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Flesh and Spirit
- Lighthouse, Book 1
- Narrated by: Allen O'Reilly
- Series: Lighthouse (Berg), Book 1
- Length: 14 hrs and 47 mins
- Categories: Mystery, Thriller & Suspense, Thriller & Suspense
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- By swampedbybunnies on 08-12-20
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Overall
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Performance
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Seyonne is a man waiting to die. He has been a slave for 16 years, almost half his life, and has lost everything of meaning to him: his dignity, the people and homeland he loves, and the Warden's power he used to defend an unsuspecting world from the ravages of demons. Seyonne has made peace with his fate. With strict self-discipline he forces himself to exist only in the present moment and to avoid the pain of hope or caring about anyone.
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Brutal imprisonment has broken Aidan McAllister. His music is destroyed, and with it the visions he once gave a kingdom ravaged by dragon war. Now, he risks his hard-bought freedom to uncover the truth behind his incarceration - and to meet his enemy face-to-face....
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- By CeNedra Red on 03-03-17
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The Shadow of What Was Lost
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- By: James Islington
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
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The tag line says it all...almost
- By Mike on 07-07-15
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The Wind in the Willows
- By: Kenneth Grahame, Dina Gregory
- Narrated by: Cush Jumbo, Harriet Walter, Aimee Lou Wood, and others
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Overall
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Performance
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Meet Lady Toad, Mistress Badger, Miss Water Rat and Mrs Mole as they go about their adventures, messing around on the river, gallivanting in Lady Toad’s shiny new toy and fighting valiantly to save Toad Hall from unruly squatters. In this retelling by Dina Gregory, The Wind in the Willows becomes a story about a group of female animals to be admired for their close sisterhood and fierce independence. Featuring original music and songs by Rosabella Gregory and sound effects captured on location, put your headphones on, sit back and lose yourself in the British countryside.
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Why Bother?
- By swampedbybunnies on 08-12-20
Summary
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What listeners say about Flesh and Spirit
Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Mr. D. G. Medley
- 02-01-20
First of two great books.
I read "The Lighthouse Duet" years ago, when first published. Took advantage of a credits offer to get the novels on Audible and have loved being immersed in them again. The narrator has some pronunciations that seem odd, but perhaps that's because he's American and I'm English. Carol Berg's characterisation and storytelling are excellent in these two books. I recommend all her work, and if you like these you should read Robin Hobb too.
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- CeNedra Red
- 04-05-16
Great Tale Ruined :-((
Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?
The book, I would most definitely recommend. I would definitely NOT recommend this audio book version to someone I considered a friend. The narrator spoke in a flat noninflected voice, which made it difficult to tell when one sentence ended and the next began, or distinguish between the various characters.
Who was your favorite character and why?
I didn't get far enough into the audio version to find a character I liked, and it would have been difficult to pick one out of the morass of atonal babble anyway.
What didn’t you like about Allen O'Reilly’s performance?
EVERYTHING!!
Was Flesh and Spirit worth the listening time?
NO! I only listened to the first three chapters, and I felt that I could have spent the time better. Watching paint dry, or the lawn growing, perhaps.
Any additional comments?
I am heart sick that yet another favorite book has been destroyed by a poor narrator. I would urge "Audible" to consider reworking those audio books that receive poor reviews due to the narrator's deplorable efforts. I will be returning this and its companion book (it is the first in a duology) and getting something better.
1 person found this helpful
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- mike
- 10-12-14
Almost unlistenable
I'm a big Carol Berg fan. I deeply enjoyed Dust and Light and was excited to learn that there were a couple of other books written in the same world at about the same time period.
In over ten years of subscribing to Audible I haven't heard a more poorly narrated novel. Berg's elegant prose is battered by having been read at too fast a pace and with with zero sense of the rhythm of the phrasing. What should be elegant is stilted and rushed. Character voices are poorly differentiated and I've noticed that several words are mispronounced. An audiobook that I had eagerly anticipated has been rendered too painful to finish. I should have previewed the book sample instead of expecting that it would equal Dust and Light.
7 people found this helpful
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- A. Jones
- 12-05-17
I love the story, but...
What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?
If the narrator would have read more slowly, using an appropriate accent and changing his voice for different characters, this would have most likely been a 4 or 5 star listening experience.
Who was your favorite character and why?
I love Valen, he's got an engaging personality that makes me want to get to know him better.
How did the narrator detract from the book?
The narrator's style of reading is very off-putting. He says the words really fast, with weird pauses and in this tone that doesn't fit the story at all. And he speaks with what sounds like an American accent, which really doesn't match at all with how I imagined the characters voices. I love this book, but unfortunately I'm very disappointed with the choice of narrator.
