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Solomon's Song
- The Australian Trilogy, Book 3
- Narrated by: Humphrey Bower
- Length: 19 hrs and 27 mins
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Publisher's summary
Critic reviews
"Narrator Humphrey Bower doesn't miss a nuance. His villains have a sharp, nasal nastiness, and his love scenes tickle the hairs at the nape of the neck. Bower's performance is spot-on." (Audiofile)
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Life as a ship's boy aboard HMS Dolphin is a dream come true for Jacky Faber. Gone are the days of scavenging for food and fighting for survival on the streets of 18th-century London. Instead, Jacky is becoming a skilled and respected sailor as the crew pursues pirates on the high seas. There's only one problem: Jacky is a girl. And she will have to use every bit of her spirit, wit, and courage to keep the crew from discovering her secret.
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Sometimes it clicks
- By Terry on 12-09-09
By: L. A. Meyer
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North and South
- North and South Trilogy, Book 1
- By: John Jakes
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 30 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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Two strangers, young men from Pennsylvania and South Carolina, meet on the way to West Point.... Thus begins this brilliant novel of antebellum America, spanning three generations and chronicling the lives and loves of two great family dynasties. The Hazards and the Mains are brought together in bonds of friendship and affection that neither jealousy nor violence can shatter - until a storm of events sunders the nation and brings the cataclysm of war!
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Captivating novel of the Civil War
- By 9S on 01-12-13
By: John Jakes
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The Cossacks
- By: Leo Tolstoy
- Narrated by: David Thorn
- Length: 7 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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The colorful Cossack way of life is made alive and real in this historical novel.
Tolstoy's first novel and acknowledged as one of his best, it is based on his own forays into the Caucasus, abandoning his aristocrat life of gambling and carousing in Moscow and volunteering to be attached to the regular army.
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Tolstoy masterpiece is wounded by terrible audio
- By Darwin8u on 07-24-13
By: Leo Tolstoy
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Birds Without Wings
- By: Louis de Bernieres
- Narrated by: John Lee
- Length: 23 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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Birds Without Wings is the story of a small town in Anatolia in the dying days of the Ottoman Empire told in the richly varied voices of the men and women (Armenians, Christians, and Muslims) whose lives are intertwined and rooted there: Iskander, the potter and local fount of wisdom; Philotei, the Christian girl of legendary beauty, courted almost from infancy by Ibrahim the goatherd, a great love that culminates in tragedy and madness; and many more.
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Not for the faint of heart
- By a on 01-03-05
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Sword of Honor
- By: Evelyn Waugh
- Narrated by: Simon Prebble
- Length: 24 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
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This trilogy about World War II, largely based on his own experiences as an army officer, is the crowning achievement of Evelyn Waugh's career. Its central character is Guy Crouchback, head of an ancient but decayed Catholic family, who at first discovers new purpose in the challenge to defend Christian values against Nazi barbarism, but then gradually finds the complexities and cruelties of war too much for him.
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At least one chapter missing
- By Sviatoslav on 08-17-15
By: Evelyn Waugh
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Presumed Innocent
- By: Scott Turow
- Narrated by: Edward Herrmann
- Length: 15 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
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Presumed Innocent brings to life our worst nightmare: that of an ordinary citizen facing conviction for the most terrible of crimes. Prosecutor Rusty Sabich is transformed from accuser to accused when he is handed an explosive case - that of the brutal murder of a woman who happens to be his former lover.
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Excellent Book, Gripping Entertainment!
- By Glen on 04-16-10
By: Scott Turow
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The Bastard
- The Kent Family Chronicles, Book 1
- By: John Jakes
- Narrated by: Marc Vietor
- Length: 19 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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Set against the colorful tumult of events that gave rise to our fledgling nation, this novel of romance and adventure introduces Phillipe Charboneau. The illegitimate son of an English nobleman, Phillipe flees Europe and, as Philip Kent, joins the men who set our course for freedom. The Bastard is the first volume in the Kent Family Chronicles, a series of novels that details one family's journey in the early years of the American nation.
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An Amazing Tale
- By will on 11-06-13
By: John Jakes
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The 13th Apostle
- A Novel of a Dublin Family, Michael Collins, and the Irish Uprising
- By: Dermot McEvoy
- Narrated by: John Keating
- Length: 19 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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On Easter Monday, April 24, 1916, the first great revolution of the twentieth century began as working-class men and women occupied buildings throughout Dublin, Ireland, including the general post office on O’Connell Street. Among the commoners in the GPO was a young staff captain of the Irish Volunteers named Michael Collins. He was joined a day later by a fourteen-year-old messenger boy, Eoin Kavanagh.
