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Stone's Fall

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Stone's Fall

By: Iain Pears
Narrated by: Gareth Armstrong, Daniel Coonan, Jonathan Keeble
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About this listen

 This is the story of John Stone, financier and armaments manufacturer, a man so wealthy that in the years before World War I he was able to manipulate markets, industries, and indeed whole countries and continents.

A panoramic novel with a riveting mystery at its heart, Stoneï¿¿ï¿¿s Fall is a quest to discover how and why John Stone dies, falling out of a window at his London home.

Chronologically, it goes backwards, and Stone's character deepens as the book progresses. Here is a love story and a murder mystery, set against the backdrop of the evolution of high-stakes international finance, Europe's first great age of espionage, and the start of the 20th century's arms race.

©2009 Iain Pears (P)2009 Isis Publishing Ltd Historical Fiction Suspense Thriller & Suspense Fiction Exciting Heartfelt Mystery England

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All stars
Most relevant
This is a great book and makes an almost perfect audio book. The writing is excellent - don't be put off by the length - and the story is compelling from start to finish. It charts the rise and fall of "Stone", from an obscure begining to his shocking, mysterious and abrupt end. Told from different perspectives the story never flags and is the best audio book I have ever listened to.

Excellent in every way.....

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I persevered through Book One and knowing its story possibly helps one enjoy and understand Books Two and Three. However, if you buy this audio book, I urge you to skip Book One altogether - or read it to your self from the written word. The narration is abysmal. The narrator appears to have read the words without understanding them. He places emphasis on the wrong words and in the wrong parts of sentences. I suspect that he did not practice but simply picked up the book and read. He is unable to provide any sense that the characters are real; so poor is his ability to act. He is utterly unconvincing, and I winced my way through his reading.

The story is, however, for all that, a decent one and worth the effort. Narrators Two and Three are excellent. Isis, the publishers, would be advised to re-narrate Book One altogether.

Do not listen to Book One

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

I wanted to delete that book from my phone after first 30 minutes, and kept checking online reviews to figure out whether it will get better. It did. In the meantime I increased the narration speed to get through the boring part quicker.

Any additional comments?

The first part is by far the worst, and if I hadn't read other I.Pears books before, I would have given up on "Stone's fall" early on. It's dull, perhaps deliberately. The narrator is an poorly educated journalist from lower class backgroud, who has the job of investigating life of a famous financier -but who doesn't understand finance, and isn't interested in the subject. And why would readers care if the narrator doesn't?
The second part is much better, told from a point of view of a man of some sophistication.
And the third one is a joy to read.
All in all, I don't understand why the author made me suffer through one third of a book, to show off his writing skills later.

Uneven book

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Stone's Fall - enjoyed 2nd & 3rd part of book
First part was book bored me but I think that was due
to narrator, enjoyed rest of book
Weird ending

Stone's Fall - enjoyed 2nd & 3rd part of book

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Gripping, interesting and sofisticated. Beautifully performed. Iain Pears livens up the era of the beginning of the 20th century, through three interwinding narratives . The three personal perspectives gradually build up a profound understanding and the meaning of the fascinating chain of events . A colourful veriety of individuals are thrown together into a harsh social and economical reality . Each with a unique set of coping tools to survive it. The accumulated point of
of view that the reader attains lead to understanding of the complex human condition within the historical and political context.

Brilliant!

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