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The Colony cover art

The Colony

By: F.G. Cottam
Narrated by: David Rintoul
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Summary

For over a century, the New Hope Island vanishing has tantalized the world. How did 150 people disappear from a lonely Hebridean island, leaving no trace and no clues? Media magnate Alexander McIntyre decides to solve the mystery, and gathers a team of experts to mount an expedition to the island. He hopes running the story as a rolling exclusive will revive the fortunes of his flagship news-stand title. He hopes to find conclusive answers to questions that have teased a curious world for decades. And he wants his own secret theory triumphantly vindicated.

But all is not as it should be on the island. A 1930s cinefilm reveals something as terrifying as it is inexplicable. An Afghan war veteran, sent to secure the island before the experts arrive, witnesses a nightmare far beyond battle trauma. And as expedition members gather, they discover to their gruesome cost that there are some mysteries far safer left unsolved...

©2013 F. G. Cottam (P)2014 Audible, Inc.

What listeners say about The Colony

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

Good story poorly executed

Quite an enjoyable read, creepy atmosphere etc but let down down by a few niggles which become increasingly irritating - particularly if you continue with the trilogy.

Repetition - the backstory is gone over dozens of times. Every time someone new crops up it's an excuse to go through the backstory again.

Exposition - lots of it.

Poor characterisation. Most of the characters have the same manner of speaking etc despite their supposed differences. Working class fisherman, billionaire media magnate, journalist, soldier? Other than the accent then they all speak in the same, overly formal and slightly unnatural manner.

Character behaviours. That thing which is hunting us down and killing us? Yeah, prob best if we all split up and look for it separately.

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19 people found this helpful

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

Great fun

This is the third F.G. Cottam audiobook I've listened to so you can call me a fan. This one has far more characters than The Waiting Room and Brodmaw Bay and I did find keeping track of some of them an effort at times. It is brilliantly read by David Rintoul. As with these other books, there's a slow build-up of tension, which is very satisfying. So, if you like Cottam's other works, you shouldn't be disappointed by this one. My one niggle is that I was very surprised when the story suddenly ended. I got to the end of the chapter x and then there was an epilogue. However, I listened to the last chapter and epilogue again and revised my opinion. On the basis of the Cottom's work's I've already listened to, I'll be visiting his back catalogue.

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17 people found this helpful

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

Gripping story

If you could sum up The Colony in three words, what would they be?

Entertaining, well written

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Colony?

The fact that the story develops very quickly

What does David Rintoul bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

Good pace, use of voice, excellent narration.

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

Gripping tale of mystery and suspense

Any additional comments?

I really not only enjoyed this story but also how well it was read. The narrator managed to propel you along in a well paced and sublet way. Found he engaged with my listening, creating along with the author an exciting, gripping book that I couldn't wait to get back to continue. I have been experiencing some disappointment in the choices I have made recently so I was delighted to discover this book and add it to my list of an enjoyable read.

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15 people found this helpful

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

Long and drawn out

I was exasperated by this novel, I either LOVE or HATE Mr Cottams's writing, this one fell into the latter category. At one point one character needed to climb over a gate. It took 10 minutes of my listening for him to get over it : he needed to 'see the gate, make the decision to climb over it, and to then climb over it', this was a blow by blow description that I found so annoying!, and truthfully it took a full 10 minutes!

The story was OK but did leap into the realms of 'just plain daft', I wasn't keen on the majority of the characters, they were, on the whole, self centred and narcissistic.

I did want to discover the reasons behind the disappearance of the Island's residents, but as I say it really was on the edge of silly! I was so pleased to finish this book.

David Rintoul was a good narrator for this book, he really tried to draw out the tension.

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10 people found this helpful

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

Kept me listening

Any additional comments?

Firstly have to say hate the new audible format..secondly also hate the way they now give you question boxes for your review...like sitting an exam or filling in an application form! Now for my review....I really liked this story it was gripping and I listened to it late one evening when the rest of the household went to bed and i was looking over my shoulder whilst ironing & listening.I personally love David Rintouls narration and his character voicesI felt the ending was fine (I know some reviewers thought it ended abruptly) The only criticism I would have was that a lot of the characters seemed to be perfect and the descriptions of how beautiful they were did get on my nerves. why couldnt one of the heroines be over weight without a dress sense?The best F.G Cottam for me was the waiting room ,although this one did come in second

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8 people found this helpful

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

disappointing

What disappointed you about The Colony?

