Listen free for 30 days

Listen with offer

Offer ends May 1st, 2024 11:59PM GMT. Terms and conditions apply.
£7.99/month after 3 months. Renews automatically.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Casting the Runes cover art

Casting the Runes

By: M. R. James
Narrated by: David Suchet
Get this deal Try for £0.00

Pay £99p/month. After 3 months pay £7.99/month. Renews automatically. See terms for eligibility.

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically.

Buy Now for £0.99

Buy Now for £0.99

Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.

Listeners also enjoyed...

M. R. James: 'A Warning to the Curious' and 'Casting the Runes' cover art
M.R. James: The Complete Ghost Stories Collection cover art
The Ash Tree cover art
The Tractate Middoth cover art
More Ghost Stories cover art
Ghost Stories, Volume One cover art
The M. R. James BBC Radio Collection cover art
The Complete Stories of Sherlock Holmes cover art
Sherlock Holmes and the Seven Deadly Sins Murders cover art
The Tale of Halcyon Crane cover art
Sherlock Holmes: His Last Bow cover art
Green Tea cover art
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea cover art
The Girl from the Well cover art
Dracula [Audible Edition] cover art
A Neighbour's Landmark cover art

Summary

The tale of a man who unwittingly angers a sorcerer, who is assumed by some Monty scholars to be based on the self-styled 'Great Beast,' occultist Aleister Crowley. 

Montague Rhodes James was a noted British mediaeval scholar and provost of King's College, Cambridge (1905–1918) and of Eton College (1918–1936). He is best remembered for his ghost stories which are widely regarded as among the finest in English literature. 

One of James's most important achievements was to redefine the ghost story for the new century by dispensing with many of the formal Gothic trappings of his predecessors, and replacing them with more realistic contemporary settings. 

'Montague Rhodes James has an intelligent and scientific knowledge of human nerves and feelings; and knows just how to apportion statement, imagery, and subtle suggestions in order to secure the best results with his readers.' HP Lovecraft. 

Actor David Suchet is best known for his definitive portrayal of Hercule Poirot, the Belgian detective created by the legendary mystery author Agatha Christie, in a number of international television productions. He narrates his story in Poirot and Me

©1904 M. R. James (P)2013 Audible Ltd

What listeners say about Casting the Runes

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    308
  • 4 Stars
    102
  • 3 Stars
    48
  • 2 Stars
    11
  • 1 Stars
    6
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    336
  • 4 Stars
    48
  • 3 Stars
    24
  • 2 Stars
    3
  • 1 Stars
    4
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    266
  • 4 Stars
    82
  • 3 Stars
    46
  • 2 Stars
    9
  • 1 Stars
    6

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

too silky

I love David Suchet, but for this one I am really wanting a bit more of the sinister undertones. This is after all story of the supernatural, and I was expecting to feel a little but of bit of a thrill. Suchet delivers with class and poise but it's far too relaxed for the spooky matter at hand.
Coded allusion to The Great Beast drew me to this tale, but alas I found the narrative cinstructiion a bit '3rd person' and bitty . Compared to MRJ's other classic works (which I love) I just wasn't feeling this. Perhaps I'll go and seek out a BBC version (must be one out there) for better results.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great storytelling. very well read. thank you sir

David sachet is one best storytelling people around to date . Well done sir. x

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Stunning performance

.....as are all of Mr Suchets readings of M.R. James. such a pity there aren't more.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

classic ghost story

m r james at his best read superbly by David suchet. having read all of m r james ghost stories it is a real pleasure to listen to this rendition

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Wonderful narration of an average story

David Suchet breathed as much life into this story as possible. Unfortunately, the story is rather slow and lacks tension or atmosphere. That’s a shame, because I liked the general idea, it was just let down in the telling.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent narration of a ghostly tale

M.R. James' ghost stories are wonderfully atmospheric and creepy and David Suchet's narration brings them wonderfully (horribly!) to life. The characters are well defined with different voices / tones and when put together with D.S.'s lovely voice made the whole listening experience great. I will be listening to this again but I will also be hunting out more books/ stories narrated by David Suchet as his voice is lovely and his narration very skilful and engaging; even without seeing his expression, the feelings of the characters came through brilliantly. Loved it.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent performance

Brilliant story , one of my favourite MRJ tales and beautifully read by the narrator

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

David Suchet is an exceptional reader

First rate performance of a great ghost story.

I didn't think anyone could better Michael Hordern's readings of the ghost stories of M.R. James, but David Suchet has certainly done that with his readings for Audible. Brilliant stuff.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Derek Jacobi is more scary!

Great story, great narration, but personally I prefer Derek Jacobi. Also the music needs to be more eerie.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Very entertaining version

clearly read with a good rendition of the various character voices, the build up to the story climax has a sinister undertone giving the fate the
leading character is trying to avoid.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!