A fantastic author with best narrator. Get this!

I don't write reviews often but I deeply appreciate good talent, and it's difficult to find the wheat among the chaff. From his opening dedication, to his prior novella, Chasing Ivan, we can celebrate a new master along the likes of Lee Child, Mark Greaney, etc. It is challenging to find a good storyteller so I want to congratulate one when he appears. I look forward to his other works. If Tim reads this, bravo, and keep it up. I would love to see further in this series and I appreciate your writing about relevant plots, and not the usual "war on terror" silliness that plagues so many books in this genre that feel commissioned by the Mossad, lol. People like books that show our real world corruption. The Grey Man books and Bourne movies question our establishment instead of cheerleading our establishment. It's a nuanced fine line to write about espionage heroes and show the good and the bad. I like how this book felt original while still delivering good trade craft and escapism with a great tone, humor and intelligence.

58 people found this helpful

BRILLIANT!!

What does Dick Hill bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Dick Hill is perfect for the Tim Tigner books. He brings something to military/espionage books that you wouldn't get if you read the book yourself. I personally feel like he enhances the books he narrates.

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

Just about!

Any additional comments?

I really enjoyed this book. I am so excited to see the next book in this new series. So far I have thoroughly enjoyed all of the books written by Tigner but wanted more then a stand alone because all of his books could be the start of a series. This one does not disappoint. The protagonist in this book, Kyle Achilles loses his family, gets sent to prison, breaks out and does an awful lot that I can't tell you about because it will spoil the rest of the book for you.
This is thrilling from the first few pages right up through the end.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
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42 people found this helpful

Best Book of the Year!

What did you love best about Pushing Brilliance?

I stumbled onto Tim Tigner a few months ago, and as I did when I first found Lee Child and John Grisham, quickly gobbled up all his other books. Unlike those other authors, however, I think Tigner gets better with each book. At least this one, his new release, struck me as his best.

Tigner's plots are always two steps above most other mainstream thrillers. They're a thinking-man's books, exposing the underbelly of a 3D world and teaching the reader a thing or two. Pushing Brilliance was no exception.

Where this new release stood out to me was with the characters. Tigner's characters are always good, but these are somehow better. They're richer and more defined, but he presents them without slowing the story. He just works in colorful, memorable bits and pieces rather than devoting chapters of (boring) backstory to it as many authors do. I can't wait to spend more time with these characters.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Pushing Brilliance?

By the end of the novel, you're so ready for the main bad guy (there are a few) to get his comeuppance. I don't want to give anything away, but I LOVED the way Achilles dispatched that one.

What about Dick Hill’s performance did you like?

Dick Hill's just the best. After listening to dozens of his audiobooks, he feels like an old friend, a voice in my head as familiar as my wife's. In Pushing Brilliance, I like the way he dealt with the foreign accents, giving them a slight touch without making them disruptively strong.

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

Hard to say without giving things away (there are so many twists in this book) so let's just say the 'romantic scene' surprised and touched me. It felt very real, and left me longing for more.

Any additional comments?

Can't wait for the next Achilles novel! Meanwhile, I'm looking forward to hearing Dick Hill read Lee Child's Night School.

32 people found this helpful

Finally, Tim Tigner has an espionage series!!

The series protagonist is ex-CIA Agent Kyle Achilles. Chasing Ivan, a 4 hour audiobook released in March or this year., is the series prequel. This recently released Pushing Brilliance is Book 1. It also appears that the Russian mathematician Katya will return in the next Kyle Achilles novel The Lies of the Spies (according to the end notes in this audiobook). Kyle Achilles has real promise as an espionage series protagonist. This is a superb book made even better by the narration of Dick Hill.

Highly recommended!

20 people found this helpful

Very Contrived

I am really in the minority with this book as most listeners loved it. But for me this is a bunch of rather unbelievably contrived circumstances and scenarios - many of which REALLY stretch credibility.
The hero is another of those unrealistically handsome and completely indestructible characters, surrounded by beauty queen women.
Then the story runs off on tangents and extra 'scenes' that are really just no more than filler.
I could barely finish and found the almost 14 hours a waste of time
Dick Hill was just OK with the delivery of the story. I found is voice very old sounding and his female voices were not good at all.

17 people found this helpful

Excellent book

This was a great book!!! My wife even enjoyed listening to it on the road. Honestly no complaints. If you like a good beginning to end book with minimal loose strings, this is your book.

17 people found this helpful

Great story that was nearly ruined for me

Would you listen to Pushing Brilliance again? Why?

NO! I might read the book, but I would not endure the narrator again.

Would you be willing to try another one of Dick Hill’s performances?

NO! With all due respect to Mr. Hill, who is an award winning narrator, he struggled with breath control at the end of every line, and also lost track of accents, trailing back to American English, again near the end of lines. I see he is narrating other Tim Tigner books, so I will read them rather than fight the distraction. Sorry Mr. Hill.

