Get Your Free Audiobook
-
The Bedlam Stacks
- Narrated by: David Thorpe
- Length: 13 hrs and 23 mins
- Categories: Science Fiction & Fantasy, Fantasy
Non-member price: $28.46
People who bought this also bought...
-
The Lost Future of Pepperharrow
- By: Natasha Pulley
- Narrated by: Thomas Judd
- Length: 13 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For Thaniel Steepleton, an unexpected posting to Tokyo can’t come at a better moment. The London fog has made him ill and doctor’s orders are to get out. His brief is strange: the staff at the British Legation have been seeing ghosts, and his first task is to find out what’s going on. But staying with his closest friend, Keita Mori, in Yokohama, Thaniel starts to experience ghostly happenings himself. For reasons he won’t say, Mori is frightened. Then he vanishes.
-
The Watchmaker of Filigree Street
- By: Natasha Pulley
- Narrated by: Thomas Judd
- Length: 10 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It's 1883. Thaniel Steepleton returns home to his tiny London apartment to find a gold pocket watch on his pillow. Six months later the mysterious timepiece saves his life, drawing him away from a blast that destroys Scotland Yard. At last he goes in search of its maker, Keita Mori, a kind, lonely immigrant from Japan. Although Mori seems harmless, a chain of unexplainable events soon suggests he must be hiding something.
-
-
A world to sink into!
- By Bronte on 24-04-2016
-
To Say Nothing of the Dog
- Or How We Found the Bishop's Bird Stump at Last
- By: Connie Willis
- Narrated by: Steven Crossley
- Length: 20 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this Hugo-winner from Connie Willis, when too many jumps back to 1940 leave 21st century Oxford history student Ned Henry exhausted, a relaxing trip to Victorian England seems the perfect solution. But complexities like recalcitrant rowboats, missing cats, and love at first sight make Ned's holiday anything but restful - to say nothing of the way hideous pieces of Victorian art can jeopardize the entire course of history.
-
-
Brilliant and hilarious
- By Faith Newton on 04-09-2017
-
Possession
- A Romance
- By: A. S. Byatt
- Narrated by: Samuel West
- Length: 21 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Possession is an exhilarating novel of wit and romance, at once a literary detective novel and a triumphant love story. It is the tale of a pair of young scholars investigating the lives of two Victorian poets. Following a trail of letters, journals and poems they uncover a web of passion, deceit and tragedy, and their quest becomes a battle against time.
-
-
Possession
- By Anonymous User on 12-04-2019
-
Thornwood House
- By: Anna Romer
- Narrated by: Eloise Oxer
- Length: 16 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When you're all that stands between the murderous past and the fate of those you love, how far would you go to save them? When Audrey Kepler inherits an abandoned homestead in rural Queensland, she jumps at the chance to escape her loveless existence in the city and make a fresh start. In a dusty back room of the old house, she discovers the crumbling photo of a handsome World War II medic - Samuel Riordan, the homestead's former occupant - and soon finds herself becoming obsessed with him.
-
-
Wonderful story, one I could listen to again
- By Sarah on 08-10-2014
-
A Prince of Troy
- The Troy Quartet, Book 1
- By: Lindsay Clarke
- Narrated by: Jonathan Keeble
- Length: 6 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Bringing ancient myth to life with passion, humour and humanity, Lindsay Clarke vividly retells the story of Troy and of the heroes who fought there. When the mortal Paris settles a contest between the gods, he is promised the love of Helen, the most beautiful woman in the world. But Helen is already married, to the powerful Menelaus of Sparta, and the kings of many cities have sworn to defend their union. Paris’ divine gift threatens to set his world aflame.
-
The Lost Future of Pepperharrow
- By: Natasha Pulley
- Narrated by: Thomas Judd
- Length: 13 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For Thaniel Steepleton, an unexpected posting to Tokyo can’t come at a better moment. The London fog has made him ill and doctor’s orders are to get out. His brief is strange: the staff at the British Legation have been seeing ghosts, and his first task is to find out what’s going on. But staying with his closest friend, Keita Mori, in Yokohama, Thaniel starts to experience ghostly happenings himself. For reasons he won’t say, Mori is frightened. Then he vanishes.
