Richard StorryRecensioni
Autore di A History of Modern Japan
Recensioni
I loved this book right from the beginning. Here you have a creepy old mansion with hundreds of rooms and the heir apparent has to actually has to work for his millions! The ending, to which I am NOT going to tell you, surprised even me! What started out, to me as a ho hum gothic mystery,ended up as a really good mystery. The narrator, Jake Urry did a fantastic job , not only with the character voices but with the whole atmosphere of the story.
I received this audiobook free from the author in exchange for a honest review.
A stranded supernatural tale without horror is a wonderful thing! I was glad at the limitation of the number of characters as more would have made the story messy instead of thought provoking. Different and enjoyable!
Jake Urry is positively a voice actor who never disappoints!
It was a dark and stormy night when the tale begins and it continues in a manner reminiscent of Henry James. There is an elderly very wealthy man with one wastrel son so the man repeatedly calls his solicitor to the mansion, only this time he dies while burning the most recent will and makes a cryptic statement. There's a video will and it gives a bequest to the faithful butler and leaves the great bulk to whichever of the other two (son or solicitor) finds the hidden item. From then on the suspense tightens as the men decide to work together and follow the sequential clues. The end absolutely blindsided me!
Jake Urry is the astounding voice actor who has the right tone at the right time and gives nothing away.
Similar to how we began listening to A Looming of Vultures, our entrance into A Nest of Vipers is inclusive of the animal kingdom - where animals who are generally unseen and non-important to other stories, take a more central focus due to the overlays of the darker elements rooting themselves from the background of this world into the foreground of where we, as readers, need to understand the malice seeking to insinuate itself into the lives of these dearly unsuspecting persons we’re about to meet.
Subterfuge ought to be expected but it is still a rather telling story how Storry inserts us through his villain’s perspective long before he allows us to seek out a person whose actions are not as darkly lit against their fellow neighbours. In other words, he wants you to see the Darkness of this world because by all other accounts, it is a world torn by war and yet, consistently attempting to re-acquire a peaceful tranquility of calm. This isn't a world where you can understand it without the layers being explained - there is a lot of movable parts to the back-layers of what is trucking through the series. Like most world's - the order of power and the issues of power are centered against the crimes of the hour which are wrecking havoc and causing duress with the citizens.
As the story peers into the Emporium - you can observe household items in the eerie inky darkness - the kind of general store you’d expect to find in the more remote sections of New England. Similar to a camera re-positioning itself, you move outside the store and enter into cobbled streets and alleys - wherein we observe the creatures of the night (ie. rats) who creep round to savage what they can from the rubbish left behind; pausing only to see who has disturbed their nightly feasting. Someone was somewhere they ought not to be - they had disturbed the rhythm of the night; seeking to do what they will but against the laws of this land. Sadly one of the rats learnt a hard lesson about stepping away from the colony which coincidentally is the same scene where we learnt about the ‘vipers’ who are ‘nesting’ nearby.
When the Barron (Rudy) re-enters the story-line a shiver went through me as this bloke rankles me something awful! He has such a slimy character - where he has no morals and check-points within his conscience; acting for his singular gains and doesn’t care a whit about what he takes from others if it serves his own means a positive return. His manservant Willie (Wilhem) struggles with his lack of morality but also, the fact he must realise his employer is too far gone to be rehabilitated. Theirs is a unique dance between the moral rights of others and the indifference towards any sort of moral code in which to live by - whilst for the second time, I questioned why Willie staid in such close quarters of the Barron. Irregardless of what he felt the Barron had over him - you’d just like to see him gain a bit more backbone and step off - make his own way in life and live outside the Barron’s shadow where only deceit and ill will can come from his activities!
There are two distinctively unique populations in this world: Ruritania and Germania - both of whom are at war and odds with one another - wherein we are finding how hard deep the convictions of those who would conspire to keep them justifiably separated by this war would go towards proving their right to keep the peace at an imbalance and automatically cancelling a way to seek a truce of peace. This is the heart of the series - what is is truly happening behind the thefts and the solitary acts of the few where the rest of the world has been held captive by those who would rather conspire to ensure war than to pave the path towards resolution.
