Definitely a classic.

I have concluded that there is a reason why classic books are classics.

Beau Geste is a great story, with adventure, mystery, and a smattering of romance. I was expecting a desert war story, but got what turned out to be mostly a mystery.

This book is extremely well read and the audio quality is also excellent. I highly recommend it.

16 persone l'hanno trovata utile

Intriguing, wonderful tale, very well told.

To start off, the narration of this work is among the very best I have heard. It is stellar. The story itself is marvelous. One of those stories that truly transports you to another place and time; in this case, in the hot deserts of African and among the French Foreign Legion. Having never read the novel, it was a total delight to come across such a fine work of story telling. If you like adventure stories and rich prose, you will like this book very much.

11 persone l'hanno trovata utile

The story was good but the narrator was perfection

This was one of those books that I might have dismissed if not for the narrator. The story isn't all that appealing to a sixty something woman, really more the daring do for pre adolescent boy. Don't get me wrong, I did enjoy it and I'm glad I got it, but I can see how this book would be a male favorite. The thing that made it great for me Geoffrey Howard. I enjoyed him so much I'm back to Audible looking for other books he's narrated.

5 persone l'hanno trovata utile

Pleasantly surprised

I did not know anything about this book other than I had heard the name. I was pleasantly surprised by the story, fascinated by the narrative and interested by the author's approach to logical dilemas. Toward the end, the story was slightly slow but interesting nonetheless. It is mostly a war narrative with some interesting characters and an underlying mystery. Perhaps not recomended for those not interested in learning more about the French Foreign Legion or reading about battles. But even in that case, the issues the characters dealt with were more about the decision making process than the fighting.

4 persone l'hanno trovata utile

My favorite audio book

My favorite adventure story and favorite narrator! Beautifully written cliff hanger! If you like the sound of the sample, you will love this book.

3 persone l'hanno trovata utile

Death and casual racism in the Sahara

First off, this is listed as a kid's book. Beware! The book starts with tableau of death, the killing of an enlisted man by an officer, and a nightmarish scene of dead men posed to defend a fort. It continues with a tale of rich white aristocracy in the United Kingdom and the duty that they had to their tenants. Finally, we have a long trek through the Sahara, replete with casual racial slurs, such as "nigs" and something that is today a disparaging term, "Musselman" to indicate Muslim.

I certainly would not hand this book to a typical 12 year old, and in all candor, I don't think I would have liked it at 16, and I had my own digs at that age. Maybe 25, when I was more understanding of what a period piece was.

All that said, it was a good story, and I'm trying to review without spoilers here. But if you grabbed this because it is free and you want to use it to read your kids to sleep from the echo dot, there are better choices.

2 persone l'hanno trovata utile

Excellent adventure and a worthy story

The author took time in the first chapters of the book to build out the context of the characters and relationships involved in a rather complex story, so the reader would have a fuller understanding of the implications of the events as the story unfolded. If the reader is patient to read or listen carefully on the front end, he or she will be more that amply rewarded in the end. This is a tale rich in the telling of romance, tragedy, and adventure. Last year I listened to 68 audio books, including a number of immense tomes. I am generally quite over particular concerning the narrator of an audio book, believing that a skilled reader can make a poor book tolerable to listen to just as a poor reader can make a good book a wretched experience. Geoffrey Howard is a master interpreter employing the right pacing, inflection, accents, and natural articulation. He was consistent in his reading, while differentiating his characters well. The publishers could not have chosen a better narrator for this particular story.

2 persone l'hanno trovata utile

Great mistery book!

I liked this book a lot. It combines a mistery and historical description with colorful details of the time. I also enjoyed wonderful narration. G.Howard has a very pleasant voice and did amazing job on different accents and languages! Listening to this audio book is almost like watching a movie, I could imaging everything very vividly! I know that there are 3 movies filmed based on this novel. The mistery kept me on the edge of my seat till the last page!

2 persone l'hanno trovata utile

GOOD ADVENTURE

Do not miss this book if you like well written,old fashioned adventure stories. I was sorry when it came to an end. The narrator mr. Geoffrey Howard is just the right voice. Thanks to everyone involved, JK

1 persona l'ha trovata utile

A Truly Marvellous Story

Such a classic of a tale, written almost 100 years ago, but as exciting now as it must have been then since three films have been made of it starting in 1924, just 2 years after first publication.

This is the tale of three brothers and a missing gem, which mostly takes place in Algeria: it's also the tale of the French Foreign Legion and kinds of heroism which are quite inspiring.

I can't find any more of P.C Wren's novels on Audible, which is a great pity, but I am very grateful for this excellent audio presentation which is preserving one of the great novels for future listeners. Very Highly Recommended.