Narrator Melanie Crawley's scratchy, sharp-edged voice reflects the emotional and political storms revolving around Nonius, engineer of the late Roman Republic. Contracted to install public water lines throughout a poor Roman community, he's confronted with opposition from community members, particularly stentorian-sounding Quintus, a senator, and Quintus's lusty wife, Calixta. When Nonius falls in love with shameless and emotionally abrasive Amaris, Quintus and Calixta's young servant, his fortunes take a decided turn for the worse. Crawley pronounces Latin terms as though they were English words, jarringly shifting the listener's attention from Ancient Rome to the present. However, his unemotional performance focuses attention on the legal troubles of Nonius as he becomes entangled in Amaris's sexual and emotional net.
Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2021
Duration: 9 hrs, 45 mins
Publisher: Nicholas Nicastro
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Ayla, one of the "others," is adopted by a clan of Neanderthal cave people. She struggles to conform to their ways, but her advanced human traits overwhelm and threaten their primitive culture in this initial installment of an immensely popular series. Although the story might benefit from abridgment, Rowena Cooper easily carries out the formidable task of enlivening the mostly silent and stereotypical characters with consistent, diverse personalities and human dimension. Through skillful phrasing and inflection, she maintains the reader's interest and suspense, especially with Ayla and her plight, throughout this rambling and imaginative story.
Pub Date: N/A
Duration: 22 hrs
Publisher: BBC Audiobooks America/ Chivers
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
This lyrical, sensual novel of woman's lot in Manchu, China, is as well researched as it is well written. Authentic in tone, it's nonetheless written for Westerners by a Western expert on China. Moreover, Susan Clark performs the demanding text superbly, with only occasional signs of fatigue. For the most part she not only sustains the quaint diction and Asian atmosphere, but also, creates whole worlds with her voice. She acts the book, rather than reads it, and, in so doing, turns a pretty trifle into a stupendous beauty.
Pub Date: N/A
Duration: 4 hrs, 30 mins
Publisher: Audio Literature
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
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