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Enjoyed the history, not the bad sex
- By Mark on 05-04-16
By: Dermot McEvoy
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Lavender Road
- By: Helen Carey
- Narrated by: Annie Aldington
- Length: 14 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
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Lavender Road boasts a pawnbroker, a pub, two rows of terraced working class homes, and, at one end, the big house owned by the local brewer. When war breaks out, the lives and fortunes of the families who live in Lavender Road are changed out of all recognition.
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Great story with wonderful, believable characters!
- By Kathleen Bailey on 03-27-24
By: Helen Carey
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You need a refresh Mr Bower and Mr Courtenay
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The Power of One
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Born in a South Africa divided by racism and hatred, little six-year-old Peekay learns that small can beat big. Armed with this knowledge, he resolves to take on the injustices of his country, and sets his heart on becoming the welterweight champion of the world. Peekay starts to take boxing lessons, makes new friends, collects cacti, and plays the piano. Above all, he learns to think with his head and then with his heart. Peekay discovers that nothing can defeat the determination to be true to yourself: This is the power of one.
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Distracted by poor rendition of the South African accent
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Born and raised in a poor, working-class family in Toronto, Jack Spayd is the son of an unhappy marriage. After being taken under the wing of "Miss Frostbite", the owner of a local jazz club, Jack becomes a gifted musician, playing piano and harmonica. Fame and the allure of gambling takes him to Vegas, and prospects of fortune take him to the Belgian Congo, where he's heard it's possible to earn big money working in the most dangerous parts of the local copper mines.
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On the Day we lost Bryce
- By Brodie on 11-23-12
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Sylvia
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From master storyteller Bryce Courtenay comes a colorful, lusty story set in the 13th century, an epic tale of a Europe torn by religious intolerance. The story centers around Sylvia Honeyeater, who sings like an angel and can literally charm the birds from the trees. The narrative also features the Pied Piper of Hamelin, Francis of Assisi, the Muslim Sultan and his harem, and the fervor that becomes the Children's Crusade and then, later, the Crusades.
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a departure for Bryce
- By G. on 06-11-07
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Song of Solomon
- A Novel
- By: Toni Morrison
- Narrated by: Toni Morrison
- Length: 15 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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Story
Milkman Dead was born shortly after a neighborhood eccentric hurled himself off a rooftop in a vain attempt at flight. For the rest of his life he, too, will be trying to fly. As Morrison follows Milkman from his rustbelt city to the place of his family’s origins, she introduces an entire cast of strivers and seeresses, liars and assassins, the inhabitants of a fully realized Black world.
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Maybe a beautiful story, This author should never narrate
- By Student on 01-02-20
By: Toni Morrison
What listeners say about Solomon's Song
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall
- AMColorado
- 06-20-10
Disappointing
I absolutely love reading Bryce Courtenay books - until now. Solomon's Song starts with a promise to wrap up the fascinating, yet stormy relationship between the two Solomon clans, but it simply ends as a historical description of the horrors of war at Gallipoli and WWI in France, with virtually no follow up or resolution to all of the characters except for Ben, who really is a minor character in the family saga. It felt like Courtenay used Solomon's Song as a bully pulpit to preach his anti-war views, while forgetting to tell a story. You really don't need to go past Tommo & Hawk for the story of the Solomon clan.
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43 people found this helpful
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Overall
- John
- 02-11-11
Not what I hoped for.
I enjoyed the first two books for the blending of history and fiction that provided action and great character development. Solomon's Song being the last book of a trilogy, I expected the same action with a conclusion to the tale that started with Ikie. Instead, I was baffled throughout. Why was the author spending so much time on certain specific topics on the last of a trilogy. The ratio of historical data to fiction was tilted way to far to historical detail and absent the good fictional narratives that made the other books so good. I know if you have gotten this far in the series that you have to buy this book so I guess I am just venting. Most seem to enjoy it so I might be the exception. The narration again is exceptional, a savior for this book.
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21 people found this helpful
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Overall
- a customer
- 11-13-09
Seems to get off the track
I loved The Potato Factory and Tommo and Hawk. I also liked Solomon's Song but it didn't seem to hang together with the first two books. Courtenay should have written a separate book about the First World War and had the third book continued with the saga started in the first two books. A good share of the third book was Ben and the war,little about the Hawk/Benjamin, Joshua/Ben relationahip and the business.
