One of the narrators was awful

Would have given it 5 stars if fourth narrator hadn't been quite so jarringly poor at accents.

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Superb, thought provoking and original

I’m not usually enamoured by fantasy or sci-fi, but this was a great blend of human stories, geo-political and ecological food for thought, adventure and great characters, all woven together very cleverly. My only criticism was the switching of key characters’ voices, as different narrators took over for different stages in the chronology of the story. The main protagonist became almost unlistenable at one point, but the credibility of the writing allowed me to hear past that relatively minor niggle!

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The best book i have ever listened to on Audible

David Mitchell is a great writer but the narrators are outstanding, they slip into different characters and different accents . I could be listening to a play its so good. I don’t think i have ever listened to an audible book that has been this gripping and it really isn’t just the plot and the writing its the actors/narrators who do an amazing job of telling the story, its absolutely gripping

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Epic adventure, fantasy that comes to life

I usually struggle with the fantasy genre, I find it hard to get into and prefer gritty real life novels. This book managed to be gritty and realistic, whilst also magically fantastical at the same time.

We follow Holly through her teens to her seventies, told in 6 parts spanning different times in Holly's life, with 5 different narrators (Holly herself being both the first and the last). The first part of the book was so utterly relatable that my intrigue kept me hooked through the rest of the book. It was really exciting to see where it was going and how it would come together in the end.

I listened to it in part on audiobook and 5 of the 6 voice artists were wonderful. Sadly the 5th narrator (voicing the largest section of the book) didn't gel with me at all, and I took the advice of another listener's review and bought the paperback to get through that part. I'm glad that narrator didn't come earlier or else I might have given up entirely. The others were excellent though, and I thoroughly enjoyed their performances.

5* for this epic adventure that made my cynical heart believe in a little bit of magic

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rivetting

I loved the story. a mixture of romance, sci-fi and sociopolitical. narrators were excellent. I listened to it for hours on end each day

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A fantasy book that is so good you don’t realise it is!

This would be a fantastic book without the fantasy aspects. The story is so engaging and well written you forgot that there’s an underlying aspect which doesn’t truly come into play until the final part.

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outstanding

second time reading (listening) to this book. my core beliefs have shifted. david Mitchell is a genius

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1 person found this helpful

this book is everything that the reviws say it is

what a trip. a well written story, that will keep you on the edge of your seat, tgroughout. Begining with a loss, I was unsure where this story would take me. Holly is well written, and the challenges or her life, and the people she meets along the way wi have you gripped. I finished this book longing for more.

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Brilliantly woven across time

This book amazed me. Beautifully told over many years, the past and the future. Interweaving the characters through mundane and fantastic stories. Loved Holly Sykes, so very human in amongst a world of magic and real monsters. I do wish I hadn’t read Slade House first but hey, it’s all good now. Loved it!

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An ok fantasy and drama listen

It is not really sci-fi but fantasy describing at the one hand the life and adventures of one Holy Sykes and a war between immortal beings. At parts it reminded me of Amal El-Mohtar's 'This is how you lose the Time War'.

The story and performance start off quite nicely and very engagingly. I also enjoyed discovering the different characters the narrative keeps taking the perspective of. However, at times it took me some effort to keep going. The change of performers at each chapter was a great thought and works great for a lot of books. But I personally found in the case of this one it made me disconnect from the book until I could figure out who this new character was. I found the last chapter a little boring and lacking originality.

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