How To Get a Full Audiobook of any Book in Fiction, Historical

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Title: The First Apostle

Author: James Becker

Narrator: Philip Franks

Format: Unabridged

Length: 9 hrs and 25 mins

Language: English

Release date: 10-20-11

Publisher: Random House AudioBooks

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 4 votes

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

An Englishwoman is found dead in a house near Rome.

Her distraught husband enlists the help of his closest friend, Chris Bronson, who discovers an ancient inscription on a slab of stone above their fireplace. It translates as Here Lie the Liars.

But who are the liars? And what is it they are lying to protect?

Pursued across Europe, Bronson uncovers a trail of clues that leads him back to the shadowy beginnings of Christianity; to a chalice decorated with mysterious symbols; to a secret code hidden within a scroll. And to a deadly conspiracy which if revealed will rock the foundations of our modern world.

Members Reviews:

The First Apostle

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

Only if they were a Dan Brown fan.

What three words best describe Philip Frankss voice?

Good story-teller's voice.

Do you think The First Apostle needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

No. I think the story is succinct as it is.

Any additional comments?

I think at times the plot and research got in the way of the story.

disappointing

The idea and research behind the book (story inside the story) was very interesting and could have been the background of a great book, Umberto Eco style, but instead this ends up being a teenage novel rather naive in style and content, most of the substance being obvious and predictable, as if written in a hurry as a pretext to present a theological theory. Disappointed.

A lighter Dan Brown

Enjoyed this story which was along the lines of a Dan Brown novel but less wordy. Well read by Philip Franks well recognised from his intona from his

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Title: Gillespie and I

Author: Jane Harris

Narrator: Anna Bentinck

Format: Unabridged

Length: 19 hrs and 6 mins

Language: English

Release date: 10-12-11

Publisher: Whole Story Audiobooks

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 10 votes

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

Longlisted for the 2012 Orange Prize for Fiction

Sitting in her Bloomsbury home, with her two birds for company, elderly Harriet Baxter sets out to relate the story of her acquaintance with Ned Gillespie, a talented artist who never achieved the fame he deserved. Back in 1888, after a chance encounter, young Harriet befriends the Gillespie family and soon becomes a fixture in all of their lives. But when tragedy strikes - leading to a notorious criminal trial - the certainties of this world all too rapidly disorientate into mystery and deception.

Members Reviews:

lacks pace and plausibility

An over-rated book, I think. To start with, it is too long to sustain a pretty thin plot, and lacks both pace and narrative drive. The plot's plausibility gets preposterous towards the end, and the characters are not that convincing. The only thing that kept me going to the end was the outstanding narration. Anna Bentinck could recite a telephone directory and bring it to life. She certainly earned her money on this book.

Like watching paint dry

It said on the back 'literary crack cocaine.' I stopped listening after 4h 38m in which NOTHING HAD HAPPENED. It's a long book and I'm sure it must get better but, really, life's too short. There isn't even any pleasure in the mundane details of the lives of the characters, like there is with a really good writer. Just... nothing going for it. I'm returning mine.

Sublime

Wonderfully written and expertly narrated, Gillespie & I is a chilling tale of altered perceptions, half truths and obsessive love. Jane Harris is a supremely talented storyteller.

A wonderfully skillful masterpiece

This tale was brilliantly written and very well narrated. At first I felt that the pace was too measured but realized that this was part of the perfect rendition. The story was staged around the turn of the 19th Century and written in the first person making it an inciteful vignette of the time. The characters are beautifully understated and the tale well structured. It is the very "quiet" nature of the narrative that gives it such a powerful kick. It was long but not a word was superfluous. I look forward to more by this author and will certainly look out for narrations by Anna Bentinck.

Chilling and Compelling

Brilliantly read by Anna Bentinck (not only does she cope with a range of accents she even modulates her tone to reflect the 'young' and 'old' periods in the narrator's life) this audiobook had me gripped until the final seconds. It focuses on the tragic fate of the artist, Ned Gillespie as told by his close friend and great admirer Harriet Baxter. What becomes increasingly apparent however, is that this is only one, far from impartial, view of events...

Don't miss out on this one - the closing sentence truly sent a shiver down my spine!

