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Fly By Night

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About this listen

Fly By Night, read by actress Lesley Sharp, is a breathtaking adventure story, set in reimagined eighteenth-century England, and is the stunning debut novel from Frances Hardinge, author of the Costa Award winning The Lie Tree.

As the realm struggles to maintain an uneasy peace after years of civil war and tyranny, a twelve-year-old orphan called Mosca Mye and her loyal companion, a cantankerous goose, are about to become the unlikely heroes of a radical revolution. Mosca is on the run, heading for the city of Mandelion. There she finds herself living by her wits among cut-throat highwaymen, spies and smugglers. With peril at every turn, Mosca uncovers a dark plot to terrorize the people of Mandelion, and soon merry mayhem leads to murder . . .

Winner of the Branford Boase award, Fly By Night by Frances Hardinge has an unforgettable cast of characters and an inspiring message at its heart – sometimes the power of words can change the world.

Fly By Night is followed by its thrilling sequel, Twilight Robbery.

'Everyone should read Frances Hardinge. Everyone. Right now' - Patrick Ness, author of A Monster Calls.

© Frances Hardinge; (P) Macmillan Publishers Ltd Fiction Historical Fiction Literature & Fiction Fantasy Funny Heartfelt
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Most relevant

Would you try another book written by Frances Hardinge or narrated by Lesley Sharp?

i would, if th book wasn't abridged.

What did you like best about this story?

The book is a classic of ya or any age literature, that's why the abridgment is so terrible.

What three words best describe Lesley Sharp’s voice?

I liked the voice for Mosca and most others but the voice of Clent as a previous reviewer stated is very very irritating, I had to give up on this book a third of the way in due to this. This man is meant to have a silver tongue not a teeth grating one.

Do you think Fly by Night needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

there already is a brilliant follow up called Twilight Robbery

Any additional comments?

I think in a book like this with a serious agenda about politics religious tyranny etc the narrator should try to tone down the panto characters.

missed opportunity

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Amazing story. Original hardly covers it. A complete world created between the covers of a book, yet so familiar. Loved every word.

super.

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I find it difficult to listen to audio books unless the narrator's voice feels appropriate for the piece, and they're able to do the story justice, so can't manage to stick with the majority of the audio books i try. But this was an absolute delight. Lesley Sharp does the material justice, fills the story with vitality and really brings out the humour. She makes one main character choice that's irritating with too many flourishes and trills, which tends to jerk you out of the story somewhat. However, overall her storytelling is so skilled and powerful that its easy to overlook that. I was totally immersed from beginning to end. I only wish this was the full version and not abridged. One of my all time favourite audio recordings.

This narration makes the story come alive.

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loved the book, not a fan of the narrator, found her impression of clent in particular, incredibly annoying .

loved the book

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