Extremely verbose, much too much irrelevant pontification.

Has The Colony put you off other books in this genre?

No

Would you be willing to try another one of David Rintoul’s performances?

Always, one of the best narrators.

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from The Colony?

Background detail, off the island, irrelevant to the mystery

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7 people found this helpful

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

Sexism ruins the overall atmosphere

This book has a great sence of pace, and the withholding of answers create an air of suspense and fright. I really enjoyed the mystery and unravelling of discoveries.

Saying that though, when it comes to the depiction of the characters it has saverely gendered pitfalls. The writer, to me at least, appears to be someone who would say "I am a feminist, BUT..." or "But women are more delicate than men, both emotionally and physically". Here are just a few examples of those such gendered issues:
"She had much more to live for; she'd been young and quite strikingly beautiful... ...looked at another way - She had been much more vulnerable than he had been [which is why she hanged herself]..."
"The exposition was quite fortunate that all the women were reasonably attractive"
"He wasn't a man to stray, but if he did [she] was definalty who he'd consider straying with." why is in necessary for ALL of the men to objectify and compare the women's attractiveness. The women aren't written doing the same, why why do the men? Why is it important for the women to appear so desired? Answer: it's not, the Cottam is just a sexist who cant imagine men thinking of women in any other way than something to be objectified and evaluated on whether or not they're attractive enough to sleep with, or thry to conquest. I gave this book until chapter 9 of 14 before I cast my judgement on the writer's depiction of women. It never improved, it just got worse. It makes my stomach turn. Truly disappointed, the mystery seemed amazing, but the sexism is just too unnecessarily apparent. It was first published in 2012, come on Cottam, get with the times, some marginalising your audience.

Not once in the book so the women in the book objectify women in these subtle ways (there is one male character who objectified the women in much more of a sexist way, but that was his character unlike the other instances).

There are some other truly unnerving hints towards attraction towards children amoungst the male characters too. One male character "He wondered if she [a 14 year old girl] had been fortunate enough to have inherited her mothers looks, he'd always fancied her mother..."
Another character male character "Society still looked at the age of concent strictly in calender years, and [his sexually partner] was only just 17".

I find these issues truly taint what could and should be a fantastic book. But my stomach rolled and my soul truly disturbed by these points. It isn't even an issue of it being written in a "different time", the book is set in 2008!!

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6 people found this helpful

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

Really good book

What did you like best about this story?

Just thought the plot was good along with the characters and was very atmospheric

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

No

Any additional comments?

Thought the narration was excellent

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6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars
  • K
  • 27-07-15

Fun and Frivolous

Is there anything you would change about this book?

It is what it is...
It reads as if Cottam were writing specifically for a C list celebrity special at the cinema: think Anaconda or Deep Blue Sea and you'll get the idea. It is engaging enough in a titilating way during listening time and light enough to instantly forget after.

If you’ve listened to books by F.G. Cottam before, how does this one compare?

Similar to The Memory of Trees in it's stereotypically drawn characters and plot but vastly INFERIOR to the much more complex and intriguing Lazarus Prophesy. I'd highly recommend the latter.

Which character – as performed by David Rintoul – was your favourite?

His Scottish voices (I suspect he's actually a Scot originally) sound identical to Ken Bruce which is lovely, if slightly amusing. Is Ken masquerading as David to dodge the tax man?

Was The Colony worth the listening time?

Yeah, an enjoyable bit of light fiction.

Any additional comments?

Not dissimilar to what I image reading a Penny Dreadful would have been like a hundred years ago.

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4 people found this helpful

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

Very creepy

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

Scary

Any additional comments?

I loved this book. The right amount of scares and creepiness. I read the waiting room and that was excellent too.

Difficult to believe that any of them actually made it off the Island alive!

Read with the lights on.





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4 people found this helpful