Will Collyer's narration will hook listeners as author Douglas Preston reveals an assortment of true stories behind his fictional works. Listeners will have to wait for the final chapter to hear about the tomb where several of Ramses II's sons were laid to rest, protected by curses that are both amusing and chilling in Collyer's narration. Collyer also brings drama to his narration of Preston's web search for an old friend; he recounts Preston's memories with fondness before revealing a sad discovery. To bring an interrogation to life, Collyer makes the questions of the police loud and rough, building the tension. Collyer also harshly voices online comments about murder suspect Amanda Knox, who Preston believes is innocent. Preston first told these true stories in magazines such as THE NEW YORKER.
Pub Date: Dec. 5, 2023
Duration: 12 hrs
DD ISBN: 9781668627310
Publisher: Hachette Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Narrator Mark Deakins provides appropriately measured enthusiasm for Mark Synnott's account of sailing his 47-foot boat, POLAR SUN, through the Northwest Passage. Synnott funds his plans by selling the idea of searching for nineteenth-century explorer Sir John Franklin's tomb to National Geographic, among others. The author alternates between his own nautical adventure and the Franklin story. Previously ignored Inuit oral history was critical in locating Franklin's two ships a few years ago, but now Synnott experiences disinterest or suspicion from current Inuit residents who question whether his search is as pointless as Franklin's expedition. When the action flags, Deakins maintains his energy to keep the listener involved, and he sounds distinctly careful in his pronunciations of the multiple Inuit names and places.
Pub Date: April 15, 2025
Duration: 12 hrs, 30 mins
DD ISBN: 9798217019915
Publisher: Penguin Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
This brief but delightful and highly informed audiobook begins and ends with blue spheres. First, listeners learn that the blue marble that astronauts photographed from space actually had the South Pole on top until NASA flipped the image. It ends with the ever-present iPhone blue dot that locates Apple map users. Narrator Liam Garrigan has a natural storytelling style, and his British accent and professional delivery work well in this exploration of geographic direction. He narrates at a good pace and a sensible cadence that make this science-oriented text move almost too quickly. The central idea is how the cardinal directions gave life meaning throughout history but are now being displaced in the digital age, when the ideas of east against west and south versus north have geopolitical, rather than geographical, meanings.
Pub Date: Nov. 12, 2024
Duration: 5 hrs, 30 mins
DD ISBN: 9781668132364
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
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