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

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Title: Small Wars

Subtitle: A Novel

Author: Sadie Jones

Narrator: Stephen Hoye

Format: Unabridged

Length: 10 hrs and 23 mins

Language: English

Release date: 01-19-10

Publisher: Tantor Audio

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 7 votes

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

Fresh off her triumphantly assured debut novel The Outcast, award-winning author Sadie Jones has again delivered a quiet masterpiece in Small Wars.

Set on the colonial, war-torn island of Cyprus in 1956, Jones tells the story of a young solider, Hal Treherne, and the effects of this "small war" on him, his wife, Clara, and their family. Reminiscent of classic tales of love and war such as The English Patient and Atonement, Jones's gripping novel also calls to mind the master works of Virginia Woolf and their portrayal of the quiet desperation of a marriage in crisis.

Small Wars is at once a deeply emotional, meticulously researched work of historical fiction and a profound meditation on war-time atrocities committed both on and off the battlefield.

Members Reviews:

Back to the 1950s

Sadie Jones uses a forgotten guerilla uprising, the Cypriot revolt against British rule, as a means to make a rather heavy-handed statement about war, the military machine, and colonialism that resounds in the "small wars" being fought today in Iraq, Afghanistan, and other hot spots. Jones focuses on the isolation of and between a young couple, Clara and Hal Traherne, to make her points about the dehumanization wrought by the struggle for world power. Clara, a bit pampered yet willing to play the military wife and follow her husband first to Germany, then to Cyprus, seems completely unprepared for life in a war zone. Hal, on the other hand, acts around Clara as if everything is perfectly fine, unable or unwilling to share his experiences and discounting her fears. By the time a personal tragedy hits, their lives have already been changed and their marriage may be beyond repair (although Jones does hint at a reconciliation in the end).

While I enjoyed Small Wars, the characters here lacked the depth of those in her first novel, The Outcast. Several secondary characters, like the literature-loving translator with an inconvenient moral streak but not much backbone, and the shopaholic officer's wife who befriends Clara in Nicosia, are never fully realized, and even Hal and Clara are a bit flat. Perhaps Jones's obvious desire to send us an antiwar message overwhelmed some of the finer elements of plot and character here. Still, I'd recommend the book to anyone wanting to know more about life in the 1950s, particularly for a young military family in a "small war" zone.

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Title: The Daisy Club

Author: Charlotte Bingham

Narrator: Kim Hicks

Format: Unabridged

Length: 11 hrs and 46 mins

Language: English

Release date: 01-08-10

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 8 votes

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

Twistleton is a village untouched by time. Daisy, Jean, Freddie and their friends Aurelia and Laura are devoted to the place, so that when war breaks out Twistleton becomes the embodiment of everything for which they are fighting.

For the previous generation the new conflict causes private despair, increased when Twistleton is requisitioned by the Army. Turfed out of their houses, the villagers take refuge at the Hall. It is here that evacuees from the East End, butler and countryman weld together to fight common enemies. With death haunting their every moment, love is their one all-too-fleeting consolation and also their final triumph.

Members Reviews:

A struggle to finish

Daisy, Jean, Freddie,Aurelia and Laura are all frieds living in the town of Twistleton when the second world war breaks out. Each girl decides to their part, from becoming a nurse to becoming a FANY and the older generation is all so doing their part from working in the factories to taking in the children of London. But in time of war death is all around you and some members of the "Daisy Club" may not see peace.

"The Daisy Club" is the lastest book by Charlotte Bingham and I have to say that I found it a struggle to finish. I thought that there to many characters and it was hard to remember them all. Most the characters that I did remember seemed weak and very uninteresting. Overall I hard to force myself to finsh "The Daisy Club" and I might think twice before I order another book by Ms. Bingham.

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Title: The Happy Foreigner

Author: Enid Bagnold

Narrator: Eliza Foss

Format: Unabridged

Length: 7 hrs and 42 mins

Language: English

Release date: 12-24-09

Publisher: Audible Studios

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

A story from the author of National Velvet set in Northern France at the close of the Great War.

(P)2009 Audible, Inc.