-
The Watchmaker of Filigree Street
- By: Natasha Pulley
- Narrated by: Thomas Judd
- Length: 10 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It's 1883. Thaniel Steepleton returns home to his tiny London apartment to find a gold pocket watch on his pillow. Six months later the mysterious timepiece saves his life, drawing him away from a blast that destroys Scotland Yard. At last he goes in search of its maker, Keita Mori, a kind, lonely immigrant from Japan. Although Mori seems harmless, a chain of unexplainable events soon suggests he must be hiding something.
-
-
A world to sink into!
- By Bronte on 24-04-2016
-
To Say Nothing of the Dog
- Or How We Found the Bishop's Bird Stump at Last
- By: Connie Willis
- Narrated by: Steven Crossley
- Length: 20 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this Hugo-winner from Connie Willis, when too many jumps back to 1940 leave 21st century Oxford history student Ned Henry exhausted, a relaxing trip to Victorian England seems the perfect solution. But complexities like recalcitrant rowboats, missing cats, and love at first sight make Ned's holiday anything but restful - to say nothing of the way hideous pieces of Victorian art can jeopardize the entire course of history.
-
-
Brilliant and hilarious
- By Faith Newton on 04-09-2017
-
Possession
- A Romance
- By: A. S. Byatt
- Narrated by: Samuel West
- Length: 21 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Possession is an exhilarating novel of wit and romance, at once a literary detective novel and a triumphant love story. It is the tale of a pair of young scholars investigating the lives of two Victorian poets. Following a trail of letters, journals and poems they uncover a web of passion, deceit and tragedy, and their quest becomes a battle against time.
-
-
Possession
- By Anonymous User on 12-04-2019
-
Thornwood House
- By: Anna Romer
- Narrated by: Eloise Oxer
- Length: 16 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When you're all that stands between the murderous past and the fate of those you love, how far would you go to save them? When Audrey Kepler inherits an abandoned homestead in rural Queensland, she jumps at the chance to escape her loveless existence in the city and make a fresh start. In a dusty back room of the old house, she discovers the crumbling photo of a handsome World War II medic - Samuel Riordan, the homestead's former occupant - and soon finds herself becoming obsessed with him.
-
-
Wonderful story, one I could listen to again
- By Sarah on 08-10-2014
-
A Prince of Troy
- The Troy Quartet, Book 1
- By: Lindsay Clarke
- Narrated by: Jonathan Keeble
- Length: 6 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Bringing ancient myth to life with passion, humour and humanity, Lindsay Clarke vividly retells the story of Troy and of the heroes who fought there. When the mortal Paris settles a contest between the gods, he is promised the love of Helen, the most beautiful woman in the world. But Helen is already married, to the powerful Menelaus of Sparta, and the kings of many cities have sworn to defend their union. Paris’ divine gift threatens to set his world aflame.
-
The Van Apfel Girls Are Gone
- By: Felicity McLean
- Narrated by: Eloise Oxer
- Length: 8 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Part mystery, part coming-of-age story, The Van Apfel Girls Are Gone is set in a distant suburb on the encroaching bushland over the long, hot summer of 1992. It's the summer of the school's Showstopper concert. The summer Tikka never forgot. The summer the Van Apfel sisters disappeared.
-
-
great!
- By Anonymous User on 14-01-2020
-
Thief's Magic
- By: Trudi Canavan
- Narrated by: Grant Cartwright, Hannah Norris
- Length: 17 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In a world where an industrial revolution is powered by magic, Tyen, a student of archaeology, unearths a sentient book called Vella. Once a young sorcerer-bookbinder, Vella was transformed into a useful tool by one of the greatest sorcerers of history. Since then she has been collecting information, including a vital clue to the disaster Tyen’s world faces.Elsewhere, in an land ruled by priests, Rielle the dyer’s daughter has been taught that to use magic is to steal from the Angels.
