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Rotherweird
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Publisher's Summary
Rotherweird is a twisted, arcane murder-mystery with shades of Deborah Harkness, Hope Mirrlees and Ben Aaronovitch, Mervyn Peake and Edward Gorey at their disturbing best.
The town of Rotherweird stands alone - there are no guidebooks, despite the fascinating and diverse architectural styles cramming the narrow streets, the avant-garde science and offbeat customs. Cast adrift from the rest of England by Elizabeth I, Rotherweird's independence is subject to one disturbing condition: nobody, but nobody, studies the town or its history.
For beneath the enchanting surface lurks a secret so dark that it must never be rediscovered, still less reused.
But secrets have a way of leaking out.
Two inquisitive outsiders have arrived: Jonah Oblong, to teach modern history at Rotherweird School (nothing local and nothing before 1800), and the sinister billionaire Sir Veronal Slickstone, who has somehow got permission to renovate the town's long-derelict Manor House.
Slickstone and Oblong, though driven by conflicting motives, both strive to connect past and present until they and their allies are drawn into a race against time - and each other. The consequences will be lethal and apocalyptic.
Welcome to Rotherweird!
Critic Reviews
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What members say
Average Customer Ratings
Overall
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4 out of 5 stars
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5 Stars16
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4 Stars12
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3 Stars4
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2 Stars4
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1 Stars4
Performance
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4.5 out of 5 stars
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5 Stars19
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4 Stars7
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3 Stars6
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2 Stars2
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1 Stars0
Story
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3.5 out of 5 stars
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5 Stars12
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4 Stars10
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3 Stars6
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2 Stars2
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1 Stars5
Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- amanda
- 21-03-2019
Thoroughly enjoyable
What a weird and wonderful mystery this is!! Brilliantly narrated. Such a unique story, will definitely return to this author.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 23-09-2018
Not the worst book I've read.
I've just finished Rotherweird and now I am sat here ruminating over the story and find I still have questions and am more than a little confused.
I listened to it on "audible" and was constantly having to rewind and check on the meanderings of the story.
I think it was a good concept but I was forever trying to place in my mind what era it was set in and who all the characters were.
If it hadn't been for the brilliant narration and character voices I would have surely lost track.
The description of the town could have been fantastic with it's unusual architecture and yet somehow it just didn't paint a vivid picture in my mind. I was continually left - wanting.
Maybe it's just me but I feel that this book could have been so much more. That being said , it's not the worst book I've read and one of the few I have ever felt the need to write a review.
Maybe I need to read the other books in the series to make sense of it all.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Bernadette Aitken
- 18-09-2018
Intriguing
This is an interesting story and as it went along I became far more intrigued with it than I thought I would be when I started it.
A community seperate from the rest of the country by royal decree. No study of their history is allowed, but what a tangled history it turns out to be.
A new history teacher and the renovation of the town’s Manor house appear to be the catalyst for some extraordinary revelations and suspicious deaths.
The characters have rather unique names and I will admit that I found it hard to keep the names in my head to begin with. The story wove in directions I hadn’t anticipated. I did feel as if not all loose ends we tied up at the end. Maybe I just need to go back and check.
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 15-06-2018
Interesting premise becomes an overlong slog.
Struggled to get through, the plot gets so convoluted that all the main characters have to sit around a table and explain to themselves (and the listener) what the Hell is going on once at the midpoint and then at the end. Speaking of, the ending is just hanging for a sequel and is unsatisfying.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Avid listener
- 24-08-2017
Didn't live up to expectations
The narration was Very annoyingly S l o w....... the gaps and pauses were long enough to fit in a nap. The story was a little confusing and characters hard to follow in the audible format but that may have been because I sped up the pace.
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- Peter A Yates
- 27-03-2019
Tedious
A drab story narrated well. Unconvincing characters. Dreadful dialogue in places. Editor? Get one, or get a new one! Such an effort to be imaginative and clever, and it fell flat.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- kate
- 05-11-2017
Good story bit hard to follow
It's a clever idea, a very good story but for some reason I found it hard to follow, kept having to go back and listen again. Can't tell why - maybe too many characters with odd names, maybe too complicated for my wee brain. I don't think it was the narrators fault. Still I enjoyed it and got my monies worth as I probably heard it twice.
39 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- D. Menashy
- 15-07-2017
Weird? Rather...
Enjoyed this one - sort of Gormenghast meets Neverwhere. Very well narrated.
Loads of weird and dark happenings occur to interesting and well-written characters in and around a strangely-disconnected English town.
I did think the ending dragged on a bit and could have been pared back a little, so at the risk of outstaying my own welcome I'll leave it there...
46 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Ernest More
- 03-04-2018
More twists than a knotted ball of string
Would you listen to Rotherweird again? Why?
Was not until near the end of the book I realised what was going on. I think Second time round it would be a lot more clear what was going on. On the whole I did enjoy this book and will read it again just to clear up a few points in it.
5 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 02-01-2018
Highly recommended
I listened to about 34 audio books in 2017 and this one was among the best. I really enjoyed the writing and the language. The storyline was pretty whimsical and relatively original. It had a lot of interesting characters and the narrator wasn't bad either. I would definitely recommend.
4 people found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- Brian
- 01-11-2017
A good first draft
Before launching into criticism, I enjoyed this book and it kept me entertained to the end - it had the some interesting ideas and the essence of some good characters. The real problem is that it feels like a long first draft that needs editing back to about 2/3 if it’s length and about half of its characters - none of whom are well developed enough for you to remotely care about. Add the fact that there’s more loose ends than a bowl of spaghetti and some daft coincidences and you’ve got a fun but frustrating book
25 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Khairunnisa
- 31-12-2017
Beautifully read historical fantasy
Who was your favorite character and why?
I liked quite a few of the characters. The female characters were nicely drawn, with Orelia Roc being my favourite followed by Vixen Valourhand. Of the male characters, perhaps Ferensen is the most likeable, followed by Fanguin. Gregorius Jones is the most intriguing.
What does Kris Dyer bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?
I really loved the portrayal of the characters. Each character has a very recognisable voice, suited to the character. Delicious.
Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
I wasn't sure if I was going to like it after the first few lines. However, once I'd got into the story I found it fascinating. It made me laugh and there are moments of tension where I held my breath.
Any additional comments?
It's a book I've listened to several times over. There are a couple of small inconsistencies, for instance, the old injury that Salt has is said to be 6 months ago and then a short time afterwards, is said to have happened many years ago. I'm really looking forward to the next one in the trilogy to see if my predictions are right
3 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- P
- 10-10-2017
Brilliant and fun
Intriguing story, interesting array of characters and great narration. I have thoroughly enjoyed listening to this book.
15 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Spider
- 28-11-2017
Not to all tastes
I found this strangely mesmerising. At first I found the somewhat slow delivery irritating but became used to its measured pace even though I felt it made the tale drag in places. The narrator voices the characters quite well but has a tendency towards a rolling, poetic delivery that I'm not keen on but that's just my taste. However, it was worth sticking with it as the story is quite bizarre and has fantastic (in the true sense of the word) twists and turns that keeps one guessing to the end. There are shades of Mervyn Peake and Neil Gaiman in the storyline. If you liked the Gormenghast trilogy and/or Neverwhere, you'll probably like this.
14 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Colin Dente
- 27-09-2017
Marvelous
A truly magical book. Full of inventiveness. I was sad when it ended. Heartily recommended.
14 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- ms.art
- 08-11-2017
brilliant
Loved this book from start to finish, so many characters, twists and turns. If you're looking for something a bit different then this is the book for you. Would make a great film. I'll definitely listen to this one again.
8 people found this helpful