Head of Words

By: Chris Ward

Narrated by: Tim Bick

Length: 9 hrs and 38 mins

Publisher's summary

Bliss...or is it? Life is peachy for 20-something Daniel Barker, who lives with his offbeat group of friends in a small flat in Bristol. From the eccentric Franz to the dominatrix Polly and the psychotic Shane, they all bring color and excitement to his life. Together they are family, inseparable. But as space reaches a premium and tensions begin to rise, Dan's whole world threatens to implode around him. The real nightmare is about to begin....

Veering from brutal to comic via tragedy, disaster, and love, Head of Words is the story of one man's path to understanding upon a roller coaster of life that threatens to both destroy him and set him free.

Chris Ward is the acclaimed author of the Tube Riders Trilogy and The Man Who Built the World. Visit Chris' author page for information on more great titles, or find Chris on Facebook at Chris Ward (Fiction Writer).

©2013 Chris Ward (P)2015 Chris Ward

Psychological Thriller

This story started out a little slow as there were so many characters introduced that it kind of bogged down the beginning. As the story unfolded, it grabbed my attention and I had to listen to the whole audiobook in one sitting. There were some surprises. The characters were complex and twisted. This was one of those stories that I wasn't sure where it was going, but the ending was very satisfying. Tim Bick's narration was great, and his performance kept my attention. I was given a free copy of the audiobook, and I have voluntarily posted this review.

looking for something out of the ordinary

Head of Words is a book of two parts. It is Daniel Barker’s story who lives with 13 other people and a dog in a tiny apartment in Bristol in the UK. The listener is introduced to this eccentric group of residents in short vignettes that show how Daniel met them, what these people do (or more likely, not do) and what their personalities are like. To Daniel, they are his family. But with so many different individuals crowded together, there are obviously arguments and a lot of tension. Then one day, a tragic event changes Daniel’s life and leaves him separated from his family and totally confused. That’s where the second part of the story and the “action” starts. And this part is much darker and quite mysterious, as Daniel tries to come to terms with the loss of his family (well, kind of).

I’ve been having a bit of a run lately with books that have been unusual and this is another one of those. I had never heard of this author before, but thought the book description sounded quite intriguing, and it certainly turned out to be a very unique story.

The writing is really straightforward, and Daniel’s narration as he introduces the listener to his family and his life is very entertaining and fun to listen to, especially if you are familiar with life in Britain. I loved his slightly sarcastic tone and was smiling through a lot of the first part. Then the tone really changes in the second part, and there are some great twists and a rather lovely ending. Very cleverly constructed.

First-time narrator, Tim Bick, did a great job of portraying Daniel as a believable, sometimes conflicted character. The narration was straightforward and natural but interjected sufficient emotion in the right places. I would certainly listen to other audio books narrated by Mr. Bick in the future. There were no issues with the production.

There is some violence, some sex and some swearing but nothing too graphic, even for sensitive listeners.

I would recommend this if you are interested in mental health, but also if you are looking for something out of the ordinary that combines humor, psychology, mystery and unconventional characters. A very interesting listen!

Audiobook was provided for review by the author

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Thirteen's Company

13 people are bound to have different stories and bring something new to the table. Well, for Daniel Barker he and his friends all sharing a small flat in Bristol things are bound to get interesting.

The narration for Head of Words was done by Tim Bick and boy does he nail it. His voice was so soothing and interesting I found myself glued to my phone whenever I was listening to this. I’m an American, but I had absolutely no issue understanding Bick’s narration.

The story is totally different than what I would normally read, but I still found myself drawn into it. Maybe it’s because I still enjoy feeling like I get to know new and interesting people when I read a new story. This story has no shortness on new and interesting people.

The writing style was a bit exentric and I believe that Ward did this on purpose to show a different style for each new character. When you have this many people in a story, it becomes really easy to get lost in who is who. But, the way that Ward wrote this — I never really found myself going “wait, who is that?”

Overall, the combination of an interesting writing style from Ward and a killer narration by Bick this book was definitely a surprise to me. There were times when I felt like I knew what was going to happen which usually upsets me, but for some reason in this story it didn’t bother me as much.