The Frumious Bandersnatch

This is an entertaining novel. It isn't exactly heart pounding, but it's a good, run-of-the mill thriller. It's got it's share of action in there.

This story never really got off the ground. I did finish listening to it, but it was an effort. Do not bother with this one.

The story itself was lighter than air. The whoddunnit surprise was obvious by the second disc, because there was only one main character besides the detectives and the victim, so really, it had to be that character. Possibly the result of bad abridgement, but there were entire sub-plots that never connected to the main story line at all, and seemed to exist primarily to allow the author to expound on the nature of writing. The narration was largely fine on the non-dialogue, but he mixed up the female voices frequently and cast every gay character as a lisping stereotype.

I've read a couple of Ed McBain mysteries and liked them. Not so with this one. For once, I didn't finish listening to the CD. The racy subject matter and the obscenities grated on me, and I didn't find much else to make me want to keep listening. Maybe it works in print, but I didn't like it on audio.

Just OK. Sometimes you need nourishment and sometimes you really want angel food cake. This is definitely angel food cake. Not deep, not inspirational, but mildly entertaining.