REVIEW FOR 14, by Peter Clines, read by Ray Porter

This book is one of my favourite books from Audible since I first got my iPad Mini 2 years ago. I am not sure why, it leans a little too much on the fantasy side of Sci-Fi. I  am not really into Lovecraft horror/monster type normally but 14 is written with such gritty, ordinary, day to day characters, so well developed that it is very believable. And extremely intriguing and very thrilling. 

It has a "Lost" kind of feeling. However, I don't mean that literally;  Lost became so drawn out and complicated that I got totally bored and lost interest in any of the increasingly unbelievable characters after the first season. This book kept my interest as the puzzles unfolded and the characters developed. 

Ray Porter, The guy who reads it, is wonderful, not too much accent or gender changes, and helps to give credence to the characters. 

So, when it started to go off into the horror side I was too hooked to let it really bother me. It all fits together well in the end and I have listened to it over and over. It is weird, I bought one of his other books immediately because I enjoyed 14 so much but, sadly I did not like it at all. 

But for me 14 remains up there with Solaris, which is a much deeper, more psychological story, (equally well read) and The Martian; which I don't think is as well written but also a really exciting, well read book.

45 people found this helpful

A good one!

The blurb on this one didn't really appeal, so it was with hesitation that I bought it. So glad I took the plunge.

I can see why another reviewer may not have liked the last quarter of the story.....but on balance, it didn't detract sufficiently from the rest of the story to warrant a lower rating. This was a great listen. The quiet dread starts to build from the opening scene, and keeps building (intentional excessive use of "building"), despite the light-hearted tone of the characters. On balance, this is book is good entertainment.

It's not possible to say anything else about the plot without giving too much away. I knew it was sci-fi, but I had no inkling of what was coming for at least 3/4 of the book. It kept me listening into the small hours more than once.....so much for getting a good night's sleep courtesy of the building (not a spoiler of consequence!). Now I know why the editor's intro says what it does....but it doesn't really give much of a clue.

Narration was excellent.

Not surprising that Audible.com selected this as its best sci-fi novel of 2012 - just sorry I took so long to listen to it.

53 people found this helpful

Thoroughly enjoyable!

One of my favourite science fiction writers. A brilliant tale. Imaginative and engaging! The images come to life and the characters suspend all of my disbelief.

Excellent narration despite my aversion against American accented narration.

11 people found this helpful

Un-expected pleasure.

I didn't know what to expect with this one, I got it because I really enjoyed clines other creations.



But I quickly fell in love with the whole story, you get to know each and every character and the twists are great.



It is hard to review without giving anything away, alls I can say is very enjoyable and really well narrated to the point where you can easily pick out each character by the narration.

35 people found this helpful

Brilliant

This was brilliant - characterisation was wonderful, plot was brilliantly woven together with lots of nice pop culture references (loved the totally throwaway "bowties are cool"), and pace was such that I stayed up much too late to find out how it would end. Ray Porter's narration was also excellent, with clear delineation of the various voices and a great line in comic timing amid all the impending horror. Off to look for more things by Peter Clines/more narration by Ray Porter...

25 people found this helpful

Finally - A fantastic narrator!

I've had some hit and miss luck with narrators and was about to give up on audiobooks altogether...... Luckily I tried this book! This guy was spot on!

Every character had a unique accent and didn't distract from the story... even the female voices! I hope all future audible books have top narrators like this one.

Story - great story & not too long winded - snappy story telling. Fans of 'Fringe' would like this.

7 people found this helpful

It's locked for a reason!!!!

It's been a while since I got totally immersed in an audiobook. This didn't really stand out to me, I only got it as it was in the sale, but I'm glad I did!

Nate works as a temp, going nowhere with no cash, so when cheap digs are offered he grabs them. Once he moves in, he starts to meet his neighbours and they soon realise that not one room in the whole building is structurally the same. Not only that, the building doesn't appear to be attached to the power grid and nobody's heard of the landlord.

I can't go into too much without spoiling it, but needless to say the atmosphere when they go past the basement and into room 14 is so tense you'll need to put the light on!

31 people found this helpful

Just, wow.

