Large Library of Full Audiobooks in Fiction, Historical New Releases

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Title: Nashville Chrome

Author: Rick Bass

Narrator: Debra Monk

Format: Unabridged

Length: 9 hrs and 10 mins

Language: English

Release date: 03-24-11

Publisher: Recorded Books

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 3 votes

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

The fiction of Rick Bass has been honored with O. Henry Awards, Pushcart Prizes, and fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts. Nashville Chrome presents Maxine, Bonnie, and Jim Ed Brown, a family act with a hit record sitting atop 1959s country music charts. The world at their feet, lives of success seem to spread out before them like an unending highway. But celebrity has its price, and the times ahead will deliver more than their fair share of bumps in the road.

Members Reviews:

Rick Bass has written a Masterpiece

I would give this book more stars! It is a Rick Bass Masterpiece of American literature. You will intimately know and love the characters, especially Maxine Brown, and read the exquisitely constructed sentences, paragraphs and pages multiple times in appreciation of the poetic narrative that the author has created. Nashville Chrome is unequivocally in my top ten books ever read.

I wish I had more stars - just an amazing read

Brief summary, no spoilers.

This book is a fictionalization of the lives the Browns - a country trio that dominated the country and pop charts back in the late 1950's. Never heard of them? I hadn't either, and I thought I knew quite a bit about music. As it turns out, The Browns were not only at the top of the charts, they were close friends and buddies with Elvis Presley, and even had the Beatles as fans. But they faded away during the 1960s, and are little known today despite having attained charting records that stand to this day.

What this book does is give us the background of Maxine, Bonnie and Jim Ed Brown, taking us from their impoverished upbringing in the backwoods of the deep south during the depression, all the way to the present, in their old age. In particular, we follow the thoughts and life of Maxine - the eldest sister and the most ambitious. The loss of fame was the hardest on her, and the scenes from her old age are emotional and poignant.

Which is how I can describe this whole novel. I was not that interested in the subject matter of this book, but a friend gave it his highest recommendation so I thought I'd give it a try. The writing is a wonder. Truly. The scenes are so well described, we can see, smell, taste and even feel them. And the ability of the author to so believably get inside the minds of characters in adolescence up to old age is impressive.

This is just a beautifully written story. There are so many exquisite passages, that I wouldn't know where to begin to excerpt. Here is just one short example :

"Floyd was born in 1895. Parts of three centuries separate the then from the now, the beginning of his life and the trailing-away of hers, and yet the sound wave of him, the disturbed energy of his presence and actions in the world, will not fade. A hundred and fifteen years separates where he began and where she is now, and what she remembers when she thinks of her father is not so much the fights of adolescence over control and suspicion, boundaries and rebellion, or his heroic labors in the forest, trying to scrape together a living, but the quiet dark spaces of early evening, the relative silences when he would come in from the mill, smelling of sawdust and diesel, and would go to the cabinet and take down his bottle and pour his first small glass of whiskey."

I hope this book gets a big audience, and I know that I will be picking up some of the author's past works.

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Title: Dive in the Sun

Author: Douglas Reeman

Narrator: David Rintoul

Format: Unabridged

Length: 8 hrs and 38 mins

Language: English

Release date: 03-09-11

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 6 votes

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

Adriatic, 1940s... Curtis was the pro. He could steer a sub through a saloon and no one would notice. Duncan was the grumbler, more at home in the Aussie Outback than twenty fathoms under the Adriatic. Jervis was the spit-and-polish man, who knew the correct way to die. And George, the Cockney, was the toughest of them all. Four men in the Royal Navys smallest sub, preparing the way for historys largest invasion. They had three tasks: slip into a closely guarded harbour, attach a time-charge to the Jerries biggest dry-dock, and escape with their lives if possible. The first two tasks were orders. The third was optional.

Members Reviews:

Not Really a Submarine Tale

An OK WWII tale, but most of the story does not take place on the mini-submarine pictured.

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Title: Tiger Hills

Author: Sarita Mandanna

Narrator: Cassandra Campbell

Format: Unabridged

Length: 19 hrs and 33 mins

Language: English

Release date: 03-09-11

Publisher: Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 7 votes

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

A Suitable Boy meets Gone with the Wind in this sweeping, romantic debut novel set on a coffee plantation in southern India at the turn of the 20th century.

