Edwina

Whether you have already read The Pillars of the Earth matters not as this book stands alone.
An excellent, intriguing, densely-plotted novel with well drawn characters makes for addictive listening so if you're short on time, choose another book until you have the leisure to give it your full attention.
I've given it four, rather than five stars as the narrator, who is in the main excellent, has some rather odd pronunciations at times which I find really annoying - but that's probably a very personal thing.
Well worth the price and the time it will take you to listen to it.

As a huge fan of all Dorothy Dunnet's novels I was delighted to seen 'Niccolo Rising' which is the first of eight novels in the 'House of Niccolo' Series.

The story, as always with DD's novels, is densely plotted, takes some concentration, is well populated with genuine historical characters and well-drawn fictional ones, immaculately researched so you get a good sense of life, both high and low in fifteenth century Europe, but most of all is a jolly good yarn!
It's well read by the narrator and although I've read the book three or four times I found there was much detail I'd missed which comes over well in the narration.

The eponymous Niccolo, introduced here as Claes, the dyeshop apprentice, is an extraordinary character who is not at all what he appears and will eventually become - amongst other things - a wealthy merchant. However, it's a long road before that and this, the first stage of it, is highly enjoyable.

I do hope that Audible will offer the other seven House of Niccolo books and also the Lymond Chronicles in future.

Let me start by saying that the story itself gets 5 stars from me - this has been one of my favourite books since I first read it aged about 15, (more years ago than I care to remember) and I think I learned more about this period in history from this book than from any other source.



I was delighted to see it on Audible so bought it with my next credit. Whilst I still very much enjoy the story, I find the narrator's voices/accents irritating, so much so that they detract from my enjoyment. I'm sure this is a personal thing, there will be many of you who don't find it so, but do listen to the sample first to see if you have the same problem. It is for this reason that I've only given it 3 stars - I'd give it two, but I'd hate anyone to think it's not a good story when it is!!

Dull - my mind kept wandering and I've not bothered to finish it. It may just go back to be swapped for something else.

I'm afraid the 'entertaining and wickedly humorous crime adventure' has passed me by. I found it neither entertaining nor humerous, I don't think I smiled or chuckled once. I also found the use of 'eff blank blank blank' etc added nothing to the story and just became an affectation.

I listen to audio books in various scenarios and I always found that my mind wandered whilst listening to this and when I'd finished listening to it on one day and then tried to pick it up where I'd left off I had difficulty remembering what had gone before.

Yes, I did listen to the sample and a lot of people obviously like it, but I've got this one wrong for my taste. I find it very ordinary and somehow almost lazy storytelling on the back of existing literary characters. Had I looked at this in a shop as a paperback I don't think I'd have bothered to buy it.

Having not long finished 'Rivers of London', I was delighted to see 'Moon over Soho' as an audio book. Kobna Holdbrook-Smith is a perfect narrator and the plot is entertaining and tight. A very, very enjoyable listen.

Brilliant! Just brilliant! I'm a huge Dalziel & Pascoe fan so approached this with some trepidation, but I agree with other reviewers - it's the best audio book I've had. I'm sorry it had to end, so I'll now look for other non-Dalziel & Pascoe books by Reginald Hill. A wonderful listen!

I really enjoyed this tale of witchcraft and magic in the Met in present-day London. Modern writers don't normally appeal to me, but the story had a good pace and was engaging, the narrator, in my opinion, having exactly the right voice for the 'hero'. An unusual story, entertaining enough for you to suspend your disbelief, I hope Audible release more from this author.

I enjoyed the story and the historical detail of the period it was set in, but it gets only four stars because I couldn't decide if it was a bad recording or whether the narrator actually had a lisp. Whichever it was I found it very distracting! I'll listen harder to the extracts of these novels next time to see if the lisp is apparent before I buy.

The book is up to the usual Dalziel & Pascoe standard but, although Brian Glover's Yorkshire accent is more accurate for Andy Dalziel than Warren Clarke's Lancastrian accent we're used to on TV, it does make it a harder listen than other D&P books read by Colin Buchanan.
Brian Glover reads as if he's got his finger under the words whilst Colin Buchanan's narration flows more naturally with more light and shade in the voices as well.
It's a shame, but because of the narrator, it's hard work to listen to.