The Devil's Company

Benjamin Weaver, Book 3

By: David Liss

Narrated by: Simon Vance

Length: 13 hrs and 49 mins

Publisher's summary

With The Whiskey Rebels, David Liss added to the rapidly growing audience for his extraordinary brand of historical suspense fiction. His unforgettable tale of spies and conspiracies in post-Revolutionary War America was a "gripping, visceral adventure," according to New York Times best-selling author Matthew Pearl. Now Liss delivers another riveting historical suspense tale - this one set in 1700s London.

When Benjamin Weaver is blackmailed into stealing documents from the ruthless British East India Company, he soon discovers the theft of trade secrets is only the first move in a daring conspiracy within the 18th century's most powerful corporation. To save his friends and family, Weaver must infiltrate the company, navigate its warring factions, and uncover a secret plot of corporate rivals, foreign spies, and government operatives. With the security of the nation in the balance, Weaver will find himself in a labyrinth of hidden agendas, daring enemies, and unexpected allies.

With explosive action and scrupulous period research, The Devil's Company depicts the birth of the modern corporation, and is Liss's most impressive achievement yet.

©2009 David Liss (P)2009 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

Simon Vance made this work

Not horrible, not great.

Formulaic, beautiful spy, foppish friend, father figure, tough everyday righteous guy... You get the picture.

I had problems with the too numerous seemingly unneeded twists and turns, surprise for the sake of surprise if that makes any sense.

I was entertained if not engaged, Vance made that possible. His narration was outstanding!

Capitalistic Intrigue

Although this mystery is set in the 18th century, modern readers may find the specter of business corruption and intrigue disturbingly familiar. The plot is full of unexpected twists and turns and brings to life an historical era, the events of which have had lasting impact on the formation of the American colonies and their subsequent development. A fascinating read.

Worth your time and money

While this wasn't my favorite book of all time, it definitely was a good read. I love a complicated plot and descriptions and while the plot was quite complicated, I thought too many of the plot twists were underdeveloped and just thrown in an attempt to appear more sophisticated. I really didn't care what happened to the main character by the end of the book. I cared more about his family and associates. The romance was completely unbelievable and a distraction from the story. There are so few good books out there, though that this one comes close enough to warrant the time and expense. I thought the narrator did a good job.

A perfect historical fiction thriller

This is a work that contains well-developed and believable characters, fast-paced intrigue, and fascinating economic history involving the British East India Company in the eighteenth century. The portrait of London in the early years of unbridled, no-holds-barred capitalism and debtor's prisons is as bracing as it is entertaining. The narration by Simon Vance is superb and adds to both the understanding of the narrative and the enjoyments of the tale as he rotates between proper English, cockney, and a variety of accents. Strongly recommended for those that like this sort of yarn.

Advantage of Vance

One reason I decided to give this second in the series a listen is Simon Vance, his voice has captured my attention in other books and I couldn't resist the experiment demonstrating the power of different narrators. The story starts out slowly, at one point I thought,'If Simon Vance can't make this book hold my attention no one can." About 1/4 of the way into the book I realized I really was hooked. I was trying to solve David Liss' involved plot! Our hero is still a rogue even while showing great compassion for his friends. I am not sure this book is worth the challenge but I am glad I listened.

Great tale pulled from history!!

Liked character development and historical significance. Kept my interest with many plot twists and turns. Never the expected conclusion.

If you like Ken Follett

This is similar historical adventure with good setting detail, but it's better than Follett: Better dialogue, more plot twists, no campy sex scenes, no protagonist pathetically and perpetually victimized until final vindication. Lots of spy vs spy vs counterspy. The hero is more swashbuckling rough justice than I like, but I cheer anyone fighting The Corporation, even in 1722. Simon Vance narrates this novel well with his usual panache.

I'll download the next of the series, and I hope Audible features the first eventually.

Awesomeness

Truly fantastic. A hidden gen among the mediocre tomes of its ilk. Glad I found it!

Very involving story

You care about the characters in this story of a man caught in a web of other people's intrigues, and forced to act in the interest of a very nasty pair. the good guys are good folks. That's why you care. You care about the mystery. Nicely historical, the sights, sounds, smells, and almost the taste of the time and place.

I manufactured instances to listen

Intriguing, smart historical fiction

This is a fantastic listen--Simon Vance does another bravura turn of narrating this action-packed and fascinating historical drama about the financial intrigues of the East India Company.