Editorial Reviews:

Enid Bagnold is best known for writing the 1935 novel National Velvet and for being labeled "a scallywag who married a very rich man" by Virginia Woolf, but before she found literary fame and Sir Roderick Jones, she was a volunteer driver in World War I. Her wartime experience in Northern France inspired her journalistic novel The Happy Foreigner, performed here by Eliza Foss. Though AudioFile magazine has called Foss one of "audio's hottest romance narrators", she can also do more than bring literary love to life. In Bagnold's documentary-style exploration of the Great War, Foss' sensitive voice also lends a poignancy to the saga of a lone woman on a battlefield.

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Title: String of Pearls

Author: Madge Swindells

Narrator: Patricia Gallimore

Format: Unabridged

Length: 12 hrs and 36 mins

Language: English

Release date: 12-01-09

Publisher: ISIS Audio Books

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 1 votes

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

Helen Conroy is happily married with two children and a husband she adores when war is declared. The blitz leaves her homeless, so she returns to her father's house on the Dorset coast, but she is shattered when her husband asks for a divorce.

Then, in September 1942, US troops arrive in Southern England bringing hope and joy along with their cigarettes and chewing gum. These young men will be part of the greatest military invasion the world has ever seen, so Brits and GIs alike live and love for the moment.

Captain Simon Johnson, a US military intelligence agent, is billeted with the Conroys, falling deeply in love with Helen, but this leads to explosive consequences.

Members Reviews:

A lovely Storey.

I purchased this book from Amazon a couple of years ago and I mislaid it .I love the storey.I would prefer a new book I have enjoyed all of Madge Swindlers books .

Two Stars

A great disappointment

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Title: Music & Silence

Author: Rose Tremain

Narrator: Michael Praed, Clare Wille, Alison Dowling

Format: Abridged

Length: 7 hrs and 54 mins

Language: English

Release date: 11-16-09

Publisher: Naxos AudioBooks

Ratings: 3 of 5 out of 7 votes

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

The award-winning Music & Silence is one of Tremain's most popular works. Set in the court of Christian IV of Denmark during the 17th century, it is a beautiful and enduring tale of love, intrigue and betrayal. Part history, part imagination, Music & Silence lyrically evokes the rich tapestry of court life.

The obsessions and secret woes of a host of memorable characters are brilliantly realised by Tremain, who deftly weaves together the numerous sub-plots. We encounter a king, tormented by his quest for perfection; the raucous and spoilt Kirsten, raging against the constraints of her queenly situation; and the silently grieving Emilia.

Editorial Reviews:

English lutenist Peter Claire performs in the royal orchestra of King Christian IV's seventeenth-century Danish court, stirring the hearts of the principal women in this novel. Royal family dynamics are interwoven with love and lust. Chapters are interspersed with delicate lute chords, and the alternating voices of the readers animate the narrative of each of the main characters. Feminine and breathy, Alison Dowling and Clare Wille give velvety, expressive voices to the female characters' tales. Michael Praed's strong, unaffected speech depicts the intensity and desperation of the characters he portrays. Mortal danger and the prospect of tragedy build as the narrators deliver their spirited array of voices.

Critic Reviews:

"[T]he narrative sweeps to a dramatic crescendo, with several characters in mortal danger and the prospect of tragedy everywhere. Yet it ends in felicitous harmony, a triumph of storytelling by a master of the art." (Publishers Weekly)

Members Reviews:

Disappointing

I listened to an abridged version by mistake. I thought the characters were poorly developed, the plot sketchy. Now I realize it might not have been the book but the fact that it was abridged. I just didn't like the characters enough to care about what happened to them. If you're going to listen to the book find an unabridged version. This version was a waste of my time.

Music, Silence, and the Space in the Middle

Some of the description in this title was like music itself in its lyric quality, and I enjoyed very much learning about a part of the world both in time and space that was hitherto unknown to me. Some of the characters, however, seemed one dimensional, as if they were injected into the lyric simply to move things along. This one-dimensionality led the story to be unnecessarily dark and seemed to prolong the eventual conclusion.

A Beautiful Audiobook

I'm not a big fan of abridged audiobooks but, so far as I can tell, "Music & Silence" is not available in an unabridged version so I parked my scruples and downloaded. I am so glad that I did.

