Noble House

The Epic Novel of Modern Hong Kong: The Asian Saga, Book 5

By: James Clavell

Narrated by: Ralph Lister

Length: 54 hrs and 43 mins

Publisher's Summary

This spellbinding adventure is a literary triumph that proves once again why James Clavell's books have become modern classics.

Set in Hong Kong in 1963, the action of Noble House spans scarcely more than a week, but these are days of high adventure: from kidnapping and murder to financial double dealing and natural catastrophes - fire, flood, landslide. Yet they are also days filled with all the mystery and romance of Hong Kong - the heart of Asia - rich in every trade...money, flesh, opium, power.

©1981 James Clavell (P)2015 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Brilliant

The story is incredibly rich.
True or not it gives you insight into the world of spying, high stakes deals, cool and calculated minds and Asian wisdom.

Performance is awesome as well. The actor has a firm grasp of many voices and you know who's talking even before the text hints.

Long winded

A bit too much emphasis on how wonderful, brainy and supremely talented all the major players seem to be, either I have lived under a gooseberry bush for 67 years or no nothing of the opposite sex, for the men in this novel are love makers with talents unknown to mere mortals, this to me is a world not open to the common man,made me feel most inadequate, can one really be a top notch jockey, brilliant swordsman, fantastic businessman, awesome sailor, love maker from the gods, superb linguist, racing driver extraordinaire, fighter pilot to rank alongside the Red Baron and swimmer to rival Mark Spitz, oh and so tall and handsome, and I thought jockeys were quite small personage.

Another epic, full of twists, turns and surprises.

slow to start, but stick with it as the storyline builds and proves to be an excellent read. narrator makes a superb job of reading it.

gripping finish to a superbly written novel.

Found it hard to stop listening at times. Could not wait to find out which way things where going to turn next

One of the best

One of the best books I have ever listen.
Amazing job of the narrators. Amazing !

Really great yarn, dreadful narration.

I love James Clavell novels - they are all great stories with excellent pilots and character development. I also like getting a sense of what life was like in these historical situations. Hong Kong is so much in ours minds now.

What a shame that Ralph Lister makes such heavy weather of Noble House. I very nearly gave up after the first couple of hours as the narration was really getting on my nerves. It would be worth getting this rerecorded to avoid putting listeners off the whole series.

Let down by narration

Listen to the John Lee version - no comparison! Could not listen to this. Good story, though.

Disappinted

Not a patch on Tai Pan. Too many accounts of individuas not connectedwith main story. I found this boring as main plot was very good.

Wonderful story, shouty narration

Working my way through the Asian Saga, my memories of Noble House were of a cracking good read. And glad to say, the story itself lived up to expectations - almost 100%. I noticed the 60s standards much more this time, with a few wince moments at the sexism of characterisations. However, more than compensated for by the masterful weaving of all the storylines into a satisfying tapestry. I remember wanting the whole story to continue, at its breakneck speed, and had the same sense at completing the audio-book. Wanted to know what happened to all the characters!

Sad to say, the narration was nowhere near as good as for the others in the series. Mr Lister seemed to convey emotions by shouting a lot, and some of the regional accents were just shocking. Any attempt at a Scottish accent was pitiful - which is ridiculous since the Scottish characters in the Struans/Dunross storylines are central to the storyline. Since the same actor did Shogun (and I do remember thinking that Blackthorne shouted a lot - but that was more in character), it is surprising that this was such a disappointing return.

Very poor narration

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

Less strained reading and much better accents

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

Too hard to listen to. Never got anywhere near the end

How did the narrator detract from the book?

His voice was strained throughout and often at a fever pitch, when that was not required. All characters and general narration sounded identical, whether Scottish, Chinese, American, young, old, female, male, so it was not possible to recognise any characters from their voices.

You didn’t love this book--but did it have any redeeming qualities?

Any redeeming qualities were ruined by the narrator.

Any additional comments?

Taipan was read excellently, by a different narrator, and was a good experience.

Epic is right!

Long but worth it really grabs you and doesn't let go...
Fast, and still modern .. Can't recommend it enough really exciting and heartbreakingly good but the timing and you won't regret it