Just brilliant

I'm so surprised that this book has had so many negative reviews. The story was complex and gripping (I listened to it over a weekend) and the narration was superb, IMHO. The different voices for each character were great, especially Michael, and the twists and turns of the plot kept me enthralled. Fantastic stuff.

10 people found this helpful

If I could give 3.5 I would. Entertaining enough

What three words best describe David Thorpe’s voice?

A little on the irritating side when acting the character voices.

Was A Plague on Both Your Houses worth the listening time?

Yes

Any additional comments?

No Shardlake but good enough

8 people found this helpful

Not a great listen- the later books are better

If this book wasn’t for you, who do you think might enjoy it more?
I like Susanna Gregory's writing but the first couple of Mathew Bartholomew book suffer from weak characterisation and a poor narrator and the combination of the two is unfortunate. The good news is that the later books do improve and the narrater becomes more bearable and are worth a credit but this, alas, isn't and I will be returning it.

What was most disappointing about Susanna Gregory’s story?
Having read all of Gregory's books, the earlier books are definitely the weakest in the series, with poorly sketched characters, unrealistic dialogues and although the historical detail is interesting it isn't enough to keep the reader/listener engaged. As I have said above, the later books do get a lot better but this one, particularly with the terrible narration, is one to avoid.

Would you be willing to try another one of David Thorpe’s performances?
Unfortunately Thorpe is the assigned reader for the Bartholomew books so I can only hope he, or the publisher, take notice of listeners comments and change/adapt his narration because, honestly, I can't bear to hear some of his interpretations of the monks and in particular Michael. In answer to the question, seeing Thorpe's name on an audio book would put me off.

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from A Plague on Both Your Houses?
Not really applicable - it was the first book written a long time ago and Gregory's writing has got better with time, so just take this as an early attempt, not really worth a credit unless you are want to hear how it all started or you are prepared to return it if you don't like it.

Any additional comments?
A different narrator would have made all the difference but we have what we have and it is good that the whole back catalogue is been made available.

4 people found this helpful

The name is ?

A great but complicated story. It was my first audible book and I became hooked. However, at first I found it very difficult to sort out all the characters - when reading I can constantly flip back to check - not so easy when listening hands free. But just how many thousands of times does the name Bartholomew occur?!!

3 people found this helpful

Slow and not keen on the narrator

I gave up about half-way through, as I was bored of waiting for the story to get going. The narrator has (for me) an extremely irritating habit of leaving slightly-too-long pauses between sentences, some of which are long enough to seem like a paused between scenes. At times, I thought there were too many characters, as some appear in only one or two instances. Some of the timeline jumps are a bit clumsy, and there was one historical clanger - corks were not used in wine bottles until the 16th century, and bottles weren't used in the 14th century.

2 people found this helpful

Too many characters

Perhaps because I am listening to the story rather than reading it, but I lost track of who is who and after a while I gave up caring

2 people found this helpful

Cardboard characters & a dull whodunnit

I was desperate to finish some weeding in the garden, so persisted longer with this book than I might've otherwise. Had I been driving, I would have slept, so a safety warning here!

Some whodunnits are just plain dull and formulaic. Despite the historical setting, the use of disgusting period detail and the nature of the college rule books at the time, this is one of those. Part of the problem is the cardboard characters. They don't live and this is one of those dreary potboiler books in an endless series. Trouble is, the first book in such a series has to hook the reader to keep them reading. This fails, but at least I won't waste any more dosh on the rest of them!

The narrator does his best and gives a creditable performance of this dismal material.

If you want a truly ripping yarn set in the time of the Black Death and full of excellent characters and atmospheric historical detail, I suggest Connie Willis' novel 'The Doomesday Book'. Dunno whether her stuff is on Audible yet, but it should be!

6 people found this helpful

Loved the hardbacks but...

Is there anything you would change about this book?

Just couldn't get into it. I've read the whole series and I wish I'd not listened to this. The characters just weren't as I imagined them. The narrator didn't do them justice. Brother Michael was just lost..really disappointing ..

Would you be willing to try another book from Susanna Gregory? Why or why not?

I've read them all so far but I've returned the ones I had lined up to listen to. Just couldn't get into the first one. Maybe another narrator and I might try again.

What three words best describe David Thorpe’s performance?

Poor, unrealistic, monotonous. Sadly not my cup of tea. First time I've heard him and he just doesn't do the book justice. Didn't hold my attention.

If this book were a film would you go see it?

i would probably as I really liked the hardbacks.

Any additional comments?

Don't be put off by my comments about the book as I did enjoy it when I read it just couldn't get into it with this narrator. Mathew Bartholomew will grow on you .... Give it a go :)

5 people found this helpful

Couldn't Finish This Book. Don't waste your money!

Would you try another book written by Susanna Gregory or narrated by David Thorpe?

Susanna Gregory - Possibly
David Thorpe - No

Has A Plague on Both Your Houses put you off other books in this genre?

I couldn't finish this book so difficult to comment, but the genre is one I usually enjoy, so probably not. I thought having read numerous positive reviews on this series of books that I would enjoy it but it was ruined by the atrocious narration.

Would you be willing to try another one of David Thorpe’s performances?

Definitely Not. It wasn't read as smooth prose as books should, but as a list of separate sentences with long pauses between them. It therefore did not keep my interest & I was unable to get past the first few chapters. I tried a number of times to get into the story but couldn't. Going to request a credit refund.

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from A Plague on Both Your Houses?

Can't comment - didn't listen to enough of the story

Any additional comments?

Doesn't Audible have a quality check in place to prevent books being ruined by the narrator.? An author invests time & effort into writing interesting books but then their work is totally spoilt by a rubbish narrator. Good narration is vital when listening to a book so I am surprised that this is allowed to happen.

13 people found this helpful

Medieval Mayhem

I listened to some of the later Bartholomew mysteries so decided to try the first one.

I enjoyed this and the narrator was very good. Unlike other reviewers, I also liked the different narrator of some of the later books although I must admit the change in Michael’s voice was quite bizarre.

These are very complex with lots of characters and you have to follow carefully. If you enjoy that then great buy the book! It was nice to see how Matthew and Michael started out together.

The Oxford / Cambridge plot was slightly ridiculous but I enjoyed it all the same. This is much more grisly than Cadfael although I loved all the twists and turns. Can’t help feeling they could do with some stronger female characters as Phillipa just doesn’t do it for me.