Thrilling!

The “State Of The Union” was as thrilling as promised in the summary. If you enjoy action, “edge of your seat” suspense you won’t be disappointed! I began this book at bedtime and had to force myself, after 2 l/2 hours of listening, to turn it off. My attention was captured in the first hour. There were more than a half dozens enthralling parts in the book including torture, under water action, and ticking bombs. One thing that put it over the top for me was there wasn’t just one hero that saved millions of lives, there were several which lended the book more plausibility. After listening to this book, I will be even more patient with our airport security!

As always, George Gudell’s narration was stellar! Loray.

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32 people found this helpful

Narrator makes such a difference!

George Guidall has sinched it as my favorite narrator for these books! Thanks for taking him on! He makes these characters come alive! and makes the books even that more enjoyable!

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17 people found this helpful

10 mins in... I was asleep.

I can’t speak for the content, as the narrator put me to sleep. I’m skipping ahead to #9 and the previous narrator.

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10 people found this helpful

AWESOME!

This might be the best book Brad Thor has written...great story line and an awesome narration!

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10 people found this helpful

The REDs are coming,,, the REDs are coming

What did you love best about State of the Union?

Love is a big word. I enjoyed the majority of State of the Union. The plot was interesting, character development for the key players was done effectively, and the overall pace was perfect for a book in this particular genre. This is the 1st book of Brad Thor's that I have listened to, but it is the 3rd I have either read or listened to. I really enjoy reading this genre of super soldier, super spy, or action hero (if you will) steps up takes charge and gets the job done despite the odds or sometimes the mysterious ways fate lets the impossible be possible. Thor does a great job of pushing the boundaries of the believable with the over-the-top action. I really don't remember thinking, "what the ..." "how they do that" as I was listening to this particular story.

What other book might you compare State of the Union to and why?

State of the Union is like most action adventure thrillers books. Brad Thor is like Vince Flynn and the late and great Tom Clancy in where they take a particular person and develop the character into an all American hero who will go above and beyond to protect America and her citizens. You can look at Harvath (Thor), Rapp (Flynn), Ryan Sr/Jr (Clancy) and seeing the similarities and differences very clearly but they all have the central theme of putting America's best interest over their own lives and in some cases the lives of multiple people because killing 100 can still save millions no matter how you do the math.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

A speech could turn America's future back 200 years or make America unlivable for thousands.

Any additional comments?

This is the second series of audio books I have listened to in which George Guidall was the narrator. I really enjoy his voice control, pace of speech, and the inflections he is able to do to make each character's voice different. I look forward to continuing to listen/read this series of books by Thor and cross my finger Guidall continues to narrate these books.

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9 people found this helpful

I don't like how they changed the narrator

I don't like how this book has a different narrator than the other books. really throws off the story since I'm used to hearing everyone talk and sound a certain way.

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7 people found this helpful

A very enjoyable book

The story was good and the narration was great (love George). If you like rockem socken adventure you will like this book.

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5 people found this helpful

Awesome as usual...

Where does State of the Union rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

One of the best. This series just gets better and George Guidall was the perfect choice as a narrater.

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5 people found this helpful

narrator okay, not great...

I started listening to this series in order and I expect the narrator to be the same throughout. While I understand why this narrator was chosen (his pronunciation of German and Russian was excellent), I think his voice would be better suited for something with less action and intrigue. The younger and more grizzled voice of the pervious narrator better suited the characters and stories in this series - I look forward to his return in a couple more books.

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4 people found this helpful

Maybe abridged would be better

What disappointed you about State of the Union?

So much of it seemed contrived. WARNING: some may consider this next part a spoiler. Thor's heroes and villains are all described as meticulous top operatives, yet they screw up so often and ultimately so predictably that it becomes difficult to take any of the "thrilling" parts seriously. In one "thrilling" battle scene Thor needs both guys for a later scene so after a furious and lengthy gun fight in the dark where they both lay ingenious traps for each other and fill the air with flying lead, neither one is killed and the villain escapes through a trap door. Or in another scene where a bad guy is two feet in front of a tied-up good guy and pointing his pistol right at him when a bunch more good guys run through the door for the rescue...a lengthy gun battle follows but the bad guy gets away (through a hidden door) and then we discover that the bad guy shot the tied-up good guy...but didn't kill him. Because we still need him later in the story. And tis is the SECOND time that bad guy shot someone at close range and didn't kill him. He needs some shooting lessons. But no, Thor has given us this guy's history and he is a "meticulous top operative" so he is very competent as a killer, unless Thor needs the guy to be killed in a later scene. Or another scene where an agent very cleverly gets the drop on a bad guy coming for her but then fails to notice that he has a knife, and then gets distracted by a cup of tea, and then alternately knows how to fight and doesn't know how to fight, I guess to prolong the "thrilling" knife fight. I have just arrived at the place in the book where we discover how it is that a bad guy (who one of the good guys distinctly remembers that he killed) is still alive. I am not surprised at all. I expect to hear about a thrilling battle followed by a narrow escape, if I can stand to listen to it. Don't get me wrong...I like thrilling battle scenes followed by narrow escapes, but there have already been six or seven of them and it is wearing me down. Worse, it seems contrived. Like every time we need a narrow escape, lo and behold, a trap door. I suspect that "Brad Thor" is just his writer's name. His real name is "Trap Door"

Has State of the Union turned you off from other books in this genre?

No. Vince Flynn is over the top but I can listen to his stuff and not feel completely jerked around. At least Flynn's top operatives know how to shoot. And so far, no trap doors.

Have you listened to any of George Guidall’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

George Guidall is always good. One of the consistently good narrators.

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

I am not sure I can finish it. Maybe there will be some redeeming qualities later. So far...

Any additional comments?

Maybe the abridged version leaves out some of the narrow escapes through trap doors.

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4 people found this helpful