The Queen's Gambit

By: Walter Tevis

Narrated by: Amy Landon

Length: 11 hrs and 50 mins

Publisher's summary

Engaging and fast-paced, this gripping coming-of-age novel of chess, feminism, and addiction speeds to a conclusion as elegant and satisfying as a mate in four.

Eight-year-old orphan Beth Harmon is quiet, sullen, and by all appearances unremarkable. That is, until she plays her first game of chess. Her senses grow sharper, her thinking clearer, and for the first time in her life she feels herself fully in control.

By the age of 16, she's competing for the US Open championship. But as Beth hones her skills on the professional circuit, the stakes get higher, her isolation grows more frightening, and the thought of escape becomes all the more tempting.

©2018 Walter Tevis (P)2018 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

I loved it

Simply wonderful totally engrossing and wonderfully read Highly recommended. You must listen to it !

A truly enjoyable read.

The novel and audiobook were really well executed. I found the narration to be engaging and the overall story both entertaining and informative as someone who has the most limited knowledge of Chess, I hadn't realized there was so much that went into it. I haven't seen the mini series but now I'm very interested!

SO GOOD!! MUST READ!

I wasn’t 100% sure about the story going into it, but I completely loved every minute of it! The characters are so well written, the plot Was surprisingly exciting and interesting, and the performance was fantastic! Five stars and more!

Riveting, even without a clue about chess

I ate through this book almost non-stop. The namesake Netflix series was beautiful; I loved "Mockingbird"; was a big fan of "the Hustler" (movie), so this was a natural for me to grab from Audible. I don't need a narrator to "act" the characters, and Amy Landon delivered in a measured, dry tone, which is perfect for me. If the writing is good, it doesn't need an emotive narrator, just clear annunciation and perfect pacing with just a hint of personalization. And Tevis's writing measures up. Even detailed chess jargon was rendered interesting and exciting with just a sprinkling of colorful embellishment. He keeps the reader involved in the psychological drama, and in becoming intimate with this powerful lead character with her human frailties and almost supernatural talents. I'm now a hardcore Tevis fan and owe it to him to move on to reading his whole body of work.

Loved it !

I know nothing about chess but this book grabbed me from the beginning. I read that a lot of people didn't care for the narration but I thought it was well done. You won't be sorry if you give this book a chance.

Robotic Narration

It took quite a while to block out the strange monotone and queer, misplaced undulations from the narrator, but overall was a good listen.

The narrator doesn't manage to spoil it

Even after seeing the show, hearing this book was still a thrill. There is so much to look forward to.

It's only a shame that the narrator uses a practically identical, doofy cartoon voice for almost every other character. Almost every time another character speaks, it's like listening to Barney, or listening to goldilocks saying "this soup is tooooo coooold!" She's also oblivious to some of the social dynamics and sexual tension as she reads it, and plays Beth a too little heavy on the timid, and a little too light on the rage.

Enjoyable, but the show is much better.

Very rarely do I find onscreen adaptions superior to the original book format. This is that rare case. Better character development on screen. The book doesn't add any interest, just ALOT of chess jargon that ( even for seasoned players ) are 80% of unnecessary dialog. Did I like it...sure. The narrator was ok, but didn't bring Beth to life for me. At least it was free and included in my membership.

Simply Perfect

I Loved it! Couldn't stop listening, even gave up sleep to stay up and finish.

Great book

I really loved the narrator and the story was so interesting, a real rise from rags to riches (not really riches but she becomes quite successful) and includes all of her struggles to become a world champion. A must read.