As the first girl born to the Nachimada family in over 60 years, the beautiful Devi is adored by her entire family. Strong-willed and confident, she befriends the shy Devanna, a young boy whose mother has died under tragic circumstances. The two quickly become inseparable, until Devi meets Machu the tiger killer, a hunter of great repute and a man of much honor and pride. Soon, they fall deeply in love, an attraction that drives a wedge between Devi and Devanna. It is this tangled relationship between the three that leads to a devastating tragedyan event that changes their fates forever and has unforeseen and far-reaching consequences for generations to come.

Critic Reviews:

Sarita Mandanna creates a whole new worldEnter it and prepare to be entranced. (David Davidar, best-selling author)

Members Reviews:

A sweeping saga

Would you listen to Tiger Hills again? Why?

Yes, I would listen to it again. I found the background of Indian culture fascinating. I related well to the characters. The story held my interest.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Davanah (sp?) was my favourite character. He lived through such torture and yet remained a wonderful and nurturing human being.

Have you listened to any of Cassandra Campbells other performances before? How does this one compare?

no, I haven't.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

I found Davy's comparison of the two boys particularly painful. I found her character to be highly annoying and distasteful.

Good, but could have been great

A very well written novel with a few shortcomings in character and story development. The protagonist just doesn't develop beyond a certain point, which is frustrating because she is the center of the story. The story is a family saga, which carries well but lacks originality. What carries the novel is the wonderful description of the landscape and culture.

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Title: The Valcourt Heiress

Author: Catherine Coulter

Narrator: Anne Flosnik

Format: Abridged

Length: 5 hrs and 15 mins

Language: English

Release date: 10-15-10

Publisher: Brilliance Audio

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 18 votes

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

When Garron of Kersey returns home from the kings service to claim his title as Baron Wareham, hes shocked to find Wareham Castle very nearly destroyed by a man called the Black Demon.

According to the last starving servants inside the castle walls, the Black Demon was looking for silver belonging to Garrons brother Arthur. Among his remaining servants is the enigmatic Merry, the bastard child of the castles priest. Garron quickly suspects that she is much more than a servant: She reads and writes and makes lists, just as he does. They work together to bring Wareham back to its former splendor.

But this is only the beginning. Did Arthur have a cache of silver? Who is the Black Demon? And the biggest question of all: Who is Merry?

Members Reviews:

She always has a way of adding humer to her action

It's a great midevil book that combines romance, humer, action, and a dab of super natural.

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Title: Diamond Ruby

Subtitle: A Novel

Author: Joseph Wallace

Narrator: Lorna Raver

Format: Unabridged

Length: 15 hrs and 10 mins

Language: English

Release date: 08-11-10

Publisher: Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 13 votes

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

17-year-old Ruby Thomas, newly responsible for her two young nieces after a devastating tragedy, is determined to keep her family safe in the vast, swirling world of 1920s New York City. Shes got street smarts, boundless determination, and one unusual skill: the ability to throw a ball as hard as the greatest pitchers in a baseball-mad city.

From Coney Island sideshows to the brand-new Yankee Stadium, Diamond Ruby chronicles the extraordinary life and times of a girl who rises from utter poverty to the kind of renown only the Roaring Twenties can bestow. But her fame comes with a price, and Ruby must escape a deadly web of conspiracy and threats from Prohibition rumrunners, the Ku Klux Klan, and the gangster underworld.

Critic Reviews:

Based on the true story of a lady pitcher who struck out Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig in exhibition play, this debut novel from nonfiction author Wallaceis a diverting sports taleSharply sketched, convincing historical characters like Ruth and Dempsey add to the considerable appeal of Wallaces gritty but fun period baseball tale. ()Publishers Weekly)

Ruby is a keeperthere are echoes of Betty Smiths A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, but this story holds its own, allowing Diamond Ruby her place as a literary gem. (Library Journal)

Diamond Ruby is a very special book. The comparisons to A Tree Grows in Brooklyn are not made lightly: Joseph Wallace deserves that accolade and many more. Ruby is a wonderful, memorable character and Wallaces prose is a perfect match for her. (Laura Lippman, New York Times bestselling author of Life Sentences)

Members Reviews:

Couldn't get into it

I did make it through and it was a pretty decent story. It had it moments and I am giving it four stars due to excellent narration and good writing. I simply found it a little dull at points.

