The Black Tower

I loved this book! Colorful, intriguing characters that come to life. You feel as if you are there in the middle of all this. And the twists!!! You never see them coming! I hope the author writes more with these characters as they are sure to become a favorite among those that adore historical, clever, intelligent detective novels. My ONLY eyebrow raise is the narrators attempt at a woman's voice, it falls a bit flat, but he is a perfect voice for the story overall.

Louis Bayard has written yet another exceptional historical novel. Perhaps even more than with his previous, the main characters are very, very well drawn. The story is fast paced and the details are fascinating.
Simon Vance is a treasure whose skills as a narrator ('narrator' is an insufficient term, 'performer' may be closer to the mark) must be protected at all costs! He, Roy Dotrice, Barbara Rosenblatt and only a few others are in a category all unto themselves.
In this work, Mr. Vance breathes life into characters (Vidocq in particular) already well defined by Mr. Bayard.
A truly great story and a truly great narrator.

A brilliant reading by Simon Vance whose beautiful and expressive voice brings the story-and the marvelous characters, to life. Carpentier and "Vidocq" are a partnership worthy of Dickens. Genuinely mysterious, vivid, comic.. absorbing from beginning to end. One of the very best on audio.

This audiobook was well worth a credit and my time - enjoyed it quite a lot. A couple of things that were quirky for me: It's set in 1818, but written recently (although I didn't realize that when I started listening to it). Since I've listened to a lot of books written in 19th century, when I started this book, at first I thought the writer very clever, but then when the dialog contained modern swearing, I realized that this is a modern interpretation of a mystery that happened at that time. And a good mystery it is, although the climax is too sensational for me.

The story is set in France with many references to that time and royalty and revolution, which sent me to Wikipedia to clarify some references in the story (this is not a bad thing for me, but be aware).

Simon Vance acted all the parts (mostly all french) with his usual brillance, however, he doesn't attempt a french accent other than with the many french names (which I thought he did great with). So, a lower class french character gets a lower class English accent. I just had to remind myself in the beginning that this was set in Paris, not London.

This isn't a fast paced action packed thriller, but a mystery with more than enough interesting characters brought to life by Vance with enough plot and historical references to make the listen interesting and enjoyable.

Every word is pure pleasure and Vance is simply sublime. If mystery and history are your thing this story will stay with you and be there to listen to over and over again whenever you need the company of an old friend.

If not the best audiobook I have ever listened to and I've listened to a good number, certainly in the top 5. Combining a natural, seemingly effortless writing style that delivers lively, intelligent conversations as well as the protagonists personal thought process along with a thrilling story [if you like historical fiction] this book kept me always wanting to hear more. The narration was lively and well done. If you wanted to nit pick you could find fault in the fact that the narrator did not effect a French accent [all the characters are French] so all the lower class types tended to have sort of a Cockney accent [at least I think that's what a Cockney accent sounds like]. I find that when non French speaking people try to do French accents it just comes out sounding dopey so I don't regret his decision to stick to the English version.

This starts slowly but moves at a seady pace. The style is a bit wordy but as i got into it it became a true literary masterpiece. Highly recommended.

Loved this and couldn't stop listening. So well-researched and written. Buy, read, and be amazed as the story unfolds.

I truly enjoyed this story and the reading. If you like historical fiction this will not disappoint. I wish audible would offer more stories by this author.

I couldn't wait to get home and settle in my chair and listen. The characters are surprising and the history is fascinating. The narration was excellent.