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The Riddle Of The Sands
- Narrated by: Anton Lesser
- Length: 10 hrs and 9 mins
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Conrad's literary rigging is tight.
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At the time of the French Revolution, one of Britain's most skillful naval officers, Charles Saunders Hayden, is a young lieutenant, the son of an English father and a French mother. His abilities and his loyalty to the king of England are beyond dispute, yet his career seems doomed by his "mixed" heritage and lack of political connections. Consequently, Hayden is assigned to an aging frigate, the Themis, under the command of Captain Josiah Hart, a man known as "Faint Hart" throughout the service.
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Perfect for first timer
- By Blackmac on 08-07-08
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Howard Pyle's Book of Pirates
- By: Howard Pyle, Merle Johnson
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 7 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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Merle Johnson has here gathered together in one volume all of the nineteenth-century author-artist's classic pirate stories that had been scattered through many magazines and books. Well researched and with richly drawn characters, Pyle's work will appeal to students of history and adventure lovers alike.
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Fascinating and wonderfully read
- By Fletch on 09-08-06
By: Howard Pyle, and others
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The Captain of the Pole Star
- By: Arthur Conan Doyle
- Narrated by: B. J. Harrison
- Length: 1 hr and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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Word goes among the crew of the Pole Star that the captain is haunted by demons. And after the days turn into weeks in the frigid Arctic Ocean, stories begin to circulate of ghosts and midnight hauntings.
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Conan Doyle wrote more than Mr. Holmes.
- By Kristi R. on 11-14-11
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Mr Midshipman Hornblower
- By: C. S. Forester
- Narrated by: Christian Rodska
- Length: 8 hrs and 18 mins
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Shaking off this label, a shy and lonely 17-year-old, Horatio Hornblower, embarks on a memorable career in Nelson's navy on HMS Justinian. In action, adventure, and battle he is forged into one of the most formidable junior officers in the service.
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First rate historical fiction
- By Jason on 04-30-17
By: C. S. Forester
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Billy Budd
- By: Herman Melville
- Narrated by: Peter Joyce
- Length: 3 hrs and 54 mins
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On one level...Melville’s tale is an historical adventure telling the story of life aboard ship shortly after the mutiny at Spithead in 1797. Billy is taken from a homeward bound merchantman to serve on the ‘Seventy Four’ HMS Indomitable. He falls foul of Claggart, the ‘Master at Arms’, and the final confrontation results in death. Billy becomes an unwilling martyr - what passes for justice must be implemented because of the rebellious climate of the time.
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Well done, a pleasure to listen to!
- By Kindle Customer on 10-17-18
By: Herman Melville
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Hell on Ice
- The Saga of the Jeannette
- By: Edward Ellsberg
- Narrated by: Stephen Hoye
- Length: 14 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
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In the 1870s, newspaperman James Gordon Bennett of the New York Herald drummed up excitement and publicity for his paper through highly publicized missions of exploration. In 1879, Bennett's idea for a voyage was his most audacious to date: the North Pole. To do this, he hired a team of naval veterans in addition to a smattering of civilians with specialized knowledge in meteorology, whaling, and naturalism. The men on board the Jeannette set off in September of 1879. This would be the last time anyone saw them for two years.
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Great story, and great way to approach the telling
- By Christopher on 08-22-14
By: Edward Ellsberg
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What listeners say about The Riddle Of The Sands
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- John Ray
- 06-13-21
Stirring Schoolboy Adventure
Despite my seemingly derogatory title, this is very good and well narrated. Highly recommend! Also recommend the 70s film starring Michael York of the same title.
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3 people found this helpful
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- MamaBear
- 01-27-23
Beware the casual racism of 1903, otherwise great
This is an interesting book, with a fascinating premise: that Germany could use its Frisian Islands militarily against Britain.
It’s very technical with regard to nautical terminology and details, which aren’t my thing so I just let them flow past while my hands did other things. So it was good for multitasking.
I am interested in geography, so I kept bringing up maps to orient myself to where they were. Again, there’s a lot of detail.
I’m left wondering if publishing this novel acted as a deterrent to trying an attack of the type described here during WWI.
The narrative character started out as a drawling pain in the rear. Thankfully, the drawling and complaining didn’t continue into the second half of the book.
Interesting look back at espionage prior to WWI, and a kind of historical futurism. Just be aware that the British habit of casually stated racial superiority is on full display, as is the pro-colonialism perspective of the day.
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- Drone Boy
- 05-16-24
Keeps One Awake
This is an excellent early example of spy fiction, and a prescriptive example of predictive literature given its focus on a German dream of invading Britain a decade before WW1. The Riddle of the Sands is a listen you want to get to the end of, even if you are not a Yachting enthusiast.
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- Anonymous User
- 01-31-23
Brilliant story,beautifully read
This wonderful book deserves Anton Lesser as narrator. It’s a fast-paced adventure that draws the reader/listener in and is hard to break away from.
The narration is excellent. Lesser makes the characters come to life.
Superb.
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- John McKendricks
- 01-19-24
historical accuracy
Slow start, characters are developed nicely over time. Very fast pace towards the end. Narrator does an excellent job of acting out various characters.
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- Peter W. Kalnin
- 10-23-23
A 19th Century Classic
By modern standards, this story unfolds very, very slowly. It is realistic and quite believable.
The performance is perfect. Anton Lesser is masterful.
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- JOHN DAVIS
- 09-05-24
Terrific narrator with excellent writing
It simply moved too slowly to hold my interest. I suspect that someone with sailing experience would find it more engaging. The writing is superior and perhaps I will return to give it another read/listen
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- Katherine
- 04-26-12
Slow beginning, but worth the wait
It takes awhile for this story to get going, but it becomes gripping later. Anton Lesser's reading is, as always, magnificent. This is a classic thriller - no gory stuff, and more of a mental cat-and-mouse game than an action adventure. There is a lot of sailing terminology, but it is not essential to understand the jargon (I didn't understand most of it) to enjoy the book.
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9 people found this helpful
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- Gail N.
- 08-20-18
If you can sail a boat, this might be great
If someone is an expert sailor, "The Riddle of the Sands" might be just the thing. But I am not a sailor and do not really know much about sailing. Port and starboard are about the extent of my knowledge. So for me this was a real slog - it seemed to go on forever with endless descriptions of activities on board the vessel and the various types of tides, currents and sand bars encountered. There is a story of friendship and a romance buried in there somewhere. The reader is first rate. But the two main characters remained remote and inaccessible to me and the paranoid plot did not make a lot of sense. In fact, teasing out what that paranoid plot actually is takes up the main part of the story. Apparently, at the time of its writing in 1903, Great Britain was concerned about the possibility of a land invasion mounted by sea. And at the time, this book stirred a lot of public debate. While the prose is intelligent, the notion of a hidden fleet in this age of satellite imagery, nukes and drones seems rather quaint. In short, it is not very relevant today; it may have reached its expiry date.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall
- Charles R Hasbrouck
- 06-11-09
a great listen
A classic that is engaging, exciting, entertaining, and even humorous at times.
So well written that you forget it was written close to 100 years ago.... as good or better than any modern thriller.
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4 people found this helpful