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Title: The Quickening

Author: Michelle Hoover

Narrator: Carrington MacDuffie, Bernadette Dunne

Format: Unabridged

Length: 6 hrs and 50 mins

Language: English

Release date: 06-29-10

Publisher: Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Ratings: 2.5 of 5 out of 6 votes

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

Enidina Current and Mary Morrow live on neighboring farms in the flat, hard country of the upper Midwest during the early 1900s. This hardscrabble life comes easily to some, like Eddie, but for the deeply religious Mary, farming is at odds with her more cosmopolitan inclinations. Still, Mary creates a clean and orderly home life for her stormy husband, Jack, and her sons, while she adapts to the isolation of a rural town through the inspiration of a local preacher.

She is the first to befriend Eddie in a relationship that will prove as rugged as the ground they walk on. Despite having little in common, Eddie and Mary need one another for survival and companionship. But as the Great Depression threatens, the delicate balance of their reliance on one another tips, pitting neighbor against neighbor, exposing the dark secrets they hide from one another, and triggering a series of disquieting events that threatens to unravel not only their friendship but their families as well.

In this luminous and unforgettable debut, Michelle Hoover explores the polarization of the human soul in times of hardship and the instinctual drive for self-preservation by whatever means necessary. The Quickening stands as a novel of lyrical precision and historical consequence, reflecting the resilience and sacrifices required even now in our modern troubled times.

Critic Reviews:

In this finely wrought and starkly atmospheric narrative, Hoovers characters carry deep secrets, and their emotions are as intense as the acts of nature that shape their world. (Publishers Weekly)

A vivid, pastoral panoramaimbued throughout with a careful and evenly wrought lyricism. (Kirkus Reviews)

Members Reviews:

Beautiful, Well Crafted Writing; Not always easy to understand

I didn't realize until after I had finished the book it was based on the journal of one of the author's ancestors, which I find endearing. This is the story of two farm wives who couldn't be more different from each other. Being neighbors they are forced into an uneasy friendship with each other. The storyline was more than I expected, dealing with events and tragedies that are as true today as they were in the time period of the story. There were times that the writing was both beautiful and perfectly conveyed the emotion of the moment, and I thought the characters were well developed. However, I wasn't always clear on what was happening on the story and often felt like I was guessing at what event was occurring.

A Book I Will Remember Always

I've had The Quickening on my Kindle for a while. Finally opened it up and started reading. I couldn't stop. Michelle Hoover writes as if she lived the lives of her two main characters, Mary and Enidina. I've never read anything about 1920s and 1930s in rural America that captured the feeling of being there as well as this book. The characters lead very constrained lives, never straying far from home, not owning much except the farms that sustain them, obeying (and sometimes breaking) strict unwritten rules of behavior. Hoover paints portraits of all of her characters that will stay with me. I suffered with them, got angry when they did, and, in the odd moment when they were happy, I rejoiced for them. Thank you, Michelle Hoover.

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Title: Nemesis

Subtitle: Marcus Didius Falco, Book 20

Author: Lindsey Davis

Narrator: Christian Rodska

Format: Unabridged

Length: 11 hrs and 36 mins

Language: English

Release date: 06-03-10

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 33 votes

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

Christian Rodska reads this complete, full-length Falco novel, by best-selling author Lindsey Davis.

In the high summer of AD 77, Marcus Didius Falco is beset by personal problems. Newly bereaved and facing unexpected upheavals, it is a relief for him to consider someone elses misfortunes. A middle-aged couple who supplied statues to his father, Geminus, have disappeared. They had a feud with a bunch of notorious freedmen, the Claudii, who live rough in the pestilential Pontine Marshes, terrorising the neighbourhood.

When a mutilated corpse turns up near Rome, Falco and his vigiles friend Petronius investigate, even though it means travelling in the dread marshes. But just as they are making progress, the Chief Spy, Anacrites, snatches their case away from them. Making further enquiries after they have been warned off can only be dangerous - but when did that stop Falco and Petronius?

Egged on by the slippery bureaucrats who hate Anacrites, the dogged friends dig deeper while a psychotic killer keeps taking more victims, and the shocking truth creeps closer and closer to home....

