Neven Iliev and Jeff Hays. The Leopold and Loeb of the literary world. Between the two of them the body count of characters is just too high to realize, and yet so fun to listen to that you don’t even comprehend the massacres and mutilations they are performing on unsuspecting characters. Putting these two together is like mixing fizzy lifting drink with pop rocks. The results are unexpected, and awe-inspiring.
Neven Iliev returns for round two of everybody’s favorite murdering box. The man is twisted in a wonderful way, sort of like Willy Wonka meets Jack the Ripper. Viscious, brutal, and funny all at once. One of the best things is that he does a lot of unexpected things with his characters. Things you never see coming, and just when you think you have it all figured out, WHAM, you are blind-sided. One scene just took the air out of my lungs. That isn’t supposed to happen in a comedy. And I really shouldn’t LOVE and ADORE a murdering little cuss of a mimic, but I do. And what happens with the spy master just crushed me. Darn you, Iliev!!!!! On the other hand, there were times I could not stop laughing. My cognitive dissonance is overwhelming. I did get a little distracted with all the sex, but hey, this a book for adults, and the scenes were funny so I never let it bother me. All I know is that this man cannot write fast enough for me. Books 3 and 4 need completed last week, as of December 2001.
Again, we come to the ever amazing, all-powerful Jeff Hays. I’m beginning to suspect that he drank some sort of brew made from the blood of Rich Little, Johnathon Winters, Robin Williams, and Mel Blanc, which was stirred by a bone from Lon Chaney, Sr., and sprinkled with the ashes of Tara Strong. He has to be using black magic, because this guy can do more voices than there are people in Europe, he seems to narrate only the BEST books, and still remains cool when goofing off in Soundbooth Theater. Seriously, there is a reason that Jeff is my favorite narrator, and that is because he is a rare talent.
I got this book and powered through it. I had been waiting so long for book 2 to come out that I dedicated myself to gettng through it in one sitting. Now, I’ll go back and relisten to both book one and two, and really relish the humor and action. Then, I’ll sit quietly, just waiting for book three to come out.
Maybe NOT so quietly! Get it done, boys!!!!
Even though I did receive a promo code for this review it in no way influenced my considerations of the material, and in fact, inspired me to be more honest. In fact, getting a code generally makes me harsher as a reviewer as I am more often concerned what someone like Me will decide based on my review.
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