-
-
Great fun
- By Colleen2630 on 31-01-2015
-
My Favorite Universe
- By: Neil deGrasse Tyson, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Neil deGrasse Tyson
- Length: 6 hrs and 10 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
What forces molded the universe? Are those forces still at work, removing, changing, or adding heavenly bodies even as we gaze upward? Will humanity, and Earth itself, one day be gone? Are we alone? In an era when science journalism is perhaps more thorough and ambitious than ever before, fascinating explorations of questions like these seem available to us almost every day - provided we have a working understanding of the scientific theories on which they're based.
-
-
Great!
- By F Daw on 29-10-2019
-
Great Mythologies of the World
- By: The Great Courses, Grant L. Voth, Julius H. Bailey, and others
- Narrated by: Grant L. Voth, Julius H. Bailey, Kathryn McClymond, and others
- Length: 31 hrs and 36 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The deep-seated origins and wide-reaching lessons of ancient myths built the foundation for our modern legacies. Explore the mythologies of Europe, the Americas, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. Learn what makes these stories so important, distinctive, and able to withstand the test of time. Discover how, despite geographical implausibilities, many myths from across the oceans share themes, morals, and archetypes.
-
-
Starts out GREAT then fizzles
- By Carol on 10-06-2018
-
The Lieutenant
- By: Kate Grenville
- Narrated by: Nicholas Bell
- Length: 7 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 1787 Lieutenant Thomas Rooke sets sail from Portsmouth with the First Fleet and its cargo of convicts, destined for New South Wales. As a young officer and a man of science, the shy and quiet Rooke is full of anticipation about the natural wonders he might discover in this strange land on the other side of the world. After the fleet arrives in Port Jackson, Rooke sets up camp on a rocky and isolated point, and starts his work of astronomy and navigation.
-
-
Slow start, but stick with it...
- By alison on 28-06-2015
-
The Time Traveler's Wife
- By: Audrey Niffenegger
- Narrated by: Fred Berman, Phoebe Strole
- Length: 17 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Clare and Henry have known each other since Clare was six and Henry was 36. They were married when Clare was 23 and Henry was 31. Impossible but true, because Henry is one of the first people diagnosed with Chrono-Displacement Disorder: periodically his genetic clock resets and he finds himself misplaced in time, pulled to moments of emotional gravity from his life, past and future. His disappearances are spontaneous, his experiences unpredictable, alternately harrowing and amusing.
-
-
Just OK
- By Anonymous User on 06-02-2019
-
Hangman
- By: Jack Heath
- Narrated by: Christopher Ragland
- Length: 9 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A 14-year-old boy vanishes on his way home from school. His frantic mother receives a ransom call: pay or else. It's only hours before the deadline, and the police have no leads. Enter Timothy Blake, code name Hangman. Blake is a genius, known for solving impossible cases. He's also a psychopath with a dark secret and the FBI's last resort. But this time Blake might have met his match.
-
-
AMAZING
- By KohaiAlice on 15-09-2018
-
The Choke
- By: Sofie Laguna
- Narrated by: Danielle Baynes
- Length: 10 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Abandoned by her mother as a toddler, only occasionally visited by her volatile father and raised solely by her tormented Pop, Justine finds sanctuary in The Choke, a place where the banks of the Murray River are so narrow they can almost touch. Although Justine doesn't know it, her father is a menacing criminal, and the world she is exposed to is one of great peril to her. She must make sense of it on her own - and when she eventually does, she knows what she has to do....
-
-
Neither story nor narrator were great
- By Erica Wodzak on 23-03-2018
-
Red Sister
- Book of the Ancestor, Book 1
- By: Mark Lawrence
- Narrated by: Helen Duff
- Length: 19 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
At the Convent of Sweet Mercy, young girls are raised to be killers. In a few the old bloods show, gifting talents rarely seen since the tribes beached their ships on Abeth. Sweet Mercy hones its novices' skills to deadly effect: it takes 10 years to educate a Red Sister in the ways of blade and fist. But even the mistresses of sword and shadow don't truly understand what they have purchased when Nona Grey is brought to their halls as a bloodstained child of eight, falsely accused of murder - guilty of worse.
