The Adventures of Doctor Eszterhazy

By: Avram Davidson

Narrated by: Robert Blumenfeld

Award-winning author, narrator, and screenwriter Neil Gaiman personally selected this book, and, using the tools of the Audiobook Creation Exchange (ACX), cast the narrator and produced this work for his audiobook label, Neil Gaiman Presents.

A few words from Neil on The Adventures of Doctor Eszterhazy: "We picked the Eszterhazy stories for Neil Gaiman Presents because I wanted to convey the joy and delight of Avram Davidson's short stories. This is the first place all of the Eszterhazy stories have been collected together, including "The Odd, Old Bird", which was not part of the print edition of The Adventures of Doctor Eszterhazy, but could be found instead in the collection The Other Nineteenth Century. If you love fantasy, if you love alternate worlds, or if you just love good stories well-told, that's who Avram Davidson is - someone who knows a great deal more than you do and is damned if both of you aren't going to have a great time in Scythia-Pannonia-Transbalkania."

Avram Davidson (April 23, 1923 - May 8, 1993) was an American Jewish writer of fantasy fiction, science fiction, and crime fiction, as well as the author of many stories that do not fit into a genre niche. He won a Hugo Award and three World Fantasy Awards in the science fiction and fantasy genre, a World Fantasy Life Achievement award, and a Queen's Award and an Edgar Award in the mystery genre.

This invaluable collection of Avram Davidson's resonant, witty short stories describes some incidents in the career of many-times-Doctor Engelbert Eszterhazy, loyal subject of the Triune Monarchy of Scythia- Pannonia-Transbalkania, located in a 19th-century Europe whose political landscape will be, after a little reflection, familiar to most fantasy listeners. Enquire with Doctor Eszterhazy into curious matters: the lurley, the old woman who lived with a bear, gingerbread men, dancing goats, and more.

To hear more from Neil Gaiman on The Adventures of Doctor Eszterhazy, click here, or listen to the introduction at the beginning of the book itself.

Learn more about Neil Gaiman Presents and Audiobook Creation Exchange (ACX).

©1991 Avram Davidson (P)2012 Wildside Press LLC

Too fast, too silly

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

May be more appropriate for high school or college literary-minded listeners who enjoy word play. I was looking for a good story.

What was most disappointing about Avram Davidson’s story?

It was very hard to get into and pay attention to this story. I'm 37 minutes into the story and still don't have a clear idea what it's about. Something about a king of two countries. I've already re-started it a couple of times to understand what's going on, to no avail. Too many silly references and made-up words from the beginning. I just checked the version on my iPhone to make sure I had started with Part 1 instead of Part 2 or 3. Bummer. It was Part 1.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Robert Blumenfeld?

The narrator seemed okay, given the material. It's hard to separate the fast-paced narration from the fast-paced story.

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

It was cheerful enough and seemed to have a good-natured attitude.

I'm trying to like it...

Too many characters and not enough of the main character. Silly at times. I expected more from a novel endorsed by Neil Gaiman—who I really enjoy reading and listening to. My suggestion is to find an old copy from your used book store and read it in small chunks.

Vivat Bobo! Vivat Eszterhazy!

Where does The Adventures of Doctor Eszterhazy rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Somewhere in the top 25

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Adventures of Doctor Eszterhazy?

The raid on the Brigand's compound.

What aspect of Robert Blumenfeld’s performance would you have changed?

More variation in tempo and more lingering on some of the memorable lines.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Laugh.

Any additional comments?

I'm VERY familiar with this book. I've owned it for three decades and am delighted to find it on Audible.

Whimsical read.

These stories may have been better for me in written form. I'm not sure if it was the narrator the story or what, but I lost track of the plot frequently and had to back up. I am easily distracted, but not usually during a good book. I almost gave 3 stars, but what I did hear I enjoyed so I decided not to rate the book on my ability to pay attention. I think that is because it wasn't so much one of my preferred types of books. Parts of it were just funny, but that isn't usually enough to keep me enthralled.

Sherlockian / Magickal spoof

Dr. E. Eszterhazy is a very Sherlock Holmes type character...extremely knowledgable (he holds multiple doctorates) and often called upon to explain the unexplainable.

Unlike Holmes, Dr. E. lives in the Triple Monarchy of Scythia-Pannonia-Transbalkania and often encounters *real* magic (rather than the trickery that Holmes encountered). Also, there is a lot of tongue-in-cheek humor written into these stories. The humor is smart and subtle...not many laugh out loud moments, but a fair number of chuckles.

This is a collection of short stories---and you might want to take them one at a time. In a continuous run, they begin to blur together.

I found Robert Blumenfeld's narration (or perhaps it was Avram Davidson's writing) somewhat soporific. I'm not sure why...it's not like he droned or was boring.