Touch

By: Claire North

Narrated by: Peter Kenny

Length: 12 hrs and 40 mins

Publisher's Summary

He tried to take my life. Instead I took his.

It happened so long ago, I've forgotten the details. But he was desperate, hungry enough to kill. As I was dying, my hand touched his. That's when my first switch took place.

I looked through the eyes of my killer just in time to see my own body die.

Now switching is easy. I can jump from body to body, have any life, be anyone. All it takes is a touch.

©2015 Claire North (P)2015 Hachette Audio

Great story, amazing narration

Dynamic, interesting and inspiring. Make you think a lot about mind and body questions.
BUT the best thing is the narration. Just brilliant.

Good book

I did however enjoy The first fifteen lives of Harry August more. The idea of this book is intriguing but the plot becomes a little thin.

Confusing to Follow

Any additional comments?

It was difficult to follow this book. There is a lot of character changes which the narrator preforms well, but there are also many jumps in time which confuses things.
For the first half of the book I was lost not understanding 'when' they were talking about. Maybe the time jumps would be conveyed better if you were reading text?
Story line tied together more at the end though there were some abrupt changes and jumps forward with little to no explanation of the lost time in-between.

5 of 5 people found this review helpful

Very Jumpy!

I don't know what to make of this book - overall I am disappointed. Once you get past the initial concept that an entity can move from one person to another by touch then you pretty much have it. There is a narrative thread running through the book but because it is being driven by a person that continually changes their bodies, interacting with similar creatures, it gets really confusing.

The writing is crisp and well observed but there is far too much violence with the same scenario being replayed again and again. It is described from the first person which has the effect of making it more more graphic, which I began to find waring. It would have been more effective if we cared about any of the main characters but despite some "flashbacks" to try and build a back story they seem to have no redeeming qualities. Thus when the end comes and a sunset is walked into we can breathe a sigh of relief that it is over!

I bought this on the basis of her first novel the first fifteen lives of Harry August which was clever and engaging but this book seems like an intellectual exercise. The story could have been written in the first person with the same character all the way through like an extended episode of Mission Impossible. I don't know if this is unfair criticism It may be more effective if you read it instead of listening, as i said I am not sure what to think.

Iain

15 of 18 people found this review helpful

All Touch but not touching.

An interesting concept that could have been a better book, if only the editor had been more diligent in editing, there is too much repetition and not enough development of the plot, the entities speak of love like Hollywood stars, often but never feeling it, and that makes the reader uncommitted to characters.
The section of the genie and the retelling from the grand daughter are the best achieved story with in the tale it feels like something from The Arabian Nights: One Thousand and One Nights, truly magic and sensual, also bitter and telling of the real depth of the genie's love.
A good second book but not as accomplished as the first book The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August. if you like better book about body possession Anne Rice’s The Tale of the Body Thief is the one.

The reader was exceptionally good in his delivery and made the book shine with his acting.

27 of 33 people found this review helpful

Not as good as her last

The story is very similar in its general ideas and scope as her first book, which was excellent. However here the lack of truly new ideas and plot left me a little disappointed.

Narrator Peter Kenny was brilliant as ever. Outranks every other narrator I've heard on Audible by miles.

14 of 17 people found this review helpful

Brilliant idea

Struggled at the very start to get into it but as the story progressed, i found it very difficult to hit the pause button. Loved the idea, this is my 3rd audio book by this author and can't wait for more. Also love Peter Kennys voice

5 of 6 people found this review helpful

Brilliantly entertaining

What did you like best about this story?

Excellent characters their personality remains despite their current body.

What about Peter Kenny’s performance did you like?

Such a good job for an unusual style of book, he kept the personality of the main character despite the changes in accent and gender.

5 of 6 people found this review helpful

Brilliant

Don't let anybody tell you this is just more of the same. It may use a very slightly familiar mechanism to drive the story but her previous work, which is also brilliant, has none of the heart pounding excitement of this. Clever, thought provoking and edge of seat thrilling at the same time. Bravo!

5 of 6 people found this review helpful

Strong concept and well narrated

I enjoyed this book, but not as much as Harry August. The characters were not as vivid or warm and the amoral nature of Kepler was understandable but distancing. However it was original, and after an unsteady start, I found the story to be well paced.

5 of 6 people found this review helpful

Hard going at times

Would you try another book written by Claire North or narrated by Peter Kenny?

I wouldn't read another Claire North, but have no problems with Peter Kenny's narration

Would you recommend Touch to your friends? Why or why not?

No. I very nearly gave up on this book: something I rarely do. It improved in the middle but I was pleased to reach the end and found I didn't care much about what actually happened.

What does Peter Kenny bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

He is a competent narrator but not the best.

Could you see Touch being made into a movie or a TV series? Who would the stars be?

It would be possible and might be quite effective if it was in a much simplified form.

Any additional comments?

The concept of 'ghosts' and ' skins' I found interesting and the author had done well with consistency and accuracy in developing her theme. I thought the structure was OK but the overall plot was hard going and often dull or disjointed.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Thoroughly enjoyable.

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

A complicated twisted tale indeed.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Touch?

It's been a while since listening, but in general, The transition of the relationship between the two main characters.

Any additional comments?

More from Claire North please, the 1st 15 of Harry August was great, and this is not too far behind.

8 of 10 people found this review helpful