The Ruby in the Smoke

As an adult I approached this novel with some reservations. Anton Lesser's rendition (as always)was brilliant so I needn't have worried. I can recommend this audio book without reservation for both adults and older children alike.

Brilliant Audiobook, fantastic narator and a really enjoyable listen. Both myself and my husband loved this audiobook and have already listened to it many times since we purchased our copy.

A fantastic story written by Philip Pullman, his stories will never let you down and if you like one your bound to love his others.

Highly recommended, you couldn't ask for more!

Pullman writes well and this is a fast-paced absorbing book. However, it is really brought to life by Anton Lesser, who reads it superbly well. Lesser is so good that, increasingly, unabridged books read by him are my first port of call when downloading from Audible.

I enjoyed this trilogy immensely as a teenager and I thought I would find out how good they are as an adult. I still enjoyed the story and the writing very much but I was disappointed in the choice of narrator. Anton Lesser reads very narrative very well but the dialogue was missing something, perhaps because his voice doesn't have much range and he was speaking for several female characters as well as male.

This would have been perfect with a full cast, as His Dark Materials had.

I thoroughly enjoyed this audiobook. The evocation of a dark and atmospheric Victorian London with very believable characters was excellent. I was drawn into the story right from the start and got through the whole of it in less than a week. I could hardly wait to find out what would happen next! I especially liked the unexpected twist towards the end and the reading by Anton Lesser is excellent.
Philip Pullman's novels are very well written. I've read his Northern Lights trilogy quite a few times now and still discover something new. Highly recommended.

I first saw the BBC film adaptation of The Ruby in the Smoke, and disliked it. But I had already bought the second book in this series, and that book I ADORED! I quickly gobbled up the third book to, and loved it as much as the second! So I got the first book in audioboook format.

The first book isn't as good as the second and third, but it is still a great book. The story feels a bit contrived at places and the characters a bit unbelievable, but not to a degree that it becomes annoying. Overall, this is a great book, and you simply must read the whole series!

A note about the narrator. He is FANTASTIC and ideal for the time period. The book is worth getting for his narration alone.

You should download the Sally Lockheart series.
Narration - 5 stars
Stories - 5 stars
Absolutely brilliant