March 2004 Audiobook Reviews

The Son of Tarzan
by Edgar Rice Burroughs, Shelly Frasier

Tantor Media

ISBN# 1-4001-0056-9
Suggested Retail Price: $42.00

This wonderful tale will take you on a trip that involves the son of Tarzan. His name is Korak and he has been raised in London. Unfortunately, the villain Paulvitch is still seeking revenge against Tarzan. This time he lures Tarzan's son away from London. Alut, the great ape friend of Tarzan and the companion of his son, gets wind of a move to kidnap Korak. Together Korak and Alut flee Europe for the jungles of Africa. This is where Tarzan grew up, not knowing that he was really a British Lord.

The young civilized boy reckons with life and death as he struggles through some of the same dangers his father faced. In his adventures, Korak rescues a young beauty from a band of Arabian raiders. Through it all, the son of Tarzan begins to realize that the perils he encounters in the jungle are nothing compared to the evils of men.

Tarzan never fades. Burroughs created this hero for our enjoyment, and today's generation can still enjoy the tales of the Lord of the Jungle and his family. We are grateful to the Tantor Media people for making so much of this fine audiobook series available to us all.

A Princess of Mars
by Edgar Rice Burroughs, John Bolen

Tantor Media

ISBN# 1-400-10018-6
Suggested Retail Price: $36.00

This amazing fantasy tale was originally published 1917. I, for one, still enjoy these tales that Burroughs wrote in a much simpler time. He was a prolific teller of tales with an imagination that delighted the readers of the old pulp magazines, as well as through his books.

This time we meet John Carter. He is just out of the Confederate army where he was a Captain. While gazing at the stars one night, Carter find himself transported to Mars. It is on Mars that Carter encounters Martians who are fierce fighters. Because of the difference between Mars and Earth's gravity, John Carter has gained relatively great strength. He finds the tribe of Barsoomians and encounters the Princess of Helium. Of course, I should mention that Captain Carter can breathe quite easily on Mars in these books.

Suspend your disbelief willingly and enjoy this great unabridged audiobook adventure - a gem of a fantasy tale.

At the Earth's Core
by Edgar Rice Burroughs

Tantor Media
MP3 CD
ISBN# 1-4001-5081-7
Suggested Retail Price: $20.00

Once again we join John Carter as he returns to Mars. It is ten years after his tragic loss on The Red Planet. Now he searches for his wife, Princess Deja Thoris and joins forces with old comrades. They battle hostile enemies who are new to the people of Barsoom. This time Carter learns the truth about the mysterious Gods of Mars.

We're happy to see an audio publisher embrace the MP-3 format that is so popular. We think its the audiobook format of choice, given we're now so solidly in the iPod Generation.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
by J.K. Rowling, Jim Dale

Listening Library

ISBN# 0-8072-8194-8
Suggested Retail Price: $49.95

After his first year at the magicians' school Hogwart's Academy, Harry spends the summer at his home. The Dursleys, with whom he lives, are so very mean throughout the summer that all Harry wants is to return to his school. He is packing his bags at the summer's end when he encounters an odd impish figure whose name is Dolby. Harry is told that if he returns to his school, that disaster will surely strike.

Harry goes back to Hogwart's anyway and disaster does strike. There are horrors and danger awaiting the students this semester. There is also a very mean spirit by the name of Moaning Myrtle. Moaning Myrtle haunts the girl's bathroom. There are many minor annoyances, but the main trouble is yet to come. Someone or something has turned all the students to stone and Harry is a chief suspect.

These exquisite tales about his school for magicians and Harry Potter have revived an interest in young people reading the books. They are long books and very popular. Now, even if you have read the books or not, you can enjoy the word and the images that the audiobook promotes while listening to the tales that are so very well told by Ms. Rowling.

Death by Hollywood
by Steven Bochco, Dennis Franz

Random House Audio

ISBN# 0-7393-0700-2
Suggested Retail Price: $25.95

Stephen Bochco has been a master of television production since the 1970's when he produced "Police Story." With very one notable exception, the ill-conceived "Cop Rock," his police dramas have been big hits over and over. We welcome this crime novel from him with its dark humor. When thinking of our choice of who to have read it to us, there is no one better than actor Dennis Franz, whose career took off when he portrayed the loveable Norman Buntz on Bochco's "Hill Street Blues," and has since won more than one Emmy Award for his Andy Sippowicz in "NYPD Blue."

This story takes Hollywood and introduces some of its bizarre characters. It's a mystery to savor. We meet screenwriter Bobby Newman, who is lounging on his own terrace and spying on the neighbors with a very expensive set of binoculars. What he is watching is a murder of a male Latin movie star by his gorgeous girlfriend. Rather than call the police, Bobby decides that he will create his own screenplay of this incident. In order to get all of the details as they turn up, Bobby gets close to a detective from the police department. Before long, Bobby is getting everyone deeply involved in the murder investigation. The cops are having a lot of trouble in solving the case.

It is a "funny as a crutch" kind of mystery and it's also very savvy about Hollywood. This is the story that Bochoco could not tell on television, so he saved it for this book. The audiobook version makes it all the more fun, thanks to the deft performance of Dennis Franz.