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Title: Gioconda

Author: Lucille Turner

Narrator: Mark Meadows

Format: Unabridged

Length: 9 hrs and 7 mins

Language: English

Release date: 10-05-11

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 5 votes

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

A novel of Leonardo da Vinci - visionary painter of the Mona Lisa, the smiling, enigmatic Gioconda. We know him as the Renaissance genius: inventor, scientist, artist. They knew him as Leonardo from Vinci: heretic, butcher, lunatic. A solitary child, Leonardo's only intimate is Lisa Gherardini, the girl who spies on him in his workshop. Spurned by his tutor, he is sent by his despairing father to Florence as an apprentice. Under the guiding hand of Verrocchio, the master sculptor, he begins to make his name. But success requires sacrifice. Florence demands a level of conformity impossible for him. Forced to leave, Leonardo places himself at the service of the charismatic, power-thirsty Duke of Milan. His journey leads him back to Lisa and the portrait he has waited so long to paint, the culmination of his life's work

Members Reviews:

The Original Renaissance Man

An historical-fiction of the original Renaissance man, Leonardo da Vinci. Enjoyable novel with lots of interesting facts about "the genius" and events occurring during his lifetime. Leo's imagined involvement with Lisa Gioconda and his painting of the Mona Lisa was thought provoking; sending me to Google what else I could find out about Gioconda.

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Title: Jokers and One-Eyed Jacks

Subtitle: Bear Walker Series, Book 3

Author: Bernie Kite

Narrator: Gene Engene

Format: Unabridged

Length: 11 hrs and 37 mins

Language: English

Release date: 09-28-11

Publisher: Books in Motion

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 3 votes

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

A mysterious letter sends Bear Walker on a journey 30 years into his past, back to the town of Bannack, Montana, where old ghosts still linger and a mans deeds live after him. Unfortunately, Bear is accompanied by Mad Muldoon, Eureka Gulchs most noticeable lunatic and one-time cannibal, who begged to come along so he could visit his Montana kinfolk one last time...and then remembers, too late, why he escaped from them in the first place. As Bear Walkers friends from Eureka Gulch race to rescue him from the clutches of a scheming con artist, they find both Bear and themselves caught up in old sins and long regrets, played out in a deadly game in which nothing is quite what it seems...and jokers and one-eyed jacks are wild.

Members Reviews:

Great Listen

I just listened to this series for the second time which I rarely ever can do. And I rarely ever write a review unless the book enrages me for insulting my intelligence, which I don't have much of to begin with and taps an old lady's social security funds to boot! Also I know my tastes are quite different from most people so I try to save the author's face & rep. by keeping my thoughts to myself.

This being said: Contrary to the title has not that much to do with cards other than some great humor, but about the life of heartwarming characters and hardships and mind boggling adventures of the old western mining towns. You will laugh, cry, chill, sweat, hurt, tense, and then laugh some more. As if this is not enough it is narrated by the master of all master narrators, Gene Engene, who can put more life, individuality, and emotion in each character that you would believe it had ten different actors playing the parts.

I bet this will be in my CD player again very soon.

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Title: Child of the Journey

Subtitle: Book 2 of the Madagascar Manifesto

Author: Janet Berliner, George Guthridge

Narrator: Jane McDowell

Format: Unabridged

Length: 11 hrs and 52 mins

Language: English

Release date: 09-23-11

Publisher: Crossroad Press

Ratings: 5 of 5 out of 1 votes

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

Picking up three years after the end of Child of the Light, Journey begins with Miriam now married to Erich and Sol safe in Holland. However, Erich has told Miriam that Sol is in a camp, and her only hope of keeping him safe is to remain Erich's faithful wife. When Solomon learns of the deception, he returns to Berlin to try to bring Miriam out with him. Instead, he ends up in the very hell that Erich had been telling her he was in. But now Miriam knows the truth. Through her own contacts, she arranges for Solomon to be part of a mission to form a new Jewish homeland on the island of Madagascar and for Erich to be the leader of that mission.

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Title: A Full House In Death Cards

Subtitle: Bear Walker Series, Book 2

Author: Bernie Kite

Narrator: Gene Engene

Format: Unabridged

Length: 8 hrs and 27 mins

Language: English

Release date: 08-11-11

Publisher: Books in Motion

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 2 votes

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

This is book two in the Bear Walker series, the sequel to The Fourth Ace. The heydays of the gold rush brought many a would be millionaire to the mountains and streams of North Central Washington. The most feared and respected was prospector and mountain man, Bear Walker. But in this episode, Bear is the one subjected to fear. A fear he has never known when his prospector friends start dying from a mysterious cause. Panic sets in among the miners and many believe its the plague. But the more Bear investigates, the more curious the situation becomes. He has never before seen anyone die like these miners are dying....

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Title: Starvation Camp

Author: Bill Pronzini

Narrator: Norman Dietz

Format: Unabridged

Length: 5 hrs and 5 mins

Language: English

Release date: 06-24-11

Publisher: Recorded Books

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

Best-selling western author Bill Pronzini writes gripping mysteries set in the desperate days of the old West. Filled with wide open spaces and dusty, hard-bitten characters, Starvation Camp tells the story of a Canadian Mountie as he hunts down his lovers murderers. Isolated and cold, our hero traverses the harsh, mountainous landscapes of the Yukon in singleminded pursuit. But soon madness and hunger come calling. Featuring a stirring narration from Norman Dietz, this dark western will chill your bones and your soul.

