The crack of gunfire and the lyrical Southern accents blend like bourbon and water in this violent tale of vigilante justice, which takes place shortly after the Civil War. There's humidity and the buzz of mosquitoes in the voice of narrator Larry Pine as he creates a rough-hewn, grimy tableau. Listeners will root for Sheriff Billy Waite, out-gunned, out-manned, and weighed down with years of dealing with death and destruction, as he dispenses justice in a backwater Alabama region. Pine's creation of this small community of country folk features beautifully rendered scenes of tenderness mixed with shocking violence. While not for every listener, those who join up with this posse will find that HELL AT THE BREECH delivers.
Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2006
Duration: 13 hrs, 30 mins
Publisher: Recorded Books Inc.
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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