Albion: The Legend of Arthur

An Audible Original Drama

By: Robert Valentine

Narrated by: Lois Chimimba, Aimee-Ffion Edwards, Gruffudd Glyn, Craig Roberts, Owen Teale

Length: 6 hrs and 37 mins

Publisher's Summary

We arrive in Albion, AD 490. Once spirits of both light and darkness ruled the land, now tribes of Britons stand alone as Saxon invaders threaten the vulnerable shores. But that’s the least of their worries, the Old Gods are returning from the shadows, bringing their magic with them.

Albion: The Legend of Arthur pushes friendships and family loyalties to the test in a world of warlords, witchcraft, heroism and betrayal as we join Arthur on an adventure like no other and witness the birth of one of our greatest legends. 

This Audible Original drama stars Owen Teale (Game of Thrones), Aimee-Ffion Edwards (Peaky Blinders) and Craig Roberts (Submarine) alongside a full cast.

Performed by: Scott Arthur, Edward Barry, Caroline Berry, Jake Burgum, Simon Carlyle, Lois Chimimba, Christopher Dane, Gareth David-Lloyd, Aimee-Ffion Edwards, Owen Findlay, Gruffudd Glyn, Michael Golab, Smari Gunn, Daniel Hawksford, Michael Hillberg, David Holt, Gerran Howell, Guy Lewis, Kyle Lima, Damian Lynch, Anette Martinsen, Neil McCormack, Neve McIntosh, Sam Morgan-Davies, Richard Reed, Richard Rees, Craig Roberts, Hugh Ross, Joel Saxon, John Scougall, Lewys Taylor and Owen Teale.

©2020 Audible, Ltd (P)2020 Audible, Ltd

The legend of Arthur

This was the worse story of Arthur I ever heard. I’ve read tons of information about Arthur and this didn’t come close. I felt like I was a blind person at a play. Didn’t know who was who talking. And I didn’t appreciate all of the sound effects. Heavy breathing and grunting during sex. Yuck!!! I wouldn’t recommend this to anyone. A waste of a credit!

Not the King Arthur Legend

This presentation was well performed. However, if you are looking for a King Arthur that is similar to the tales you have read in the past, this is not him. You will be disappointed. I, unfortunately, was disappointed. I was hoping for a story of a hero.

A strange realistic take on King Arthur

The story takes a strange take on King Arthur. by making everything hyper realistic, and changing so many of the things you knew into new things and strange references just to make the story believable in our world.

Awesome

Book I would love to listen to more, thank you all you guys rock.isabel Miller

Great performances

this retelling of the authorian legend is neatly tied to the Roman Britain legends. the voice actors were great.

Not for King Arthur fans

King Arthur is not a likable character. Could not finish. Waste of time. peace out.

not what I was expecting

this was a totally fresh Arthurian story. so well done . The research must have been amazing.

Good full radio play. Interesting take on old tale

This audio book is dramatised as a full radio play with sound effects and multiple voice actors. It's an interesting take on an old tale!

Bizarre retelling of the legend of King Arthur

Since I first read about Arthur and the nights of the round table as an elementary student, I have been fascinated by this ancient legend. I’ve read Le Morte d’Arthur, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and other Arthurian lore. I enjoyed Camelot, the movie and various screen versions of the story. So I thought this might be an engaging version, as well.

However, unlike Sir Thomas Malory and other authors, the creator of this version seems more concerned with undermining readers’ respect for King Arthur and creating new heroes to substitute for him. Mr. Valentine also glorified the old gods of England and gave more credence to demonic powers than the Christian religion or the power of God’s Spirit.

While the recoded voices are distinct enough to tell them apart, there are long pauses between scenes and very little music to keep your attention. I listened while traveling with my spouse on a road trip. The complaint from my SO was that the story was “boring.” I found the ending terribly disappointing.

I am glad that this was available for free, as I’d have hated to have spent money or one of my credits to buy it.

