Artifact

Just awful

I've really tried to give this story every chance, but everything about it is just awful. The writing is adolescent and the "performance" is worse.

Mispronunciations abound and the inappropriate pauses, inflections and emphases make for a miserable listening experience. Narrators should read a story in the same way that normal conversation takes place. No one speaks like this narration. Voice performance should flow easily, not with odd pauses and weird inflections. Emphasis should be appropriate to normal conversation, not random and overdone.

Narrators who try too hard with accents always fail. Narrators who try too hard with characterizations always fail. Good writers know that a very few words are sufficient to create a character's accent. More than a few words becomes distracting (and makes the writing juvenile). Narrators need to know the same thing. All the voices and accents don't help the story and are often unintelligible. It makes for a better listening experience when the narrator uses her/his own voice with occasional and modest differences for different characters. Sixth-grade performances are all too common in audio book narration.

This narrator's voice for Rupert was laughable. She made him sound like a seventh-grader mimicking a 70-year-old phony British waiter. The Russian landlady's voice was preposterous and reminded me of a bad Boris and Natasha imitation.

The story itself should've been published as Young Adult literature (at best). It's not particularly interesting, has some glaring holes in the storyline, and is poorly written. Even the grammar and general use of language is bad. I usually notice when something is self-published, but missed it with this one. There's a reason things are self-published, and the reason is that it's not good. Some self-published books are fabulous, but they are few and far between.

This gets a complete thumbs down.

8 of 8 people found this review helpful

Agonizing

What disappointed you about Artifact?

This is my first review and I moved to write because the dialog and the plot are terrible.

What was most disappointing about Gigi Pandian’s story?

75% of this book is one person asking another "What do you know?" And not getting an answer. Very little plot, the complications the main characters stumble over are so minor, and two characters at the beginning aren't relevant to the plot at all.

Would you listen to another book narrated by Allyson Ryan?

Perhaps, but her treatment of male British voices was pretty bad.

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

Nope. It's also primary not about archaeology. I can't believe this was the basis for a series.

8 of 8 people found this review helpful

I didn't buy the story or its conclusion!

Felt like the author could figure out a good ending so she just stopped. The characters and the story were lacking. Everything seemed disconnected. I didn't find the story believable and I didn't think the characters related to each other either. I'll pass on the rest of the series.

7 of 7 people found this review helpful

Narration with over written chapters

What disappointed you about Artifact?

much of it is over written, and the narration DOES NOT match the character. I may not be the target audience as I am a grandmother, but I love the authors other books

Has Artifact turned you off from other books in this genre?

No, the context of the book is interesting and maybe this is simply inexperience or poor editing

7 of 7 people found this review helpful

MEH....

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

Maybe a grandchild in middle school.

Would you recommend Artifact to your friends? Why or why not?

Contrived story line, mildly entertaining but harmless. Would not recommend to any adult friends

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Allyson Ryan?

Anyone who could handle believable accents. HORRIBLE!

Could you see Artifact being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

UH.....no....not without extensive rewrites.

Any additional comments?

7 of 7 people found this review helpful

Cozy only means no graphic sex or blood/guts

At last! A well-educated, reasonably confident, independent woman who thinks outside the box! She has an interesting background, quirky friends, and an ex lover with a mysterious artifact. Oh, and he's apparently dead, but no corpus delicti. Enter a pushy grad student and an assortment of new characters. Soon there is more history and mystery to be burrowed through, suspense, and a logical but unexpected denouement. Certainly a brain-grabbing read with clear depictions of places and people easily visualized by the reader. Characterizations are realistic (think I worked with one or three of them).
Allyson Ryan really nailed it! Her performance truly enhanced this story and the differentiation and audible attitudes of the characters are exceptional.
This book forced me to sit up waaaay too late by wanting to finish it in one sitting.

31 of 39 people found this review helpful

Terrible choice of narrator.

I'm sure she would be a fine narrator for another story but she can't a pronounce a single Indian word and her English accent is abysmal. When the protagonist is Indian, the novel revolves around Indian history and is partially set in the UK these flaws make for a terrible listen. Honestly her gaffs are distracting from the story.

16 of 20 people found this review helpful

poor narration

Would you try another book from Gigi Pandian and/or Allyson Ryan?

I like Gigi's Gargoyle mysteries much better. Allyson's poor narration of men's voices gets in the way. Just not convincingly done.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Artifact?

Zero. Very little suspense. Can't even say it was a cozy romance. Sorry!

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Allyson Ryan?

Don't know the narrator's available.

Do you think Artifact needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

Not interested, but I did have them in my wish list.

4 of 5 people found this review helpful

Artifact: A Jaya Jones Treasure Hunt Mystery #1

Absolutely enjoyed this story. I especially loved Jaya! She is intelligent, independent, feisty and quirky. Best of all, this larger than life individual comes in a petite package. This was a really interesting treasure hunt and the amount of historical details provided where just right.

Jaya and Lane made a wonderful team!

9 of 16 people found this review helpful

Great performance ok story

I normally enjoy Gigi Pandain's books, however the characters in this one weren't relatable. And a bit to much of a stretch, I enjoy fantasy and mystery but this was just out of my realm.

3 of 6 people found this review helpful