The Marauders

A Novel

By: Tom Cooper

Narrated by: P.J. Ochlan

When the BP oil spill devastates the Gulf coast, those who made a living by shrimping find themselves in dire straits. For the oddballs and lowlifes who inhabit the sleepy, working class bayou town of Jeannette, these desperate circumstances serve as the catalyst that pushes them to enact whatever risky schemes they can dream up to reverse their fortunes. At the center of it all is Gus Lindquist, a pill-addicted, one armed treasure hunter obsessed with finding the lost treasure of pirate Jean Lafitte. His quest brings him into contact with a wide array of memorable characters, ranging from a couple of small time criminal potheads prone to hysterical banter, to the smooth-talking Oil company middleman out to bamboozle his own mother, to some drug smuggling psychopath twins, to a young man estranged from his father since his mother died in Hurricane Katrina. As the story progresses, these characters find themselves on a collision course with each other, and as the tension and action ramp up, it becomes clear that not all of them will survive these events.

Wanted to like the book, but just didn't.

What did you like best about The Marauders? What did you like least?

The book is mediocre at best. It centers around life in the bayou after Katrina and the BP oil spill. The story meanders, but never really goes anywhere. Amateurish at best.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

I was born and raised in Louisiana, and found the writer quite disrespectful to the Cajun / creole people, and to south Louisiana in general. Over the top stereotypes, bordering on offensive.

Would you be willing to try another one of P.J. Ochlan’s performances?

The narration was horrendous. Perhaps the worst of any of my 500+ audible books. He is robotic, drab, bland, and mind-blowingly dull. Then he adds his "voices" which are just awful. His accents are laughable. Worse, he mispronounces so many words that I felt like throwing my Iphone out of the car window. Seriously ? You couldn't look up the words in a dictionary to see how they are pronounced, or what they mean?? Just a miserable performance.

Was The Marauders worth the listening time?

Nope. Thumbs down. Would not recommend.

Any additional comments?

Hire another narrator.

Exceptional Narration

The dead pan narration make the character voices sound that much more dynamic and entertaining. This story has heart, adventure, and laughs. It is thoroughly enjoyable.

What happened to Linquist??!?

Best book on Audible
The narrator did a great Cajun accent on the voices
I need a sequel right away!! Plz

Enjoyable

I really liked this book, a very solid first effort. There are some loose ends that don't get tied but but the plot is generally enjoyable and I liked the characters. I look forward to Cooper's second book.

Pure Awesome

I just finished this seconds ago and, wow. Just, wow! The narration is pure Awesome. The writing, the story, the characters, all just fantastic. I highly recommend this book. So stop reading this review, and just click the purchase button. Go on, now.