Christopher Wild

By: Kathe Koja

Narrated by: Joshua Saxon

Three lives. One man.

Christopher Marlowe was the first rock star poet, a spy, an atheist, a gay rebel whose controversial plays thrilled audiences and challenged the government.

Christopher Wild is Kathe Koja’s new novel, a daring remix of eras - the glitter and threat of Elizabethan England, a grimy mid-20th century, and a dark near-future of constant surveillance - as Marlowe loves and fights and writes his way through every dangerous age.

Kathe Koja’s books include Under the Poppy, The Bastards' Paradise, The Cipher and Skin; her young adult novels include Buddha Boy, Talk and Kissing the Bee. Her work has been honored by the ALA, the ASPCA and with the Bram Stoker Award. Her books have been published in seven languages and optioned for film. She’s a Detroit native and lives in the area with her husband, artist Rick Lieder. She also runs Loudermilk Productions, creating site-specific immersive events including performances of Faustus and her own adaptation of Under the Poppy.

©2017 Kathe Koja (P)2020 David N. Wilson

Critic reviews

"Few writers have the brilliance and versatility of Koja." (Cory Doctorow, author of Walkaway)

"Kathe Koja illuminates how the raw and vital essence of Marlowe has persisted down the centuries." (Sarah Miller, author of Caroline)

"In Christopher Wild, Koja has done more than re-imagine Marlowe - she has channeled him, wholly, ferociously, onto the page. Transcendent, essential, Christopher Wild is Kit. The king is dead: Long live the king." (Maryse Meijer, author of Heartbreaker)

Good book

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

This might have been better off just to read as it is a very complex book which requires a lot of attention to the details. I ended up skipping back every once in a while when something snagged me in which I needed more explanation or where I had to think about what was going on. I know a lot about Christopher Marlowe and I loved this book. It really spoke to me.

The narrator was phenomenal. To be able to grab all of the different voices and accents shows so much talent. I think this is my new favorite narrator and will be looking for him in the future.

"Night to Day to Night"

Christopher Wild is a "wildly" immersive and engrossing stream of beautiful and chaotic thoughts: "What must hell smell like?" "Life goes on, just not yours" "What feeds me, destroys me." The narration is exquisite, and Joshua Saxon successfully hops between British, AMAIRican, and French accents without pause, and it is easy to keep listening, even when it is extremely hard to keep listening. That said, I think that I personally would have done better with a printed copy of the book. The themes and ideas are complex as we follow one "soul" (?) throughout three time periods, all replete with copious amounts of alcohol, tobacco, and violence. I know little of Christopher Marlowe and far less than I should of classical mythology, and I think readers/listeners with more familiarity with either or both of these fields would understand more than I did, but I do not regret the time spent with this extraordinary work. I was given a free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Christopher Wild

It was good,it just did not keep my attention.Joshua Saxon was a very good narrator.I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.'

I really didn’t connect with the story

First of all they start off talking about human body parts and things you do with those body parts and that was something I was woefully unprepared for. Then I believe they wrote a poem and so I skip to chapter 3 and ride from there and I got into it a little bit but then it lost me and went to a different time and place… And so yeah I couldn’t get into it. I’m sure this book is for someone and I don’t think it’s the authors fault maybe it’s me. I just couldn’t get into the book. I thought the narrator had an awesome voice I love his voice so it’s not his fault either again it’s not you it’s me.