
A Child Alone with Strangers
A Novel
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Narrated by:
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Sterling Boyns
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By:
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Philip Fracassi
About this listen
When young Henry Thorne is kidnapped and held prisoner in a remote farmhouse surrounded by miles of forest, he finds himself connecting with a strange force living in the woods—using that bond to wreak havoc against his captors. Unknown to the boy, however, is that this ancient being has its own reasons for wanting the interlopers gone—there is something hidden beneath the house, tucked away in the dark, damp root cellar . . . waiting for its return.
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Critic reviews
"... a perfectly pitched horror novel, visceral and terrifying, delving deep into an eldritch world that sits alongside our own. It reminds me of early Stephen King—It; Firestarter; The Shining—but Fracassi also brings a depth of understanding to his monsters, human and otherwise, that makes A Child Alone with Strangers deeply moving. . . . I am now forcing it on everyone I know. Highly recommended." —Alison Flood, The Guardian
“An instant horror classic and my favorite read of the year. Every character is humanized with compelling depth. Every chapter is a study in tension and craft. Fracassi seamlessly weaves together so many horror sub-genres while organically rooting them all in a propulsive character-driven narrative that puts heart above all else. I really can't say enough good things about this one. A towering achievement.” —Brian McAuley, author of Curse of the Reaper
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Vile
- By Meep on 02-16-23
By: Philip Fracassi
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Beneath a Pale Sky
- By: Philip Fracassi
- Narrated by: Adriel Brandt
- Length: 10 hrs
- Unabridged
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Fans of cosmic horror will have much to sup on in these eight tales. The supernatural intrudes upon a wedding; a pier becomes the site of tragedy; a collapsed building is only the start of the nightmare for those trapped in the ruins; a scientist makes the discovery of a lifetime, only to find out that what he’s unearthed has dire consequences not only for himself, but for all of mankind.
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Lots and f surprises!!
- By Joan on 12-02-21
By: Philip Fracassi
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Boys in the Valley
- By: Philip Fracassi
- Narrated by: David Aaron Baker
- Length: 10 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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St. Vincent's Orphanage for Boys. Turn of the century, in a remote valley in Pennsylvania. Here, under the watchful eyes of several priests, thirty boys work, learn, and worship. Peter Barlow, orphaned as a child by a gruesome murder, has made a new life here. As he approaches adulthood, he has friends, a future...a family. Then, late one stormy night, a group of men arrive at their door, one of whom is badly wounded, occult symbols carved into his flesh. His death releases an ancient evil that spreads like sickness, infecting St. Vincent's and the children within.
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Absolutely deserves five stars
- By wisconsinclark on 08-04-24
By: Philip Fracassi
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Behold the Void
- By: Philip Fracassi
- Narrated by: David Stifel
- Length: 11 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
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Behold the Void includes nine stories of terror that huddle in the dark space between cosmic horror and the modern weird, between old-school hard-edged horror of the 1980s and the stylistic prose of today's literary giants.
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Philip Fracassi is not to be slept on...
- By writing.reader on 11-27-17
By: Philip Fracassi
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Sacculina
- By: Philip Fracassi
- Narrated by: A.J. Carter
- Length: 2 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
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When Jim's big brother Jack is released from prison, the brothers - along with their broken father and Jack's menacing best friend - decide to charter an ocean fishing boat to celebrate Jack's new freedom. Once the small crew is far out to sea, however, a mutant species rises from the deep abyssal darkness to terrorize the vessel and its occupants. As the horror of their situation becomes clear, the small group must find a way to fend off the attack and somehow, someway, return to safety.
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Now I'm scared of barnacles?
- By Anna Wagner on 03-16-23
By: Philip Fracassi
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No One Is Safe!
- By: Philip Fracassi
- Narrated by: Dorian Scott
- Length: 10 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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No One Is Safe! presents fourteen stories of macabre, pulpy terror; a book filled with futuristic noir mysteries, science fiction thrillers, alien invasions, and old-school horror tales that will keep you up late into the night. You’ll discover haunted dream journals and evil houses, birthday wishes gone wrong, a neighborhood cat that cures any disease, a flesh-eating beach, and mysterious skeletons on a hidden moon base. You’ll meet wise-cracking detectives, suburban vampires, murdered movie stars, and monsters of the deep.
