No spoilers follow, ‘cuz that’s just how I roll.
I finished the unabridged audio recording of Brad Meltzer’s The Book of Lies today. As I mentioned last week, narrator Scott Brick has a tremendous talent and he brings it fully to bear here. His style is fantastic, his characterizations spot on. Through the approximately eleven-and-a-half hours of story, Brick’s efforts support an environment where the characters become tangible.
You get to know them.
Brick brought his A-game here. I have not one single complaint about his work on BoL. Only praise.
Meltzer’s story posits a connection between the murder of Superman creator Jerry Siegel’s father and Cain’s murder of Abel in the Bible. I have to say going into this, I thought the whole premise was a bit absurd. But wow. Does it work!
The audiobook had me hooked from the get-go. It kept getting better and better.
Brick’s masterful voicing drew me in… there are moments where his pacing, supported by Meltzer’s vivid writing, had me on pins. There are other moments where Brick and Meltzer had me choking back tears. Couple of times.
Yeah, I know. I’m a wuss.
But the book evokes some strong feelings about parents.
Meltzer plums the depths of Superman lore making a number of awfully compelling arguments for why we have the hero that we know today. He also spins a marvelous mystery and some danged thrilling scenes. It is a book wonderfully dense with real life history and dazzling fiction.
I have only one complaint about the audio book. I found the bumper music furnished by Sony BMG and used to close-out chapters to be a bit intrusive. Brick’s narration is rather intimate in tone. I found the music to be unwelcome to the style. Still, I cannot recommend the audio book enough.
In fact, I enjoyed it so much that I plan on buying the hardback as well. I want to enjoy the printed word, too! Joss Whedon thinks you should read the book as well.
