QB VII

By: Leon Uris

Narrated by: John Lee

In Queen's Bench Courtroom Number Seven, famous author Abraham Cady stands trial. In his book The Holocaust - born of the terrible revelation that the Jadwiga Concentration camp was the site of his family's extermination - Cady shook the consciousness of the human race. He also named eminent surgeon Sir Adam Kelno as one of Jadwiga's most sadistic inmate/doctors. Kelno has denied this and brought furious charges. Now unfolds Leon Uris' riveting courtroom drama - one of the great fictional trials of the century.

©1970 Leon Uris (P)2014 Audible, Inc.

amazing read

this book was terrific. i loved it. profound. chilling. sad.one of his best. read it and enjoy

Frightening because its based on a true story

A passing sentence in Uris' popular historical fiction Exodus so insensed Dr W Dering that he filed a libel suit against Uris. This book is a fictionalized version of that trial which took place in England under British libel laws (which differ greatly from US law). As was Uris style each chapter is a cliff hanger which made the book and the audio version nearly impossible to put down. The accurate portrayal of the cruel treatment and experimentation by the Nazis is horrific especially given that it is based upon personal testimony from those who were subjected to the barbarous experimentation. John Lee is at his best as he portrays the various characters throughout the novel and does a great job with the dialogue portions. His general narration is a bit "high toned" but still very good. #Holocaust #Justice #Courtroomdrama #Tagsgiving #Sweepstakes

Narrator was awful, but a great story

If you could sum up QB VII in three words, what would they be?

Nazi Court Drama

What was one of the most memorable moments of QB VII?

When the Queen parachuted down to the Olympics.

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

As soon as I started listening to this audio book I had a bad flashback. You see, I've tried to listen to an audible recording of "The Guns of August" four times, but have never been able to get into it - and I've blamed it on the narrator. I didn't know it at the time, but QBVII as the same narrator, John Lee. I don't care for him at all.
Many of the characters in QBVII are British, as is Lee. So for those characters he was good, and even the Poles - he did a fine job on both men and women. However, one of the main characters, Abe is from North Carolina. John Lee butchers the southern accent. At times, it seems like he's lost and trying to find the accent again. It was distracting. And, I'll probably make it a point to avoid any books he narrates in the future.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Some shadows can't be lived down.

Another Great Uris book

This was a super book and so interesting. I really enjoyed the other Uris books I read, but when I saw this one I wasn't too sure I would like the story - I was very wrong. I have to laugh because the narrator does do a really bad southern accent, but since I had read the other reviews and knew it was coming, I found it more amusing than appalling. I highly recommend this book!

Interesting material; good performance.

Interesting material; good performance. Pretty food performance by the narrator. hated the southern accent. a worth while listen.

Good Courtroom Drama. Too Much Propaganda

The narration was superb with the exception of Abe's whiny Jewish voice.
The story was well set up with the life of the plaintiff and of the defendant up to the trial. The trial itself came across as over-the-top Jewish propaganda. I usually like Uris's writing, especially in Exodus. This one is set up in its entirety to show how anti-Semitic views in even the most otherwise-noble person turn that person into an indescribably monster. I agree that the concentration camps were indescribably horrible and that the Jewish people were wronged as a race. However, this book is so one-sided in its defense of the Jews and its condemnation of others that it looses credibility. With that caveat, it is a story that will hold your interest (with the exception of the repetitive courtroom description of atrocities.)

I read this book when I was in my 20s

That was a very long time ago and I'd forgotten many of the details of the story. What I hadn't forgotten was the emotional impact of the book. It affected me as strongly now as it did then.

While it isn't a comfortable topic it needs to be remembered and re examined so no future generations will be able to say the Holocaust was a myth.

Slow to start... but a spectacular finish.

Slow to start... but a spectacular finish.
A bit tedious in the beginning to set the stage but fascinating (and terrible…) during the trial scenes.
Great narrator.

Literature by the ton, and yet…

This is a dinosaur from the days when literature was weighed by the ton. Endless, overwritten, repetitious, bombastic, with often preposterous narration marred by outlandish accents. And yet… you can’t stop listening. For all its flaws, this book is built to compel your attention. You can’t look away.

Weird editing

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

Probably not

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

Uris often leaves holes in his plots and this story is no exception. Where are the motivations for the characters' behavior? There's almost nothing to explain the motivation of the main character, Adam Kelno.

Did the narration match the pace of the story?

It does but the bad editing almost ruins it. There is a pause before each new chapter, but the editing makes for pauseless transitions between sections that clearly call for a beat -- not a long stop, but a transition. It makes it very confusing in places