• Young Bloods

  • Wellington and Napoleon, Book 1
  • By: Simon Scarrow
  • Narrated by: Jonathan Keeble
  • Length: 19 hrs and 28 mins
  • 4.6 out of 5 stars (436 ratings)

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Young Bloods  By  cover art

Young Bloods

By: Simon Scarrow
Narrated by: Jonathan Keeble
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Publisher's summary

Arthur Wesley (the future Duke of Wellington) was born and bred to be a leader. With a firm belief that the nation must be led by a king, the red-coated British officer heads for battle against the French Republic, to restore the fallen monarchy.

Napoleon Bonaparte joins the French military on the eve of the Revolution. He believes leadership is won by merit, not by noble birth. When anarchy explodes in Paris, he's thrust into the revolutionary army poised to march against Britain.

As two mighty empires embark on a bloody duel, Wesley and Bonaparte prepare to face a sworn enemy, unaware that the fate of Europe will one day lie in their hands....

©2006 Simon Scarrow (P)2016 Headline Digital

What listeners say about Young Bloods

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Exceptional

I have been fascinated by Napoleon since I was a child. I have read everything I could find about both these men and the Napoleonic War. I found myself more interested in Arthur Wesley’s sister, Barbara; she was a fascinating person. So when I discovered Simon Scarrow wrote a historical fiction series about these two men I just had to read it.

The book covers the years 1769 to 1795. Scarrow starts with the early years of both men and it appeared to me that Scarrow was attempting to show similarities between the two men’s characters. The only new item was that Scarrow suggested that Napoleon and Wesley (Duke of Wellington) met as young men at a French Military Academy. I have never heard of this meeting so I do not know if it really happened or is part of the fiction in the story. The story did remind me that Arthur Wesley could have made his fame and fortune with his violin; not many famous generals were excellent musicians. In the last half of the book we have Napoleon at the battle of Toulon; Scarrow has some excellent battle scenes.

Scarrow took on a real challenge, as so much has been written about these two men. I can understand why Scarrow chose to write a historical fiction rather than a biography. The book is well researched and well written. Being fiction it is easy to read. I understand there are four books in this series. I cannot wait to read them all. Jonathan Keeble does a good job narrating the book.

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13 people found this helpful

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

KEEBLE + FANTASTIC STORY. WHAT MORE DO YOU NEED?!?

Where does Young Bloods rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Right up there with Cornwell’s Saxon Chronicles and Gabaldon.

Have you listened to any of Jonathan Keeble’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

This is different... so far... as we’ve not gotten to any battle scenes where the absolute POWER of Keeble’s gift takes hold of our imaginations and bodily WRENCHES us into the very CRUCIBLE of BATTLE.

His voice is tender and cruel where the story calls for it. We see into the very heart of what Scarrow’s imaginings (I’ve always been fascinated by Napoleon - and after this series will look for nonfiction accounts of both Arthur and Napoleon.) of each child’s boyhood traumas turned each young man into the conflicted soul they both bear in this first book.

They are so very SIMILAR at this point, but also so very well set up to be natural combatants.

Any additional comments?

The fact that the publishers appear to be learning how much we ABHOR flipping narrators about during a series is heartening.

Let’s hope that this continues.

AND WHENEVER THEY’D LIKE TO REDO THE SAXON CHRONICLES WITH KEEBLE AS SOLE NARRATOR - CONSIDERING CORNWELL IS GOING TO CONTINUE THE SERIES - I’M CERTAIN A GOOD MAJORITY OF US WOULD THROW OUR CREDITS DOWN FOR THAT!!!

With a TV series to its credit, now, and books flying off both virtual and bookstore shelves there’s all the growing popularity and monetary incentive to get that ENTIRE series narrated like it should have been in the first place:

WITH KEEBLE AS ITS MASTERFUL, SOLE VOICE.

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5 people found this helpful

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

WOW!!!

What did you love best about Young Bloods?

Can't pick one. I have read/listen to so much about this time period (Sharpe series, et al), and I'm simply blown away.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Boney. You end up rooting for Bonaparte.

Have you listened to any of Jonathan Keeble’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No, but I'll look for more.

Who was the most memorable character of Young Bloods and why?

Every character is so fleshed out. Just amazing.

Any additional comments?

If you have read/listened to Bernard Cornwell this is a must get.

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Quite brilliant#

A thoroughly enthralling story with impressive attention to historical detail and accuracy. And of course, Jonathan Keeble brings every line, page, minute, and hour to life with his exemplary performance. Quite brilliant and I can't wait to download the next book in the series!

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Plesant surprise!

Approached this book cautiously, fearing a watered down or, worse, overly fantasized rendering of two fascinating historical giants and their times. To the contrary, I found this is a well-scripted, informative without being overly bogged down in minutiae and, yes, highly entertaining historical novel - an Audible Masterpiece Theatre, if you will - which is thoroughly appealing. Helped along by a splendid narrator, Jonathan Keeble, with the appropriate voice inflections, accurately delivered accents etc., It makes one crave for the three remaining and yet unrecorded books in the series, to be similarly executed. And "soon" is not good enough! My first Scarrow outing.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent

Fascinating historical novel. Gripping and the main incidents covered accurately. Extremely well read/performed. Unreserved recommendation.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Great listen!

So glad I found this series. Scarrow is great. Character development is awesome, can’t wait for the next one!

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent!

I listen to a tremendous amount of historical fiction from the Napoleonic era. Sharpe, Aubrey, Hornblower, Brewer etc. Wellesley and Napoleon are often referenced and occasionally introduced but never fully developed. This work brings them to life and adds another layer to my understanding and appreciation of these two epic heroes. Masterful work and excellent narration as always by Mr Keeble. Listened to the entire book in 5 days and will download the next immediately. If you love this genre and era, get this book; you won’t be disappointed.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

love it!

once again, a masterful start to another great historical series. Jonathan Keebler does a perfect job of narrating as always 5 stars

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Well done.

This is a good read. Historical facts with a believable story behind the telling. Can not go wrong with this one.

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