And, yet, being a novel by Storry - there are delightful bouts of irony - when you find a master thief is overcome by boredom whilst feeling motivated to steal whichever item they deem worthy of being heisted under the cover of not just the night but the disguise of whom is trolling the streets when all others are abed. They have a keen mind for organising their time and exploits but somewhere in the murk and cloyingly simplistic executions of those plans - they find themselves a bit wanton for complications. In that, you have to chuckle - for what is more ironic than a bored thief?
The character who took me the most by surprise this time round was the Constable - as Constable Bower’s investigation was quite intriguing on different levels especially as he looked into the individual victims and the victimology of their crime scenes which became the backbone focus of A Nest of Vipers countering to the secondary plotting of whom the Ruritanian roguish thief is and what motivates his antics in this seemingly peaceful world which prefers to be kept at war.
The character I genuinely felt was given the shaft in this installment is Willie - he struggles so hard to do what is right by the Barron whilst also being a good servant in respect of his position and job. Yet, whenever he strove to find a way to have some downtime fun - where he could just be himself, be amongst a mate and drink a pint, he found himself unprepared for revelations which came in the final chapters - the kind of revelations that can shatter a person to their core and leave an indefinite mark on their soul. You feel for Willie, because despite all his own faults, he always has striven to do what is right and yet, he mistook one bit of cardinal advice if it had ever been given to him - betrayal is best served by those you already trust.
Similar to the ending of A Looming of Vultures - you're left with more questions than answers - the most confounding aspect of this ending though which rankled quite a heap is that you are so dearly close to understanding the conspirators identities and yet, Storry puts the brakes on from you gaining too much information too soon! The only thing he felt you ought to have been given in the end of this installment is finding poetic justice for the vipers which effectively re-bridges the vultures into the foreground of the story-line. He doesn't leave you any loose ends - if you think you've found one, you've just found the future tangent of focus in a new installment yet to be heard. And, that in of itself is the beauty of the series - you have to shift through the installments one by one, root out the clues, hug close to characters who test your patience (ie. the Barron) and let Storry tell you a story only he can conceive of whilst only Urry can perform it on this caliber of a performance to entreat you further into Storry's vision!
// This is a quotation of my full review originally shared via jorielovesastory.com
***** A real tongue-in-cheek laugh riot! When electric lights were new and carriages were the going form of transportation, in Ruritania we are introduced to the light fingered Rudy and his long suffering manservant, Wilhelm. Expensive things go missing and the plot thickens! Great fun! The audio is performed by Jake Urry of the delightful voice and marvelous interpretation.
I won this audio in a giveaway and I really win!
This is the third book I've read by Richard Story and narrated by Jake Urry; a formidable duo. The Cryptic Lines still remains my favourite, but I enjoyed this humorous fantasy, set somewhere around the early twentieth century. The setting of Ruritania is fictitious and it's certainly not a book to be taken seriously, more of a 'romp' than a who-done-it.
It's quite a short book, at just 220 pages, but that gave me just enough time to get to know the characters, without the humour wearing thin. I'm not the sort of reader who laughs uproariously at a book, but I did find my face cracking a smile from time to time.
Covering an assassination plot and an attempt to steal some valuable coins, I'm not sure I'd have read this as a novel and it definitely benefits from being narrated. There is a second book, The Nest of Vipers and as this is also narrated by Jake Urry, I may well give it a try in the future.
I loved the story idea and execution for this book. Set in Ruritana, the upper class are full of jealously, suspicions, squabbles and conflict. The characters are very well developed adding depth and strength to the story. My favorites were Baron Rudolph and his loyal servant, Wilheim. They totally breathed life into the story!
Part of the beginning was a bit more narrative than I’d like, even a bit of an info-dump, but not too bad. In the overall scheme of things, very minute. Excellent book.
