Quick Take
- Narration: Matthew E. Kelly reads the domain summaries with a clear, measured pace suited to last-minute review, though the single-listener data point limits confidence in how broadly the narration lands.
- Themes: CISSP domain review, exam preparation strategy, information security fundamentals
- Mood: Concise and purposeful, like reviewing condensed notes the week before a high-stakes exam
- Verdict: A streamlined CISSP domain review that serves its specific last-minute purpose well, but works best as an audio supplement to heavier study materials rather than as a standalone preparation strategy.
There is a particular kind of audiobook that only makes sense at a specific moment in a listener’s relationship with its material. Eleventh Hour CISSP is one of those books. It is not designed for the listener who knows nothing about information security and wants to understand it. It is designed for the person who has already spent months working through the full CISSP Common Body of Knowledge and needs a final consolidation pass before walking into the exam room. At ten hours and four minutes, it is exactly long enough for a week of commute review without being long enough to re-teach what the listener already knows.
The single rating with a five-star score and no body text is an unhelpful data point. The three included reviews, however, are thoughtful about what the book actually does and does not provide.
The Streamlined Review as a Specific Genre
Eric Conrad made a deliberate editorial decision here that is worth understanding before purchase. Everything not essential to exam performance has been removed. The result, as Chandler’s review notes, is a book you work through carefully in the final week, taking thorough notes from a presentation that assumes all the background knowledge has already been laid. “This was my go to the week before the exam,” Chandler writes, which is precisely the use case the title itself announces.
Cssserious describes it as “slightly longer than bullets,” which is accurate. The domain coverage is dense but readable, prioritizing retention over explanation. If you have spent time with ISC2’s official materials or a comprehensive study guide like the All-in-One by Shon Harris, the Eleventh Hour functions as a synthesis layer rather than a teaching layer. That distinction is load-bearing for understanding what you are listening to.
Matthew E. Kelly and the Narration of Reference Material
Narrating condensed study material is a specific challenge. The content is high-density and non-narrative, which means there is no story momentum to carry the listener forward. Kelly reads at a pace that allows the concepts to register without dragging through the more abbreviated sections. The one five-star review notes the book is about 205 pages in print, which translates to ten hours of audio at a measured review pace. That ratio suggests the narration is not rushed.
The reviewer who passed the CISSP using this book as a reference tool confirms the core value proposition, though they also acknowledge the book is out of date for the current exam version. This is the third edition, and the CISSP Common Body of Knowledge has been revised since its publication. The domain structure and core concepts remain relevant, but candidates should verify alignment with the current exam blueprint before relying on this as their primary organizational framework.
The Edition Currency Problem
Crosus’s review notes explicitly that the book is out of date and that a fourth edition would be welcome. This is the most significant caveat for current candidates. The CISSP CBK has been updated, and while foundational concepts in areas like cryptography, access control, and risk management are stable, the specific domain breakdowns and emphasis areas shift with each revision. Listening to a third-edition review and expecting it to map precisely onto the current exam is a risk worth naming directly.
For listeners who are studying for the current exam, Eleventh Hour CISSP should be one tool among several rather than the definitive final review. For listeners who hold the CISSP and are refreshing their knowledge, or who are studying adjacent certifications with overlapping content, the edition currency issue is less consequential.
Who Should Listen and Who Should Skip
This is most valuable as a final-week consolidation tool for candidates who have already completed comprehensive CISSP study through other materials. It is explicitly not a starting point, and the audio format works in its favor for the review use case: you can absorb familiar material more efficiently through listening than through re-reading dense print. Anyone expecting the Eleventh Hour to substitute for a full study program will be disappointed. Anyone using it as its authors intended, as a final synthesis pass for already-prepared candidates, will find it does what it promises.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is this the current edition aligned with the 2024 CISSP CBK revision?
Based on the review evidence, at least one reviewer notes the edition is out of date. The CISSP CBK has been revised multiple times, and candidates should verify which CBK version this edition covers before building their study plan around it. Cross-reference with ISC2’s current exam outline to identify any gaps.
Can this audiobook substitute for a full CISSP study program for someone who is completely new to the domains?
No. The book’s premise is last-minute review, meaning it assumes you have already built foundational knowledge through other materials. Starting here would leave significant gaps that the deliberately condensed format cannot fill. Use this as a final layer over comprehensive study, not as the study itself.
How does this compare to other CISSP condensed review formats like Sybex’s 11th Hour or Mike Chapple’s practice tests in terms of what audio can deliver?
Audio works well for the conceptual and definitional content that the Eleventh Hour prioritizes. It cannot replicate the active recall that practice questions provide, which is the format most closely associated with actual exam performance. For audio, this consolidation pass is a reasonable complement. For cognitive preparation, practice tests remain the most efficient format.
Matthew E. Kelly is listed as narrator with only one overall rating. Is there any way to assess his performance quality for technical content?
The review evidence is thin: one unreviewed rating plus reviews from print or Kindle readers. The runtime and structure suggest a measured, non-dramatized delivery appropriate for reference material. For technical certification content, the primary requirement is accuracy and pacing rather than performance range, and nothing in the available evidence suggests a problem on those dimensions.
