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The Shadow of the Torturer
- The Book of the New Sun, Book 1
- Narrated by: Jonathan Davis
- Length: 12 hrs and 7 mins
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Publisher's Summary
What the critics say
- World Fantasy Award, Best Novel, 1981
- Favorite Audiobooks of 2010 (Fantasy Literature)
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What listeners say about The Shadow of the Torturer
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- scott travers
- 2022-11-12
excellent story, well told
I read this novel back in the late 80s and thoroughly enjoyed rediscovering it in this audiobook. The narration was excellent although perhaps a little too soft spoken at times but it fit the character well. I did find it a little difficult to understand some times on a proper speaker, easier on the tinny phone speaker. I enjoyed the language and the slow but thoughtful progression of the book.
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- Shesophist
- 2020-01-27
Thick with meaning but hard to follow
Jonathan Davis did great with the narration. I had trouble following the story, or the point of the story, but the prose was beautiful.
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- Alison Hain
- 2023-10-31
Solid and imperfect
Johnathan Davis is an excellent narrator as always. The story meanders a fair bit, world is rich enough to keep me engaged despite a general lack of tension. Definitely the kind of book that sets up the world and expects you to keep going. I just might.
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- Liam
- 2021-02-14
My new favorite book series
I had never heard of these books prior to reading them. I had been recommended them because I wanted a story similar in tone to the Dark Souls video games. I can now easily say this tetrology is my new favorite book series. It isn't an easy story to digest, the writing style is very dense and prose-heavy, and the events that occur are not presented in a linear or reliable fashion.
This is the kind of book you can (and almost need to) revisit multiple times and glean new meaning or information from every time. There is so much symbolism, allusion and hidden meaning in every portion of the story. Sometimes these bits of meaning only become clear after hearing the story already, the books are almost meant to be studied like a myth or religious tract.
If you are a fan of obscure, gothic atmosphere and strange, alien worlds and cultures, you'll enjoy these books.
The narration is a big part of why I enjoyed the books, Jonathan Davis is clearly a fan of the stories and is extremely consistent with character voices, names and pronunciations. He has a quiet, calming voice that lulls you into immersion within the story. I have read the physical books since listening to the audiobooks and while I still enjoyed them, the audiobook is something else.
Needless to say I highly recommend these books, though as I said before, they require a certain amount of commitment and faith from the reader. These books are all about delayed gratification and establishing an atmosphere.
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2 people found this helpful
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- CW
- 2023-07-28
Great book. Narration was lacking.
This is an amazing series, but I found the Audible narration frustrating. General the narrator did a fine job when he was describing the environments and such. However far too often, the narrator started speaking soft to a whisper. Frankly, there are very few places in the book where it seems appropriate and took me out of the story. Some parts I had to rewind and turn up the volume because I couldn't hear what was being said.
Another issue I had in a few places was understanding who was speaking when the narrator didn't change character voice when another was speaking... especially when the same voice was used for female and male characters who were talking with each other.
Like I said great book and great series but compared with older audio versions, I found it less enjoyable.
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- Shea M.
- 2023-09-19
The greatest work of Science Fiction in history
The beginning to what is quite simply the greatest science fiction series, possible the greatest work of fiction period. Jaw dropping, enrapturing, inspiring, deep and rewarding perfection.
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- Paul
- 2021-02-16
Too much wordy, indecipherable fantasy narrative.
I could never get into this audiobook. it was never clear where the story was going. I prefer harder sci-fi to this fantasy stuff. I gave up about halfway through.
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