1 comments about Interlopers Audio Book MP3-CD.

1. Audio book lovers unite - this is a great example of a book made better by the narrator. Alan Dean Fosters colorful descriptors, the chapters and carry over themes are timed perfectly, and might just make you want to go on a road trip.
   
   Ben Browder does an excellent job of getting his tongue around some pretty tough Incan technobabble, his enthusiasm for the job is never failing, and the variety of voices and inflection he puts to each character is admirable.
   
   At the end of this one you'll want to listen again, and wonder when the sequel is coming out!

5 comments about Interlopers.

1. Very clever to take a novel that needed either a whole cast of people to narrate or one outstanding actor. Ben Browder proves himself to be able to leap tall metaphors in a single bound. He takes you around the world and makes you feel like you are going through these incredible experiences with the characters. Ben leaves you wanting to hear and see more of this extraordinary world that Alan Dean Foster has created. By all means enjoy this in audio. Hope some clever producer picks up both book and actor and gives us a something truly wonderful to watch on the big screen.



2. Interlopers is to date the worst Alan Dean Foster novel I've read. As he is a consistently good author, that puts it in the middle of the road as far as pulp fiction goes, neither time-wastingly bad nor anything to write home about. An author needs to put out books to pay the bills and keep the family fed, and I received the strong impression that Interlopers was penned to keep food on the table rather than a labor of love. While it has an interesting premise, the 'tentacly boogeymen infest humans and spread evil' heart of the story, it falls apart in the execution.
   
   The story kicks off with a terribly improbable opening, involving the drinking of a concoction full of poisons on the say-so of an ancient tablet. It then follows up with ample deus ex machinae when characters are introduced who are unflappable, never mistaken, and always capable. Any tension that existed before the appearance of these characters immediately vaporizes; a giant polka-dotted cyclops monster that shoots lightning bolts from its eye could appear in the middle of the street, and doubtless they would calmly and cooly dispatch it. At the same time the antagonists, who started off with a great, creepy sort of unified front against the main character, stop being either creepy or clever, and just sort of sit back and wait to be defeated.
   
   Add to that a few logical questions (ala 'If these things exist in a significant percent of the rocks and wood and other plants of the world, why isn't everyone full of them all the time?') and you wind up with a novel that, while very promising, needed a lot more finishing to live up to its concept.



3. This is the first audio book I've ever bought or listened to and I thought I would be bored out of my mind listening to it. I bought it because the multi-talented Ben Browder (Farscape, Stargate SG-1, Party of Five) was the "narrator". I used quotes around narrator because Ben gives his all in his acting out of this novel. At times I thought that there were other "narrators" besides Ben doing the dialog between the characters. I kept forgetting that only Ben was doing the narrating. That's how good he is at this. This is more than reading or narration, it's acting. Not only was I NOT bored, but I was so caught up in Ben's performance that I listened to the whole 8 discs in one sitting.
   
   As far as the quality of the story goes, I'll just say that it's just as good as any other throwaway novel you'll find these days by the likes of King, Turow, and other authors whose names slip my mind because their stuff is so unmemorable. It's a light story with some preaching about the evils of nuclear weapons, a damsel in distress, a reluctant nerd-hero who kind of saves the day with some help from the damsel in distress and some strange shadowy organization, science fiction and fantasy.
   
   If you like Ben Browder then I highly recommend this audio book.



4. Boy of boy does Alan Dean Foster knows how to creepy ? He still manages to include humor and even some laugh-out-loud moments. Narrators can make or break an audiobook. Fortunately Ben Browder has the range and the perception to take Mr. Foster's book and make it jump off the page. After hearing this book on CD my question is when is somebody going to make this into a movie ?



5. Foster has a wonderful premise in this book, but it quickly becomes apparent he isn't sure where to go with it. The bad guys (ok, "things") are just WAY too powerful for the protagonist to have a chance, so it's deus ex machina time. Enter Obi-Wan Ken.... sorry, my mistake. Enter older guy who knows the score but isn't telling all he knows, just enough to keep the protagonist motivated and the reader alternately bemused and annoyed.
   
   This wouldn't annoy if it made more sense within the context of the tale, but it seems the only point is to prevent the reader from knowing what is going. While this is a time honored method used by numerous authors, they usually do a better job of hiding it (i.e., fitting it in to the story better). For that matter, Foster usually does it better.
   
   Ultimately, I found the central character to be the only vaguely believable character. The villains were simultaneously too powerful and too stupid. Obi-Wan was too cardboard. And the final climax had all the excitement watching traffic. Slow moving, rush-hour traffic.
   
   I'm giving two stars (and not one) because the premise and first fifty pages or so were interesting. But, sadly, the book is not.

5 comments about The Approaching Storm (Star Wars).

1. Please someone tell me why we have books like this created for the Star Wars universe? I love the Expanded Universe but hate it when I waste hrs. on books like this.



2. I liked this book although it was hard to follow at times. While reading more about Obi-Wan was good, I had a hard time really getting into Luminara's character. Bariss was a good character, yet there needs to be more about her. If you want to read Star Wars in order, this a good read!