Members Reviews:

THIS WRITER DELIVERS!

This book was written in 1984. What took me so long to find it? I have enjoyed reading Bill Pronzini's short stories for Ellery Queen Magazine for YEARS! Had this book I came across, at a Friends of the Library sale, been by an author with whom I was unfamiliar, I wouldn't have bought it. It's billed a Western; not my genre. But, because it was, also, a MYSTERY BY PRONZINI, I bought it. I've ordered some other Pronzini books since finishing this one. It's a simple story. The characters are interesting, especially McQuestion, who reminded me of my husband (LOL)! The journey the Mountie makes to find the killers is not only interesting, it's educational! I love learning something I didn't even know I wanted to know! I looked up the descriptive words that painted the picture of the Yukon and California in the time of the Gold Rush, to enjoy the well-written story better -- rather than have "some idea", or just move along. I relished the book. I am just SO DISAPPOINTED that Pronzini has written no more McQuestion books since!

Cracking adventure-mystery yarn

despite being marketed as such this is not really a Western .It does not take place in the traditional settings of the Western ,opening as it does in Canada ,before moving on into Alaska ,San Francisco and Seattle

Its protagonist is Zachary McQuestion ,a US citizen albeit one serving in the Northwest Mounted Police -the Canadian Mounties-in the Yukon .It is an especially severe and prolonged winter and food is scarce when McQuestion finds the dead bodies of a storekeepr Molly Malone and her two employees .They have been killed for the food in their store .McQuestion has personal as well as professional interest in the case -he and the dead woman had been lovers and she was a kindly and generous soul .He vows revenge and defies the orders of his commanding officer ,the formidable Colonel Steele ,and sets out to trace the killers ,at no matter what cost .

They are a disreputable pair of Bay Area prospectors named Thaxter and Loomis and in pusuit of them he takes ship to the US ,a nation gripped by war fever as the 1898 war against Spain is looming ever closer

The hunt makes compelling reading and the detctive element ,while slight is well handled .McQuestion is a suitably rugged hero ,one with a troubled past having been betrayed by the woman he loved ,while the twin villains are eminently thuggish and nasty .

The action is crisp and well described without recourse to lip-smacking violence and the nature writing is exceptional especially when the author is describing the Canadian and Alaskan wilderness

This is a very satisfying adventurevtale and highly recommended

Western Crime Fiction at its Best

Author Pronzini is a terrific mystery author. Starvation Camp is a reprint of a "western" from earlier in his career. In this book, a Mountie tracks down the killers of his lover.

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Title: High John the Conqueror

Author: John Wilson

Narrator: Peter Jay Fernandez

Format: Unabridged

Length: 6 hrs and 26 mins

Language: English

Release date: 05-23-11

Publisher: Recorded Books

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

First printed in 1948, High John the Conqueror, John W. Wilsons only published book, was considered a breakthrough novel for its attention to racism, sexual politics, and agribusiness. It has since become a classic depiction of the arduous life and work of African American cotton farmers in Southeast Texas during the 1940s.

The Great Depression continues to sweep across the land where the Brazos and Navasota rivers meet, taking with it the hope of many poor black farmers. One of these farmers, young Cleveland Webster, labors on property belonging to rich white man John Cheney. He must watch helplessly as the powerful Mr. John forecloses on farm after farm, including his parents, and turns his attention to Ruby Lee, Clevelands wife. Although Cleveland is full of rage and despair, the promise of rapprochement and triumph seems almost within reach. An emotional reading by acclaimed narrator Peter J. Fernandez is the perfect addition to this thought-provoking novel.

Critic Reviews:

Mr. Wilson seems to have grasped the same sense of slowmoving inevitable force, beyond man himself, that can so easily lift or destroy him. (New York Times Book Review)

Members Reviews:

This one needed more Mojo.

The author knew his subject and describes the place and people well. However, for me, it was repetitive, often concentrating on the miniscule. Characters are well-drawn, but as I read, I felt like I was walking over black land gumbo, sometimes bogging down.

A Texas Classic

"High John the Conqueror, by John W. Wilson, was first published in 1948, and has been reissued [by TCU Press] as a volume in the publisher's Texas Traditions series of classic fiction. Set in Southeast Texas cotton plantation country, the novel tells of the struggle of one poor African American family to hold onto their land. Despite floods and crop failures, Bully Webster is determined not to let John Chaney, the rich white man who covets his farm, foreclose and leave Webster's family homeless. This sensitive portrayal of a proud, but poor, Black farmer of the Depression Era was one of the first to deal honestly with race relations in Texas, with the issue of sexual harassment, and with the plight of the small farmer. Its terse, powerful prose will keep readers enthralled." (From LIBRARY LANE, Volume 7, No. 6, Spalding University, December 1998.)

