The Damned Busters

To Hell and Back, Book 1

By: Matthew Hughes

Narrated by: Tom Lawrence

Length: 11 hrs and 24 mins

Publisher's summary

After accidentally summoning a demon while playing poker, the normally mild-mannered Chesney Anstruther refuses to sell his soul…which leads through various confusions to, well, Hell going on strike. Which means that nothing bad ever happens in the world – and that actually turns out to be a really bad thing.

There’s only one thing for it. Satan offers Chesney the ultimate deal – sign the damned contract, and he can have his heart’s desire. And thus the strangest superhero duo ever seen – in Hell or on Earth – is born! Book one of the To Hell & Back saga is a riotous fantasy from the acclaimed author of the Henghis Hapthorn stories.

©2010 Matthew Hughes (P)2014 Audible Studios

Good Story, Terrible Narration

Normally when I find a book with a narrator I don't care for, I don't bother listening. Tom Lawrence's performance however, was so bad that I couldn't stop listening to it. His constant mispronounciation of words became intriguing at first, then later a game I played to guess what mangled iteration of an English word he would utter next. Then, in exasperation, I looked up some other books that he performed, and was astonished to find that he has a very distinct British accent in them.
To Mr. Lawrence, why in the hell wouldn't you use your own actual voice? I am certain that you are aware that "palm," is not pronounced "parm," and that "data," is not "dater".
I rather enjoyed the story, and I would certainly be inclined to read the physical book, but how do you record something like that, take a step back, and say "that sounds pretty good. I'm proud of this"?

Decent Story, terrible narration

How did the narrator detract from the book?

The publishers chose, in their infinite wisdom to contract as the narrator a gentleman with a pronounced English accent. Had he read the story in his own accent or had he been one of those talented individuals, such as Hugh Laurie, who can mimic the American accent flawlessly this would not have been an issue. Unfortunately, neither of those things were the case. Mr Lawrence seems to feel that Americans pronounce every word that ends in an audible vowel with a hard R sound. Thus data becomes dater etc. Mr Lawrence would also lapse fairly often and allow his natural accent to bleed through. all this led to a very distracting performance.

Funny like a fantasy Red Dwarf

What did you love best about The Damned Busters?

The demon with a 1920's Prohibition gangster accent,

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

I would have made the other characters more fleshed out. The other characters were a little shallow, but most of it was so fun and we were so focused on the hero and his demon sidekick who are both entertaining that I didn't notice the other characters much.

What three words best describe Tom Lawrence’s performance?

Dry and witty.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

No, but I certainly felt sympathy from my own experience at his social awkwardness with other people. His doctors medical description was like a bit of deja vu since I had a similar diagnosis when I was kid. I really related to the protagonist.

Very funny and charming

I listened to this on my commute and very quickly into the book the driver and I were both laughing so hard I was sure we were doomed.

Meh.

What would have made The Damned Busters better?

Better narration. This guy was terrible.

What was most disappointing about Matthew Hughes’s story?

The protagonist. No personality. Boring.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

His mispronunciations. His was a very boring (To me) story telling.

What character would you cut from The Damned Busters?

The main one.

Any additional comments?

Just a boring book