy going and I realize not every book will interest everyone, so there is never an obligation to read the chosen book. To keep things fair, however, one must read the book and participate in the discussion in order to be eligible to pick the next book when its their turn. Glad to have you here!