-
-
Brilliant... Again
- By Tegan on 06-05-2017
-
Mind-Body Philosophy
- By: Patrick Grim, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Patrick Grim
- Length: 12 hrs and 22 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
How is it that our brain creates all the subjective experiences of our lives every single day - the experiences we call reality? That is the mind-body problem. In Mind-Body Philosophy, Professor Patrick Grim of the State University of New York at Stony Brook leads an intellectually exhilarating tour through millennia of philosophy and science addressing one of life's greatest conundrums. But you won't just be a spectator as Dr. Grim engages and encourages each of us to come to our own conclusions.
-
-
Truly Excellent Course
- By Bkr on 05-09-2019
-
Out of the Forest
- By: Gregory Smith
- Narrated by: Dean Friske
- Length: 8 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For 10 years a man calling himself Will Power lived in near-total isolation in northern New South Wales, foraging for food, eating bats and occasionally trading for produce. But who was this mysterious man who roamed the forest and knew all of its secrets and riddles? Some people thought he might be Jesus. Others feared he was a more sinister figure. The truth was that he was neither miraculous nor malevolent, but he was most certainly gifted. And when he finally emerged from the forest, emaciated and close to death, he was determined to reclaim his real name and 'give society another chance'.
-
-
Awesome
- By Jamie on 13-08-2018
-
Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal?
- By: Jeanette Winterson
- Narrated by: Jeanette Winterson
- Length: 6 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Jeanette Winterson left home at 16 because she was in love with a woman, Mrs. Winterson asked her: "Why be happy when you could be normal?" This book is the story of a life's work to find happiness. It is the story of how the painful past returned to haunt Jeanette's later life, and send her on a journey into madness and out again, in search of her real mother. It is also a book about other people's stories, showing how fiction and poetry can form a string of guiding lights, a life raft which supports us when we are sinking.
-
-
Awesome book
- By Jacqui Daniels-Gillen on 17-07-2019
Publisher's Summary
An astonishing historical novel set in the shadowy, magical forests of South America, which draws on the captivating world of the international best seller The Watchmaker of Filigree Street.
Deep in uncharted Peru, the holy town of Bedlam stands at the edge of a forest. The shrine statues move, and anyone who crosses the border dies. But somewhere inside are cinchona trees, whose bark yields quinine: the only known treatment for malaria.
On the other side of the Pacific, it is 1859, and India is ravaged by the disease. The hunt for a reliable source of quinine is critical, and in its desperation the India Office searches out its last qualified expeditionary. Struggling with a terrible injury from his last mission and the strange occurrences at his family's ruined estate, Merrick Tremayne finds himself under orders to bring back cinchona cuttings at any cost and dispatched, against his own better judgment, to Bedlam.
There he meets Raphael, a priest around whom the villagers spin unsettlingly familiar stories of impossible disappearances and living stone. Gradually Tremayne realises that Raphael is the key to a legacy left by two generations of Tremayne explorers before him, one which will prove more dangerous and valuable than the India Office could ever have imagined.
Critic Reviews
More from the same
What listeners say about The Bedlam Stacks
Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- amanda
- 03-03-2019
Enjoyable
Little slow to start but the characters are engaging and turned into a great read. Narrator did an excellent job. will definitely read another by this author.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Richard
- 18-08-2018
mystical
Rich imagery of a possible world... The statues were like guardians of a hidden realm
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Amazon Customer
- 20-10-2020
Awesome universe & good story
A bit slow but great characters, good story, great ending and as usual awesome universe.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Laura
- 16-09-2019
Beautiful and haunting!
Oh wow I loved this! This book is so atmospheric and despite the fact that a lot actually happens in it, it feels like a quiet book. I loved the main character and the narrator did a fantastic job.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Vicki Reeves
- 28-08-2019
Slow and tedious
Didn't grip me, neither the story or the performance. Characters were dull and the created world, unconvincing.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Gail N.
