Spooky Anthology Style Release

A selection of excellent narrators do a great job with some equally excellent horror vignettes. I preferred the stories of the first half and wish this quality had been consistent throughout, as the last two or three really failed to capture my imagination. However, I'd recommend this to anyone.

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1 person found this helpful

Great for Halloween

What made the experience of listening to Thirteen the most enjoyable?

I loved the atmospheric music throughout the stories. It gave me chills in places.

Which character – as performed by the narrators – was your favourite?

All the narrator's were excellent.

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

I found the story with the child in the nursery and the story with the mp3 player particularly spooky.

Any additional comments?

I enjoyed most of the stories, but there are 13 so some of them I didn't enjoy as much.

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3 people found this helpful

Good but certainly not Vault of Horrors

Great actors but not very inspiring stories. As an avid horror fan of both new and old genre, I found the stories a bit tepid. Probably only the story Down stands out as anything approaching atmospheric.

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1 person found this helpful

A great collection of short horror stories

I'm always hungry for collections of good short stories, especially horror, and often disappointed by what gets released. Thirteen, though, has everything I look for in a collection - good stories and great narration, with excellent sound effects and music as a very welcome (and effective) bonus.
The stories themselves are pretty diverse in terms of content, and while some are inevitably stronger than others, none of them are less than enjoyable to listen to, delivering genuine scares and a lingering atmosphere of building tension throughout. The collection even includes a modern-day retelling of the much-loved "the monkey's paw" and, though personally this is my least favourite tale, I have to admire the effort to bring the classic to a new audience.
The narration is excellent, as diverse as the stories themselves, and none of the actors involved deliver anything less than a brilliant performance. So many audio books suffer from poor narration, which, for me, can sometimes ruin a decent story entirely - I'm delighted to say that Thirteen doesn't fall in to this group.
Overall - it's definitely worthy of a place in any horror fan's collection, and I only wish it was called 14 or 25 or 62. Really hoping for a Thirteen volume 2 in the near future.

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7 people found this helpful

Sending shivers down your spine

Where does Thirteen rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Thirteen is one of the first audiobooks from Spokenworld Audio I've ever listened to. And I should say - that's a great start! Fab collection of spine tingling tales becomes even creepier thanks to the structure of the framing narrative that captures your attention right from the beginning. 5/5

Which character – as performed by the narrators – was your favourite?

Hamilton James Macaulay (the narrator of the frame story) has become my absolute favourite character not just because he's keeping you in suspense till the end of the story (you know from the beginning that he's going to become a murderer but don't know the reason yet), but also and mostly because of the brilliant performance by Barnaby Edwards. The owner of the shop is performed by him as well - in such a different way that you almost forget it's also Barnaby Edwards speaking.

Any additional comments?

Every tale in this collection is well performed and has its peculiar uncanny mood. Thirteen is definitely a must-listen for all classic horror lovers.

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6 people found this helpful

dreadful rubbish. Don't waste your time

I quite enjoy a good horror story. The only horror involved was my gradual realisation that these authors were getting paid for such moronic tosh.

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