See full narrator review here: https://wp.me/p90Ozw-kv
I think this very well may be my favorite audiobook of 2016. The premise, plot, characters, setting, mystery, narrator and plot twists were brilliant. Love it from head to toe.
At a fancy dinner party, an expensive necklace goes missing and this newspaper reporter gets blamed but perceptive folks don’t truly believe he stole it. Rudy has a naughty laugh up his sleeve because he knows exactly who took that necklace. Meanwhile, Willy is trying really hard not to roll his eyes at this while others are around.
So this baron or count or some such decides to take extra precautions concerning his safe. He brings three others into the plan, including Rudy because he believes he is an honorable man. Of course, this just presents a challenging opportunity for Rudy to get rich. Willy once again tries to persuade him not to do so… including threatening to never, ever make Rudy his favorite chocolate tiffin ever again. Ha! This story had me chuckling at every turn.
So while I know I shouldn’t root for Rudy, I didn’t want him caught and punished either. Luckily, the story gives us a true villain. There’s murder and deception and politics! Rudy and Willy inadvertently get drawn into this and when pushed up against the wall, they have to decide where that moral line is.
My one criticism for this story is that the ladies don’t really get to do anything. They flutter about in expensive sparkly jewelry and tell their men how clever they are. Really, you could have left them out all together and the plot wouldn’t have been impacted at all. So I would have liked some real female characters.
Overall, this story was a delicious mix of humor and serious crime. The play between Willy and Rudy was great and often had me laughing. Rudy is a bit of a scoundrel but I can see him taking on greater things, especially if there’s a bit of silver or gold in it for him. I love that the author included a recipe for the chocolate tiffin. 4/5 stars.
The Narration: Richard Urry was excellent in performing this book. He has distinct voices for all the characters and his lady voices are feminine. I loved his voice for Willy as I could just picture all the facial remarks this character made (rolling eyes, grimacing, etc.). Also, there’s a recipe at the end of the book and Urry proves that he’s delightful to listen to no matter what he’s reading. 5/5 stars.
I received this audiobook as part of my participation in a blog tour with Audiobookworm Promotions. The tour is being sponsored by Jake Urry. The gifting of this audiobook did not affect my opinion of it.
I wasn't quite sure what to expect with this book, The Black Talisman was a bit too dark for me, but The Cryptic Lines was excellent. In addition, I was very fortunate to have been listening to the audio version, narrated by Jake Urry, so the whole experience was just wonderful.
We meet Charles Seymour as he battles a storm to enter the rambling old house of Lord Alfred Willoughby. The old gentleman has made several alterations to his will over the years, and it is Charles's job to effect these changes into the ever-changing document.
Lord Alfred's wastrel son, Matthew, is the subject of the latest changes; he is to be dropped from the will. Unfortunately Lord Alfred dies suddenly, having just thrown his last will and testament into the fire. Charles has the job of going through the old man's documents, now that his client is effectively intestate.
He discovers that Lord Alfred has left his son one last chance, a 'treasure hunt', devised to allow Matthew the opportunity to prove that he can apply himself to a task and stick with it. A poem provides a series of clues to a hidden sapphire, if this is found within a specified time, then Matthew will inherit, if not, then all will be given to charity. To Charles's surprise, he, himself, is also included in this hunt, in competition with Matthew.
The two men decide to work together and thus ensues a mysterious unravelling of clues and rushing about the estate.
Needless to say, they do succeed, it wouldn't be much of a story otherwise, but the denouement really made this book for me and I will admit to a small tear in the corner of my eyes at one point.
If you have a spare Audible credit, I highly recommend this book in audio, the narration is perfect. I'm just so sorry it has ended. I think I will be listening to this again in the future.
As the last strains of my audiobook fade, I wonder what I just listened to? That was so out of my usual reading sphere that I'm not really sure what I think.
The Black Talisman was a supernatural/religious book, completely different from anything I'd read before and although it's always good to try something new, it doesn't guarantee enjoyment.
