The Hollow Boy

Lockwood & Co., Book 3

De: Jonathan Stroud

Narrado por: Emily Bevan

Duración: 11 h y 55 m

Resumen del Editor

As a massive outbreak of supernatural visitors baffles Scotland Yard and causes protests throughout London, Lockwood & Co. continue to demonstrate their effectiveness in exterminating spirits. Anthony Lockwood is dashing, George insightful, and Lucy dynamic, while the skull in the jar utters sardonic advice from the sidelines. There is a new spirit of openness in the team now that Lockwood has shared some of his childhood secrets, and Lucy is feeling more and more as if her true home is at Portland Row. It comes as a great shock, then, when Lockwood and George introduce her to an annoyingly perky and hyperefficient new assistant, Holly Munro.

Meanwhile, there are reports of many new hauntings, including a house where bloody footprints are appearing and a department store full of strange sounds and shadowy figures. But ghosts seem to be the least of Lockwood & Co.'s concerns when assassins attack during a carnival in the center of the city. Can the team get past their personal issues to save the day on all fronts, or will bad feelings attract yet more trouble?

Danger abounds, tensions escalate, and new loyalties form in this third delightfully terrifying adventure in the critically acclaimed Lockwood & Co. series.

©2015 Jonathan Stroud (P)2015 Listening Library

excellent writing and performance

great writing and story telling a must for any stroud fan look forward to hearing the next book as always.

Not a great narrator

I agree with most of the reviews- I don’t like the narrator for this one. She did a crappy job of creating voices for the characters- and the voice she does for the skull is incredibly annoying…wasn’t sure I could even finish it with her ANNOYING whining versions of the characters

Narrator is pretty awful. Listen at 1.1 speed and that helps.

Great books and characters. We are sorely missing the narrators from the first two books though. My family—from kids to adults—is trying to tough it out with the over-the-top, congested voices the narrator does for both George and Lockwood. And the voice for the Skull? Nails on a chalkboard.

Exceptional Storytelling!!

Great follow up piece with enough plot twists to keep the story interesting and characters that are endearing. The fear factor is on point and the world historically rich while wonderfully ghoulish.

Epic world building

Now we start to see what Lockwood and co are really made of. We also begin to see the true depth of the problem. We're at the top of the roller coaster now and it's about to get wild. I so appreciate the master story telling at play. There was a cat fight brewing the entire book and Jonathan Stroud did not disappoint.

Love the book, not the narration

If you could sum up The Hollow Boy in three words, what would they be?

Exciting, suspenseful, masterful writing!

How did the narrator detract from the book?

She wasn't consistent with her voices and some of the voices she created for the characters were over the top and very distracting.

Any additional comments?

I really didn't like the narration at all. I almost didn't finish listening but it was checked out at the library.

getting better

If you’ve listened to books by Jonathan Stroud before, how does this one compare?

I think this is the best book in this series. Overall the story had a good momentum, lots of unpredictable moments, it has really scary parts where it's difficult to figure out whats happening (always good in a mystery), the supernatural elements are amped up (in a good way) and really add to the story and suspense. It was nice to see different factions working together, but in someways not enough character development on key people outside the group to be invested in them or their contributions. So sad to learn the bones were burned, and left wondering what that means for the future?? if anything??

However, what a missed opportunity to develop Lucy's back story and character in the scene where she goes home for her first visit since the series started by basically saying:" Lucy went home, didn't relate, left early. If there hadn't been great narration, this would have been the point where I stopped and re-wound because SOMETHING is missing! My last "what the Heck" moment came again at the end of the book, with another "cliff hanger" that is unnecessary. It didn't add suspense, it didn't make me pee my pants wanting more, it is irritating.

What about Emily Bevan’s performance did you like?

Ms. Bevan's narration has been the best of the three books, and was thoroughly enjoyable. She is able to convey subtle nuances with her lovely voice, and it is very much appreciated. I listen while cooking, and never got lost or had to re-wind. She elevated the story.

Change of narrator takes adjusting

Didn't like the new narrator at first...mainly due to her male voice imitation. Felt it was too heavy. But after a while the story overcame it and in the end was satisfied.

Not to quibble, but...

...quibbling anyway. (tl;dr: great book, read it!). I didn’t like Emily Bevan’s narration at first, but it really grew on me. By the end, the only voice (of the many she performed with great skill) I still didn’t like was that of George, who was far too adenoidal IMO. But hey, that’s what happens when art enters the scene—sometimes you get things you don’t expect.

This story still had a great storyline, with lots of fully-formed characters and action. Yes, Lucy gets a bit teen-angsty in this book, but heck, she is only 15 after all, with a life full of difficult challenges and unending memento mori...I think she deserves to fall to pieces every now and again. That said, I hope she’s feeling a bit better by the next book!

As with the preceding books in the series, I loved the characters, their relationships, and how they grow. The ghosty bits seem really creative to me, and I love the intrigue and adventure! Another great read from Johnathan Stroud.

How I wish they would keep narrators for a series

If you like Lockwood & Co., the story is great. The narrator for book 2 had perfect voices to match my imagination. The new narrator for book 3 is talented, but the tortured vowel accents that she gives the main characters are grating and annoying to me. It was a major detraction and greatly reduced my enjoyment of the story.