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.
Goon Squad cover art

Goon Squad

By: Jonathan L. Howard
Narrated by: Gabrielle de Cuir, Nicholas Guy Smith, Jim Meskimen, Stefan Rudnicki
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 £20.99

Buy Now for £20.99

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...

Carter & Lovecraft cover art
Onyx cover art
Battlefield Earth cover art
Starter Villain cover art
Roadkill cover art
The Martian cover art
The Case of the Damaged Detective cover art
Dungeon Lord cover art
Artemis cover art
Off to Be the Wizard cover art
The Very First Damned Thing cover art
Storm Front cover art
Elantris (Dramatized Adaptation) cover art
The Spaceship Next Door cover art
Will Save the Galaxy for Food cover art
The Singularity Trap cover art

Summary

An ongoing, episodic "prose comic" from which the pictures are summoned by the magic of words, Goon Squad is set in an alternate version of modern-day Manchester. Its biggest divergence from the real city is that it - along with most other large urban centers - has a team of superheroes to protect it against unusual threats with which the conventional forces of law and order would have problems.

Goon Squad: Year One offers three action-packed volumes in a single collection:

Goon Squad, Vol. 1: Special Talents

  • "The New Girl"
  • "Nightclubbing"
  • "By the Water, by the Grave"
  • "Changes"
  • "No-No Dojo"
  • "Exterminating Angel"

Goon Squad, Vol. 2: Without Sin

  • "A Star in Strange Ways"
  • "Holy Fool"
  • "Dead Man Tells Tale"
  • "A Brief History of the Goon Squad"
  • "Tale of Terror"
  • "Pomona Island"

Goon Squad, Vol. 3: Old Enemies

  • "Life During Wartime"
  • "Red Wolf, Red Wolf, Does Whatever a Red Wolf Can"
  • "Shadow of the Vivisector"
  • "The Man from Switzerland"
  • "The End of the Year Show"

©2016 Jonathan L. Howard (P)2015 Blackstone Audio, Inc., and Skyboat Media, Inc.

What listeners say about Goon Squad

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    88
  • 4 Stars
    21
  • 3 Stars
    20
  • 2 Stars
    2
  • 1 Stars
    2
Performance
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    57
  • 4 Stars
    27
  • 3 Stars
    15
  • 2 Stars
    6
  • 1 Stars
    13
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    92
  • 4 Stars
    15
  • 3 Stars
    5
  • 2 Stars
    4
  • 1 Stars
    2

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

Interesting and Funny

A great introduction to The Goon Squad, heroes of a different variety.In a world where Talents are real it creates interesting and out of the ordinary crimes requiring the help of The Goon Squad.

I found this series of stories interesting and at times funny. With well developed characters, interesting complications and situations. These stories will keep you listening for more.

The narrators were good distinguishing each character with a unique voice.

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

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

Story great but female narrator can’t do accents!!

Goon squad story was fantastic, let down a little by female narrator but overall the story was so strong to carry it. Should have let the guy going Ian’s voice to do all the narration. The other narrators were good!

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

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

What’s with the laughable English accents?

I can’t continue to listen, although I’m enjoying the story, the accents are so cringe making. Why an American to voice mostly British accents? Awful

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
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Starts slow but overall great.

I only really listened to this as it was free and I like comics so thought I'd give it ago. the premise isn't anything ground breaking but I like the fact it's a British comic set in Manchester as opposed to the usual NYC background.

The voice work was good for the most parts and the accents delivered well apart from one which feels well off but other than that I enjoyed the performance overall, I do think if the whole series was done as a cast piece it would have been brilliant.

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

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

I really like this series

This was a freebie so I thought I would give it a try and I really like it .
It loads of of short stories give it a try you might like it.

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

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

Great story, horrific narration

If you can get past the painful accents this is a fun story. Surely you can find an American who can do accents that don’t morph into something resembling a brain damaged Indian cross Welshman. Or (crazy idea) employ an actual Mancunian to do the job. I really feel for the writer as this could have been so excellent.

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

So good!

what a reading! fantabulous! listen and enjoy a great escape from the norm. mutants with a heart and soul.

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

Annoying incidental effects. Hard to understand

This work is produced (supposedly enhanced?) using background effects. Growling beasts, gunshots and ringing telephones. Which make the narration hard to understand at times.

The accents are a little opaque as well. Altogether it is like listening to a muffled conversation in a party.

Not for even slightly hard of hearibg

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

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

I don't like it

I tried listening to quite a few free books in the extended library. Didn't really find any masterpieces like Ubik, but most books are good enough for killing couple hours in a train. This.. Well it's not bad, but it's just not catching my attention. Something happens, but I don't really care. Maybe it's just slow, maybe I've seen a similar story one too many times. But I just can't make myself to continue listening 🤷‍♂️

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
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Mancunian Marvels

I loved this tale of Manchester's superhero crime-fighting team. Great characters, convincing world-building and gripping plots.

The one drawback is the narrator, specifically her inability to do convincing northern accents. Quite a drawback for an audiobook set in Manchester...

But that's just a minor quibble - this audiobook is very good indeed. I can't wait for a sequel!!!

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

5 people found this helpful