Give it to us unabridged!

My rating is 3 stars because this is an abridged version and so Sutcliff's lyrical style is lost. She isn't one for fluff, unnecessary plot twists, excess conversation or needless explanatory narrative so the only thing to remove to shorten things up are her beautiful descriptions. The story and characters are up to her usual 5 star standards but after listening to unabridged versions of "The Silver Branch," "The Lantern Bearers," "The Shining Company," and "The Outcast," I knew something was wrong with this audio almost immediately. I should have looked closer because I never would have purchased an abridged version on purpose. Her books are not long enough to need to be abridged to make people read them.

53 persone l'hanno trovata utile

Give us the Unabridged version, please

The abridged version strips out everything except action, and leaves us wondering about setting and interior dialogue. Come on, anyone who isn't familiar with the late Ms. Sutcliffe's uncluttered yet evocative prose, or who came to this story after seeing the (shudder) movie which was VERY loosely based on this book, would have little encouragement to try her other books. They just are not long enough in the original to justify this bowdlerized version. That said, if you don't have access to the print version, try this one anyway. Or another of her unabridged books to discover what you are missing.

33 persone l'hanno trovata utile

Specifically this version

I got this audio version for my kids to listen to while also following along in their physical books, but this version skips whole lines and sometimes paragraphs of texts. They only listened to a few chapters so this isn't a review of the book itself, but rather this version of the audio.

2 persone l'hanno trovata utile

I remember this from my childhood

love it, the only criticism is the music between chapters but a good book nonetheless.

2 persone l'hanno trovata utile

Mixed

i have lived Rosemary Sutcliffe for many many years and thought the narrator did a good job but what is with the music? Found it totally incongruous with the telling of the,story and very disruptive to the flow.

2 persone l'hanno trovata utile

Good Read

Well worth the time. Characters well drawn. Predictable.

2 persone l'hanno trovata utile

Phenomenal!!!

The characters are not merely words on a page; they are people, with traits and flaws like any other people. The reader is transported back to Roman Britain more surely than in a time machine.
A must read, and a must love.

2 persone l'hanno trovata utile

Excellent Living Book

A basic understanding of the time period would be helpful to the listener. The first chapter was a bit hard for my 10 year old to grasp. After the 1st chapter the story takes off and never slows down. A great story about Rome's struggle to maintain its sprawling empire and one officer's struggle to find meaning in it all.

1 persona l'ha trovata utile

Excellent Historical Fiction

A fun, interesting, and immersive listen. I enjoyed Sutcliff’s story craft and her obvious knowledge of Britain’s history.

Eagle of the Ninth

I wish this were the whole book. The reading was good but seemed to miss crucial story parts.