As with many of today's novels, it has a current day strand (1984) and a past strand (1673), alternating between the two. More than 300 years ago, a coven of witches met and called up their Dark Lord, Anubin. They were thwarted in their plans by the local priest and his associates; and an icon, the Black Talisman became mislaid. This was required for them to reconvene, but it was split into 3 pieces, each hidden separately by members of the church.
Many years later, two youngsters, Monica and Gilbert, find themselves wound up in some frightening events, caused by the search for this artifact.
I'm not a fan of horror, yet in many ways this wan't particularly scary. Some parts were a bit predictable and the churchy bits were fine, I quite enjoyed the angels' appearances. But at the end, when the author described his image of heaven, he lost me. That struck me as rather unnecessary, I felt that the afterword should have been scrapped.
Special mention for the narrator, Jake Urry, whose descriptions of the food served at a gastronomic supper, made my mouth water.
*This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review at my request.
Two weeks to do as Alfred wishes in order to decide who inherits his fortune. Or they lose it all, being donated to community programs. His attorney or his son. They both must solve the clues to find one gem to win his large fortune. Who will it be?
This is a first for me with listening to Jake Urry. He has a relaxed yet formal sound to his voice that fits for Charles and the story being told. There is, however, a small sound of his voice as if there is something passing in front of him as he spoke, giving a small sound difference as though he's behind something. Jake performs some great personalities present with Charles, Alfred, James, and even Matthew, who lives up to what his father and butler voiced of him. This gives the characters a feel of having their own personalities in their voices. None of the words feel rushed, on the contrary they feel methodical and well thought out as Jake speaks them.
The prologue is a short poem by Rudyard Kipling. I'm guessing this is to set the feel of the book and possibly what the story is derived from, based on the synopsis.
The story starts with the description of the home to give it a creepy feel. The description feels to fit the cover rather well. Great selection for the cover.
Charles has arrived at Heston Grange on this stormy night to meet with Lord Alfred Willoughby per the Lords request in order to amend his Last Will and Testament, yet once again. The man adjusts his will to fit who is in standing with him at any given time. Alfred is elderly in age but mentally sharp as a whip and still physically traversing with ease.
By the time we get to the reading, or viewing, of the will I was curious as to what was said. And how Lord Alfred Willoughby's son would take the details of the will. Then, when I get to hear it.... oh the game begins!
Is Matthew as bad of a person as Alfred, his father, and James, the butler, think he is? A scoundrel. Or is the person that Charles sees the true Matthew? I'm curious as to which way this will go. We are meeting Matthew for the first time with Charles and he seems like a good person... But there's James telling Charles to beware. I'm baited. lol. Then there are small glimpses we get of Matthew. Oh to see how he turns out.
If Richard were to be the creator of a mystery night or party to search for clues, I would TOTALLY be there! I was taken by the crafty design of the hidden clues for Charles and Matthew to follow. I really had no idea where the clues would take us and what Charles and Matthew would have to do to get to the next clue. It was neat how this place was built and how Alfred planned it all. Crafty in design and kept me curious.
In the end, I had a feeling how things would work out. Though, there were additional details I had not expected here shared in a heartfelt letter. This letter touched my heart with how well written and vocalized it was done.
This was not scary in any means, but suspenseful in not knowing what would lead to the next, and all fitting together to get to the next clue. Even the characters felt to hold true to their character and reveal in the end.
I felt this was excellently written and performed.
This was a delicious suspenseful book, perfect for the Halloween season. The story opens with a rainy storm and the death of rich, old Lord Willoughby. James, the butler, helps Charles to find Willoughby’s important papers. Eventually, Charles finds a film, which is actually Willoughby’s recorded will. After viewing it, they track down Matthew, Willoughby’s wayward son. From there, the story turns into a treasure quest. Poems contain clues and those clues lead them all over the sprawling estate. This tale is complete with hidden passage ways, an actual crypt, and nearly forgotten family secrets.