The narrative naturally splits between a number of different viewpoints and they are wonderfully brought to a life by a uniformly brilliant cast with small musical interludes interposed between each chapter.

The book is moving, intriguing and occasionally funny and the production values of this recording uniformly excellent. You might go far in search of a better download.

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Title: The Silent Gift

Author: Michael Jangdon

Narrator: Tavia Gilbert

Format: Abridged

Length: 7 hrs and 14 mins

Language: English

Release date: 11-05-09

Publisher: christianaudio.com

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 7 votes

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

The 1930s were a decade of enormous uncertainty--for the world, for America, and in particular for one lonely, struggling mother and her disabled son. Their story is one of love and enormous sacrifices in the face of circumstances horrendous beyond belief. When her husband leaves her for someone else, Mary and little Luke are out on their own in a world that has no room for the poor and disabled. Especially not at a time when most Americans are simply trying to survive their economic woes and job losses. But then arrives The Gift...where has it come from, and why? How can a young boy who can neither hear nor speak provide comfort, direction, and sometimes challenges to seekers who learn of the special ability? Whatever the source, its presence brings a single shaft of light and hope to Mary and her beloved Luke. Will it be enough?

©2009 Michael Landon; (P)2009 christianaudio.com

Members Reviews:

A chip off the old block!

I was a fan of Michael Landon Sr. of the Little House TV fame. I have seen a few of Michael Landon, Jr. movies on TV based on Jeannette Oaks' books. I have never been a fan of Oaks' books as they always seemed a little boring to my taste and therefore the movies that Landon made based on them seemed about the same to me. However, I purchased this book after much contemplation and had read a review in a woman's magazine about Landon Jr.'s work including a movie called Saving Sarah Caine. I thought I would give his work another chance. The premise of this book about a boy who has a special gift of telling the future (when he himself cannot hear or speak) was an interesting one to me. The book kept me "on edge" almost from the first chapter. It was filled with all kinds of bad luck and situations for the main characters. For some, I think that the main character, the boy's mother, might be construed as too nieve and maybe a little contrived; however, I found the story engaging and the ending made me cry. Not sad tears but happy tears. The book is heavily Christian oriented, so if this is something that turns you off, then this is not the book for you.

A story to make Job cry

Reminded me of the biblical "Book of Job", not because of her faith, but because of her plight. Mary was not always sure that God loved her and sometimes felt she was being punished and her son punished because of what she did or failed to do. She was raised in a home where love was lost, and she fell in love at 16 and had the sweetest little boy who was deaf and also unable to maintain focus and could not learn to lip read. However, he was able to radiate love and she so loved him. Her husband felt him a burden and betrayed her, but his was only one of many betrayals, each one tearing at her heart as she could not protect her child. Her soul was more and more battered, she ached with anguish for her son, and with guilt over his helplessness without her. However, Mary and her son were never really alone, and triggered goodness in those capable of it. There was a gentle ending to a difficult ride.

Fascinating story set during the depression delivers thought-provoking truths

Set during the depression this well-researched tale holds the readers attention as we follow Mary and her son Jack. Escaping from an abusive husband Mary must find a safe haven for her deaf mute son, Jack. The surprises in this story mirror life in the 30s.

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Title: The Lady Elizabeth

Author: Alison Weir

Narrator: Emma Fielding

Format: Abridged

Length: 6 hrs and 33 mins

Language: English

Release date: 04-30-09

Publisher: Random House AudioBooks

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 2 votes

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

Now, in her second novel, Alison Weir goes to the heart of Tudor England at its most dangerous and faction-riven in telling the story of Elizabeth I before she became queen. The towering capricious figure of Henry VIII dominates her childhood, but others play powerful roles: Mary, first a loving sister, then as queen a lethal threat; Edward, the rigid and sad little King; Thomas Seymour, the Lord High Admiral, whose ambitions, both political and sexual, are unbridled. And, an ever-present ghost, the enigmatic, seductive figure of her mother Anne Boleyn, executed by Henry, whose story Elizabeth must unravel.

Elizabeth learns early that the adult world contains many threats that have to be negotiated if she is to keep her heart and her head.