Enjoyable Listen

If you’re looking for an authentic retelling of the Arthur saga, this audio tale is not for you. But I really loved the actors, and the story, while brief, was a nice yarn. I recommend it.

Worth Your Full Attention!

When Audible get these audio dramas right they really can produce something a bit special and this is one of those cases. If you want to escape for a few hours to ancient Briton and just lose yourself in an excellent re-forging of the story of Arthur then this is a fine way to do it. It's worth noting that if you're looking for something like that wonderful old Disney film and a very traditional telling of Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table then this isn't it. This is much more along the lines of Cornwell's "Last Kingdom" series, a gritty re-imagining of events that might have lead to the legends that we know today.

The acting is superb and the sound effects visceral enough to suit this bloody and treacherous story. It's one of those where the soundscape might make it difficult to listen to in noisy surroundings but don't let that stop you. Just sit back, relax somewhere quiet and let Audible take you back to ancient Britain. This is worth your full attention, it's that entertaining.

Arthur was meant to be welsh or Cornish

Managed about 5 minutes, but the horrendous mashing of suppose d ‘Scottish’ accents just made this unlistenable. Maybe fine if you aren’t British, but if you are, this is just painful.

Disappointed (some spoilers)

I love the legends of King Arthur, his knights, ancient magic, Merlin and of course Guinevere. I also enjoy the way writers use ancient Briton and the influence of the Roman invasion to put their own touch to the legends. But I found this version a bit offensive to the legend. Arthur came across as a blowhard, without out any real talent, there was no compassion or intelligence. The Britons called him their greatest General, but he was only involved in one fight in which involved 3 people and he only won because he used his friend to pretend to be Arthur, so that he could backstab him. Where’s the honour of facing your enemies? His other fights involved him running off like an idiot and getting heavily wounded ... every time! This was not the Arthur of legends.
Technically the recording was superb, acting was great and I loved the use of sound effects and music. I wish all audio books used this format, it really helps the listener to emerge themselves in the story. Some complained about the various accents and I can see where they are coming from, but after a while, I no longer noticed, if anything, it helped identify who was talking.
As I said, I loved the production, but hated the story. I found it a great disappointment.

Do not buy

This book has nothing to do with the stories of King Arthur. I regret the purchase.

At least a story that understands who Arthur was

Great retell of the classic story, good historical understanding and the link to historical characters close to the time was impressive. The fact it didn’t show them as English was a joy as this was way before England or the English came. These were the lands of the Cymru

Enjoyable listen

It took me a while to get into the book, but I did enjoy it overall! the only thing for me that I didn't like was the differing accents for people.who were living in the same place etc and some voice overs were not as convincing as others! however, this is just my preference a d its definitely worth a listen.

Arthur

Excellent a very good Production, well written an enjoyable to listen too. The Legend of Arthur shall always live on for ever.

Entertaining enough but underwhelming

This was an all right audio drama. It had immersive sound effects and performances were mostly good (although I am not sure why so many ppl were Scottish). However the story felt very superficial, gliding through plot events w/o properly exploring them. It wasn't a bad listen but I could have done without. As far as audible originals go, it was disappointing. I recently listened to "Cut and Run" which I enjoyed very much so I had high hopes for this original.

Great performances let down by a weak storyline

The performances and production were excellent, supported by fitting music and appropriate sound fx.

Unfortunately despite the wonderful presentation, the actual story was just not always that interesting. It had some good moments, but nothing overly exiting or surprising. A non sensical event drove one of the main character arcs whilst the other was fuelled by pettiness.

It was still a ‘good listen’ overall but fans of ‘Scarlett City’ and ‘The Warringham Chronicles’ May find this falls short.

Great Characters/Wasted Potential

The characters were vivid and unique takes set in an immersive world. Yet always seemingly never satisfying in plot developments. Only twice were the plot twist unforseable and the supposed lead of the story was regularly relegated to the role of a background piece.