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20 people found this helpful
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Overall
- Anne
- 03-14-07
Breathtaking!
I waited months to get this audiobook as the 3rd volume in this triology of family, intermingled with unique historic events.
Awesome story - the characters come to life with this narrator. Bryce is not a predictable writer and there wasn't a moment in all 3 volumes (50 hours!) that wasn't engaging.
I can't believe the story has ended. I've downloaded all of his titles - can't wait for more.
Bravo Mr. Courtenay!
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19 people found this helpful
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Overall
- Woodcarver
- 04-22-11
Series ran out steam
I really enjoyed The Potato Factory, began losing interest while listening to Tommo and Hawk, and finally could not get the past first third of this book Even the superb reading by Humphrey Bower could not save it. The recycling of plot elements, the improbable behavior on the part of the characters as well as the unrealistic relationships between those characters, the cringe-worthy explicit sex descriptions complete with sound effects, and the predictability of most of the conflicts sent me back to listening to Patrick O'Brian yet again with a sigh of relief.
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18 people found this helpful
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Overall
- Krista
- 02-18-11
Don't bother
I loved Tommo and Hawk and eagerly bought this, the third in the series. I was terribly disappointed by the abrupt change in style. The cliff hanger ending from T and H wasn't addressed right away and this was a recurring theme throughout the first third of the book I managed to slog through: dramatic event, chapter break, advance 20 years. The pacing was frustrating.
I also think the Courtenay's strengths lie in the first person narrative. In this volume of his trilogy, as with the first, he is using third person. We don't get inside the head of his characters enough to truly care. T and H was told from the brothers' perspectives and was a much more engaging read.
Rarely do I abandon a book mid-listen, but I did in the case. The only reason I finished Part One (and the reason for two stars) was Humphrey Bower's superb narration.
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16 people found this helpful
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
- K Cornwinkle
- 08-27-12
I'm a sucker for sagas
and the Australian trilogy fit the bill. As for this volume, t Mr. Courtenay doesn't go over the edge historically and made sure to include the sodden trenches of France along with the horrors of Gallipoli. Now that I have Humphrey Bower's voice in me head much of the time, I must tell you that there is no better narrator; some who compare, but none better.
Four stars because I'm getting tired of being guilty of grade inflation and though I liked Solomon's Song very much, The Power of One and The Potato Factory are ~1 star better.
By the way, I am going to try to get the following: Bryce Courtenay helped with the publication of "An Anzac's Story" by Roy Kyle. Kyle was at Gallipoli (and France later) as an ordinary soldier and began this memoir at 89.
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Overall
- Chris Reich
- 04-17-09
Weakest of the 3 books
This could have been far more interesting if T&H had had a real ending. Then this book could have had a bit more freedom. It's like two books that don't fit well together being forced to share a jacket. Old Days/New Days but poor transition.
We're forced to find out the ending of T&H---and that is VERY contrived. The characters act very, well, out of character. I don't want to give anything away but I will say that Hawk doesn't seem too distraught over the loss of Maggie Pie, Mary seems more devious than before but not to worry because we're only dragged around in circles for 10 hours of free form just to get some characters on the stage---and then, out of the whole 19 hours, we get around 2 hours of the real story which feels compressed to meet a deadline.
The ending is very weak. Dramatic, but silly weak.
I hate to say it because I am a huge fan---Power of One, Tandia---5 stars. Brother Fish---4 Stars.
Potato Factory? 4, T&H? 3.5 SS? 2 In other words, it's a downhill ride. Too much of the same stuff.
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Overall
- Dolores L. Loftin
- 08-16-07
Heart stopping!
I've read about six of Bryce's books. I would have been burnt out with most authors, but as soon as I've completed a book, I want it to go on --- tell me more -- don't let it end like this!
Still feel that this is not the end of the Solomon saga. There are still more fascinating characters to explore. Bryce always leaves a "hook".
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Overall
- Wolfpacker
- 02-04-08
Decent Sequel
Of the series of three books, The Potatoe Factory is a solid 4-star while the two sequels are average 3-star books. The first book reads much like a Dickens novel especially the first half plus set in London. It is a nice story with villains you love to hate but enjoy following. The second and third installments are more formulaic and too politically correct in some ways. They are worth listening to if you want to continue the story into the next generations. The narrator is fantastic in this series.
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