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Excellent collection
- By Ray on 03-03-25
By: Philip Fracassi
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Gothic
- By: Philip Fracassi
- Narrated by: Eric Fox
- Length: 10 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
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On his 59th birthday, Tyson Parks—a famous, but struggling, horror writer—receives an ornate antiquarian desk in the hopes it will rekindle his creative juices. Perhaps inspire him to write another best-selling book and prove his best years aren’t behind him… As Tyson begins to use the new desk, he finds himself writing copy at an unfathomable speed, becomes so focused on writing that he binges on all-night, all-day sessions that take a serious physical and psychological toll. Soon, Tyson begins acting strange. Violent.
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Vile
- By Meep on 02-16-23
By: Philip Fracassi
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Beneath a Pale Sky
- By: Philip Fracassi
- Narrated by: Adriel Brandt
- Length: 10 hrs
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Fans of cosmic horror will have much to sup on in these eight tales. The supernatural intrudes upon a wedding; a pier becomes the site of tragedy; a collapsed building is only the start of the nightmare for those trapped in the ruins; a scientist makes the discovery of a lifetime, only to find out that what he’s unearthed has dire consequences not only for himself, but for all of mankind.
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Lots and f surprises!!
- By Joan on 12-02-21
By: Philip Fracassi
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Boys in the Valley
- By: Philip Fracassi
- Narrated by: David Aaron Baker
- Length: 10 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
St. Vincent's Orphanage for Boys. Turn of the century, in a remote valley in Pennsylvania. Here, under the watchful eyes of several priests, thirty boys work, learn, and worship. Peter Barlow, orphaned as a child by a gruesome murder, has made a new life here. As he approaches adulthood, he has friends, a future...a family. Then, late one stormy night, a group of men arrive at their door, one of whom is badly wounded, occult symbols carved into his flesh. His death releases an ancient evil that spreads like sickness, infecting St. Vincent's and the children within.
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Absolutely deserves five stars
- By wisconsinclark on 08-04-24
By: Philip Fracassi
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Behold the Void
- By: Philip Fracassi
- Narrated by: David Stifel
- Length: 11 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Behold the Void includes nine stories of terror that huddle in the dark space between cosmic horror and the modern weird, between old-school hard-edged horror of the 1980s and the stylistic prose of today's literary giants.
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Philip Fracassi is not to be slept on...
- By writing.reader on 11-27-17
By: Philip Fracassi
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Sacculina
- By: Philip Fracassi
- Narrated by: A.J. Carter
- Length: 2 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
When Jim's big brother Jack is released from prison, the brothers - along with their broken father and Jack's menacing best friend - decide to charter an ocean fishing boat to celebrate Jack's new freedom. Once the small crew is far out to sea, however, a mutant species rises from the deep abyssal darkness to terrorize the vessel and its occupants. As the horror of their situation becomes clear, the small group must find a way to fend off the attack and somehow, someway, return to safety.
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Now I'm scared of barnacles?
- By Anna Wagner on 03-16-23
By: Philip Fracassi
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No One Is Safe!
- By: Philip Fracassi
- Narrated by: Dorian Scott
- Length: 10 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
No One Is Safe! presents fourteen stories of macabre, pulpy terror; a book filled with futuristic noir mysteries, science fiction thrillers, alien invasions, and old-school horror tales that will keep you up late into the night. You’ll discover haunted dream journals and evil houses, birthday wishes gone wrong, a neighborhood cat that cures any disease, a flesh-eating beach, and mysterious skeletons on a hidden moon base. You’ll meet wise-cracking detectives, suburban vampires, murdered movie stars, and monsters of the deep.
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Excellent collection
- By Ray on 03-03-25
By: Philip Fracassi
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Small Town Horror
- By: Ronald Malfi
- Narrated by: Joe Hempel
- Length: 10 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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Andrew Larimer has left his past behind. Rising up the ranks in a New York law firm, and with a heavily pregnant wife, he is settling into a new life far from Kingsport, the town in which he grew up. But when he receives a late-night phone call from an old friend, he has no choice but to return home.
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Am I reading IT or what
- By D Cook on 10-18-24
By: Ronald Malfi
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Snow
- By: Ronald Malfi
- Narrated by: Joe Hempel
- Length: 8 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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The blizzard begins pummeling the Midwest on Christmas Eve, leaving hundreds of passengers stranded at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport. Todd Curry doesn't need another reason to disappoint his son, so he joins three other people in renting the last four-wheel drive available and they set out into the blinding snow. Only two hours into the treacherous trip west, Todd swerves to avoid a man in the middle of the highway. The stranger claims his daughter is lost somewhere out in the snow.
