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  • When It's a Jar

  • By: Tom Holt
  • Narrated by: Ray Sawyer
  • Length: 14 hrs and 5 mins
  • 4.1 out of 5 stars (128 ratings)
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When It's a Jar cover art

When It's a Jar

By: Tom Holt
Narrated by: Ray Sawyer
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Summary

Maurice has just killed a dragon with a breadknife. And had his destiny foretold...and had his true love spirited away. That's precisely the sort of stuff that'd bring out the latent heroism in anyone. Unfortunately, Maurice is pretty sure he hasn't got any latent heroism.

Meanwhile, a man wakes up in a jar in a different kind of pickle (figuratively speaking). He can't get out, of course, but neither can he remember his name, or what gravity is, or what those things on the ends on his legs are called...and every time he starts working it all out, someone makes him forget again. Forget everything. Only one thing might help him. The answer to the most baffling question of all. When Is A Door Not A Door?

An absurdly witty novel of alternate universes and very unlikely heroes from one of Britain's best-loved comic writers - perfect for fans of Douglas Adams and Terry Pratchett

©2013 One Reluctant Lemming Co. Ltd (P)2013 Hachette Audio

What listeners say about When It's a Jar

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  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

Something for insomniacs.

Sadly this book drones on and on and is not helped by the narrator's annoying voice characterisations. You could doze off halfway though and not notice the gap in the story.

The book before this, "Doughnut", was not as good as its predecessors and in this book references are made to it, previous stories and said doughnuts and their function, but I think Tom Holt could rejig his usually startling imagination.

His ironic style is still in evidence and there are some wonderful one-liners, but the story moves so very slowly, like a tired snail attempting to scale the summit of a cell-phone repeater tower when the drizzle fades leaving the gastropod stuck halfway up, the clouds are evaporating, the dehydrating summer sun is beginning to beat down and it thinks to itself (in Ray Sawyer's annoying nasal twang) "I should have listened to my gran when she said "You are no Edmund Hillary, don't do it even if it IS there!", (actually my snail is more interesting than the wretched "hero" of Tom's book!).

I first encountered Tom Holt when I bought "Of Life, Liberty And The Pursuit Of Sausages" then "The Portable Door", I found both highly entertaining, original and worth recommending. "Barking"and "In Your Dreams" were quite good too.

Unfortunately this book is neither original nor entertaining and I shall "return" it.

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6 people found this helpful

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

trying too hard

Would you try another book written by Tom Holt or narrated by Ray Sawyer?

Maybe by the narrator, but probably not by Tom Holt

Would you ever listen to anything by Tom Holt again?

No

How could the performance have been better?

The narrator was great, no issues with him

You didn’t love this book--but did it have any redeeming qualities?

No

Any additional comments?

The book tried too hard to be funny, in the end ended up disjointed, not funny and not really making sense. I love Douglas Adams, I love Terry Pratchett, I love Haruki Murakami, all disjointed books that challenge reality, but they succeed. This book - horrible.

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3 people found this helpful

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

you've just got to finish it

Sometimes I lost who was where but still fascinated enough to carry on and find out what happens to Maurice. Entertaining while complex and thought provoking. loved it.

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1 person found this helpful

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

Holt Evolution

What did you like most about When It's a Jar?

Its a continuation of the You Space story and very Holt, especially how believable the paralel worlds are.

Would you recommend When It's a Jar to your friends? Why or why not?

Very Holt and full of believable twists but a bit complex, looses its way a little and misses the humour of other Holt work which I would recommend first.

What three words best describe Ray Sawyer’s voice?

Clear. Good characterization.

If you made a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Discworld meets our world.

Any additional comments?

Glad I read it and a big Holt fan.

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1 person found this helpful

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

Mostly filler

I haven't read the next one yet but this one seems completely unnecessary. 3 chapters worth of actual story and the rest is just waffle. Disappointing, because everything else I've read by Tom Holt has been great.

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

Tedious rehash of previous work.

This was disappointing, lacking in progression, and just reworked themes and concepts that have already been done to death in this series of books. Do yourself a favour and buy a bag of doughnuts instead.

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

Another fantastic book by Tom Holt

It's the classic Tom Holt formula and as always it's fantastically funny. Well worth the credit.

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

Disappointing

I love Tom Holt and have listened to loads of his books. This one started in a disjointed fashion and I struggled to get into it, replaying it several times. The story in places is blocky and lacks fluidity. The characters are flat and you never feel you know them. They don't come to life. Good narration, but I'm leaving Tom's tomes for a while before I revisit him.

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

As good as expected

You do need to concentrate to remember who is whete. But well worth it

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

awesome

The problem with Tom Holt's books is once you have finished listening to it your desperate for more even though it's 3am cats yowling for food and your mental to go to work in a couple of hours. !
can't recommend enough yawn

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