Roger Ascham and the King's Lost Girl

By: Matthew Reilly

Narrated by: Humphrey Bower

Length: 48 mins

Publisher's Summary

In this special prequel to Matthew Reilly’s The Tournament, Roger Ascham, the unorthodox tutor of Princess Elizabeth, is tasked by King Henry VIII with a most unusual and dangerous mission – tracking down a favourite prostitute of the King's who has gone missing.

©2014 Matthew Reilly (P)2014 Bolinda Publishing Pty Ltd

Critic Reviews

"Nobody writes action like Matthew Reilly." ( Vince Flynn)

LANGUAGE

I was very disappointed in his unnecessary use of vulgar language! I think you could have used some imagination instead of taking the cheap way out and giving the characters life and depth without it.

interesting

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

eh, yes because it was free.

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

No, It was pretty predictable and I had it figured out after like 5 minutes.

Not my cup of tea as far as mystery books go!

I enjoy mystery/crime/suspense/thriller type stories. Normally I like modern day stories but I thought I would give a storyline with a king in it a chance. Needless to say it had some of what I like but it was to short n easily solved.

Made me want to hear "The Tournament"!

I'm new to Matthew Reilly's books, and found this to be a juicier morsel than anticipated--much like an hors-d'oeuvre that looks to be of interest, and proves to be delicious.

As an avid fan of historical fiction, I'm fascinated by Reilly's depiction of King Henry VIII--as a brash and irreverent monarch AND doting father, and of his daughter, a young "Princess" Elizabeth--yes, fellow history buffs--THAT Princess Elizabeth. And having had the good fortune to have visited the Tower of London (reportedly haunted by the ghost of Ann Boleyn) and other sites of England's rich history, I'm even more intrigued at what Mr Reilly has in store for us in future books.

Admittedly, there are a few more "He said's" and "She said's" than necessary, and the mystery seemed a bit shy of what Sherlock Holmes fans might expect, however, this story has, for me, done exactly what the author intended--it's whetted my appetite and made me want to hear more, and for that I congratulate you Mr. Reilly. I look forward to hearing "The Tournament"!

And to Mr Humphrey Bower--my compliments, Sir, on a flawless narration! You made "The King's Lost Girl" come to life!

And a request for you, Mr. Reilly, tell us more about Isabella, and REALLY introduce us to the king's lost girl....you've shown us her beauty from a distance, but WHO is she?

Why in the world is this book here

What made the experience of listening to FREE PRODUCT - Roger Ascham and the King's Lost Girl the most enjoyable?

This book was advertised as a 45 minute prequel to "The Tournament" with Roger Ascham as main character, and I thought I'd listen and move on to the follow-up book I if I liked it. After all, if audible gives away the prequel, then surely the follow-up book will be available . . . NOT. . . so don't bother with this 45' book. Come on, Audible! Ridiculous.To those who have stayed with this review thus far, I commend to your consideration the Matthew Shardlake series, by C.J. Sansom, narrated by Steven Crossley, set in the same time period of this prequel. Wonderful author, rich in history and expertly narrated. You'd do better to read them in chronological order. although its not absolutely necessary.

Enjoyable!

It was a little Sherlock Holmes with historical touches. I really enjoyed it. Quick fun book. Listened on my way home from work.

a good short story read beautifully. a

all neatly tied up, a good murder mystery for before bed! it wasnt scary until the end when it was really scary! the audio narrator was perfect for the book.

Great fun

Fun listen. Sherlock Holmes style short story
Will written. Nicely read. Thoroughly enjoyed it. Recommended .

Enjoyed this

What did you love best about FREE PRODUCT - Roger Ascham and the King's Lost Girl?

The development of a new series from Matthew Reilly. I hope Matthew continues down this line of story telling and developes the characters and plots more. This story to me is a sign that Matthew has moved on from his action infused days of story telling.

What did you like best about this story?

The plot was well written and the main character was not some ex Military / ex CIA type with super human abilities that manages to dodge millions of bullets and extreme situations. Dont get me wrong, Scare Crow Rocks and Contest is still my favorite book, but there is only so many unbelievable situations the human mind can handle. Some times a little reality is needed.

Which character – as performed by Humphrey Bower – was your favorite?

I likes him as roger actually. He performed the Narration perfectly.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

No, I simply enjoyed the read.

Any additional comments?

I recommend that you listen to this after Mathews Previous book Tournament. The story will flow allot better. As always though if you want to listen to Matthew at his best get Contest.

Book was ok.

It was okay. I guess I can't complain about a free book but it didn't make me want to read anything else by this author. If you don't mind the F word then you should be fine but I didn't find it necessary at all.

Loved this

This is a great short story. I was really taken back in time would make a good film

excellent Narrative

Excellent story and the narrator was spot on. The author always writes interesting and well researched books

A little gem

Really enjoyed this freebie, I was drawn in immediately and my interest didn't wane.
Nice pace, atmospheric and very well narrated. thankyou

Nice free gift

Good historical short story that I recieved as a free gift. As such it was greatly appreciated. An interesting half hours listen.

A Great Little Listen

Enjoyable and entertaining. Can't beat it for the price. It's a good story, well read.

Bad fanfiction

This reads like peculiarly bad fanfiction of Ray Winstone's Henry VIII

I can live with the swearing, even though it goes against the historical record. But Reilly doesn't appear to have stopped and thought about how England worked in 1545

This was a really good mystery.

Although a bit grizzly towards the end, I found that I did enjoy this mystery from Matthew Reilly.

Matthew has taken Princess Elizabeth (I) real tutor and woven a tale of mystery that is very good, with for me anyway the likable character of Roger Ascham.

This was a really good mystery with a good set of characters and well plotted and written.

I know Matthew has written The Tournament as the next full length mystery, but I would love to see more Roger Ascham novels and short stories in the future.

Not his best.

Any additional comments?

I normally love Matthew's book and own all of them as audio books, I enjoy them that much.
So was very disappointed with this one. I know it was a short story and just introducing you to a New set of characters/ type of story, but it seemed to lack Matthew's gun ho action. Yes I know it was set in olden times with things like dungeons and the rack etc but he has written plots set in the past a lot better (see Temple). I guess it didn't help that it was so short and I didn't warm up to the main character.

Fun short story

Easy, quick listen with likeable protagonist. I'd be interested in more from the same author

good short story

good short story would suit both genders from ages of 14 up to 100. not just another boring tuder book.