So Cold the River: Booktrack Edition

By: Michael Koryta

Narrated by: Robert Petkoff

So Cold the River: Booktrack Edition adds an immersive musical soundtrack to your audiobook listening experience!*

Booktrack editions are essentially a new genre of digital storytelling entertainment. Music and ambient audio are added to complement and enhance the audiobook experience. It is a synchronized movie-style soundtrack that complements the narration of existing audiobooks; the tempo and rhythm of the score harmonize with action, dialogue and the characters' emotional arcs.

It started with a documentary. The beautiful Alyssa Bradford approaches Eric Shaw to unearth the life story of her father-in-law, Campbell Bradford, a 95-year-old billionaire whose childhood is wrapped in mystery. Eric grabs the job, even though the only clues to Bradford's past are his hometown and an antique water bottle he's kept his entire life.

In Bradford's hometown, Eric discovers an extraordinary past - a glorious domed hotel where movie stars, presidents, athletes, and mobsters once intermingled. Long derelict, the hotel has just been restored to its former grandeur.

But something else has been restored, too - a long-forgotten evil that will stop at nothing to settle a decades-old score. And with every move, Eric inches closer to the center of the building storm.

*Booktrack is an immersive format that pairs traditional audiobook narration to complementary music. The tempo and rhythm of the score are in perfect harmony with the action and characters throughout the audiobook. Gently playing in the background, the music never overpowers or distracts from the narration, so listeners can enjoy every minute. When you purchase this Booktrack edition, you receive the exact narration as the traditional audiobook available, with the addition of music throughout.

©2017 Michael Koryta (P)2017 Hachette Audio

Edge of your seat exciting!

I am from Southern Indiana, just a few miles south of French Lick so I really enjoyed the way the story was based on the famous hotels. It's an intriguing and well written plot. I highly recommend this book.

Wow

Great and exciting book! I can’t wait for the movie! I am heading to French Lick and the hotel at the end of this month!

Nice Story

I enjoyed this story. I appreciate characters that function as relatively normal people. Many authors feel the need for a character to have some special gift. Though this story drifts on the edge of the supernatural it doesn't define them.
The music and background sound was occasionally distracting but seemed to work. I wouldn't want it again.

Great storytelling, voice acting, and soundtrack!

I absolutely love the voice acting and soundtrack on this title! Really adds a new element of immersion to the already great story of Michael Koryta. 10/10 would purchase another Booktrack title again! :D

This Booktrack edition not for me

For me, this production of Koryta's book distracts from the writing and narration rather than enhancing it. Sometimes you just don't know about the booktrack edition before ordering. The music and screeching sound effects (think trains, planes and automobiles) throughout the 9 chapters I listened to didn't work. One chapter was filled with crickets chirping! Additionally, the dialogue is less than I expect from this author.
I'm returning the book because I can't get into the story. Koryta always tells a great one but I have to go Kindle on this one.

Totally Different Genre But A Good Listen

I have listened to a number of this author’s other books and enjoyed them all. Bought this without realizing that this was very different. Wasn’t sure it would be for me, but I enjoyed it.

And the violin tune was haunting. Not going to change my genre preferences but a good listen nonetheless.

Thrilling Paranormal Murder Mystery

This was another great suspense thriller from author Michael Koryta. A woman hires a cameraman to make a tribute for her husband's father, who is about to pass away. A thrilling murder mystery with ties to a mysterious past takes the reader on a terrifying wild ride. The twists and turns in this story take the reader in different directions, with a touch of the paranormal. I read this book using immersion reading, while listening to the audio book version, read by Robert Petkoff. A mild soundtrack accompanies portions of the text, with faint music and sound effects enhances the listening experience. It's not quite perfected, Star Wars unabridged audio books are precedent in that area, the character voices, music and sound effects are perfectly proportioned to perfection. This attempt isn't bad, it doesn't detract from the listening experience. Narrator Petkoff is a wonderful narrator, the character voices rather faint. It was a wild ride. Things did not turn out the way the protagonist expected, nothing rarely does. A great book, given more emphasis on audio.

Great book and performance— maybe less background music?

The story was great and the reader’s performance terrific as well! The added background sounds took awhile for me to get used to and not be distracted by as I tried to focus on the story. I didn’t care for the general music going on in the background mostly because it often didn’t seem to match what was going on in the story, but the violin, train and water sounds that applied directly to the story did enhance the experience.

A Ghost Story Plays Out From History

As an avid reader of Stephen King, I saw him mention that this books (maybe he used story) was one he liked. Set in modern time Indiana, Michael Koryta weaves a tale steeped in the prohibition era of the US. A gangster named Campbell Bradford haunts the valley where once mineral springs brought tourists from all over. They believed in the healing powers of Pluto Water and only the stock market crash and the Great Depression caused the town to crumble.

In the present day, a gifted cinematographer is hired to make a documentary of the Bradford family and accidentally unleashes the royally pissed off ghost of Campbell Bradford. This story is less about the West Baden Hotel's famed mineral baths and more about the mystery of why some evil never truly dies.

There is a ton to this story and it can be hard to focus, but you do get to root for the characters to come out on the other side of Campbell Bradford's possessive haunting of the area. Make sure that you listen all the way through the author's notes. The whole story is really concluded in the epilogue, which was a little disappointing to me. The sound effects and music made this truly enjoyable to listen to. I will look for other Booktrack in Audible libraries.

The soundtrack is horrible!

The narrator is fine, but the technology of adding music and sounds is awful. I can’t listen to anymore. I am quitting on Chapter 3. I like Michael Koryta, but this is such a bad idea for an audible book. How do I get a refund?