Members Reviews:

brilliant

Any scepticism that I may have had has been suspended with this wonderful and very well researched

story. The narrator helps to achieve this too. I feel that I am getting a priviledged glimpse into a world

long passed, whose storyline themes continue to be relevant and haunt the minds of people far into the future.

Darker Davis

Fear not~ it is not Helena that needs the funeral pire! Beautifully read once again by Christian Rodska who brings out Falco's sarcasm and wit well.

The story is difficult to review without spoiling, but Marcus meets his darker side, the bond between MDF and HJ holds strong and old friends take up new positions.

Much enjoyed.

Lindsey Davis at her best

All Lindsey Davis' books are brilliant - it's just that some are more brilliant than others - and this is one of them. Few women authors can write leading male characters well, but Lindsey Davis has to be up there with the very best. The story is gripping in itself, but it's more than simply a rattling good detective novel. The death and funeral pyre scenes had me in tears (and I too am pleased that the pyre is not for Helena).

Great stuff - and equally brilliantly read by Christian Rodska.

It's no longer enough to have a simple 'narrator' - we want our characters acted out the the full, and Christian Rodska's skill in portraying everyone from the young Albia and elegant Helena to the nastiest crook and roughest vigile is simply great.

Falco Better than Ever

As a long-standing fan of Davis's Falco novels, I went into this with slight trepidation due to the relatively low customer rating. I was not to be disappointed, however, quite the reverse; this is Davis back to her best.

The plot is darker than before, with death hanging over the plotline from first sentence to last. Back in Rome, Falco is called in to deal with a set of deathly circumstances reaching back over many years. Without spoiling neither plot nor the superb final twist, this novel reaches back to the depths of the very earliest days of Falco's memoirs.

My only potential criticism is that the characters become slightly too entangled. This may be due to my listening when overly sleepy, however, and I am currently half way through for a second time to make sure.

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Title: Nefer the Silent

Subtitle: Stone of Light, Volume 1

Author: Christian Jacq

Narrator: Ezra Knight

Format: Abridged

Length: 5 hrs and 2 mins

Language: English

Release date: 04-07-10

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 10 votes

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

They built a civilization ahead of its time, and dominated the ancient world. They defined an era of war, love, passion, power, and betrayal.

They were a people of mystery whose secrets have turned to dust - but who inspire our awe and wonder even to this day.

The ancient Egyptians showed us how to live. And how to die.

Christian Jacq, author of the international triumph Ramses, brings the people and the passions of ancient Egypt to life in this enthralling epic novel.

Deep in the heart of the Upper Egyptian desert lies a forbidden village, where bands of artisans prepare the tombs of the Pharaohs. Guarded by a handful of elite soldiers, the hidden city shelters the most precious of treasures: the Stone of Light, a legendary stone of magical power. When a devious military officer schemes to infiltrate the city and capture the sacred gem, his subversive plot is thwarted by an unlikely hero: a desert wanderer who falls into a maze of treachery and betrayal, desire and danger.

Members Reviews:

Yet another great book from Jacq

I've read the Ramses series a few years ago and thought I'd pick up a copy of this even though some reviewers say it's not as good. Well, I enjoyed reading it just as much as the Ramses. The short chapters make it easy to read even if one doesn't have hours to read at a time. However, it's one of those books that was really hard for me to put down even at 3am after reading for several hours... you know, just one more chapter... :) I've always found the history of ancient Egypt fascinating and though it's a fiction novel one can learn a great deal about what it was like living in the time of the pharaohs. Oh, and the story is not over yet, can't wait to read the rest of the series!

Five Stars

One of the best authors I've ever read for historical fiction!

agree with m a r s and robin...

If you expect novels to be well-written, this one is not. The characters are one-dimensional, the story line plods along very predictably. Don't waste your time or money.

If you liked Jacq's Ramses the Great series...

The first volume in Christian Jacq's The Stone of Light series is pleasure to read. If you have read his five volume Ramses II series, don't miss this one.

Jacq is an Egyptolgist who possesses an incredible ability: without hindering plot, bogging down his writing with too much detail or weak character development, he allows the reader to visit this great civilization in its glory, recontructed upon accurate historical information. I suppose the point that I am trying to make is that Jacq's novels are not like an academic textbook, although you may find yourself wanting to learn more about this fascinating ancient civilization after reading one of them... His writing simply flows. He skillfully breathes life into actual people (as well as some fictional ones too) that lived thousands of years ago. I have found reading each of his works so far to be a pleasurable experience.

