Stick with it for the plot and to move on to the rest of the series

The narrator is not as good as the other narrator for the subsequent books. However, you really should bear with it as the story is great, and the rest of the series are excellent and the narrator of those is infinitely better. You could start with the second novel, but you really should hear this first for the set up of all the characters and their situations. Try putting it at 1.1x reading speed to make it sound less like the reading of a eulogy.

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1 person found this helpful

Good story, narrator poor

This was hard going. overall the story was not bad, but the whispering , monotone narrator made it a tough listen.

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Superb story, bring on the next instalment

This is a period of history I know little about & what I do know I don’t much like but this story was absolutely brilliant. Characters with back stories to tell which are gradually revealed but not so as to distract from the plot & a real who did it right to the end.

Also superbly narrated with a tone & style that suits the main character & helps to make him a person not just protagonist.

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Superb

A great mixture of history, intrigue and people. I loved it although I’m not sure I like the main protagonist

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A Dark-Cloaked Figure

The Seeker begins with Nicholas Camm's narration setting the perfect tone as Shona MacLean's grim and tense 1650s London and its inhabitants are brought to life by the text. He gives our lead, Damian Seeker just the right sense of underlying calm and omnipresent threat. Taken with the text the experience of this audiobook is one of well-researched authenticity and complex plotting. The slight downside is that with a plot that isn't the fastest paced you'll ever read and the quietly deliberate narration I did find a slightly languid feel to the production at times.

The setting is a fairly unusual one; Cromwell's Commonwealth was a strange and brief period in our history. This story shows maturity in that we don't get the usual approach of making one of the sides the "good" side. In MacLean's telling we see a terribly divided land with a populace that are scared, confused and angry. Neither Parliament nor King deserving of any great plaudits. Given that my personal younger history involved some very enjoyable time in the Sealed Knot's Eastern Association within the Middlesex Trayned Bandes I'm delighted she has avoided the usual cliches of glorified Royalists and nasty dull Roundheads.

Attention is required at the start as the various characters are introduced. It did feel a little disjointed early on but once Damian Seeker gets into his considerable stride in the atmospheric London surroundings things pick up and a very satisfying mystery thriller unfolds even if it does rely a little on coincidence. Seeker proves to be a character of significant nuance and depth while retaining an aura of mystery. Taken as a whole this is a very enjoyable first book to the series with plenty of scope for further development.

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47 people found this helpful

First we form our buildings....

What did you like most about The Seeker?

The buildings, the rooms, the houses, the churches, the spaces, the alley ways, the printer's shop, the shoemaker's workshop. And most of all the coffee houses. The coffee house in the setting of 1650s London was to my mind an inspired choice to provide a catalyst to much of the action. Obviously primarily a male preserve.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Damian Seeker who had strong locus of control and was values-led though perhaps not quite at the Jeanie Deans level. Would he have walked from Edinburgh to London to save his brother from a hanging as Jeanie Deans did for her sister? Possibly. The Seeker often made decisions based on what was right rather than who was right.

Which scene did you most enjoy?

Any scene in which 'High Highness' Oliver Cromwell was present.

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

Yes

Any additional comments?

I liked the narrator. Bit of a shock at first. Mr Camm was not Crawford Logan who read Maclean's first historical novel. But once I got into the timbre of his voice, I thought Mr Camm an apt choice. The main character, Damian Seeker is not a flag waving, arm circling animated character. Steady, deliberate, decisive. I think the narrator did a good job.

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11 people found this helpful

top listen

was not sure what to expect but it is a really good listen.
Nicholas Camm reads it brilliantly and really adds to the enjoyment.

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Excellent,story

Love this book was gripped by it. English Civil War not a period cover much,but there is great depth in the period. A must read.the reading was brilliant ,over all an enjoyed experience.

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excellent listen

Well read, great suspense in the narrator's voice and a compelling story. one of the best books I've heard.

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Good story but I struggled with the narration...

The narrator's delivery is so bleak, it made listening to it very depressing. It's a real shame as the story is really interesting and it should have been gripping. It sounds as though the narrator needs a daily dose of Prozac! I'm pleased to see that the narrator has changed for the next books. If that hadn't been the case then I would struggle to buy them... so I'm pleased to say that I will most definitely be getting the whole series...

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