Officers and Gentlemen

Christian Rodska takes on the individual and decidedly eccentric voices of all the commandos stationed on the Isle of Mugg during WWII. From the bellowing of the general hiding under the billiard table during the bombing, to the fluted voice of Laird's wife at dinner, the dialogue is a hoot. But then in the last half of the book--the second in the Sword of Honour trilogy--the tone changes dramatically. Ordered to Crete to face chaos and defeat, the merry combatants sober up fast. Rodska reads brilliantly--if there were an Oscar for excellence in audio performance, Rodska would be a top contender. However, the events are so grim that listening becomes painful and, worse, tedious. J.C. Winner of AUDIOFILE Earphones Award (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine