Gaele Hi
AudioBook Review: Stars: Overall 4 Narration 5 Story 4 Not having read the first in this series, but seriously intrigued in the author’s reworking of women, formerly simple plot devices and transforming them into the main characters of the story brought this book to my attention. Taking the not-so-famous females from their more ‘well known’ husbands and partners from classic Victorian era fiction, Mary Jekyll, Beatrice Rappaccini, Catherine Moreau, Justine Frankenstein, and Diana Hyde are soon off on another adventure, splitting their group in two on a quest to find and rescue the kidnapped Lucinda Van Helsing. As if that weren’t enough, each woman stands wholly on her own: determined and clever, using skills that often outstrip their male counterparts, with a ‘recap’ of each leg of the adventure leading to lovely conversations as they gather to recount and record their experiences. But, don’t be fooled, this story is as rich in description (perhaps overly so) as some of the most touted Victorian fiction, with a palpable, if not always present, sense that not one is taking themselves too seriously, even as the situation ad discoveries as the hunt for Lucinda gains steam. The sense that by ignoring the females so integral to the original books left them lacking in a sense of balance and perhaps even some intriguing moments, Goss seems to be righting those perceived wrongs with this collection of women and giving readers familiar with the classic stories a new voice to the perspective. Lengthy at over 700 pages and 24+ hours, the natural ‘break points’ in the story that come from the narrative style, frequently broken by conversations and snippets that drop that 4th wall and allow readers into the story, with clever insets of actual historical events and people as the women are broken into 3 distinct groups – all working to discover the whereabouts of Lucinda and the reasons why she was taken. Truly a character-driven story, most of the action is fairly basic and not the focus. Yes, the story does bog down with detail often to the detriment of the forward motion, but again, this allows for several breaks for the listener / reader, with the ‘recap conversations’ allowing one to not lose their place. I’m intrigued by those who found the first book to have a bit more cohesiveness with the plot, and providing more backstory for each of the characters, something that I could have used a bit more of – they were so unique and cleverly presented. Overall, I enjoyed this story for it’s perspective and sense of ‘righting a wrong’ in that opportunity taken sort of way. Narration for this story is provided by Kate Reading, who managed to provide significantly distinct voices, deliveries and tone for the multitude of characters encountered, and never confused any of them. It was apparent to this listener that she understood the characters and the intention of the story and kept the characters feeling ‘in the moment’ as they came to the forefront. With the dropping of the 4th wall, and the masses of information and tropes played without losing her grasp on the performance, I was suitably impressed and will be sure to check out more of her work. I would suggest, however, that you grab the first in this series and get some of the background that I feel like I missed here. I received an AudioBook copy of the title from Simon and Schuster AudioBooks for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.
