TWENTY TRILLION LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA

Based on the Jules Verne classic, this audiobook is a bizarre, ultimately unsatisfying journey. The PLONGEUR, France's first nuclear submarine, is launched in 1958. What's supposed to be a shakedown cruise soon becomes a death dive, with both the skeleton crew (and the listener) caught in a never-ending free fall. Christian Coulson's measured narration builds the suspense successfully, but even with an ever-dwindling cast, it's difficult to tell the characters apart. Coulson's voices for each character fail to be distinctive enough. When confusion replaces suspension of disbelief in the listener's mind, the narrative grinds to a halt. D.E.M. © AudioFile 2015, Portland, Maine [Published: APRIL 2015]