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creative but irritating
- By Susannah French on 06-29-23
By: Ronald Malfi
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The Third Rule of Time Travel
- By: Philip Fracassi
- Narrated by: Abigail Reno
- Length: 9 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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Scientist Beth Darlow has discovered the unimaginable. She's built a machine that allows human consciousness to travel through time—to any point in the traveler's lifetime—and relive moments of their life. An impossible breakthrough, but it's not perfect: the traveler has no way to interact with the past. They can only observe. After Beth's husband, the co-creator of the machine, dies in a tragic car accident, Beth is left to raise daughter—and continue the work they started. Mired in grief and threatened by her CEO, Beth pushes herself to the limit to prove the value of her technology.
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This guy is one of the best writers out there
- By Anonymous User on 03-18-25
By: Philip Fracassi
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A Mask of Flies
- By: Matthew Lyons
- Narrated by: Saskia Maarleveld
- Length: 13 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
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In the grisly aftermath of a botched bank heist, career criminal Anne Heller has no choice but to return to her family’s cabin–a secluded shack in Colorado’s San Luis Valley, and the site of her mother’s untimely death. Along for the ride are Jessup, Anne’s badly wounded partner, and Dutch, the police officer she’s taken hostage. As they wait for help, Anne discovers strange relics from her mother’s past and begins to unfold the mystery of her childhood at the cabin.
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Beautifully written
- By Janet on 03-31-25
By: Matthew Lyons
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The Accursed Huntsman
- By: Douglass Hoover
- Narrated by: Dylan Wheeler
- Length: 11 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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Haunted by the hunting accident that took both his leg and the life of his best friend, wilderness guide Jack Steward exists on the wooded fringes of society. When an infamously foolhardy millionaire offers Jack the means to reconcile his past wrongs in exchange for participating in a remote archaeological dig along the coast of Nova Scotia, Jack straps on his worn prosthetic and ventures forth into a world of mystery, deceit, and horror.
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Stepheal Crichking
- By davey love on 03-01-24
By: Douglass Hoover
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Jack’s Boys
- By: John Katzenbach
- Narrated by: Bradford Hastings
- Length: 17 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
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Five serial killers. Known only to each other as: Alpha. Bravo. Charlie. Delta. Easy. Connected through a secure internet location, encrypted and concealed, a unique chat room they have named Jack’s Special Place in homage to their ultimate model—the one killer they hold in the highest esteem: Whitechapel, London. 1888. The infamous murderer remembered in dark history as Jack the Ripper. And so, they are Jack’s Boys. They delight in each other’s crimes. They relish in taunting police around the world with odd clues and deep confusion—the modern version of the Victorian-era killer they emulate.
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Kind of predictable but still a great listen
- By Shots RN on 06-11-24
By: John Katzenbach
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Within These Walls
- By: Ania Ahlborn
- Narrated by: R.C. Bray
- Length: 13 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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With his marriage on the rocks and his life in shambles, washed-up true-crime writer Lucas Graham is desperate for a comeback, one more shot at the best-selling success he once enjoyed. His chance comes when he's promised exclusive access to death row inmate Jeffrey Halcomb, the notorious cult leader and mass murderer who's ready to break his silence after 30 years, and who contacted Lucas personally from his maximum-security cell.
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Fantastic, as was expected...
- By Randy Eberle on 05-13-15
By: Ania Ahlborn
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Mean Spirited
- By: Nick Roberts, Crystal Lake Publishing, Crystal Lake Audio
- Narrated by: Spencer Dillehay
- Length: 10 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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An alcoholic teacher and father’s world spirals out of control when a former student is killed and he is left with her dog and the dark presence that follows it. Matt Matheny teaches during the day, drinks at night, and barely hides his functioning alcoholism from his veterinarian ex-wife, Lucy, and his six-year-old son, Mikey. His world spirals out of control when a former student is killed, and he's left with her dog, Conehead. But something isn't right with Conehead.
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Creepy and scary enough to freak me out!!!!
- By TAMMY on 07-27-24
By: Nick Roberts, and others
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In That Endlessness, Our End
- By: Gemma Files
- Narrated by: Deanna Anthony, Neil Hellegers, Steven Jay Cohen, and others
- Length: 14 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
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Hot on the heels of her 2018 This Is Horror Award–winning short story collection Spectral Evidence, critically horror author Gemma Files compiles fifteen more of her most startling recent nightmares—a creepily seductive downward spiral of dark poetry and existential dread, entirely suitable to the slow apocalypse going on all around us. So take your mind off your troubles and send it somewhere the rules still operate, if only to punish those who violate them.