While the 4 main characters are all male, there are two more characters, Mrs. Gilkerry (housekeeper/cook) and Meg (retired maid) who are more than they seem. First, I really enjoyed Mrs. Gilkerry’s cooking. The descriptions of her meals made my mouth water. Who says English cooking lacks flavor and zest? Meg doesn’t come into the story until much later so I won’t reveal too much about her. However, I will say that the discussions with her provided some humor in the middle of this tense book.
This treasure hunt reveals much about the natures of not only Charles and Matthew, but also Lord Willoughby. In a way, Charles learns more about his client’s private life through this quest than he ever would through his legal duties. Matthew has a long history of being a bit of a scoundrel, only returning home when he gets into more trouble or debt than he can manage. This hunt provides a background to show his true mettle: misunderstood man who made some mistakes or a man who truly lacks a moral compass? The ending has more than one secret to reveal! The winding suspense was excellent and I quite enjoyed taking an afternoon to read this. My only wish is that I had enjoyed it on a dark and stormy night.
I received this audiobook at no cost via The Audio Book Worm.
The Narration: Jake Urry was a really good choice of narration for this book. I loved his proper English accents along with his range of voices for all the characters. I especially loved his voice for Meg. Here and there, the characters reveal some emotion and Urry portrayed those emotions quite well.
Wealthy Lord Alfred Willoughby is worried about what will happen to his estate when he dies. Strictly speaking, his son Matthew should inherit the fortune. But the boy has become a reckless squanderer. Quite cunningly, Lord Alfred decides to teach Matthew the value of gaining something through effort and perseverance. He devises a kind of treasure hunt and to make it even more enticing he involves another totally unassuming competitor in the pursuit of the fortune.Set in an expansive, traditional manor house in Britain, Richard Storry skillfully created the fitting atmosphere and provided vivid descriptions for this charming cozy mystery. The plot becomes far more complex than you would initially expect, and there were some great twists and turns with some revelations at the end that were totally unexpected. The premise is a bit different from the usual murder mysteries and was a lovely change. With its subtle humor and well-written prose, it was an immensely enjoyable and engaging listen.
Set in an expansive, traditional manor house in Britain, Richard Storry skillfully created the fitting atmosphere and provided vivid descriptions for this charming cozy mystery. The plot becomes far more complex than you would initially expect, and there were some great twists and turns with some revelations at the end that were totally unexpected. The premise is a bit different from the usual murder mysteries and was a lovely change. With its subtle humor and well-written prose, it was an immensely enjoyable and engaging listen.
Jake Urry proved to be exactly the right narrator for this story. His rhythm and pacing followed the plot appropriately, switching to a wonderfully ominous tone in the right places. James, the butler, was my favorite character in this story and Jake portrayed him brilliantly, exactly as you would imagine a traditional British butler. He also managed to perform the voices of two elderly female characters with a believable, fitting pitch. There were no issues with the quality of the production at all.
This was an all-around solid, enjoyable audiobook that I would highly recommend to anybody who likes cozy mysteries, British mysteries, mysteries without the standard hunt for murderers. Great entertainment!
Audiobook was provided for review by the narrator.
Jake Urry was a new narrator for me. He had a lovely cadence that seemed very fitting for the story and switched to a great ominous tone where appropriate. There were two elderly ladies' voices that were performed admirably without any of the grating high-pitched tones that male narrators frequently use. His rendition of James was perfect, just as you would expect the classic British butler to sound like. I was really impressed how he managed to make the 'old' characters sound appropriate for their age because Jake Urry is actually a very young narrator. A very talented new voice artist.
Great fun. Would definitely recommend for fans of cozy mysteries.
I received the audiobook version in exchange for an unbiased review.
International Affairs – 'There has long been a need for a general survey of Japanese history. This book...admirably fills the gap...[The author] has provided a succinct, well-written and accurate account.'
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I have listened to several of Richard Storry's books and each time I read one I want to read more. If you are into the weird fiction then give THE BOOK OF NAMES a listen. Not only do you get pretty weird short stories but the narrator, NIGEL PEEVER has become one of my favorites as he takes the stories and gives them a creepy life of their own.
I recieved this audiobook free in exchange for a honest review