Of Noble Family

By: Mary Robinette Kowal

Narrated by: Prentice Onayemi, Robin Miles, Mary Robinette Kowal

Jane and Vincent have finally gotten some much-needed rest after their adventures in Italy - then Vincent receives word that his estranged father has passed away on one of his properties in the West Indies. His brother, who manages the estate, is overwhelmed, and no one else in his family can go. Grudgingly, out of filial duty, the couple decide to go.

The sea voyage is long, and Jane spends enough time unable to perform glamour that toward the end of the trip she discovers she is with child. They are overjoyed, but when they finally arrive at the estate to complete what they expect to be routine legal tasks, they realize that nearly everything they came expecting to find was a lie. Also the entire estate is in disarray, with horrifying conditions and tensions with the local slave population so high, they are close to revolt. Jane and Vincent's sense of peril is screaming out for them to flee, but Vincent cannot stand to leave an estate connected with his family in such a condition. They have survived many grand and terrifying adventures in their time, but this one will test their skills and wits more than any they have ever encountered before, this time with a new life hanging in the balance.

Mary Robinette Kowal's Of Noble Family is the final book of the acclaimed Glamourist Histories.

©2015 Mary Robinette Kowal (P)2015 Audible Inc.

Wonderful story, different narration

Just like the rest, great story and interesting commentary about race in this era.

The only drawback for me was the introduction of different narrators. It might have been because MRK can't or shouldn't do Antiguan accents, but she used to do Vincent just fine! I found it jarring, largely because the male voice actors spoke very slowly with big strange gaps in their sentences. Also, the volumes were different, and it seemed particularly weird during extended dialogue.

Still worth listening to and enjoying if you like others in this series!

Multiple readers

I was confused why there were three readers at first, but a few chapters in, I thought it was a perfect decision. The story is very compelling and suspenseful. It is a fitting end to the series and we'll worth the read.

Best One Yet!

This book was by far the best in the series. I liked the first book very much because of the uniqueness of the story line. The rest of the series grew with each book. It took me awhile though to get used to men's voices in this book. Most of the time the voice was too slow. Especially when compared to the female voices. This book is definitely filled lots of drama and intrigue. Great listen!

Well done

A fitting ending to the series not my favorite but well done. A good read.

The Women Are Worth the Listen

I was worried about picking up this title due to other reviews who criticized various aspects of the narration. I’ve read this series many times but wanted to listen to it, and was surprised to see that Mary Robinette was not doing all the narration herself, though this was a pleasant surprise as I didn’t like the idea of a white woman performing the Creole present throughout the book. Others had mentioned Prentice Onayemi’s narration as lacking and Shatner-esque, but having listened to it myself I’d like to give a more detailed review of the narrators.

There is not much to say about Mary Robinette after four books. As the author she knows her characters well, and her background in theater gives her plenty of experience with narration. I have many books performed by her and I enjoy them all.

The important point about Prentice Onayemi’s narration is that it is indeed stilted and full of pauses *when he is doing the voices of the white characters*. Since Vincent has the second greatest amount of dialogue this is indeed a problem, but it is somewhat countered by the fact that he does the voices of the black men extremely well, and his prose narration from Vincent’s viewpoint at the end also reads smoothly. All in all, I think he does a good job and does not detract from the immersion.

But the star of the show is Robin Miles. I’m familiar with her narration from listening to her perform N.K Jemisin’s work and was ECSTATIC to see her listed here, and from the first word she read I was hooked. Mary Robinette has an in-depth discussion of language and accent in this book’s afterword (which is sadly not included! A travesty), and being able to hear all the differences of accent and voice between Louisa, Nkiruka, Amy, and Dr. Jones was marvelous. Ms. Miles knows what she is doing and makes the black women come alive.

So yes, the narration is much different from what we’ve had from Shades of Milk and Honey onward, but it is an exceptionally well-executed change, and since this book is my favorite of the series I’m even more happy that they pulled out all the stops for it. Listen to it to enjoy the narration of Mary Robinette, Robin Miles, and Prentice Onayemi’s black voices, because those easily overshadow everything else.

A Masterpiece!

As this is the 5th book in this series, I came to it with many expectations. I can honestly say that every one was met, surpassed, and left me wondering why I had sold the book's potential so short.

By several chapters in I was already going on about the narration--wonderful. I was surprised by the inclusion of other narrators since Mary Robinette Kowal has done the work by herself for all of the previous books, but the performance was so smooth that I easily lost myself in the narrative.

I felt myself drawn into this story, feeling the heartaches and frustrations as though they were my own. I was moved to furious rage and felt desperate powerlessness as well as wonder and joy. In short, I was transported into this story like few I've ever experienced. I laughed out loud and was moved to tears. I stopped in the middle of chapters to bug my wife with the "amazing thing" I'd just read.

There is so much I want to say about this story, but I don't want to give away spoilers, and I don't have space to write so much here. And I'd much rather you read the book for yourself than listen to me talk about it.

I HIGHLY recommend this book! Of Noble Family is easily one of the best books I've ever read. I love it!

And if you haven't read the first four, do that!

Love this series detail of this world is perfect

Kowal's details of the world was meticulous and enthralling. Addressing sensitive subjects with great care.

GREAT ENDING TO A GREAT SERIES... almost

What made the experience of listening to Of Noble Family the most enjoyable?

Mary Kowal is a fantastic performing voice. Her character voices are amazing. In addition, the other 2 narrators were a surprisingly delightful and gave more depth to the story.

If you’ve listened to books by Mary Robinette Kowal before, how does this one compare?

I have never been disappointed in a narration by Mary Kowal.

What does the narrators bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Depth.

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

This entire series made me laugh and cry.

Any additional comments?

The very last line of the entire series broke my heart. If that line was cut, I would have come away with a much happier feeling of the series as a whole. Unfortunately the last line is what dropped my star rating.

Yup. Satisfied.

- The addition of new narrators was tricky for me at first but worked well by the end, ultimately enhancing the experience and making it something it could not have otherwise been.
- The climax focuses on what is most important--our two main characters--masterfully hiking up the stakes.
- Our main characters and their struggles, dealing with emotional trama and what else, are written extremely well. I felt these characters' emotions.
- It ties up all loose ends and ties together the series in a satisfying way.

AMAZING!!!

Thank You!!! I Loved Every Book!!! Never Stop Writing You're Amazing!!! I felt like i was there with them every step of the way!!!