Great listen

The writers really knew their stuff about tech and it showed through their work. The narrator was really good and managed all accents really well. Recommended if you like problem solving themes in a novel

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Looking forward to the series

What made the experience of listening to The Enigma Factor the most enjoyable?

This was the first time I used Audible - and it was the first in the Enigma series... I found both experiences good!

What other book might you compare The Enigma Factor to, and why?

Reminiscent of James Patterson - but with a techno-twist. There's intrigue, tech-talk and personal relationships.

What about Steven Jay Cohen’s performance did you like?

I liked how he worked to 'become' the character... Nice inflection and tempered cadence... Seems to have enhanced the story...

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

I can't say there was a moment... I got wrapped into the storytelling during the prologue...

Any additional comments?

Really looking forward to the series. Well Done, Charles and Roxanne!!!

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Intresting story brought down by the performance

The story follows Jacob as he tries to discover a mysterious benefactor, prevent cyber attacks and fall in love. The beginning is very promising as we start to come into the world of Jacob and cyber security. The pace is good and the suspense is there. The middle of the book is dragging on a bit but not enough to put me off and it does get faster near the end which I though was good and will leave you with a taste for more.

Unfortunately, I found the female characters to be written more as a male fantasy. No real complexity but a lot of long descriptions of how they look and how pretty they are. Male-Female romance is never my favourite part of the book as the tend to be invariably patriarchal clichés and thus quite boring. What made it even worse (and the worst part for me) was the performance. Those female voices, ugh! So sweet and sultry and utterly annoying. The accents borderline on insulting and very little differentiation between persons.

Saying that, I though overall the book was quite entertaining and i'm glad I read it. Being a woman, I could not identify with any of the female characters and I feel that books with badly written characters (especially female) are not worth my time, so I won't be reading the next one. But that's just me.

This book was given to me for free at my request and I provided this voluntary review.

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Confusing

Any additional comments?

was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

The characters were really good. I enjoyed learning about these people, especially Jacob and Otto, though I suspected Petra of being a turncoat the entire novel. I thought they were written really well and I really liked the friendship between Jacob and Buzz.

However, there was a lot of conversation, so it wasn’t exactly fast paced, and the plot itself was quite confusing. It was a bit weird because the plot tried to be fast but the topic itself slowed it down and with all of the exposition talking, it felt really strange. The hacking aspects of the book sounded interesting but they felt rather overdone. I say sounded, because it was quite difficult to follow because it didn’t make much sense to me. However, I am a complete computer novice.

I didn’t like the sex scenes. They weren’t particularly good, so either they needed more attention, or they needed removing.

The group itself confused me. Are they a stealth group? Because it seems like everybody knows they exist and can request their services.

So I was confused by most of this novel, but I really liked the characters, character development and the writing style.

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A very modern and relevant cyber thriller

Well written and excellently narrated, 'The Enigma Factor is a modern and extremely relevant story about IT professionals and the organizations they are contracted to protect from the real world thread of hackers and crackers.

The story relates the tales of cyber security and the threats exposed in the complex world of hackers and the chaos they can cause.

The main characters of Jacob, Buzz, and Petra have the reader / listener rooting for the heretofore unloved technology geeks and the intertwining love and technology interests of the main characters is compelling. The characters grow quickly on the listener and the writer's attention to detail leads to a captivating and 'want to continue listening until the end' story line.

The book has it all - adventure, technology, romance, betrayal and suspense - all rolled into an intriguing and compelling story that leaves the listener wanting more (and the rest of the series undoubtedly delivers on that promise!) .

I just hope that the subsequent movie will be as good!

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",You are not done until you get away."

Any additional comments?

This is not a fast paced, action thriller. Just the opposite. It moves slowly, densely filling the pages with conversations, stories, descriptions and explanations of aspects of computer workings. Not for everyone, perhaps, but for this near computer illiterate user, these explanations were fascinating: it felt almost like receiving mini tutorials. Once underway the story is gripping, the characters steadily gaining real personally and presence, and the compulsion to find our what would happen to each one was almost as powerful as pondering the futures of real life acquaintances.

This excellently written characterisation is further enhanced by the narrator, who gives each one of the numerous people involved their own distinctive style of speech, complete with appropriate accent. Although written in the third person, the majority of the book is viewed from the point of view of the young, meticulous pen tester, Jacob. Initially, although fluent and clear, Steven Cohen's pleasantly soft spoken voice is slightly halting, with a indecision that many people express when unused to conversation. But as the book progresses, and Jacob, the main protagonist, becomes increasingly part of a team and used to expressing his ideas, this slight hesitancy gradually disappears: a very effective way of further breathing life, and confidence, into these cleverly crafted characters.

I received my copy of The Enigma Factor as a freely given gift from the rights holder, via Audiobook Boom. My thanks as, in addition to being an enjoyable read, it has opened up for me a tiny crack through which to peek into a world about which I knew almost nothing. And what a frightening world it is! Far more scary than gun rights and chases, quietly, mostly out of sight, this is the underlying foundation of our entire society which is being held to ransome. As previously mentioned, this is not a book for everyone but for those enjoying well read, thoughtful, character driven stories plus the bonus of possibly learning something new mixed in with their thriller, this could be just the book.

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Intelligent, engaging, awesome

Where does The Enigma Factor rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Definitely worth taking the time to get into this! Cool twists and turns. A really good techno thriller. I loved it.

What other book might you compare The Enigma Factor to, and why?

I do not want to spoil the story so lets jump to authors instead of comparing the story to another and making people start to think about what I'm comparing it to. Authors; Tom Clancy, Crichton, Patterson maybe for the twists and turns.

What does Steven Jay Cohen bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

Great narration. I loved the pace of the narrator. The character differentiation was good and the story itself comes out well with the narrators voice.

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

Yes. I listened to it in two days. I've been on the road for work so that was my intention, but I have plenty of other audio books with me so if I didn't really like it I could have gone elsewhere. I didn't. I did start to finish and really enjoyed it all!

Any additional comments?

This book was given to me for free at my request and I provided this voluntary review.

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geek rubbish

no pace no plot. hygienically clean and devoid of any action, plot or storyline. boring.

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