Nothing Short of Dying: A Clyde Barr Novel

Storey’s debut novel, the launch to a series featuring underdog-champion and soldier of fortune Clyde Barr, is an explosive but not always credible adventure fueled by a heady combination of adrenaline and testosterone. Barely back in the States to settle down after a 16-year drift across three continents, including prison time in South America, Barr is off to the Colorado mountains on an all but impossible quest, smashing and slaying teams of killers and continuing to survive savage beatings and gaping wounds to save his sister, Jenny, who is in mortal danger. Barr chronicles his own propulsive tale in a matter-of-fact, nothing-can-surprise me manner. Reader Bobb has a properly husky voice, but his attitude isn’t the kind of been-there-done-that cool you might expect from the text. It’s flat and so emotionless it seems to lack empathy, even when the protagonist is blaming himself for the death of a friend. Bobb’s interpretation of the other characters is spirited and on the money, whether they are snarling, slow-witted thugs, twerpy little bullies, or kindly but tough pals from his youth. A Scribner hardcover. (Aug.)