I might if all the background noise and sound effects were eliminated. I found it very distracting. It is not a movie, but an audio book.

The court room scene at the end.

The narrators were very good and did make the characters enjoyable

Eliminate all the noise, in background. It took away from the story, at least for me.

The book had excellent production value. Nothing distracted me from listening to the story. The problem was that it was about characters that I never managed to develop an interest in.

Make me at some point feel that the story was heading somewhere.

I had no favorite.

Delete the book from my computer.

I found it highly ironic to have a book about swordplay that to me seemed completely pointless.

This book is not what I was expecting. Swordspoint is all about the bisexual love polygons, and none of the characters are... entirely likeable. Self centered, irrational nitwits for the most part. The few clever characters are only there in the background. We are restricted to viewing the dunces in the foreground fighting over insults. For me the only reason I made it past the first few chapters was to satisfy my curiosity about a few certain mysteries. Sigh, that's one credit I'll never get back.

Kushner is an excellent storyteller- that much I cannot deny. She paints a picture of Riverside and its band of cutthroats most wonderfully, contrasted with the Hill and its somewhat more sophisticated nobles. However, I did not expect the casualness of the sexuality of the characters. For example, Michael goes from making love to a female to Lord Horn, an old gentleman friend of his mother's. I did not expect this. One of the reasons I chose this book was because it was one of Neil Geiman's favorites and it had the voice talent of Katherine Kelgren. The dramatization is great, the author's narration superb, and the action scenes spectacular- but the characters themselves do not really move me nor do their various escapades.

The book had excellent production value. Nothing distracted me from listening to the story. The problem was that it was about characters that I never managed to develop an interest in.

Make me at some point feel that the story was heading somewhere.

I had no favorite.

Delete the book from my computer.

I found it highly ironic to have a book about swordplay that to me seemed completely pointless.

An upstairs/downstairs blend of haughty aristocracy and thieving lowlife makes this a fun and fascinating performance. The manipulations and moods of the characters fill out a subtle plot well. A full radio play with background noises was a delightful extra.

People who pick up this book without knowing anything about it might be a little surprised at the turns it takes. Swordspoint is only about swords in the social sense of the word - there is little sword fighting and action of that sort is thin on the ground. But Ellen Kushner never pretends that the book will be some kind of action-packed thriller. As Neil Gaiman says in his introduction, the key to this book is in its subtitle: A Melodrama of Manners.

The story revolves around the social station of a number of aristocrats in a fantasy city, who live on 'The Hill' while the lower denizens inhabit the city by the river, handily named 'Riverside.' The two sides interact mainly when the higher classes have to get their hands dirty, by arranging affairs of dubious legality or honor, or engaging a swordsman to fight to the death on their behalf. The main character is the celebrated duelist Richard St. Veer, whose position is more often outlined in social terms than in violent ones.

Of course, it is far from that simple. A Melodrama of Manners hardly ever is. But the story is very entertaining and unusual for the sort of high-fantasy setting that this is similar to. The prose is quick and clever, and the way that the audiobook was performed was great. I hope other audiobooks follow its example. I have already listened to another of Kushner's books, and I intend to read or listen to more when I can obtain them.

This book is not for fantasy fans. Yes, it takes place in an imaginary time and place, but that describes many novels. It's simply fiction.

Fantasy.

The attempt at dramatization was very distracting. Thought I thought the use of sound effects and different voices would add to the listening experience, it was in reality very poorly done and incredibly distracting.

Disappointment.

First, the narrators did an EXCELLENT job. The various voices added texture, individualism, and character to the interesting people in the fantasy of old world elegance.

Light Shakespeare’s Midsummer Night there are plot twist, lovers misunderstanding, old rivalries and new alliances, humor, loyalty and chivalry which makes this a enjoyable book to hear.

In Riverside the biggest dived between if you are a noble or not is which side of the river you live. It is the time when you live and die by the sword and the rules which apply, to you living or dying, depend on if you are a noble or not.

Richard St Vier is the pre-eminent swordsman who earns his living by fighting for the nobles. Alec is a former university student with a taste for danger and self-destruction and is St. Vier companion and lover.

When the machinations of the nobles effect Richard and Alex cause Richard to change the rules of the sword and impacts the residents on both sides of Riverside.

I love the story, I love Ellen Kushner's narration, but I hate the sound effects.

What I love about audio books is what I love about books. I love reading or being read to. Audio books let me listen and let the authors words and my mind together create a world, a place, a feeling. It's different than movies. It's not passive - it collaborative. It's calming yet nourshing mind and soul food.

This

Narration was prefect, authentic, wouldn't change a thing.