Company of Liars

By: Karen Maitland

Narrated by: David Thorpe

Length: 18 hrs and 46 mins

Publisher's summary

On this day of ill omen, plague makes its entrance. Within weeks, swathes of England will be darkened by death's shadow. While panic and suspicion flood the land, a small band of travelers comes together to outrun the breakdown in law and order.

But when one of their number is found hanging from a tree, the chilling discovery confirms that something more sinister than plague is in their midst. And as the runes warn of treachery, it appears no one is quite what they seem, least of all the child rune reader, who mercilessly compels each of her companions to tell their stories. And face the consequences...

©2008 Karen Maitland (P)2008 Oakhill Publishing Ltd

It wasn’t pleasant during the plague

I really liked the description of the times along with the variety of characters. It was interesting reading about how people lived during the period of the plague and their believers at that time.

Well-worth reading

I'll give this book very high marks for historical accuracy - down to the cold, wet summer of 1348 and the livestock falling to the pestilence as well as humans. Compare that to Follet's World Without End, where it is always bright and sunny.

The story itself is pretty good - a group of travellers are thrown together and try to outrun the plague, while we learn about their lives and secrets. I suppose you could say the same about your typical zombie movie. It's working here, however. My main criticism would be the "twist" ending (no spoilers), which is wholly unnecessary to wrapping up the story. I suppose it does resolve the question as to why the author chose that particular voice as narrator, but the story would have worked just as well without it.

Not a magic fan, heads up

I was hoping for just some straight up historical fiction, didn't expect magic.

No spoilers, someone reads runes in the story, which is fine, that happened quite a bit in those times.
There's a bit of magic in the story though and to be honest, sort of ruined it for me.
Sometimes it would be nice if there were a more realistic outcome.

refreshing tale

The narrator skillfully imitates the different characters. The art to make the surroundings of medieval life and the fear of pestulence come alive is amazing. Also the different characters are well built up. I especially loved the ending. In all very much worth the money

A Terrifying TIme in HIstory

Karen Maitland takes us on a journey of a terrifying time in world history her descriptions of the disposals of those who have died of the plague is heart wrenching. The group of travelers who are fleeing the plague are very unusual and each has lived or are living a lie. As each lie is revealed there are remarkable occurrences some more believable than others.The final revelation and twist is worth the wait!

Writing and performance are both absolutely brilliant!

What made the experience of listening to Company of Liars the most enjoyable?

The author did a beautiful job of developing rich, layered characters and each had their own distinct personalities and voices; it's also clear from their actions, their vocabulary, and their mindsets that the author had also done her research on the era.

The author wove a brilliant story, as well. I don't want to give any details away, lest I ruin the surprises, of which there were many. Allow me to just put it this way: I rarely give five-star ratings, and I listen to a lot of audiobooks. In this case, I wish I could've given it more than five stars.

For his part, the narrator was by far the best I've heard for any audiobook. If I had my way, the narrator would do the voice work for every audiobook I listen to. He's absolutely excellent. His pronunciation was perfect, his accents were spot on, he always used a proper tempo for the mood of the story, and in general he just did an absolutely brilliant job. Can't say enough good things about his work.

As I said, I don't give praise easily. But in this case I can safely say that this book is absolutely worth the money and the time it takes to listen.

LOVED THIS!

I listen to this maybe twice a year I loved the narration of this book I love the story... I would hear new things the first couple of times I listened to it so it was good time after time. The first time though was the best! It's that kind of ending. Really terrific book.

Very good

Great story. Realistic. History lesson. Real twist at the end. Might read some more.

Great listen, again.

It was much more enjoyable the second time I listened. Would like to hear more from author.

Not what I expected but *****

What a story teller Karen Maitland is! I’m not much of a fan of horror but this book drew me in.