First, I have to say, the story line is interesting enough that I did not give up, which is saying a lot for an audio selection of this length. However, Kevin Pierce’s accents made the marathon listen difficult.
It’s a shame, because overall, Mr. Pierce is a VERY good narrator. As long as the character is a typical, “average white” American, his reading is like butter for the ears. He sounds like a “good ole’ boy”, as we say in Texas, and his voice is soothing and interesting.
But this book has gang members who are not white (and really should not sound like they are), Hispanics, Cajuns, Cubans… and all of those accents sound like a terrible blend of good ole’ white boy and Transylvanian or something similar. It’s like listening to Dracula say things only a Cajun should be saying. It’s very confusing.
As a Cajun raised in the places he’s reading about and someone who has always lived in a multicultural setting, it was physically painful how bad his accents were.
Now, to be fair, Cajun accents are difficult and not very common. Very few people can pull it off. But most Americans have a lot of experience with most of the other accents, and none of them sound right. If you’re going to be a pro, and you’re going to read accents, you really have to get it right.
This is not that.
The story itself is very good, and any other section read by this narrator is good… but if you are accent-sensitive as I am, you may want to just read the book yourself or find another version.