2 people found this helpful
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- Sarah
- 02-01-14
Intricate, intriguing story; so-so narration
As for the story, Carol Berg has done a superb job. This dark fantasy will grip your imagination with its refreshingly multidimensional plot and compelling characters. A must-read for all fantasy fans. Word to the wise, you'll definitely want to check out this book's sequel, Breath and Bone.
The narration, however, is mediocre. The pacing is a bit awkward. There are many mispronunciations of words and hesitations that make it seem like the narrator doesn't understand the meaning of what he's reading. This isn't a glaring issue and many people may not even notice, but it did bother me. Having said that, I still wholeheartedly recommend this series on the strength of the story alone.
2 people found this helpful
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- Leah Petersen
- 20-11-15
Love the book. The narration is abysmal.
Ok, I've heard worse narrations. But this one sounds like he's running toward the end of the book as if promised eternal salvation if he finished as fast as possible. No particular inflection, no attempt to differentiate voices or narration. One of the worst narrations I've heard that didn't drive me so crazy that I didn't demand a refund.
1 person found this helpful
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- Jim "The Impatient"
- 13-07-14
FIGHTING TO ADD MORE WORDS TO THIS COLLECTION
ON NONSENSE.
Buried in the overly descriptive writing and the disjointed happenings, I believe there is possibly a good story here. I am sure there are those who love this style of writing, but since Carol Berg is not a household name, not a whole lot. I think Berg has lots of talent in storytelling and if she quits trying to be so poetic, the story would have a chance to shine.
I really did not care too much for the narrator. He reads in a sing song fashion and uses a lilt in his voice to show emotion. It reminded me of a junior high kid forced to read a poem in front of class.
14 people found this helpful
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- Gear
- 26-09-20
Love the book, bought the audible
This was the most fascinating world I have ever read about, and loved all the characters.
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- Melanie R. Barbarito
- 19-09-20
Great story
Yes, the reader could have been better. I delayed in listening to this although Carol Berg is one of my favorite authors. The reader is simply a reader, not a performer. This story is among the best of this author’s. Don’t let other reviews of a less than wonderful reader put you off. Listen!
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- Ayna Lorenzo
- 03-07-20
A wonderful book with workable narration
I avoided this book, as well as the second in the series, after hearing the preview and hearing other reviewer's cautions. This series is one of my very favorites though, so I'm glad I took a chance. I don't recommend allowing these audiobooks to be your first experience, but if you already love the books, the narrator is workable. Slow down the reading speed to .8x instead of 1x. He still mispronounces and stumbles, and his character voices aren't super well defined, but at least you can absorb the prose and pacing. I even started to look past the imperfections and enjoy his voice. He's not a perfect narrator, but certainly workable with some adjustments, especially if you already adore the story. As for this series, I highly recommend you read it in some way, shape, or form. This first book is a bit of a workup — much character and world building, all leading to the wonderful and exciting second book. Valen is a tough main character as he is quite flawed, but I assure you his character arc is masterfully done and you will absolutely adore him by the end of the series. Similarly with the world. Carol Berg has created a rich and complex world that is often cruel, but still well worth your time. Truly, one of my most favorite authors, whose books bring me joy yearly as I re-read and re-listen to them. She's an incredible writer and story builder, so if a slower pace, intricate creation, and fascinating complexities don't scare you, I urge you to dive in (just, possibly with the written book first).
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- Theresa
- 29-04-18
Stellar book, quite strikingly bad reader...
Carol Berg is a wonderfully vivid and talented writer, and this dark fantasy is one of her best, and Valen’s journey toward the “end times” engaging. It is something of a cliffhanger, so if that’s something you don’t like, well—be warned. I read this book when it came out in print and really looked forward to the audiobook version, since I adore Carol’s writing and this book. Unfortunately, the reader is one of the worst I have ever heard in my 16+ years and 800+ titles with Audible. Unsuited to the material, weird cadence, misplaced pauses, often too-fast reading, almost no difference in character presentation (women sound like men, everyone sounds almost the same!), and let’s not talk about the mispronunciation of common English words! Over and over and over. The repeated mispronunciation of such words nearly sent me into a rage-stroke. He even mispronounces—start to finish—the main character’s name! I finally gave up listening and pulled out the e-book to finish. I’ll re-read the second volume in print or the e-book. I just cannot even stand it anymore. Fortunately the reader for second set of books set in the same world have a much better reader! So there is hope there.
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- Deb Glass
- 05-06-16
takes a while to get going,
perseverance it's w o rth it. first have was a hard slog through half frozen mud.