Frustration

I am disappointed and frustrated that I may never know how good a writer Felix Francis is because I could not get past the horrible voice tone and inept reading that was given to this book. As a long time Francis fan I hate to give up after one effort but will never download another book with John Keating as the reader.

18 people found this helpful

A Disappointing Read

I have listened to nearly every Dick Francis book on audiobooks including some written with Felix Francis, but this book is very wooden, predictable and not at all engaging. It is not helped by such bad narration - All in all I would not recommend this book

16 people found this helpful

reader could have been better

Is there anything you would change about this book?

The guy reading this book sounded like he was reading directions on a soup can label. I would get someone who could put a little more "oomph" into the reading.

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

Kept falling asleep listening to the reading & never got to hear the ending.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

Poor reading style

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

don't know

Any additional comments?

I have loved Dick Francis books for many years. This audible rendition left much to be desired.

7 people found this helpful

Not thrilled with this book

The first 30 minutes of the story were almost painful. Then my brain finally tuned out the trite phrases and inept dialogue to concentrate on the plot. The plot is pure Dick Francis, recycled. If his son wants to be successful at this, he desperately needs to take a few writing classes.
The poor main character, although described in classic Dick francis style, comes across as boring and a bit slow rather than a hero to cheer for.
The narrator, bless him, is sharp and whiny. Hope to God that accent is fake because it would be a shame to go through life speaking that way.

7 people found this helpful

Poor narration, average story

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

John Keating is a terrible narrator. If he's narrating children's books, he'd probably be OK. His performance of War Horse was distracting, but reasonable. In this case, a book for adults with serious topics, his intonation detracted so seriously from the topic that it was hard to separate it from the story.

The story itself could have used some significant editing. It wasn't bad, but it felt like a first solo work.

If you’ve listened to books by Felix Francis before, how does this one compare?

Compared to the joint works of Felix and his father, the lead character is more well-rounded. He's not as much of an indominable force as most Francis leads. The narrative though really could have used significant removal of wordiness.

Would you be willing to try another one of John Keating’s performances?

No.

2 people found this helpful

Thank goodness

I was so sad when I learned that Dick Francis had died but his son's talent has allowed me to continue to enjoy glimpses into the world of steeplechase and the lives of the men and women who inhabit it. Thank you Mr. Felix Frances for carrying on the tradition. Clearly talent can be passed on. I am just grateful you choose to nourish and use yours.

4 people found this helpful

Not nearly as good as it should have been.

I'm having a problem with the characterization of women in these stories. At first I thought it was a hatred of women, but in this one they start out somewhat normal then they got uniquely stupid. Having had the killer try for the whole family in Moms home and dying, they flee. But after a week away his Mom & fiance both start whining that they want to go home to sleep in their own bed! That is a bad scene it puts off the whole story. Then the whole main character talks to one of his boss who berates him for not showing up & he doesn't mention the little thing of having 2 attempts on his life! Really silly little mistakes that change a great franchise into a 'well, finally that's over'

1 person found this helpful

Awful. Simply awful.

Felix is not his father. The story is slow and predictable, full of unnecessary details, and lacking pizzazz. The narrator makes it worse. Ugh! We love all the other Dick Francis narrators, but this one is particularly annoying.

But all the problems in the book itself could’ve been fixed by a decent editor. Instead, the publisher relied on Dick Francis’s good name and reputation to sell this book. Did they even care about quality? Evidently not. No, the publisher treated us like suckers, like an ATM they used to withdraw money from OUR accounts.

Don’t waste your time and money. This is a bad book with a disappointing narrator from a publisher that only cares about money, not quality, and certainly not readers and fans of Dick Francis.

1 person found this helpful

The Gamble Paid Off

It is good to know that the series will continue. Felix picks up where Dick left off. This is a solid series. Well worth the investment of credits or money.

1 person found this helpful

Like Father, Like Son...

I'm sure that Felix had been writing much of the final "Dick Francis" series for his aging father, which allowed him to do such a great job with his first solo offering, "Gamble". While I could have enjoyed an abridged version of the story more than this lengthy tomb, the storyline is actually very good. Not just standard Dick Francis, but enough of the family story telling formula and horseracing DNA to leverage his father's popularity, while allowing Felix to begin building his own unique brand of excitement. An imaginative and believable plot set in current day with plenty of realism brought out by obviously extensive research. Very impressive! I look forward to his next story. Keep 'em coming, Felix! Your father would be quite proud...

3 people found this helpful