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Title: The People's Queen

Author: Vanora Bennett

Narrator: Lucy Scott

Format: Unabridged

Length: 19 hrs and 26 mins

Language: English

Release date: 05-20-11

Publisher: Oakhill Publishing

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 7 votes

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

Fourteenth-century England. The country is in turmoil. The King is in debt to the City, and the old order had broken down. The King's mistress, Alice Perrers, becomes the virtual ruler of the country. Disliked and despised by the Black Prince, her strong connections to the merchants make her a natural ally for the King's ambitious second son, John of Gaunt. Together, they create a powerful position for one of his henchmen, Geoffrey Chaucer. In this moment of opportunity, Alice throws herself into her new role and the riches that lay before her....

Critic Reviews:

"If only history was taught by people like Vanora Bennett." (First magazine)

Members Reviews:

The Peoples Queen

What a disappointing book. Instead of the story of the King and John O Gaunt, this is a narrative of the wool trade and its workings. The money they loaned to the King and the interest charged. I have given up listening to it after a couple of chapters as I would rather have heard about the war the wool merchants were funding rather than how the money was raised. Very very boring!

Dull

Any additional comments?

I can't put my finger on why I didn't like this book, but only sheer bloodymindedness got me through it. I've listened to stories read by Lucy Scott before & found them okay, but some of the voices in this reading, particularly those of the children, really annoyed me. Despite growing irritation, I was determined to finish. I kept hoping things would improve, but the story was boring, and the stretching of what historical basis there was, did nothing to improve it. There were two main characters: Alice - irritating & unlikeable, and Geoffrey Chaucer - a dull wimp. I don't like to be negative, but that's almost 19 hours of my life I won't get back.

Worth persevering with

I listened to this straight after 'Katherine' by Anya Seton and it was intriguing to get a different slant!

This may be one of those books that's better in audio than in the written word, as it has been described elsewhere as 'hard work', and I can imagine that. The narrator makes it 3D, with a very spirited read that conjures up Alice perfectly. Small annoyances: the narrator is not always good at scanning to the end of a sentence or line for clues as to how to start it, so sometimes gets the wrong emphasis or intonation. Also I do find mispronunciations irritating especially when it's just a matter of a Google click to check. But other than that the narrator and the author drew me into Alice's world brilliantly. I especially enjoyed the insights into Geoffrey Chaucer's life and warm personality. This is a fascinating period of English history and the book brings it to life very well.

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Title: A Boy In Hiding

Author: Stan Rubens

Narrator: Cameron Beierle

Format: Unabridged

Length: 3 hrs and 4 mins

Language: English

Release date: 03-03-11

Publisher: Books in Motion

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

A poignant, true-survival story of a young boy who hid for years underground in Holland during World War II. A Boy In Hiding sheds a light on the difficult road that laid ahead for Anne Frank had she survived. Now, 60 years later, Rubens gives a voice to the young boy, who despite the hard time and difficulties he encountered, never lost his positive view on life.

Members Reviews:

Five Stars

Great purchasing experience.

Hiding place is by far better, but this too was good

Hiding place is by far better, but this too was good!!! Still, if you can read Corrie Ten Boon's Hiding Place!!!

A Must Read!

I had the pleasure and honor to meet the author, Stan Rubens, at a book signing recently and purchased his book as a show of support. Little did I realize at that time, that this book would change my life and provide answers to questions that I had as a Jewish child growing up in America that were never answered by my own family. Mr. Rubens has told an amazing story of courage, resilience and fortitude that people in this country would be wise to read. I was captivated by the content and couldn't and wouldn't put the book down until I was finished. I am purchasing multiple copies to give to my friends and family in the hope that it has the same emotional impact on them as it did on me. As a fellow author, I salute Mr. Rubens' effort and believe that this book should be mandatory reading for everyone so that the message is never lost on future generations.

I met the author and both he and his story ...

I met the author and both he and his story are an inspiration to me. Despite everything that happened, he remains a positive person. I hope if I am ever faced with such difficult circumstances that I can remain as strong as he and his family did. I was touched by his father's constant efforts to keep his family safe and alive

Great insight on a Jewish child's life under Naziism

I enjoyed reading the actual situation this young boy experienced while in hiding, along with his thoughts at the time. It was also interesting to read how his outlook changed regarding the adults around him, as he looks back from his standpoint as an adult.

The book could have been improved by having an editor go through to catch the occasional misspelling or incorrect word (due to spell check it appears).