Tag: suspense

Book Review: THE PLOTTERS digs and resonates

On By Steven D'AdamoIn On Storytelling, ReviewsLeave a comment

I just finished listening to The Plotters by Un-Su Kim on audiobook, a story with the trappings of an action thriller and the tonal resonance of a slow-burning suspense novel.

This story wound through a methodical plot, at times jumping into the past to provide insight into the mind and life of the protagonist, Reseng. While the narrative focuses on Reseng’s time as an assassin and his growing discontent with his life and the people around him, this is really a story about making life choices and living with – or fighting against – the consequences. The reader finds themselves rooting for Reseng to find some semblance of understanding about his own life, even if he is not a heroic character.

The narrator had a sort of deep, droning voice for the protagonist. As the story proceeded, I think this tone worked to emphasize Reseng’s aimless resignation with his life, compared to other character who had much more distinctive voices and motivations.

I did not find this story to be suspenseful in that I was riveted to my seat, but every scene carried a latent tension that was difficult to grasp. Even the action sequences were described with such monotoned effect that they seemed to be happening in slow motion. It felt like the entire story was gradually building towards something, but the final reveal was inside the character’s head, rather than in the action surrounding them. I don’t know that I’ve ever read a story with that type of tension, and it was quite compelling.

This story asks readers to empathize with its characters despite, or perhaps, because of the horrible things they do. Really fascinating read.

Steve D

Book Review: THE GREAT TRAIN ROBBERY winds through a meticulous plot

On By Steven D'AdamoIn On Storytelling, ReviewsLeave a comment

I recently finished listening to The Great Train Robbery, by Michael Crichton, on audiobook. This is the second Crichton novel I’ve read, having started with Jurassic Park a couple years ago.

The Great Train Robbery is wholly different from Jurassic Park in both style and tone, but the level of detail and research poured into it is an obvious hallmark of Crichton’s I’ve already recognized.

This story recounts in meticulous detail the plot to pull off the greatest heist yet seen in Victorian England: the aptly named Great Train Robbery, masterminded by Edward Pierce in 1855.

The Great Train Robbery was a fascinating story combining court testimony of Edward Pierce’s trial, narrative dramatization of Pierce’s planning of the robbery, and historical context for Victorian England.

Because the story starts off with Edward Pierce giving his testimony in court, the suspense of this story comes from Pierce’s planning of the heist and the final outcome. While it’s obvious he had been caught and arrested, how the heist plays out, how Pierce was caught, and the result of the trial are all left as mysteries until the final chapters.

I found that I particularly enjoyed Crichton’s tangents into the culture and society of Victorian England surrounding the robbery and trial, even if these sometimes felt a little too far afield of the primary story. These sections reinforced my interest in Victorian England from a historical and sociocultural context that I’ve grown into recently. Crichton writes this story with the inquisitive eye and narrative flourish of an investigative journalist, which lends itself to a sweeping narrative that deftly weaves direct readings of the original court testimony with dramatized scenes of Pierce and his accomplices playing out their plot over the course of many months.

Narrator Michael Kitchens recounts the story like a documentary, seeming to speak directly to the listener and invite them into understanding every detail of Crichton’s meticulous research.

Although there were some moments of suspense, I was not necessarily riveted by the story. Still, I quite enjoyed its style and detail.

Steve D

Review: THE WRONG ONE delivers thrilling twist

On By Steven D'AdamoIn On Storytelling, ReviewsLeave a comment

Audible recently offered The Wrong One as part of some kind of sale. I’ll always give free books a shot, and I could definitely not say no to a novella by Dervla McTiernan.

I’ve read the first couple installments of McTiernan’s more well-known Cormac Reilly series, following a Dublin-born detective trying to figure out his career in Galway as he solves often strange cases.

McTiernan’s crime stories always have a slow burning build, usually following multiple characters, until the threads twist into an intense third act. It may sound formulaic, but the characters are always well-developed, and the twists are enough to put a reader off-kilter.

So, I went into The Wrong One expecting to be hooked from the start. Admittedly, I was not. The Wrong One uses two voice actors to narrate the respective point-of-view narrators in the story, and I was not a fan of the first narrator. I’ll go into a little more detail below, in a section marked for spoilers.

This first narrator had an odd inflection to his voice that irked me. The second narrator was good, fitting for a teenaged boy who thinks he knows everything.

Despite my issues with one of the narrators (and the character they were playing), the story’s tension ramped up rapidly with a looming realization and twist that only McTiernan can deliver with such fluidity and emotional weight. I ended up enjoying this story quite a lot. Now I just want to go read more Cormac Reilly stories.

Steve D

Spoiler section with some further thoughts…

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Alright, so I didn’t like the first narrator, playing Simon, had an inflection that made him sound emotionally vacant and like a know-it-all from the start, making him virtually unlikable. Then, as the story progressed, it becomes clear that Simon is more than full of himself — even delusional — about his advances towards Clara and her obvious (to everyone but him) complete disinterest in him. Then, his pathetic delusions became overbearing, then possessive, then manipulative, and then, holy shit it was him the whole time! Great twist. I’m telling myself that the strange voice-acting of the character was completely intentional to throw the reader off-balance from the start. Totally worked.

Story Lessons from THE LORD OF THE RINGS, part 1

On By Steven D'AdamoIn Creativity Sessions, Writers - Steve D'AdamoLeave a comment
Creativity Sessions writing process. Evening Satellite Publishing.

After some lackluster reading the last month or so, I am embarking on an epic quest: to reread The Lord of the Rings! I will not be reviewing these stories in a critical sense, because how could I? Instead, I will share some storytelling insights I pick up as I go along.

This will be primarily focused on the books, but I will also reference the films by Peter Jackson to compare the stories as they are told between these two media.

Spoilers ahoy.

Continue reading “Story Lessons from THE LORD OF THE RINGS, part 1” →

#Review: Netflix’s ‘BODYGUARD’ a Suspenseful, Fast-Paced Ride

On By Steven D'AdamoIn Reviews, Writers - Steve D'AdamoLeave a comment

I unwittingly finished watching season one of Bodyguard today. The Netflix show starring Game of Thrones’s Richard Madden ran for only six episodes, when I really thought it could have carried eight or ten.

But, ultimately, I enjoyed its forward-moving and suspenseful brevity. Continue reading “#Review: Netflix’s ‘BODYGUARD’ a Suspenseful, Fast-Paced Ride” →

Book Review: Caught by MLS Weech

On By Steven D'AdamoIn Reviews, Writers - Steve D'Adamo4 Comments

I picked up Caught directly from MLS Weech at his book launch in Glen Burnie, MD. I think that was back in early 2017, so I’m sorry to say it took me a while to get to this one.

So, yeah, in case it’s not clear enough, here’s my disclosure: Weech is a friend. He’s also an imaginative and vivid writer. Spoiler-free review follows. Continue reading “Book Review: Caught by MLS Weech” →

Audiobooks and Critical Listening: Shockwave by John Sandford

On By Steven D'AdamoIn On Storytelling, Writers - Steve D'AdamoLeave a comment

Do audiobooks count for my Goodreads reading goal? I feel like they should.

Future Father-in-law gave me a few audiobooks on CD for Christmas this year, and it took me a while to pop one into my car’s stereo. I was hesitant about this for a couple of reasons: Continue reading “Audiobooks and Critical Listening: Shockwave by John Sandford” →