As for Nefer the Silent itself, the story focuses on two young men, Silent (a sculpter) and Paneb (a painter), who both seek to become artists in the brotherhood of the Place of Truth. The Place of Truth is home to a sacred brotherhood who are charged with the task of creating the tombs of the Pharoahs and Queens.

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Title: Promise of the Valley

Subtitle: Westward Dreams, Book 2

Author: Jane Peart

Narrator: Christine Williams

Format: Unabridged

Length: 8 hrs and 26 mins

Language: English

Release date: 02-08-10

Publisher: Zondervan

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 28 votes

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

When Southern-born Adelaide Pride loses her home, her parents, and the man she would have married during the Civil War, she accepts a position as a companion to a Yankee spinster at a health spa in Napa Valley, California. Did she dare to hope that her dreams of love and belonging were yet possible? Or would she become lost in the a world of the sick and aged, ending up a spinster like her employer, Mrs. Amberly?

Members Reviews:

I always enjoy all of Jane Leary's books

I loved the whole plot even to the surprise ending. I am going to listening to the whole seriee

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Title: Poseidon's Gold (Dramatised)

Author: Lyndsey Davis

Narrator: Anton Lesser, Anna Madeley, Trevor Peacock

Format: Abridged

Length: 2 hrs and 14 mins

Language: English

Release date: 07-01-09

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 47 votes

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

Now, however, Festus is dead, and Falco knows he didn't leave a legacy. When Falco refuses to cough up any money, he and Censorinus end up fighting... and later, the centurion turns up dead. Under suspicion of murder, Falco must confront his past and uncover his brother's secrets before he can clear his name and solve the mystery.

Following on from BBC Radio 4's hugely successful dramatisations of The Silver Pigs, Shadows in Bronze, Venus in Copper and The Iron Hand of Mars, this funny and fast-moving fifth story starring Anton Lesser, Anna Madeley, and Trevor Peacock is a treat for all Falco fans.

Members Reviews:

Time traveling fun

Any additional comments?

Imagine Brother Cadfael as conceived by the writers of Numbers, then edited by Charles Dickens. In short, lots of good, earthy plot lines that are embellished by a cornucopia of enduring values: forgiveness, integrity, perseverance. And the production is great fun, too, just like an old time radio play with a full cast and clever sound effects. At just over two hours, it doesn't beg the whole evening either.

Poisidens Gold

Love this series by Lindsey Davies. Falco Is a Roman style detective who works his way around the Roman empire solving various mysteries for emporaes and ordinary folk . He gets into some twists and turns, but comes out on top for the most part fairly unscathed. He is in love with a seneters daughter Helena ,who seems to be as smitten with the poor Falco as he is with her.

In this episode recorded for the B.B.C. the people come to life and as usual as you would expect from the B.B.C. the quality is perfect.

Rome brought to life

Once again we have another brilliant dramatisation of a Falco novel by the BBC. A Who-dun-it with a twist, Ancient Romans talking in modern day language allows for a light witty underlay to the story. I paticularly like the interplay between the characters which helps add to the involvement of the listener. The only criticism I had with the audio is the theme music which can be piercing at times.

Leaves us wanting more...

This is the 5th instalment of the excellent dramatisation of Lindsey Davis' much loved Falco series. And much to my distress, the last! Rest assured the others seem to be available as narrated audiobooks but once you've fallen in love with a cast's dramatisation then it's not the same (even if it is truer to the original book).

"Poseidon's Gold" was very enjoyable, with a well-written plot which gives further insight into Falco's family, especially his deceased and, perhaps incorrectly, revered brother, and also his estranged father. It feels more of a return to form after the "Iron Hand of Mars", which I felt lacked interest and seemed quite contrived when compared to the other offerings of the series.

While I will miss Lesser and Madeley, I will probably continue the series in the old fashioned way, by reading the books. I need to know what happens to these improbable yet lovable characters.

Didius Falco

We've listened as a family to the first 5 books in the Falco series, all of them available from BBC audio dramatisations. The characterisation, particularly by Antonio Lesser and Anna Madeley is excellent and the books are an enjoyable listen. I would make sure that you listen to them in order as there would be 'spoilers' for the earlier books if you don't.