If you could sum up 14 in three words, what would they be?

Hilarious, entertaining madness.

What did you like best about this story?

It's impossible to put into words without giving massive spoilers, but the characters in this book have much more depth and realism about them than pretty much any other book I have ever read. I found myself sharing all their emotions, and rather than guessing the ending, was anxious to find out what they were leading to. This book is so well written, it's truly edge of your seat stuff.

What does Ray Porter bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

Ray Porter's performance is fantastic. A couple of the accents may have been a little ropey, but he still managed to make them believable, even his women had the correct balance of strength and fragility that so many actors tend to get so wrong. His pace is perfect, and his acting highlights all the humor and / or tension that each scene requires. I'll definitely be on the lookout for more of his narration.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I could've lost a whole weekend to this book. I was due to take a coach journey when I was about a third of the way through it, and decided to listen to more of it rather than my music. On the way home again I was pretty tired, and thought I would continue with the book, maybe have a doze on my way home...no chance. By the time my journey ended I was LITERALLY on the edge of my seat. The girl next to me must have thought I was crazy with all the fidgeting I was doing as events unfolded in my ears. By the time I actually got home, the story had become so intense that I was glad my other half was back from work so I didn't have to sit in the house on my own while I listened to the end.

Any additional comments?

I've been chewing all my friends ears off (figuratively) to try and get them to listen to or read this book. If you give it a chance, I promise you will too. Pretty much jumped straight into my top five favourite books and gives Neil Gaiman a damn good run for his money.

21 people found this helpful

I'm feeling a bit confused.

What would have made 14 better?

Some cohesion between the first half of the book and the second. There's a very jolting moment when the story takes off on a tangent you really aren't expecting. I suppose I'd like a completely different ending.

Has 14 put you off other books in this genre?

Yes and no. I thought it was in one genre. It turned out to be in another. Unfortunately, this second genre is one that I usually avoid.

Which character – as performed by Ray Porter – was your favourite?

I liked Nate (you've got to like Nate, he's a nice guy) but my favourite was Tim. He stood up to Andrew's religious guilt-tripping and said what everyone else wanted to say. I felt that the characters, who I became fond of, were safe when Tim was around.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Confusion. Then annoyance. A bit of incredulity. Back to confusion. Then disappointment.

Any additional comments?

There I was, enjoying a novel about a man who moves into an apartment building and who starts trying to unravel the mystery surrounding the low rent, locked doors, empty apartment 14 and suspicious building manager. All of a sudden I find myself... well... I can't say where because it will spoil the surprise. I was really into this book and then it changed direction from where I thought we were going. And when I say "changed direction" I mean it did a handbrake U-turn and deployed the ejector seat. I tried so hard to finish it I really did but only because I really cared about the characters. I didn't want them in this mess they had found themselves in. Nate, Tim, Roger, the women whose names I can't spell (the computer-y one and the arty one) and all of the rest of them: I wanted them in the communal lounge discussing the spooky history of the building, the cold walls and the strange compartment behind the wardrobe. It was the point at which they were fleeing on bicycles (I shan't tell you what they were fleeing from - and you won't guess it in a million years) that I realised I just didn't have the heart to continue. There was only 1 hour left.
The narrator, who I'm a little bit in love with based solely on his voice, did a sterling job. Especially in the second half when he had to put on a slightly funny voice and speak in clipped sentences. If you've got that far with the book you'll know which character (or characters... ooh, a clue... don't get too excited) I'm referring to.
I'm a bit sad about not knowing what becomes of the gang from the building. I may well go back and finish the last hour if only to get closure. Or I might just rewrite (not to publish, just for me) the second half of the book with the story that I wanted and that I thought I was getting.
I've never been quite so miffed about not liking a book before. It's as if the author got half way through, put his manuscript down on the coffee table in order to go and do something else and a random person came along and finished the story. Disappointing.

5 people found this helpful

Great start ..lost its way towards the end

I had great expectations for this book and really enjoyed the first few hours which were original and unexpected, but it starts to get a little ridiculous and I lost interest towards the end and struggled to finish it. Even the excellent narration failed to keep me hooked.

4 people found this helpful