- 13-01-2019
A fevered dream
In reviewing this book, I was thinking about why I like to listen to books. Entertainment, education, insight into the human condition, the pleasure of a pleasant human voice, the delight of well written prose, relaxation and distraction from day to day cares came to mind. In almost all areas, this book disappointed me. The story starts off rather abruptly with the lead character having a tree crash on the roof over his attic apartment. And for the first third of the book, I enjoyed "The Bedlam Stacks". There are hints of magical realism, but the dog Gulliver lends a sense of comfort and reassurance that all is more or less well. And even here, improbable characters pop out of nowhere. However, once the hero and his associate start the descent from the summit of the Andes into the New Bethlehem valley below, the story also descends into a feeling of insanity and horror; the dream turns into a nightmare. Unlike "Through the Looking Glass" where Alice keeps her sense of logic and reality about her, the main characters here offer no respite from the magical dysfunction surrounding them. It is like a Gothic horror fantasy tale from which you, the listener, want to escape. This was one story which gave me no pleasure and which therefore was not worth my time and so I gave up well before the half-way mark.
5 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- just asking for some common sense
- 27-08-2017
Just enough magic here!
This is the second book I've listened to by Natasha Pulley. I love this book. There is a fantasy element, but it is brought out slowly, almost as a mystery of its own. She's very good at world building here, with just enough reality to keep the whole story cohesive.
I'm eagerly awaiting her next book!
3 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Mysti van Hoose
- 24-07-2017
More please!!
I am thoroughly hooked by Ms Pulley's writing style! I'm addicted to her characters and the quirky nature they all have! I've read both of her books and can't wait to see what her future books hold! I am restarting Filigree Street now and will redo Bedlam as soon as I'm done!!
3 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Amazon Customer
- 15-10-2018
Great Book. Amazing Narrator.
I was in love with this book from start to finish. I don't think they could have picked a more perfect narrator either. He did a splendid job bringing the characters to life.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- BobPan
- 30-11-2017
Terrific read!
Unusual storyline, engaging and occasionally funny interactions; a truly unique and magical reading experience! You won't regret using your credits on this one.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- D and J
- 21-10-2020
Magical!
The narration of this wonderful book was so skillfully performed that it felt like listening to a play. If you are looking for an adventure that is also filled with history and at the same time magical, this is the book for you. If you are simply looking for an excellent book that you can live in for a few days, this is also for you. Basically, this should be your next read. I highly recommend this book!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Tammy
- 23-08-2020
Wonderful story, perfect narrator
I love books with verifiable historic facts, and I love the flow and tone of this story. I want more time with Merrick!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Michele Andres
- 13-08-2017
delightful book
looking forward to the third book. many delightful surprises. Natasha Pulleys story's are like nothing I've ever read before.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Erica
- 06-01-2018
Enchanting in a weird way
The book was enchanting in it’s own bit weird way. I really enjoyed the atmosphere and at times slow pace. Only thing disturbing at times was the changes in the volume of the reader’s voice. Surrounding noises made it hard to hear the bit whispered.
10 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Ms. G. A. Sykes
- 11-06-2018
17 hours of my life I'll never get back
I'd give The Watchmaker of Filigree Street 3.5/5 - but in this case the use of whimsy to cover up holes in logic and indeed in plot were too much to pardon. The book never really got going and never really went anywhere. Just endless descriptions of jungle, bizarre columns of glass and phosphorescent pollen. Clearly a lot of research had gone into the book but this didn't make up for the lack of plot. Also, the attempt at weaving in a character from the previous novel was clumsy at best: it was as though the author was attempting David Mitchell style allusion but it falls sadly flat.
6 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- James
- 17-08-2017
Most enjoyable.
I found this a little difficult to begin with. in the opening chapters, where Merrick is suffering the effects of altitude sickness, I almost felt that I was, too. Something about the style of the narration made it hard to follow. Later on it became easier. As the story unfolded it was nice that we revisited Kata, the watchmaker.
I particularly like the almost romantic nature of the relationship between Raphael and Harry, which was continued with Merrick.
I've enjoyed both of Natasha Pulley's books so far. I hope to hear more.
5 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Ms. L. MA
- 27-07-2017
Another excellent story from Natasha Pulley
If you enjoyed The Watchmaker of Filigree Street you are in for a real treat. The story is unusual, unexpected and full of magic and intimations of love. The Watchmaker appears as a young man too! The reader is good, but a little too ebullient for me in places, although he was excellent in Shtum.
