The Judge Hunter

By: Christopher Buckley

Narrated by: James Langton

Length: 9 hrs and 44 mins

Publisher's Summary

In the latest comic novel from Christopher Buckley, a hapless Englishman embarks on a dangerous mission to the New World in pursuit of two judges who helped murder a king.

London, 1664. Twenty years after the English revolution, the monarchy has been restored, and Charles II sits on the throne. The men who conspired to kill his father are either dead or disappeared. 

Baltasar “Balty” St. Michel is 24 and has no skills and no employment. He gets by on handouts from his brother-in-law Samuel Pepys, an officer in the king’s navy. Fed up with his needy relative, Pepys offers Balty a job in the New World. He is to track down two missing judges who were responsible for the execution of the last king, Charles I. 

When Balty’s ship arrives in Boston, he finds a strange country filled with fundamentalist Puritans, saintly Quakers, warring tribes of Indians, and rogues of every stripe. Helped by a man named Huncks, an agent of the Crown with a mysterious past, Balty travels colonial America in search of the missing judges. Meanwhile, on the other side of the Atlantic, Samuel Pepys prepares for a war with the Dutch that fears England has no chance of winning. 

Christopher Buckley’s enchanting new novel spins adventure, comedy, political intrigue, and romance against a historical backdrop with real-life characters like Charles II, John Winthrop, and Peter Stuyvesant. Buckley’s wit is as sharp as ever as he takes readers to 17th-century London and New England. We visit the bawdy court of Charles II, Boston under the strict Puritan rule, and New Amsterdam back when Manhattan was a half-wild outpost on the edge of an unmapped continent. The Judge Hunter is a smart and swiftly plotted novel that transports readers to a new world.

©2018 Christopher Buckley (P)2018 Simon & Schuster Audio

Surprise!

I had no idea this book would be so funny and engaging. I couldn’t stop listening. What a good book. I highly recommend it.

Not his best

But still worth the read..... the humor that I like so much in Buckley’s novels was not at his usual level

A weak imitation of another novel

The story loosely follows the structure of "The Sot-Weed Factor" by John Barth. After having listened to that novel, listening to "The Judge Hunter" leaves me with a ho-hum, been-there-done-that feeling.

Strange book

I enjoyed listening to it, the narrator was funny and made great voices. His accents were not disturbing. Still, i wonder, if in the 21st century we still need books about evil “indians” perpetuating the greatness of britain against other nations.

This narration will make you fall asleep while driving

I love Buckley’s books but I feel like I’m listening to a David Attenborough wannabe narrate this story. The old man British accent absolutely kills the flow of the story and trying to listen to it while driving nearly put me to sleep. I have no issue with British accents but at least use a narrator who doesn’t sound like he should be narrating a BBC nature documentary. I tried listening to this book several times and lose all interest in a matter of minutes. It takes way too much effort to listen to this narrator while driving.

I regret using a credit on this book solely for that reason.

Save your time

As a big fan of Buckley’s I was sorely disappointed by this derivative and unamusing tale. John Barth’s SOT WEED FACTOR is the way to go and was not threatened in this genre.

Fun historic novel

I like a lot of Buckley’s political satires and have enjoyed his latest historical novels. I think this one is a bit better than the Relic Hunters, but I have liked them both. The narrator is excellent as well.

One of Christopher Buckley's best books yet!

Great historical novel! Funny and intelligent story and dialogue. James Langton's performance was amazing! So many different characters and accents and he makes you feel like a different actor played each one. Hope Mr. Buckley continues Baldy's story in another book!

Historical farce

Painful. Full of snappy blather. Rarely have I returned a book. I only finished it to see how my friend could have recommended it.

Great actor and voicing

As always Buckley is entertaining and the audio book was fun to listen to. I might even listen again! I'll be talking like a pirate for a week.