• The Devil's Novice

  • The Eighth Chronicle of Brother Cadfael
  • By: Ellis Peters
  • Narrated by: Vanessa Benjamin
  • Length: 8 hrs and 27 mins
  • 4.4 out of 5 stars (267 ratings)

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The Devil's Novice  By  cover art

The Devil's Novice

By: Ellis Peters
Narrated by: Vanessa Benjamin
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Publisher's summary

Outside the pale of the Abbey of Saint Peters and Saint Paul, in September of the year of our Lord 1140, a priestly emissary for King Stephen has been reported missing. But inside the pale, what troubles Brother Cadfael is a proud, secretive 19-year-old novice.
Brother Cadfael has never seen two men more estranged than the Lord of Aspley and Meriet, the son he coldly delivers to the abbey to begin a religious vocation. Meriet, meek by day, is so racked by dreams at night that his howls earn him the nickname the Devil's Novice. Shunned and feared, Meriet is soon linked to the missing priest's dreadful fate. Only Brother Cadfael believes in Meriet's innocence, and only the good sleuth can uncover the truth before a boy's pure passion, not evil intent, leads a novice to the noose.
©1983 by Ellis Peters (P)1997 by Blackstone Audiobooks

Critic reviews

"Each addition to the series is a joy. Long may the Chronicles continue." (USA Today)

What listeners say about The Devil's Novice

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
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Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

Why is a woman narrating this tale?

I love the Brother Cadfael series, and the story here is wonderful. The problem here is the narration. The sound quality is awfully muffled, and why did they have a woman narrate a tale about monks, for heaven's sake! 95% of the characters are men! The narrator is constantly trying to emulate the sound of men's voices (far too much) rather than just reading the story. I hope other Brother Cadfael tales are different.

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7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

Poor Narration Detracts from Story

Much of the enjoyment of listening to The Devil's Novice is compromised because of poor narration. Technically, it often sounds like the narrator has a blanket over her mouth. Artistically, she sounds like a little kid trying to sound like Daddy when she attempts to portray a male character. And why use a female voice to read a novel that is primarily a cast of Benedictine monks, anyway?

The story, though, is pure Cadfael and well worth listening to.

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7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars

An old recording

This recording of the story is very old fashioned. The reader is a woman, an odd selection for a story about a monastery i.e. all men, she puts on funny woman doing man voices for each character. I didn't get to the story, the reading was too distracting. Not worth the credit.

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3 people found this helpful

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

Great book but disappointing narration

I bought this book despite other poor reviews of the narration because I enjoy the stories of Brother Cadfael and this was the only version available on Audible. I nearly returned it because the narration was so annoying. Why use a female for a book largely about male characters? In order to make the characters sound masculine the raises her voice, which leads to very uneven volume throughout the book between the narrative and the spoken sections. This was particularly annoying when listening in the car as it was hard to hear some parts. It was a pity she couldn't use a Welsh accent for Brother Cadfael. Please Audible, make versions of these books available in Australia with a male narrator. Those that are available by Stephen Thorne are excellent.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Bad narration

I had to stop listening because the narrator’s attempt to do a “male” voice was like fingernails on s blackboard. It is totally possible for a female to convey “male” without trying to reach into a lower range than she is capable of.

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

Keep Your Hand on the Volume

Couldn't get pass Chapter 3 and I like Brother Cadfael series. The performance was just off. When speaking a line said by a character, I had to turn the volume down. Yet when the narration moved on to the narrative portion, I had to turn the volume way back up. The alternating between being yelled out and whispered at was just to much to bear.

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

great read as usual

interesting plot and characters. really a good read. love brother cadfael and all the others at the A well written and recorded book.

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

Narration is peculiar & distracting

Listening to this book is painful. The voicing of the men's lines is like listening to little girls pretending to be men, speaking in their imitations of men's speech."OK, you pretend to be the Earl, and use a deep, low voice". AARGH! I keep thinking I am hearing a middle-school all-girls' play. I simply can't get beyond the odd voicing to pay attention to the story. Can't keep listening. .

The Cadfael series is much better read by Joanna Ward and Sir Derek Jacobi.

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

Loved these books.

I saw the TV series and I just enjoy the books so much. Wonderful.

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

BIG fan

Big fan of the whole series. a refreshing absence of violence and gratuitous sex...just good stories. ☺

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