5 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Grace Simms
- 27-07-2017
so quiet!
great follow up to the watchmaker and the narrator is good but for some reason it's really quiet compared to every other audiobook I've ever bought, at full volume I couldn't hear it if I was walking down a busy road or on the tube.
15 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- A. E. Wright
- 21-07-2017
An excellent second novel
Natasha Pulley has an idiosyncratic writing style which sometimes borders on the staccato in the way sentences and utterances are presented. It takes a bit of getting used to but I for one have grown to like it.
This is Natasha's second novel and is a strange but totally absorbing tale, set mainly in South America, which definitely requires the reader to suspend disbelief in order to take in glowing pollen, moving statues, columns of glass and a village with unusual customs and taboos.
Best of all was the appearance, as a somewhat minor character this time, of a young Keita Mori who will be familiar to those who have read this author's previous novel 'The Watchmaker of Filigree Street'. I for one would be very pleased if a third novel were to concern itself with more about Mori, who I must say I find most endearing.
14 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- mollyeyre
- 04-08-2017
Absolutely blown away by this
I thoroughly enjoyed the Watchmaker, and was really pleased to be able to read the second of Natasha Pulley's books. I love Natasha Pulley's way of writing - her characters are so likeable they almost become part of the family, apart from the rotten ones ...... of course.
The story was quite complicated but so very well put together it has kept my attention thoroughly. David Thorpe narrated very well - I know some commentators have not liked him much - but I thought he was first class and absolutely right for the story.
A wonderful trip to Peru with such interesting people, stories and consequences. BRILLIANT
I was also delighted to meet 'Katar', (Sorry - I have no idea how it is spelled, the Watchmaker), in his earlier life.
18 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- claire
- 28-07-2017
Wonderful story and took me back to my travels in Peru
Great story, unusual and original . I have travelled throughout south america and spent time in Peru. The description of the landscape and architecture/historic ruins are very accurate and written by someone who had travelled there, I am sure.
The story itself is a beautifully balanced cocktail of history , local spirituality and beliefs , reminders of old fashioned prejudice and our historic influence on the world , as well as being a story about human compassion , friendship and at times a look at how we could act in desperation . A story of history, friendship, judgment, magic and spiritual beliefs..... listen and you will be enthralled and sad when it ends !!!
11 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Mikey
- 15-07-2017
Intriguingly enchanting
Any additional comments?
This book is a historical yet spellbinding journey about a group of smugglers sent on a journey to obtain the purest form of malaria antidote-medicine from the 18th century Peruvian quinine trees found deep within the mountains.
I was excited and enthralled when I learned that the reason a small group of highly skilled smugglers are needed to obtain the quinine, was due to the quinine trees being guarded and protected by cartel-like criminals. In this regard, the story reminded me of many SAS operations I've read about, whereby soldiers covertly penetrated such factions that were guarding drug factories hidden deep within the jungles of South America.
The difference here of course, there is nothing covert about this storyline. As the story unfolds we learn that there is indeed an ulterior motive and far more sinister developments are underway. Oh and something else the SAS didn't have to deal with: sorcery.
The leading character is a priest with a good heart but has a thirst for adventure anda longing to find out the truth behind these sinister goings on. Is it really magic, or just a trick to protect the valuable merchandise?
The book is beautifully written and expertly told by one of my favourite narrators. Allow yourself to succumb to the magic of this storyline and you are sure to be swept away with as much delight as I was!
16 people found this helpful
-
Overall

- BBMM
- 28-07-2017
Great writing, great narration
Author has created intriguing narrative aided by accomplished and unobtrusive characterisation by the narrator. More from both please.
4 people found this helpful
16 Best Audiobooks by Aboriginal Authors
Across genres, there’s no shortage of brilliant titles from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander writers of Australia.



25 Best Celebrity Audiobooks
It’s always a pleasant surprise to pick up a familiar story and find an unexpected famous friend in the narrator’s booth.



Best Audiobooks of 2020
We've crunched the numbers, heard from our listeners and gotten expert opinions to round up the best listens of 2020.


