Four

By: Veronica Roth

Narrated by: Aaron Stanford

Length: 6 hrs and 33 mins

Publisher's Summary

Fans of the Divergent series by number-one New York Times best-selling author Veronica Roth will be thrilled by Four: A Divergent Collection, a companion volume that includes four pre-Divergent stories told from Tobias' point of view.

Listeners first encountered Tobias as "Four" in Divergent. His voice is an integral part of Allegiant. Listeners will find more of this charismatic character's backstory told from his own perspective in Four: A Divergent Collection. When taken together, these long narrative pieces illuminate the defining moments in Tobias' life. The first three pieces in this volume - "The Transfer", "The Initiate", and "The Son" - follow Tobias's transfer from Abnegation to Dauntless, his Dauntless initiation, and the first clues that a foul plan is brewing in the leadership of two factions. The fourth story, "The Traitor", runs parallel with the events of Divergent, giving listeners a glimpse into the decisions of loyalty - and love - that Tobias makes in the weeks after he meets Tris Prior.

Exclusive scenes included!

©2014 HarperCollins Publishers (P)2014 Veronica Roth

Left a lot to be desired

Much like the "ending" of the final book this left a lot to be desired. So many opportunities for more depth in certain critical areas of the story but then just a lack luster "ending" that's mostly just vague.

4 people found this helpful

a little disjointed.

the narrator did a good job. i found the story a bit disjointed due to going from one storey to thenext, it would bebetter if their was more clear definition between the short stories.

3 people found this helpful

short and repetitive

it was just parts of the story from Fours point of view, was expecting more

2 people found this helpful

very dissatisfied. I wanted a story not this

I expected a story, not a character description which was mostly told in the series. Very few new info regarding Four and may have been a nice addition to the series but wasn't necessary as Four was fully covered. This reminded me of short, informative info normally shown in filling out the character for a story. I thought it was stories involving Four before or after the series. I was wrong and disappointed. I found it boring, repetitive, unnecessary. Not worth the credit I spent on it. Wont make that mistake again with this author or the series.

2 people found this helpful

Surprise!!!! THREE EXTRA stories on the audiobook!

Would you consider the audio edition of Four to be better than the print version?

I read the book first, then I listened to the audiobook. I was about turn off my phone when I heard, "Keep listening for more..." Really? More? Yes!!!! There were three additional stories that were not in the book!!!!

What did you like best about this story?

In Allegiant, Four's voice wasn't very well developed. While his thoughts were clearly his own, Roth didn't successfully vary her writing to differentiate between Four and Tris. The first of the novellas in the book also suffered from the same lack of differentiation, but the other stories were much more obviously Four's voice. While she still had Four waxing philosophical as Tris did, he had a much more male edge to his voice.

Which scene was your favorite?

I will avoid spoilers...Four's Fear Landscape was by far the best scene.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I wish I could have listened to the audiobook in one setting, but the reality of life intervened.

Any additional comments?

Aaron Stanford has captured the essence of Four. He enhanced Roth's writing and really brought it to life. I am frustrated that there were a few scenes from Divergent that I really wanted to hear from Four's perspective that Roth did not include. At the same time, I'm not sure how well those scenes would have transformed into independent story arches.

18 people found this helpful

Skip it

There's not much story here. It's just the bare bones. And he tells you up front that he's not going to dish dirt, which is fine. He just skimmed the surface so you don't feel like you know more than you did when you began.

3 people found this helpful

Good but not great

I liked the whole series but the "four" book mini series wasn't as good,story wise, as the rest of the main series

1 person found this helpful

Lacking

The back story was decent but it was mainly just a rehashing of Four's story as told in the other books.

1 person found this helpful

Not impressed.

What made the experience of listening to Four the most enjoyable?

I was pretty unimpressed by the fact that (one of) the most important parts of the book, the paint ball game and the ferris wheel scene (which is on the cover of the book) were not included in the audio book. I'm highly disappointed and would hope that it was my computer's fault that the story was unappealing to me because I have found to fall in love with all of Veronica Roth's books.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

He showed emotions terribly in his voice and attempted and failed at doing a female's voice which made the book a lot less magical.

1 person found this helpful

left wanting more

but nice having a different perspective. added a bit of backstory bug again, could have been so much more, fell short content wise

1 person found this helpful