3. The Approaching Storm was written by Alan Dean Foster, the ghost author of the A New Hope novelization and writer of the first Star Wars spin-off novel Splinter of the Mind's Eye. This book takes place immediately before Episode II: Attack of the Clones.
   
   This novel was released a few months before Attack of the Clones and billed as a "prologue" to the movie. I was so excited because I thought this book would set up the events of the movie while not revealing too much. Well, it definitely didn't reveal too much! Count Dooku is only mentioned once in the novel. Obi-Wan and Anakin's mission to the planet Ansion is mentioned in Episode II. The two other Jedi, which are the true main characters in the novel, are background characters in the movie. The novel mentions Anakin's issue with his mother. (And it was even intriguing to hear Anakin reflect on Watto as being the closest thing he had to a father figure before the Jedi came into his life.)
   
   Overall, the portrayal of Obi-Wan and Anakin were fairly true to the movie, but we don't really get any insight to the character of Anakin that is not in the movie. And like Rogue Planet, this novel lacked the galactic feel that I love about Star Wars and this time it is even worse because the protagonists' adventures are set exclusively on a backwater planet. In this book, there is not a single mention of Padme, but in the movie Anakin says he has thought about her every day for the last ten years! While incorporating the Secessionist Movement into the basic plot of the novel, it really did nothing to enhance Star Wars II like Cloak of Deception did for Star Wars I.
   
   In the movies, Jedi are portrayed as being able to sense danger right before it happens. One flat-out contradiction in this book is that the Jedi fall for the old smell-the-perfume-with-paralyzing-effects trick that I saw coming a parsec away without the powers of two Jedi Masters and their padawans. Other than that, I can consider this novel to be a part of continuity, just not a very exciting part.
   
   And the movies did have the arena creatures, mynocks, the space slug and the rancor, but this book had countless encounters with wildlife which got old quick.
   
   Instead of this book, I highly recommend the following 5-star novels that are more relevant to the film series:
   
   Cloak of Deception (Star Wars)
   Shadow Hunter (Star Wars: Darth Maul)
   Labyrinth of Evil (Star Wars, Episode III Prequel Novel)
   Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader (Star Wars)
   Shadows of the Empire (Star Wars)



4. It seems the books in the "Expanded Universe" are either hit or miss. The title of this review should insinuate where this book stands. Rather than engaging in conflict, it seems the Jedi and Padawans spend most of this book wandering the desert while engaging exotic creatures. If this excitement is not enough, the C-Span like political negotiations that are the climax should make readers label this book a "miss".
   
   The Jedi are the peacekeepers of the universe and seem to spend many books in the "Expanded Universe" on strange and new planets brokering peace. The twist that may set this book apart is that the Jedi are attempting to keep the planet Ansion from leaving the empire to join the Separatists. With Soergg of the Hutts economically motivated to prevent the Jedi from accomplishing their mission, several devious plots are hatched. Of these plots, all seem to be different just for that sake of being different rather than actually succeeding.
   
   If you found yourself annoyed by Jar Jar Binks, you are certain to be annoyed by the rodent-like character Tooqui. Just like Jar Jar, he speaks strangely and stupidly stumbles into saving the Jedi. In terms of sequence, this book is near Episode I. In terms of plot, it is also very close to Episode I. The three star average on this book should suggest that readers have had trouble liking this book. There is a good reason for most readers not liking it.



5. First and foremost, it's great to see one of the founding fathers of the Expanded Universe returning to the fold. When Foster wrote Splinter of the Mind's Eye in 1978, there was little for him to worry about. Jump twenty-four years into the future to 2002 and you have a completely different story. The Star Wars universe has become a vast and mighty organism, one that no single person fully grasps. Foster is a master of playing in other peoples' universes, Star Wars being one of them.
   
   It was also enjoyable to see two background characters, Luminara Unduli and Barriss Offee, take a leading role in a novel. Foster does an excellent job building these characters and their relationship, something that will increase the enjoyment of the upcoming Clone Wars Medstar duology, in which Barriss will play a major role. Through these two characters we are given a glimpse of the deep relationship between master and apprentice.
   
   The relationship between Obi-wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker provides an interesting juxtaposition to the calm and patient relationship between Luminara and Barriss. Obi-wan is a rather unorthodox teacher and Anakin an unorthodox student. It is interesting to see how the others react to Anakin, as he is the only one among them with any memory of his mother. As we witnessed in Attack of the Clones, these memories have been torturing Anakin for some time. Foster does a talented job portraying this troubling problem, as well as Anakin's predisposition towards brash actions and authoritarian political leanings. One scene in particular reminded me of the waterfall scene in Attack of the Clones during which Anakin and Padmé debate the nature of government.
   
   Another aspect of notable praise is the vivid setting Foster has created in the planet Ansion. This is not just another planet to add to the ever-growing Star Wars galaxy, but one described in rich sensory detail. We witness entire ecosystems in their natural state, oblivious to those that intrude upon the land.