Simon Vance’s expert cadences make dense historical material interesting, and his performance of Cornelius Ryan’s account of the grisly 1945 battle for Berlin is no exception. Vance is the best of the several narrators who sound like BBC “news readers,” projecting respectful solemnity with an occasional verbal raised eyebrow to convey a moral judgment. Here, Vance’s plummy English accent has an unaccustomed hoarseness. One hopes this is a cold rather than the cumulative effect of soldiering through the narrations of so many military history tomes. As usual, Vance spices his performance by reading each quote in the appropriate foreign accent. Ryan’s text characteristically jumps from one eyewitness perspective to the next, and Vance’s effort to use pauses to convey these transitions can’t overcome the occasional confusion. Ryan himself is better at vivid descriptions and personal accounts than at big-picture context: A better historical introduction to the subject is Anthony Beevor’s BERLIN: THE DOWNFALL 1945, or, for entertainment, David L. Robbins’s novel THE LAST BATTLE.
Pub Date: April 12, 2012
Duration: 16 hrs
DD ISBN: 9781455156771
Publisher: Blackstone Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Reader Michael Prichard delivers a convincing rendition of Archie Goodwin, the burly right hand of the portly Nero Wolfe, world-renowned gourmand and detective. Prichard preserves the 1970s setting and 1950s origins of the story, bringing listeners a well-paced narration of murder and politics--a combination of elements that usually guarantees an exciting listen. This audio entertainment is as well formed and fragrant as one of Wolfe's hothouse orchids (the stout sleuth cultivates them by the hundreds in his town house greenhouse) as Goodwin walks us through an explosive murder investigation and political wheeling and dealing in a tough yet intelligent read.
Pub Date: Jan. 15, 2006
Duration: 5 hrs, 30 mins
Publisher: Audio Partners
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
This collection of eight short stories contains gentle tales of fantasy and magic--not the magic of wizards and wands, but of wishing mats and enormous cats and gifts brought by the winds. In a lovely English accent, Lizza Aiken quietly narrates these stories in which magic and good fortune often come to those who deserve it. Although her pitch changes little, she registers a range of emotions--from the sadness of a girl whose necklace of raindrops has been stolen to the joy of a child who moves from a hard life and a ramshackle trailer to a happy home amid the clouds. A NECKLACE OF RAINDROPS would make a soothing choice for a family car trip after a long day.
Ages 6+Pub Date: Jan. 5, 2016
Duration: 1 hr, 45 mins
DD ISBN: 9781101915721
Publisher: Listening Library
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
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