The Bastard

The Kent Family Chronicles, Book 1

By: John Jakes

Narrated by: Marc Vietor

Length: 19 hrs and 8 mins

Publisher's summary

Set against the colorful tumult of events that gave rise to our fledgling nation, this novel of romance and adventure introduces Phillipe Charboneau.

The illegitimate son of an English nobleman, Phillipe flees Europe and, as Philip Kent, joins the men who set our course for freedom.

The Bastard is the first volume in the Kent Family Chronicles, a series of novels that details one family's journey in the early years of the American nation.

©1974 John Jakes (P)2013 Audible Inc.

Had to stop because voice actor was so bad

I'm a huge John Jakes fan but the voice was so bad I had to stop half way in. I just finished the North and South trilogy and was hungry for more so I had high hopes for this series. I tried a number of times to get through this book but everytime I tried coming back to it, I eventually became distracted with how horrendous the voice actor was. The book was good enough though that I'll purchase it to read the old fashioned way.

underwhelming

The narrator was decent but, even though I usually love historical fiction, just couldn't hey into this story

Excellent Tale with great narration

This book was an excellent start of a historical fiction series describing the beginning of a family and the birth of a nation. It was fun listening to how legendary characters from our past were interwoven into the tale. I'm looking forward to book 2, The Rebels, after I take a short break to let details from The Bastard sink in.

Good story yet slow.

Good story but a bit slow. I like that narrator, story and characters yet it was a bit slow.

An Amazing Tale

I am really happy audible released this book and hope they release all the sequels I think there are 6. This book is an amazing piece of literature. It brings the revolutionary war to life from an unorthodox point of view. A wealth of great historical events and characters is included and this is really a phenomenal book by a well seasoned author.

ARGH - historical ROMANCE novel

After listening to the 3 Civil War novels by John Jakes, I was astonished at this novel. It seemed like a female romance novelist was writing it and it was principally a bad romance novel. I still have over 9 hours to go, but will not finish.

Marie, Phillipe's mother, an immoral whack job. She tried to instill stupid life goals of material pursuit and snobbery. Premise unlikely - a man publicly acknowledging his illegitimate son and bequeathing him one half of his possessions. Not happening. He might have provided an annuity or provided for the son's education. Not a huge inheritance.

Marie's refusal of 2,000 pound payoff stupid, then she wound up sick and homeless in London. Stupid.

Women portrayed as loose or nasty or teases or stupid. Author preoccupation with women's breasts.

Philippe and Alicia Parkhurst's fling totally unrealistic. Alicia another man's fiancee and she would not have risked what she had and was going to have for a fling.

Information on primitive printing interesting.

Skipped last part of Chapter's 6, 7, most of 8, then skipped to Book 2 hoping it would get better.

With over 9 hours to go, I realized it was not going to.get better. Very disappointing.

Phillipe Kent Book 1

If you could sum up The Bastard in three words, what would they be?

BOOK: (Amazon Summary) Meet Phillipe Charboneau: the illegitimate son and unrecognized heir of the Duke of Kentland. Upon the Duke’s death, Phillipe is denied his birthright and left to build a life of his own. Seeking all that the New World promises, he leaves London for America, shedding his past and preparing for the future by changing his name to Philip Kent. He arrives at the brink of the American Revolution, which tests his allegiances in ways he never imagined.

NARRATION: Marc Vietor narrates the entire series which is a plus. I like the consistency of hearing the same voice throughout the story line. The voices are well done, female and male are easily distinguishable.

excellent read

keeps you into the story from beginning to end. well read with good voice. moving on to the next book in the series

If you want a saga...

I think if I knew more about American History, I would have liked this book a little more. I like historical fiction, but tend to lean more towards the history of Europe rather than North America… I never really found it compelling, but when presented in this format the details worm their way into my brain without me knowing it – and it is interesting!

As it was I did not dislike the story, I was in the mood for a sweeping multi-generational family saga and this story does certainly tick all those boxes.

I am committed to Books 1 (The Bastard) and 2 (The Rebels) and plan to read them back to back… we’ll see if I am still hooked on the series after that. If I am, I’m in for a treat since there are 8 books in the series!

Well worth the money.

Beautifully narrated. Very well written, truly deserving of the 5 star rating. Will surely look for the authors other books.