Title: ParanoiaAuthor: Joseph Finder
Genre: Fiction, Suspense
Pub Date: 2004, MacMillan Audio
Source: Free Download from iTunes
Synopsis
Adam Cassidy is twenty-six and a low level employee at a high-tech corporation who hates his job. When he manipulates the system to do something nice for a friend, he finds himself charged with a crime. Corporate Security gives him a choice: prison—or become a spy in the headquarters of their chief competitor, Trion Systems. They train him and feed him inside information. Now at Trion, he’s a star, skyrocketing to the top. He finds he has talents he never knew he possessed. He’s rich, drives a Porsche, lives in a fabulous apartment, and works directly for the CEO. He’s dating the girl of his dreams. His life is perfect. All he has to do to keep it that way is betray everyone he cares about and everything he believes in. But when he tries to break off from his controllers, he finds himself in way over his head, where nothing is what it seems and no one can really be trusted. And then the REAL nightmare begins.....
My Thoughts
Paranoia is my latest discovery in the world of audiobooks for my daily commute. I have to confess I've been on the hunt for reasonably priced (cheap) audiobooks after discovering that our library system is severely lacking in this category. With Paranoia it was hard to beat a free download from iTunes, and I figured I'd give it a shot--nothing lost, right?
When the story first started out, after a few chapters I wasn't sure I would be able to keep going. I got really, REALLY tired of the constant swearing. I'm not sure if it would have bothered me as much if it had been more off-hand, but as it was maliciously used by some characters when name-calling other characters in the corporate environment. In short, it really bothered me and I just didn't feel like it was a realistic representation of the way people in the corporate world behave--but what do I know? Additionally, I think hearing the word as opposed to reading it made me more sensitive to its use. (Here we have yet another case where a book can come across so differently on audio vs. the written words.)
In the end, I stuck it out and I have to say I'm glad that I did. I very much enjoyed listening to the narrator, Jason Priestley--no, I don't think he's THE Jason Priestley of 90210/Brandon Walsh fame--I did some searching to see if he'd ever read audiobooks and came up empty, not to mention that it didn't sound like his voice. Anyway, I thought THIS Jason Priestley did a great job on the various characters and really helped add to the suspense of the story with good inflection while reading. The story itself is pretty intense, as you might imagine if you read the synopsis. But best of all, there was a twist at the end that I absolutely did not see coming until right before it happened and for me, it really made the book. So while there is strong language that may offend some, I still recommend this book for the story alone and I am tempted to look into other books by Joseph Finder.
My rating:
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Posts
As always, Melissa, I liked your balanced review. I agree with you about profanity (although my characters sometimes "let one fly."). When it's used in a realistic way, profanity isn't nearly as annoying (at least to me) as it is if it's used gratuitously. Paranoia sounds like a taut, well-paced thriller, and your review has intrigued me : ). Thanks for it!
ReplyDeleteSounds good...! But the language may put me off. The other day I was watching The Departed(i think) and I was so put-off by the number of "F" words used in one breath that I stopped watching :)
ReplyDeleteBut then it was a good story... so! after a while I saw it again :)
so maybe i will see if i can get this one!
This sounds like something I could enjoy with the hubbie. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like a good one for a long trip.
ReplyDeleteMelissa, how about reserving newer release audio books from your library system. If our library does not have a book I want they get in from another branch that has it. We can always get the latest books even if our branch does not have it.
I've only read one Joseph Finder book and it felt like a book that would appeal more to a guy - maybe that has something to do with the swearing? I liked it, but didn't love it. A little like how you felt about this one.
ReplyDeleteGreat review!
Margot ~ Thanks!! Letting one fly doesn't bother me so much. It's letting one after another after another fly that gets annoying :)
ReplyDeleteVeens ~ I totally know what you mean about The Departed--the language kind of messed it up for me, too.
Juju ~ Thanks! Yeah, I think guys would like this story.
Diane ~ Thanks for the suggestion. I was actually looking at our whole library system at the time (online) but their site's not that great so perhaps I should stop by the local branch and let them search for me, too.
Stacybuckeye ~ I agree 100% :-)
I have this book on my list! :)
ReplyDelete