• The Sea Wolf

  • By: Jack London
  • Narrated by: Brian Emerson
  • Length: 9 hrs and 44 mins
  • 4.4 out of 5 stars (203 ratings)

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The Sea Wolf  By  cover art

The Sea Wolf

By: Jack London
Narrated by: Brian Emerson
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Publisher's summary

He is a man capable of abandoning two sailors in an open boat, yet he is an avid and thoughtful reader of the moral philosophers. He is Wolf Larsen, captain of the seal-hunting Ghost and the unforgettable protagonist of one of the world's great sea novels. Tormented by his own convictions, Larsen is an enigma both fascinating and repellent to his reluctant crewman, Humphrey Van Weyden.

Throughout their long and perilous voyage together, the captain's ruthless belief in the survival of the fittest is pitted against Van Weyden's "civilization", a contest between two opposing views of life that demonstrates Jack London's gift for expressing complex ideas with exciting action. The Sea Wolf is a superb example of the genius of a writer who was, in the words of Maxwell Geismar, "the poet of the savage Darwinian struggle".

Public Domain (P)2012 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

What listeners say about The Sea Wolf

Average customer ratings
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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent rite of passage

This is a book I read while younger, but hardly understood. The protagonist is a quite recognizable figure of civilized society, who is totally reliant on the civilization that supports him, and who justifies his existence in spiritual terms. He is impotent in the real, natural world. The antagonist is a materialist and a hedonist who does not believe in the soul, but only the physical struggle of life. The conflict that results, and the subsequent resolution, marries the two worlds quite nicely. I believe that I did not understand the book when I was younger because I had not yet, in my own life, had the experiences of meeting the world on its own terms. I was an idealist and a student then. I understand the need for balance more fully now.
However, I also feel that the quality of the reading, and the recording quality, were instrumental in my new understanding. The reader used multiple voices and accents to animate the characters, and this allowed me to enjoy the story without struggling to maintain attention. There was no distracting production flaw to take me out of the story. It was as if I was actually there in the driving spray, "heaving the boat to", while really I was only driving my car. Jack London wrote this great escapist story in 1904, and the quality of this reader's voice, and the recording, improved on his written word 100 years later. It was not just a pleasant escape, but an affirmation of what it means to be a man. I got much more of The Sea-Wolf this second time around.

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24 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Wolf Larson is one of Fiction's great characters

I loved it, perhaps more than it deserved, but it resonated with me. At once a book of meditative philosophy, a romantic adventure, and a castaway story tied all together.

I enjoyedd the whole Humphrey Van Weyden v. Wolf Larson set up, even if it was a tad contrived. The struggle between Humphrey and Wolf allows London the room to explore everything from God, to the Nature of Man, to Love. The Humphrey and Maud climax at the end was probably the books weakest piece, but Wolf Larson is one of the great characters in all of Fiction, IMHO.

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14 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Amazing telling of a classic favorite!

I read The Seawolf in high school, and have read it every year since. Since I love it so much, I was quite hesitant to listen to it through audible. However, I was very pleasantly surprised. Brian Emerson was the perfect narrator for the such a classic book. The voices he used for each person were distinct and easy to recognize for each character. This was my first audible purchase, and am VERY pleased with it.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

The Sea Wolf

Jack London is a terrific writer! I really enjoyed the story of The Sea Wolf, as well as, the character development. The characters became so real I felt as if I was on the schooner, the Ghost, with them. The sences were artfully described---very well done! I also enjoyed the narrator, who changed his voice just enough with the different characters to distinguish them apart. It was very easy to listen to.

I would rate this book one of my personal top 10 best.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

My New Favorite London Novel

This was such an entertaining listen, so much so that it compelled me to write my first review! I’m a big fan of sea stories, so I was excited to jump into this after finishing Call of the Wild and White Fang and enjoying them greatly. I couldn’t stop listening to this.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A Different Tack for London

So different a book for Mr. London! An amazing story of courage and humanity, with a love story to boot!

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Great fun maritime read

I wish there was more of Wolf. Wolf could have certainly been engaged in my violent scenes. Otherwise I loved the story and the performance. Character development and underlying meanings are great.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

great book

great nautical book. well written and well print presented. great quality for such an old recording.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Classic Work of Art

I have to laugh at other reviews wishing the characters were more to their own liking. This is the story told in the voice of one man. It’s a wild and glorious yarn of its time. Enjoy it like a painting from another era, a lost era. It’s wonderful!

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

interesting, but pompous and sappy, too

it might just be the era in which it was written, so overlook some of the 'fragile female' remarks. the hero is so full of himself that he alternately needs a trophy and a fainting couch. the villain is a bit too one dimensional, portrayed as a skilled and intelligent sailor, but full of pure malevolence. the sealing and ship handling were interesting peeks into history. what ruined the story for me? the romance was soooo sappy that I just wanted the whole book to be over.

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