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The School of Hard Knocks  By  cover art

The School of Hard Knocks

By: Christopher G. Nuttall
Narrated by: Tavia Gilbert
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Publisher's Summary

A plot is being hatched at Mountaintop Academy, a plot that threatens the lives of Emily and her friends...and the integrity of the Allied Lands. In a desperate bid to uncover the secrets of Mountaintop and recover her stolen notes, Emily goes undercover into Mountaintop, a mission that may cost her everything.

©2015 Christopher G. Nuttall (P)2017 Podium Publishing

What listeners say about The School of Hard Knocks

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Performance

I wanted to give the performance a 5th star because Travis Gilbert always does a wonderful job! However after the 2nd chapter in school of hard knocks the voices we'd come to know and be familiar with were pitched down. It was very disorienting and made the characters feel older and hard to distinguish one from another. There were a few times where I had to ask myself if it was Emily or Lady barb speaking.

13 people found this helpful

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Still good

Be prepared the narrator changes the voices.. Took me a little while to get used too...

7 people found this helpful

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Narrator changes after chapter two

For some reason, after the second chapter, the narrator changes. It is not clear why.

6 people found this helpful

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Still good. But what's going on with the voice

Street was still good, but the narrator's voice started being wonky. Maybe trying to switch readers mid stream?

6 people found this helpful

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Great story, great narration, but...

As always, Christopher Nuttall spins a wonderful tale, and the performance of the narrator was first rate. There's just one little thing. on Chapter 2 or 3, the narrator's voice was pitched down, I suspect during the edit of the book. It remained so until the preview of the next book in the series, then pitched down again for the final closing.

5 people found this helpful

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Voice change

I agree with the others the voice change chapter 2 was add but I was able to overcome it quickly

3 people found this helpful

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Good book. Strange voice transition

I’ve liked all the books so far. The voice actress took some getting used to early on in the series but the voice transition in the second chapter is distracting and the new voice is annoying. Still enjoyed the book but not sure what caused the change.

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

another good addition to the series

As mentioned in other reviews, the audio pitch threw me off for the first 3rd of the book or so. 1.1 speed helped without distorting too much. Many more loose ends than previous books. looking forward to the next installment

2 people found this helpful

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Amazing as always!!

Another great book leaving me wanting for more. Story was great and Travis Gilbert is amazing as always. One of the best readers on Audible that I've listened to. Keep them coming!

2 people found this helpful

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love to the books

love the books from 1 till now can't wait for the next one wish they the ramp up Productions of the audio books multiple instead of once a month but love the series can't wait for the next book sitting on pins and needles to see what happens and what she goes through I can't wait to see her kick more ass like she did in this book glad to see you that she's not sitting idly by like she did in the first three

2 people found this helpful

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  • Jay
  • 12-07-18

Really good again

As it got going it got really good but it was odd because the narrators voice has been made lower slightly like slowed down with a cold

2 people found this helpful

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  • Daniel
  • 02-06-17

Great book

When is the next one great book and a great series of books from a great writer

1 person found this helpful

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  • Amazon Customer
  • 11-21-22

Best schooled in magic book of the series your with the most interesting story line

I absolutely loved this book and how it was based in such a different environment yet still so welcoming and I love how you learn about new characters and who Emily’s enemy would be

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  • Anonymous User
  • 02-08-22

Can't get enough

The continuing story is truly amazing, I mean you can just get totally lost and mesmerised in this world that the author has created. Truly just cannot get enough and an moving on to next novel. Good job.

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  • vCJD
  • 11-16-21

A good book, blighted by production values.

As it stands I am greatly enjoying these pulp stories of Emily's isekai life in the Un-Named World.
The tales are engrossing, with interesting characters and ideas. For the previous four books Tavia Gilbert proved to be an engaging voice actor and story teller.
Sadly in this 5th book something in the production has distorted her vocals, from near the beginning of the book. Leaving me distracted by it's discordance, all the way through.
I alleviated the issue a little by increasing the playing speed to 1.04x, but not by much.
This is a shame, as I am sure Christopher G. Nuttall's story was much better than it came across to me.
Maybe read this book, rather than listening to it.
Hopefully Tavia's voice won't be butchered in the next book.

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  • Luke
  • 07-25-17

grate

again grate book gripping and great written and performance will be listing to to the next one soon

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  • bookfairy
  • 05-15-17

Love it

Great performance of characters and another brilliant adventure with Emily.
Fans of the series shouldn't be disappointed with this new instalment. It's not as high octane as previous but it gives so many hints for where the story will lead in the future. 😃

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  • P. Sleet
  • 04-02-17

The series is addictive

There are so many genres and themes involved either by accident or design in this series it's hard not to like the stories. So much so that I am now eagerly awaiting my next "fix". Getting more enjoyable as the series progresses.

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  • Ben
  • 03-02-17

Another great addition

Would you listen to The School of Hard Knocks again? Why?

Yes brilliant world and exploring a new school

Any additional comments?

Don't know why the narrator randomly changes after the first chapter though

2 people found this helpful

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  • Sheryl
  • 01-12-21

I like the story

I like the story of Emily however I find the writing a little frustrating and not consistent. I still want to read on to the next book however.

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  • Bonita
  • 11-24-19

Excellent book

I was a little thrown when the voice change between chapters 1 and 2, although the story and performance are still brilliant.
loving this series and how each book adds more depth to the central character.