“The X-Files” comes to Maine. Four friends on their yearly hunting trip to the north woods find themselves in the middle of an alien invasion and the U.S. military’s attempt to contain the aliens’ deadly virus. The friends bring a fifth and mentally retarded companion into the struggle to disarm the bad guys. Jeffrey DeMunn navigates this long and complex story. While his narrative passages and pacing are flawless, his characterizations need work. The four Maine men sound identical to one other, although they have taken very different paths in their adult lives. Their dialect is South Boston, rather than Maine, and the psychiatrist and the college professor sound like uneducated hicks. A wonderful touch, however, is DeMunn’s characterization when King writes of the November 2000 election that just won’t quit. He doesn’t name the president. DeMunn, however, performs a convincing George Bush. But his pronunciation of various Maine and Massachusetts towns is a fascinating work of fiction in itself, including four distinct presentations of “Bangor.”
Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2001
Duration: 23 hrs
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Part of the joy of Tom Clancy novels is one's belief that the stories could come true. His latest entry stretches that some as we find international terrorists building a nuclear bomb which is used to set Americans and Russians against one another. Jay Robertson reads with a newscaster's voice, crisp and clear with a light touch of drama. However, he does little to help listeners identify Clancy's huge cast of characters, and dialects seem difficult for him as he occasionally slips in and out of character. Nonetheless, patient listeners are rewarded as the plot unfolds. This will be a welcome addition to any library justifying the price of the multi-cassettte volumes.
Pub Date: N/A
Duration: 16 hrs
Publisher: Books on Tape
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
John Sanford is back with another psychological thriller in his Prey series. Surgeon, psychopath and serial killer Bekker is on the loose again after the easiest jailbreak in recent memory. Ken Howard's reading moves along with all the brooding energy a reader could want from a suspense book. His narration is deep, clear and well-suited to the gravelly voices of retired detective Lucas Davenport and the other cops. While Howard manages good dialects and shifts in character, his female voices leave a lot to be desired. For the most part, the abridgment gleefully throws logic and characterization overboard in favor of thrills, but the basic flavor of many characters is still fairly well maintained.
Pub Date: N/A
Duration: 3 hrs
Publisher: Harper Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
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