Pierke

Normally not into supernatural stories, so for me the Inspector McLean stories are an exception. Although there are supernatural aspects to the plot, they are not overwhelming the story. I was hooked since the first book came out and am already looking forward to the next one. This is partially due to Ian Hanmore superb reading. Prayer for the Dead is as suspenseful as its predecessors; I only missed a few characters from the earlier books. I do hope they will return in future stories, for I’ve gotten attached to them.

If you are interested in film music, this is a must-read. All Bond movies, also the unofficial ones, are dealt with very extensively, up till Quantum of Solace. With a structure of one movie per chapter it also invites to keep the book close at hand when viewing a Bond movie. Especially the inserts that give the score highlights, by minutes into the film, are very helpful while watching. The book has a wealth of pictures, as well. It is amazing how much information Jon Burlingame was able to unearth, a real treasure-trove. The book merits a re-reading, as remembering all the fact in one reading is nigh on impossible.

About the audio version. This was my first encounter with Tom Parks and I didn’t like it very much. I am sure that his enthusiastic rendition can be a bonus for certain books, but it distracted me from the story

Even if not all the facts are correct, as stated by a reviewer on Amazon.com, this is a compelling read. It is an evenly paced, extremely well written story that obviously needed (re)telling, as MacArthur's astounding achievements in Japan are today largely forgotten. My knowledge about MacArthur, gleaned from reading about the Pacific theater, was of an accomplished general, but a flawed, vain and self-centered man. This book changed my perception about him completely. I certainly am going to read more about MacArthur and I hope I can find more biographers like Mr. Morris, who give MacArthur the credit he is due.

As the audio book preceded the print edition, I listened to the audio book first. The audio book is read by Charles Constant, who gives an outstanding performance. As I wanted to re-read certain passages I bought the Kindle e-book as soon as it became available. The Kindle e-book didn’t have a linked index ( a lot of epubs have beautifully linked indexes nowadays), but as the e-book boasts of having page numbering corresponding with the hardback book this shouldn’t be a problem, where it not that the layout of the index is totally ruined by sloppy formatting. The index is an unreadable, useless mess. I should have checked my eagerness for the ‘printed’ page and ordered the hardcover instead.

Very, very moving.

This is not a novel. It a memoir told without wasting words. Very moving and deeply troubling