16 people found this helpful

Brilliance all around

Would you listen to Pushing Brilliance again? Why?

Yes, after 10 or so books in this series, in order to refresh my memory

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

Yes, brilliantly written and delivered

What does Dick Hill bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

A perfect performance, he brings everyone to life with talent and passion

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

Yes, and almost did

Any additional comments?

When I heard that one of my new favorites authors, Tim Tigner, will launch the 2nd book with Kyle Achilles as the main protagonist I said to myself: Finally, Tim is starting a series and that’s what he should have done long time ago. Being an avid audiobook listener myself, I always prefer series to standalone novels, because I get more attached to the characters and I usually look forward to the next one, if the first was good enough…

This is a short review for the audiobook version of Pushing Brilliance and you can also find my thoughts on Chasing Ivan, the 1st book in this series by following this link.
freeaudible

In Pushing Brilliance we meet once more with ex-CIA operative Kyle Achilles, but this time around he is in big trouble, the personal kind and even the big, bad, Russians are involved. Without me giving anything away, more than the Publisher’s Summary does, Kyle is accused of murder, he has to clear his name and the only ally he has is a drop dead gorgeous Russian mathematician called Katya… but, can he trust her?

The action switches between the United States and Russia and the smartly written plot will keep you guessing until the end. As with all the other books written by Mr. Tigner, the story is told from both the good and the bad guy’s perspectives, while some thrilling events unravel at breakneck speeds.

Tim Tigner is a great writer and Pushing Brilliance is his best book yet, in my humble opinion… All his books are very good, with original plots and memorable characters, but Pushing Brilliance is quite… brilliant :). We have much deeper character development without slowing the pace, the idea behind it all is very intriguing and everything falls in its place just the right way, leaving you very satisfied with the end result.

Tim Tigner and Dick Hill are the perfect example of a good author and narrator pair. I’m sure Dick enjoys performing Tim‘s books and this fact is obvious as well when it comes to Pushing Brilliance. Dick takes his time, reading, acting, using a few Russian accents and he brings Kyle, Katya and others to life with different voices. After listening to probably more than a hundred audiobooks performed by Dick Hill, he feels like an old friend, or should I say, a family member that has just dropped in for dinner to delight the entire room with his storytelling ability…

I am looking forward to the 3rd book in the Kyle Achilles series and will bring you a review of that as well, as soon as I can get my eager ”ears” on it! But, until that time comes I suggest that you try Pushing Brilliance, it’s a great espionage adventure, entwined with a mystery and the story is told the right way… Fans of Robert Ludlum will love this one!

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Thank you!
Victor

16 people found this helpful

Creative twist on espionage thriller; wrong narrator

Pushing Brilliance is a unique entry into this genre. Lots less gun play and superhuman fighting, and a lot more cerebral chess moves and critical thinking in a creative and engaging storyline. Tim Tigner did his homework and the protagonist’s abilities, although unusual, seem credible. The story is entertaining and thought provoking, though not the adrenaline ride that many espionage thrillers are. Tigner has created an interesting character that should provide significant possibilities for engaging future tales. Repeatedly Achilles provides information to Katya, his “partner” in this adventure, and the author narrates Achilles waiting for Katya to reason her way to whatever conclusion Achilles has already reached. The process is described multiple times, which was both tiresome and condescending to Katya, and the description of this process in the narrator’s voice was particularly irksome. In general I am not a big fan of Dick Hill’s narration, but at least it seems to fit a character like Jack Reacher better; older, saltier, a bit more grizzled. Achilles is a 30 year old Olympian and ex-CIA guy, and Katya is a similar age Russian woman with a PhD in math. Achilles’s and Katya’s tale told in Hill’s voice is not a good fit, and makes the story much less enjoyable. Furthermore, Hill’s version of a Russian accent is inaccurate and distracting. Given that perhaps half the dialogue is done in a “Russian” accent, the narration was a big detractor. I plan to listen to another of Tigner’s books, but I hope a more appropriate narrator is chosen. I don’t tend to be put off easily by narrators other reviewers find objectionable, but in this case, I found the narration grating, and it significantly diminished my enjoyment of the novel and my ability to evaluate the text.

11 people found this helpful

Rich Characters and a Fresh Plot

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I do often recommend Tim Tigner to my friends who read Grisham or Patterson. His plots are so fresh and fast paced, and his characters feel like friends themselves.

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

Absolutely. Pushing Brilliance is told from multiple points of view with short, punchy chapters like James Patterson. Most chapters/scenes end with a teaser for what's to come next, like the season finale of a TV series, except better because you only have to turn the page.

Which character – as performed by Dick Hill – was your favorite?

The great thing about Tigner books is that you even enjoy the bad guys. You kind of revel in their deviousness, if that makes sense. Reminds me of Ken Follett in that regard.

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

There were many. The beginning, where the hero finds out what happened, really drew me in, and Tigner never let me go.

9 people found this helpful