Bad Monkey

Flame-out fail

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

So far, classic Hiassen, but I will never find out how it ends, because the reader is deplorably inept! I simply cannot continue listening to this book as all I do is cringe at how Arte Johnson is butchering the story, it's characters, and tempo. This probably would have been a hilarious book with even a mediocre reader. Arte Johnson is one of the worst.

Would you be willing to try another one of Arte Johnson’s performances?

No, I would never try anything else by Arte Johnson. To the contrary, seeing his name as the reader would make me stay away.

40 sur 42 personne(s) ont trouvé cet avis utile.

Disappointed

I was hoping for a great followup to Star Island. Who picks these readers? This book would have been significantly better to listen to with a better reader. I'm halfway thru and not sure If I'll finish it.

39 sur 41 personne(s) ont trouvé cet avis utile.

Wish I could give the performance ZERO stars

What disappointed you about Bad Monkey?

Bad Monkey suffers so severely due to bad narration that I honestly can't tell if Hiaasen is off his game or not. I've listened to a lot of audio books and Arte Johnson's reading of this book is probably the worst I've ever heard.

Would you be willing to try another one of Arte Johnson’s performances?

Never, never, never. He's awful.

12 sur 12 personne(s) ont trouvé cet avis utile.

Where's George Wilson?

Any additional comments?

Hard to judge this book, I was excited as I haven't listened to a new Hiaasen book in years. Unfortunately I have become accustomed to listening to George Wilson's narration, and IMHO Arte is not anywhere close to Wilson's performance. This book just doesn't seem as funny as previous audiobooks. I'm truly not sure whose to blame- Arte or Carl.

32 sur 34 personne(s) ont trouvé cet avis utile.

Bad Arte!!

I cast my vote with the other fans who miss George Wilson and hated Atre Johnson's reading. Hiaasen's humor may sometimes be dark, but the mood is never heavy, and Arte read this story like a 70 year old New York curmudgeon - Buddy Hackett came to mind more than once. He was especially bad with accents and kept getting mixed up with which one he was supposed to use at any given time, so the old Bahamian fisherman sounded like the young female Cuban doctor, and vice versa.

Sorry to say, Carl has to own some of my dissatisfaction too. The first half of the story built up very slowly and was woefully devoid of laughs. Just past halfway there was a surprising reveal that allowed things to take off and I finally felt like I was reading something Hiaasen. But it's not one of his best efforts - laughs were generally few and far between, and I just didn't find the characters to be as loveably quirky as usual. As another reviewer said, with a better reader perhaps the characters would have fared better, but we'll never know.

33 sur 36 personne(s) ont trouvé cet avis utile.

Was it Hiaasen or the narrator...?

I've adored and read (listened to) Carl Hiaasen's books for years –so much so that I'll read the kids books as well as the adult ones. This one (downloaded the day it came available) was just disappointing, not terrible, but not up to the level of, say, Stormy Weather narrated by George Wilson (whose timing, tone and deadpan characterizations are exquisite and perfect for Hiaasen's lunatic hilarity).

The printed edition of the book has gotten good reviews, so it may just be that Arte Johnson's voice is the problem: too old-sounding and hesitant for Hiaasen's work, making the book sound corny and clunky. If you're a Hiaasen fan, you might want to read this one with your eyes, not your ears. If you're new to Hiaasen, don't start with this one.

15 sur 16 personne(s) ont trouvé cet avis utile.

I don't think I will get past Chapter 6

What disappointed you about Bad Monkey?

The narrator. Absolutely horrible. I listen to audiobooks almost exclusively, and I have never bought a book with a narrator this bad.

What was most disappointing about Carl Hiaasen’s story?

I will never know because I can't finish it. The narrator has ruined it for me...and I LOVE Hiaasen's books!

How did the narrator detract from the book?

Wrong accents. Wrong inflection. Just wrong everything. Very distracting.

Any additional comments?

I wish I could get my 1 credit back!

21 sur 23 personne(s) ont trouvé cet avis utile.

So sad!

George Wilson understands how to read Carl Hiaasen. The jewel that is Hiaasen is his outlandish characters in improbably situations which put together make for great comedy combined with serious commentary. With this reader, neither come through.

12 sur 13 personne(s) ont trouvé cet avis utile.

The Reader Got In The Way!!!

To be honest, this book never had a chance. The reader was so inept and distracting, I put it aside and will go to my local independent bookseller!

25 sur 28 personne(s) ont trouvé cet avis utile.

Good Enough Story, but Performance Was Weak

I was so looking forward to listening to this book. Although this story was not as good as previous Carl Hiaasen books, it was good enough. Unfortunately, the performance was not well done which weakened the entire experience. I hope the author and publisher goes back to George Wilson or another previous narrator for future books.

8 sur 9 personne(s) ont trouvé cet avis utile.