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Solid collection, if a bit repetitive
- By DP on 08-13-24
By: Gemma Files
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The Narrows
- By: Ronald Malfi
- Narrated by: David Stifel
- Length: 11 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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The town of Stillwater has been dying - the long and painful death of a town ravaged by floods and haunted by the ghosts of all who had lived there. Yet this most recent flood has brought something with it - a creature that nests among the good folks of Stillwater...and feeds off them. The children who haven't disappeared whisper the same word - "vampire". But they're wrong. What has come to Stillwater is something much more horrific.
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Malfi delivers a tour de force
- By Kenneth A. McKinley on 06-13-22
By: Ronald Malfi
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Borrowed Time
- By: John Nolte
- Narrated by: Jim Seybert
- Length: 13 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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Joshua Mason has been alive for thousands of years. He doesn't know how or why it happened, only that he can die like any man, but will always return. When you live forever, everything you love will die, so he decided long ago to not become attached. That all changed when he met Doreen. With her, he found something more than the woman he loves, after thousands of years of wandering, he found his place in the world. Now she's dying of old age. Distraught, Joshua promises to look after Charlie, Doreen's grandson, who is thirty-six, but forever a child due to a terrible brain injury.
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Great story, compelling characters
- By Amazon Customer on 10-23-23
By: John Nolte
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They Lurk
- By: Ronald Malfi
- Narrated by: Joe Hempel, Amy McFadden
- Length: 9 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
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Newly reissued from the "modern-day Algernon Blackwood" comes five terrifying collected horror novellas.
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While their short stories, they’re also non-ending stories
- By laurie j sousa on 12-05-23
By: Ronald Malfi
What listeners say about A Child Alone with Strangers
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Roseann
- 07-06-24
Great Story
This was a case of great story, poor narration. I liked the characters, the story line, and plot. The narration on the other hand was so bad. If the other parts of the story were not as good as they were I would have returned it.
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- Dru
- 01-24-25
Pretty good
compelling story, but none of the characters were especially likeable, and I noticed contradicting details and descriptions more than once. The narrator also mispronounced several words. But overall, this book definitely kept me entertained.
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- monty burnham
- 09-12-24
A Unique Story
Great story but a bit drawn out. The characters are really well done. I'd love to have a sequel....
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- Amazon Customer
- 09-23-24
amazing book. Great if you like Chbosky's imaginary friend
amazing book. Great if you like Chbosky's imaginary friend. The plot was easy to follow and had you guessing the whole time
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- Sean J.
- 09-20-24
Great Story
Narrator was inconsistent with pacing, especially in the beginning, but makes some improvements. Initially he sounded like he was reading the script for the first time.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Holly
- 04-06-24
Ugh
I chose this book after finishing another of the author’s novels, which I had enjoyed. This sounded interesting
and had a 5-star rating, but I really wish I had listened to a sample before wasting a credit. The narrator sounds like a young man reading to a kindergarten class. His voice is pleasant enough, but he’s not cut out for this kind of story. Way too much child-like emoting during descriptive passages, and way too many instances of emphasizing the wrong word or phrase—like he’s just reading the words instead of actually paying attention to what he’s saying. Also a LOT of mispronunciation. It’s “sedative,” not “se-DAY-tive,” man. The car radio sounds “tinny,” not “tiny.” I’m not even going to get into that terrible Australian accent. Yikes. I can’t bring myself to stop a book before it’s done, and this is a looonngg book, much longer than it needed to be, so it was rough. The story wasn’t bad, but some editing would have improved it—it’s like a short story swelled up into a huge novel for no good reason. I also wonder if the author actually knows any 10-year-olds, since the kid comes off more like a first grader. I hate leaving a bad review, but I chose this book in part because of the 5-star rating, so I feel kind of obligated.
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3 people found this helpful
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- D.
- 05-02-24
Great story, hard to listen to narrator
I loved the story. I didn’t like the dozens of mispronunciations. I need to read my hard copy.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Shaun Cox
- 06-10-24
Great story, a little long.
Loved the story, and the narrator but there were definitely moments that dragged on a bit.
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- Anonymous User
- 02-04-25
Awkwardly forced liberal narrative...
Look... I absolutely loved Boys in the Valley, but Fracassi felt a weird, desperate need to let his liberal light shine in this one. The entire story talks about how straight, white men are just terrible people that bang their sisters and have ego problems. He talks about Jim's (the lead character, a black man) strong sinuous arms with veins sticking out. Literally every white man in the story is a piece of trash and black men are strong, brilliant and perfect. This, all written by a white man. I have no problem with all of these things happening in a story, but it's weird when it's written by a clearly liberal white man. We get it, Phil, you're a proud liberal and have a desperate need to please black and gay men... Weird.
The narrator can't pronounce half of the words in the book correctly. If it's not a common use, layman, everyday word, this guy just can't get it right.
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