My Family

rubbish

Poorly written, narated and simply rubbish. not sure what I expected but I thought it would be better than this amateur nonsense.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Disappointing

The blurb suggests this is truly horrifying but I found it pretty ordinary. Rather disappointing.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Splattery fun, much improved by the narration.

Any additional comments?

An ordinary family is up late one night, kept awake by the terrible storm, when there is a knock at the door. A stranded and wet couple ask to use the phone to call a recovery service for their broken down car. The family invites the in the strangers, who seem very taken with the five daughters of the house.

This is the start of what turns into a nightmare for the titular family. It escalates pretty quickly from the merely creepy to extremely nasty. And it’s pretty effective, mostly, to the extent that I was annoyed when work forced me to stop listening at a crucial point.One for fans of splatterpunk and torture porn.

There were problems however. The prose in general is a little clunky, with a constantly shifting POV - a more limited POV from one character would have made this a lot better. There’s quite a lot of repetition in the prose, the dialogue, even the violence. One eye-gouging is shocking; using it twice diminishes the effect.

The narration is very good. Chris Barnes’s steady delivery works well with the gruesome subject matter to the extent that he became almost invisible, serving the story and bringing the characters to life.

Overall, the story was quite fun, but could have been better – I most likely wouldn’t have read this to the end in any other format. The narration saved it, injecting character and compensating for a lack of care in the writing.

2 of 3 people found this review helpful

A chilling performance for a dark tale.

What did you like most about My Family?

When I first read the story I described the pacing as a linear construction of tension followed by an exponential ride through a scene of madness, torture and gruesome acts of dispicable nature. Finally the story brings the reader to a chilling and slightly saddening conclusion that will leave you panting for breath. This pacing is not lost in the audiobook and you will find yourself stopping whatever else you are doing whilst the story takes hold of your thoughts.

What did you like best about this story?

Is this not a repeat of the above question? I guess I'll give another reason that I liked the tale. As a parent, this is more than a nightmare. I cannot imagine a day when I will ever stop worrying about my girls or ever stop experiencing parent guilt. You know, that feeling where your kids are stuck in your thoughts and you worry that they need something from you whilst you're not there. Many parents would say that they'd rather die than make any of the choices offered in this book. But what if the choices were 'horrible' or 'really horrible'? What if death wasn't an option put on the table? How would you deal with that situation? I defy any parent not to hug their kids tightly after reading this.

Have you listened to any of Chris Barnes’s other performances? How does this one compare?

How do you make a Matt Shaw tale even darker? Get Chris Barnes to read it. His gritty scottish tongue amplifies the steadily dominating sense of dread that Shaw worked so hard to create. The mannerisms that Barnes gives to his interpretation of the antagnonist is terrifying. You really get a sense that the bad guy has no awareness of his own evil and has almost childlike thought processes. Think Marc Warren as Mr Teatime in 'The Hogfather' and you'll get what I mean. This was highlighted most when I heard the line: "Waste not, want not". Pure horrifying evil. I have never had the pleasure of experiencing a performance by Barnes before. However, based on this production, I'll be sure to try some of his other audio books.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I finally had the chance to find a quiet spot in the lab, put my headphones on and project strong "LEAVE ME ALONE" vibes to those sat around me. I have never had to stop what I was doing for an audiobook before. Having read the book previously, I knew what was coming and I wanted to experience how those sequences were performed. This is not a book you can dip in and out of. It'll grab you by the short and curlies and accelerate you into a gruesome scene of madness and terror. Do not listen to this story (at least the second half) in bed, unless you like insomnia.

My favourite audiobook of all time is Librivox's version of Moby Dick. This is a close second. Congratulations Shaw and Barnes; I rate you almost as highly as a classic work of literature. You should be very proud of yourselves.

Any additional comments?

A confession, My name is James Hudson and I commisioned this novella from Matt Shaw as a christmas gift to my wife, Cathy. I can forgive you if you believe my opinion is biased, heck, I'd think the same thing too. I have tried to approach this review as a fan of audiobooks who is new to the dark world of Shaw and Co. I just want to assure you that I have had nothing to do with this particular production and saved up my monthly credit when I heard it was coming out, to purchase the audiobook. Therefore, as a paying customer, I believe my opinion is as valid as the next person.

2 of 3 people found this review helpful

This could happen to you!

What did you like most about My Family?

I loved the story and the characters. This could happen to you would you be prepared to give up your children to complete strangers?

What was one of the most memorable moments of My Family?

This has to be the line "waste no want not" it just makes you shiver when you listen to it.

Have you listened to any of Chris Barnes’s other performances? How does this one compare?

Chris Barnes is a awesome narrator he puts his heart and soul into all his audio books. He makes you bond with the characters and feel their emotions.

Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

This book has made me think would I help a stranger? What would I do if this happened to me and my family?.

Any additional comments?

Great book brilliant story by Matt Shaw. A must for all horror fans.

2 of 3 people found this review helpful

HILY CRAP!

This audiobook was so good I didn't want to stop listening! I finished in only a few sittings. This was so...insane. My only issue is that it's a bit misleading. This is NOT a horror novel. In no way is it scary. However, it's thrilling, and that works wonders for the book! Oh also, it starts off a bit slow which annoyed me at first, but then I realise it's to give the family some character development. I LOVE THIS BOOK.

1 of 2 people found this review helpful

Gripping horror

I was dubious about getting an audiobook with a Scottish narrator, but so glad I did. I found it a gripping, tight horror/thriller with good characters and no pointless padding. I couldn't stop listening, which is rare for me. Highly recommended for fans of modern horror. Plus the narration was first class.

1 of 2 people found this review helpful

Surprisingly enjoyable.

Matt Shaw is twisted but this is a great idea. Chris Barnes reads this really well. I really enjoyed this.

1 of 2 people found this review helpful

Absolutely amazing

Wonderful book Matt has the greatest ability to write awesome books this one is shocking and very moving showing the lengths people will go to to get what they want 5 star read

1 of 2 people found this review helpful