Members Reviews:

Very good book, some problems with the audiobook

thoroughly enjoyed the story but some pauses in text werent long enough so to the listener it wasnt clear that we were in a new scene

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Title: The Deserter

Author: Paul Bagdon

Narrator: Jack Garrett

Format: Unabridged

Length: 8 hrs and 22 mins

Language: English

Release date: 03-24-08

Publisher: Recorded Books

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 4 votes

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

One of the few participants not killed or captured in Pickett's Charge, Jake is barely conscious when a battlefield scavenger greets him with a pointed rifle. Promising to kill Jake and steal his horse, the murderous thief chambers a round. But before he can pull the trigger, Jake draws and fires.

Taking the scoundrel's guns and saddle for himself, Jake decides to flee the stench of death forever and leave General Lee's army far behind. When a sheriff later recognizes the commandeered saddle, Jake finds himself on the run again - this time for murder.

Members Reviews:

nothing spectacular but it held my interest

It was not the greatest book I have listened to but it was good enough that I wanted to finish it which is more than I can say for some of the books I have listened to.

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Title: The Captain's Bride

Subtitle: The Northern Lights, Book 1

Author: Lisa Tawn Bergren

Narrator: Stephanie Brush

Format: Unabridged

Length: 12 hrs and 10 mins

Language: English

Release date: 03-12-08

Publisher: Books in Motion

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 15 votes

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

They traveled to America in search of freedom and prosperity. Elsa Anders' dream of marrying Peder Ramstad is about to come true. Can this strong-willed, creative woman with a love for independence, adventure, and the sea, find happiness with a captain who insists upon leaving her safely on shore?

This is the first audiobook in the Northern Lights Series.

Members Reviews:

Pleasant but not daring enough!

The idea of this book has such great promise but unfortunately I thought it could have been more interesting, more detailed and had more dialogue between the characters estabilishing their connection to each other (besides out of duty). The chapters end abuptly probably punctuated more by being audible. The characters were dull and their relationships seemed incomplete, yet the historical aspect of the book gave you hope. This is a Christian book, which I was unaware of when I picked it, (I googled the author). There is allot of praying that is recited, it seemed like more praying than actual character dialogue, which may be good for some folks. It is a pleasant book but the idea of the storyline I found more fascinating than the actual book. This is the first in a series but it is not for me. If you want a pleasant ride without much action and you seek Christain based books then this is definitely a good one for you. When the story ended so did my interest.

Ho-Hum

I agree with most of the first reviewer's comments. I was really confounded with the war certain story lines did not end. Even the end of the book brought no real conclusion. The book wasn't bad, it just wasn't that good. As far as the religion aspect, most of the prayers were part of what those truly devout people would have done in the face of adversity.

GREAT STORY

VERY GOOD BUT BE SURE TO GET ALL THREE BOOKS! i really enjoyed the story and to know the follow up be didn't have the books so i recommend that you get all 3 book together,

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Title: Lords of the Bow

Author: Conn Iggulden

Narrator: Russell Boulter

Format: Abridged

Length: 5 hrs and 36 mins

Language: English

Release date: 02-13-08

Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Limited

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

The distances and terrain - the wide deserts, the impenetrable mountains - make it a difficult venture, even for the legendarily speedy Mongols. But the greatest problem is confronting complex fortifications, a way of fighting a settled urban population - which the nomadic Mongolians have never come across. Finding ways to do that, and keeping his tribes together in a strange environment, presents another new and exciting challenge for Genghis Khan. Not only must Genghis succeed in this incredible campaign, but he must also reconcile the restless factions among his own generals, mediate between his ambitious brothers, and cope with his own reactions to his growing sons.

The young warrior has become a notable and victorious military commander of thousands. He must now learn to become a great leader of peoples of many different races and religions. Lords of the Bow is a deeply satisfying novel, epic in scope, convincing, and fascinating in its narration of an extraordinary story.

Critic Reviews:

"...every bit as addictive as his Emperor books." (The Bookseller)

"This is energetic, competent stuff; Iggulden knows his material and his audience." (Independent)

"Epic hisorical fiction at its finest; enthralling, exciting and utterly believable." (Yorkshire Evening Post)

Members Reviews:

Epic

Epic

This simply epic in every aspect adventure, romance, death, history, battles, and it?s all put together by the master Conn Iggulden

But you have to get the unabridged version it?s the same price