Born Burning

By: Thomas Sullivan

Narrated by: John Feather

Length: 8 hrs and 58 mins

Publisher's Summary

It's a chair that has been passed down from generation to generation. But ten-year-old Joey refuses to go near it - even though it seems terribly important to Joey's father and uncle. Because the chair is part of a family tradition. A tradition in which Joey must take his place-no matter how terrifying...

©1992 Thomas Sullivan (P)2014 David N. Wilson

A good story, terrible narration.

Any additional comments?

While I enjoyed the story, the quality of narration was awful! The narrator messed us words, repeated himself, hit the microphone and pretty much ruined the book though I think that's more to do with the need for an editor because he did do a great job with the voices and bringing the atmosphere to life. I just couldn't get past the many mistakes.

The book itself was good. The idea of the chair and what it made the little boy feel was incredibly creepy. The author has created an intriguing and scary read and I will definitely check out more by him! His descriptive writing and attention to detail was amazing and he drew me in from the start, it's just a pity the quality was so bad.

*I received a copy of this in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.*

Born boring

While the story was creative the plot has no follow through. The narration was too repetitive to where the book is hard to get through. The language is descriptive and detailed but it falls flat with this book. I received this review copy audiobook at my request I am voluntarily leaving my honest review here of my own volition. Do not bother with this book it is repetitive and has no follow through.

Born Burning

This was a difficult book to get through.The narration was so so and there was a LOT of repetition of lines.The story of a cursed chair being passed down to the oldest boy in the next generation was a good one.The characters and the chair story could have been fleshed out more.This audiobook was provided to me at no cost for a fair and honest review

Modern Day Gothic Terror

What made the experience of listening to Born Burning the most enjoyable?

I wouldn't exactly call listening to the book "enjoyable". It was a modern day Gothic horror tale. It was well developed, written and original.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Joey, he was brave, intelligent, resourceful and insightful.

Which scene was your favorite?

When Joey's manipulative, maleficent, sinister, sadistic uncle met his fate.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

When Joey received his epiphany about his uncle's intent and motive.

Any additional comments?

“I was provided this audiobook at no charge by the author, publisher and/or narrator in exchange for an unbiased review via AudiobookBlast dot come”

The story wasn't really my cup of tea, however it was a very good original tale. It was well written and developed. Both Joey and his mother were both concurrently going through a similar personal battle as Joey's mom had her own uncle Luse to deal with at work. Joey's mom realized something was amiss with Joey, however was completely out of tunes as to what the problem was. After Joey's father's death Joey's mother enlisted Joey's uncle Luse to help mentor Joey. Little does she know uncle Luses true sadistic nature.

Very well written psychological horror tale.

Would you try another book from Thomas Sullivan and/or John Feather?

Definitely. This book was very well written, with many layers and subtle twists. The author did a great job in consealing if the chair was supernatural or not, left people guessing and thinking. I was not overly impressed with John Feather's narration.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

Perhaps I would have given a little bit more background on the chair and it's history and the history of it's previous owners, there was a blurb at the beginning of the book but not too much.

What did you like about the performance? What did you dislike?

John Feather did a reasonable job narrating the book; was not the greatest narration I have ever heard but certainly adequate.

Did Born Burning inspire you to do anything?

No, apart from listen to more audio books.

Any additional comments?

I enjoyed this book. It is a well written tale of "is it or isn't it" as regards the chair. There are the classic good characters (Joey's mother), innocent (Joey) and evil (uncle Lucien). Best thing I can say is that I wanted to get to the end to see how the story unfolded.

*This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review.

Superb Story, Unprofessional Narration

Born Burning by Thomas Sullivan is a superbly written story with excellent characterisation. Sullivan really knows how to create gripping mysterious books that really get into the character's heads. Unfortunately, the narration is very disappointing. John Feather is a fine storyteller, who does a good job with different characters, but the repetition of words and sentences and inappropriate pauses are totally unacceptable. Surely this should have been picked up during quality control. This happens many times after Chapter 13 and really does spoil the audiobook. There is also a moment when he struggles with a medical word that is difficult to pronounce, he fails, makes a exasperated sound, then attempts again. This really takes you out of the story. A surprising misstep from the usually excellent Crossroad Press.