Very intertaining, great narration. PG-13 material. 10 discs, 12 hours. Unabridged.
Charlie Asher is a pretty normal guy with a normal life, married to a bright and pretty woman who actually loves him for his normalcy. They're even about to have their first child. Yes, Charlie's doing okay—until people start dropping dead around him, and everywhere he goes a dark presence whispers to him from under the streets. Charlie Asher, it seems, has been recruited for a new position: as Death.

It's a dirty job. But, hey! Somebody's gotta do it.

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

putting in audio book box

I have heard good things about Christopher Moore but never read any of his books, so I am glad to find this in the bookbox. Thank you so much!

I've actually read a few Christopher Moore books by the time I listen to this one. His books are hit or miss with me, but I am glad this is a hit. The plot keeps twisting in new directions, and peppered with a lot of funny moments and colorful characters.
My last book of 2009.

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

Putting into indygo88's audio box.

I quite enjoyed this book so hope the next reader would too.

This just looks great. The cover is what attracted me; how can you resist that?! I love interesting takes on the Grim Reaper and am looking forward to giving this a try.

Thanks!

I'm not sure I'd completely agree with downtime's "PG-13" assessment (I mean, there are chants of "Daddy got laid" and talk of butt-sex. LOL) but it's certainly on the tame side for a story that deals with death. And it's absolutely enjoyable.

I really enjoyed the world Moore created here, full of soul objects and death merchants. I love the comedic aspects (and dark comedic elements) but the story and characters were written so well as to really make me care about their tale & struggles. It was the kind of book I couldn't put down :-) I must admit, though, there were a few times during the book where it felt a little slow to me and the plot a little light. But there were enough faster moments and plot twists throughout to bump the story back up again. And even though I sort of saw the big twist at the end coming about halfway through, I still really enjoyed the story and, especially, the characters. The characters are exceptional and worth reading this for if nothing else!

Fisher Stevens does an amazing job reading this book. He is really able to bring out the humor and the personalities of the characters. I know I wouldn't have liked Ray's character as much as I did, thanks to the voice for the character Fisher used. This is a great example of a well-read audiobook.

I'm glad I gave this book and a new-to-me author a chance!

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

I enjoyed this book and melydia expressed an interest in earreading it. Enjoy!

KateKintail generously lent this to me. Looking forward to it - thanks!

Charlie Asher is a pretty regular guy until the birth of his daughter and death of his wife. Then strange things begin to happen. Suddenly his life revolves around sewer harpies, hellhounds, and soul vessels. I've found Moore to be hit or miss (mostly miss), but this was pretty consistently funny, especially considering it dealt so much with grief and loss. I liked several of the characters, such as Jane and Lily, but the whole thing started to fall apart near the end, when Audrey and the squirrel people started showing up. It felt more like a scramble to tie up loose ends than anything planned in advance, as if the whole thing had been written off the cuff in response to some sort of random prompt, which is a complaint I've had about Moore in the past. All in all, it was a decently funny story, just not a very polished novel.

Thanks for lending me this, KateKintail!

Adding this to indygo88's CD Audio Bookbox. I hope it's enjoyed!

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I'm a member of the BookCrossing meet-up group, BCinDC. Have you heard we're having a convention in the Washington, D.C. area in April? All book lovers are invited to celebrate the 10th birthday of BookCrossing at the 2011 BookCrossing Convention!

Took out of indygo88's CD Audio Bookbox (2)!

I think I squealed out loud when I pulled this from indygo88's audio book box a few months ago. I have loved every Christopher Moore book I have read and this one is no exception. Once again, he drew me into this world he created and made me believe that every absurd, bizarre, and supernatural thing that was happening to the characters could happen while the rest of the world remained clueless. Fisher Stevens was an excellent reader; he gave each character a unique voice and kept the energy of the story bubbling at all times.

I will be sure to add this to the next audio book box that comes my way.

Gave to Sister No. 6 to listen to while she does a little remodeling.

Back from Sister No. 6, who didn't listen because her mind wanders too much. *sigh*

Sending to JudySlump612 as part of iwillrejoice's Audio VBB. Enjoy!

Arrived safely today. Thank you, grubsneerg!

This was just plain fun! What a great double discovery, a new author and a new audiobook performer that I really enjoyed.

The humor ranged ranged from gentle, to subtle, to wildly unexpected - and so did the characters. New elements kept appearing onstage, and I was constantly intrigued with figuring out what he/she/it/they might be up to. What an imagination Moore has! I agree with KateKintail, the big twist at the end is pretty easy to guess, but that didn't detract at all from the pleasure of watching all the pieces move into place.

And Kate is also spot-on about Fisher Stevens. His natural voice (I assume) is a perfect match for Charlie, and he's crafted individual voices for every other character. My favorites are Charlie's daughter Sophie, and his Death Merchant mentor, Minty Fresh.

This treat will be reserved for the next round of BigJohnLefty's CD only book box.

Placed in BigJohnLefty's excellent bookbox

Chris Moore is one of my favorite authors, so I'm glad to see one of his books is making the BookCrossing rounds!
This book enjoyed a brief visit in San Jose, CA before continuing its journey in BigJohnLefty's "Another CD Only Bookbox!"

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I listened to this audio book back in 2009 and wrote the following:

I started out really enjoying this book. A death within the first few pages compounded with the mystery of a strange man looming over the corpse - what a hook! (Especially when the seven-foot-tall black man seemed just a tad familiar to a reader who had JUST read Coyote Blue!) And the fact that the story was set in San Francisco made this really fun; I enjoy a good book written on my home turf. Also, the beta male analysis asides cracked me up EVERY TIME.

But as the book went on, and the Morrigan made their appearance, the plot seemed to lose steam and get confused. Then it stalled out. Charlie Asher started getting on my nerves, and it's never good when you can't stand the protagonist OR the villains. But as I got closer and closer to the ending and things weren't wrapping up fast enough, I realized it was not going to be good...and it wasn't. The plot lurched to a halt at a horrible, tasteless joke, after a weak attempt to wrap everything up rather neatly. I'm so bummed, Chris. I mean, I was really digging it until the last 2-3 audio CDs, but once Audrey showed up I felt like she was the shark A Dirty Job had to jump over to make it to the bitter end.

Taken from BigJohnLefty's Another Audiobookbox with thanks.

The always-zany Christopher Moore is one of the many authors I'd never heard of before I encountered BookCrossing...and he's become one of my favorites.

I've already read this one, but I know I'll enjoy listening to it.

Here are the other copies on my shelf:

http://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/6137278
http://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/9766838
http://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/3880022
http://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/11549908
http://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/12886714

Listened to this again...I'd forgotten how much I enjoyed it before. There is definitely a lot going on here, especially towards the end, but that's not unusual for Christopher Moore. It's always fun to see characters from his other books show up: I don't even like little yippy dogs, but I had to root for Bummer. Not sure I'm ready to let this one go, but I'll mark it as available, and we'll see...