The Hangjab Brothers In the Case of the Creatures from Calumet City

Rating:
Summary: Would deserve a 4+ except for primary character accent
Review: "The Case of the Creatures from Calumet City" is a wonderful mixture of comedy and science fiction. In many ways it is pretty stock science fiction with an evil scientist, a hero (or two), and an experiment out of control. In other ways it is a refreshing production. Not your typical audio book, it is more reminiscent of the old radio productions complete with various characterizations, sound effects, and background music. This is an actual production of the storyline and not a reading of a book.

The production takes 4.7 hours to listen to in its entirety. The only thing about the production that I found annoying was the accent of Stan Hangjab. Instead of relaxing and listening and enjoying the production I found myself straining at times to try to figure out what he said quick enough to keep up with the story line. Considering the quality of the sound effects and all other parts of the production, I resented having to work so hard to understand what the main character said. In a minor character role this would not have been much of a transgression, but in the primary character it is a problem.

Other than that issue, the story line was good, the production fun, and the characters well defined. It is a recommended purchase for those who find the accent natural and comfortable. Before purchasing it go to the web page at ... and listen to the first chapter. You will know right away if you find Stan's Hangjab's accent too annoying or second nature.

Rating:
Summary: Would deserve a 4+ except for primary character accent
Review: "The Case of the Creatures from Calumet City" is a wonderful mixture of comedy and science fiction. In many ways it is pretty stock science fiction with an evil scientist, a hero (or two), and an experiment out of control. In other ways it is a refreshing production. Not your typical audio book, it is more reminiscent of the old radio productions complete with various characterizations, sound effects, and background music. This is an actual production of the storyline and not a reading of a book.

The production takes 4.7 hours to listen to in its entirety. The only thing about the production that I found annoying was the accent of Stan Hangjab. Instead of relaxing and listening and enjoying the production I found myself straining at times to try to figure out what he said quick enough to keep up with the story line. Considering the quality of the sound effects and all other parts of the production, I resented having to work so hard to understand what the main character said. In a minor character role this would not have been much of a transgression, but in the primary character it is a problem.

Other than that issue, the story line was good, the production fun, and the characters well defined. It is a recommended purchase for those who find the accent natural and comfortable. Before purchasing it go to the web page at ... and listen to the first chapter. You will know right away if you find Stan's Hangjab's accent too annoying or second nature.

Rating:
Summary: Hours of well done entertainment
Review: Danny D'Agostino's Creatures From Calumet City!!

Billed as an audio-movie, Creatures from Calumet City!! is a 4-CD recording that traces the efforts of two down-and-out detectives against the title creature and other characters. Think of it as a book on CD, with sound effects. It's well-done. It's remindful of a better Firesign Theatre sketch, but much longer. Much, much longer.

Creatures from Calumet City!! claims to be 4 to 7 hours of comedy sci-fi thriller. Perhaps you shouldn't force yourself to sit through the whole show at once. It makes you realize how long the Creatures from Calumet City!! is, and that's long.

But it is amusing, and professional. Kudos to Danny D'Agostino for this 'full acted' audio-movie or whatever-you-want-to-call-it. It is entertaining despite its length.

As for the author's injection of authentic Italian-American flavoring, well, it's in there, but you might sneeze and miss it. Creatures from Calumet City!! also has regional humor which loses some of its kick outside the Windy City area.

Perhaps Calumet City itself is a punch line, but we didn't quite get the joke. It might be like people in Newark making fun of people from Camden?

In the long run, the adventures of Stan and Leroy Hangjab against the evil genius Dr. Stein turns out for the best, and there are some laughs along the way. The entire adventure is quite the trip without luggage.

Rating:
Summary: Thoroughly entertaining & bluntly humorous
Review: Stan and Leroy Hangjab are two streetwise Chicago detectives who find themselves rescuing the precocious 13-year-old Richard T. McCormick IV from the clutches of the evil genius DNA scientist Dr. Stein and his mutant creature humanoids. This superbly produced, thoroughly entertaining, bluntly humorous, "theatre of the mind" science fiction story is enhanced with an electronic music score, digital sound effects, good performances, and an outstandingly written and adapted script. A four CD set with a total playing time of 4.7 hours, The Hangjab Brothers In The Case Of The Creatures From Calumet City is enthusiastically recommended for community library audiobook collections in general, and science fiction enthusiasts over the age of 16 in particular.