Stone's Fall

Excellent in every way.....

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.

18 of 18 people found this review helpful

Do not listen to Book One

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.

8 of 9 people found this review helpful

Complex story ruined by poor narration!

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

By re-recording the first section of this book using a narrator who understood what he was reading and when it was appropriate to pause!!

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

Liked the ending!

Would you be willing to try another one of the narrators’s performances?

I purchased this audiobook on the basis of previous performances by the narrator of the second section of this book - a favourite of mine. Also enjoyed the performance of Narrator 3 who I had not listened to before. However the performance of Narrator 1 on this book can only be described as truly awful!!!

What character would you cut from Stone's Fall?

Disliked the character narrating Book 1 but this may have been due to the dreadful reading by the narrator of this section.

Any additional comments?

Re-record the first section of the book read by Narrator 1......the other narrators' professional handling of the text highlighted the deficiencies of the first narrator who didn't seem to have any understanding of what he was reading.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

A thriller about banking...!

The slightly dry, analytical prose that served 'Instance of the Fingerpost' so well, feels rather less organic here and there are several passages detailing the way banks operate that outstay their welcome, but Pears is such an artful plotter and his characters so vivid, that the book builds in tension and becomes progressively more enjoyable. The way each of the 3 sections folds in on itself did lead me to guess at least one of the 'surprises' but there is a certain satisfaction in that too. It's a cunning book, not an easy read, but well worth the effort.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

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

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

Outstanding!

What an epic story, written by a great storyteller and read with skill.
I've really enjoyed this book and was sad it ended.
I look forward to listening to more from this author.

incredible

Intelligent historical adventure and mystery, with lots of twists and turns. Deserves a seconds listen.

Fantastic plot as ever from Iain Pears

This story has a great plot, with multiple first person narrators and some interesting characters.

Tedious with unsympathetic characters...

I LOVED Instance Of The Fingerpost and thought it one of the best thought out books I'd heard in years. This, by contrast, is just horrid. Unpleasant characters with no redeeming features, endless and unnecessary description and repetition with essentially no coherent story or plot just a load of selfish, self interested people who live awful, tedious lives.

The narrators do their best with
a weak, almost non existent, plot.

Seriously, don't bother.

Uneven book

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.