Sword of State: The Tempering
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Sword of State: The Tempering
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Narrated by:
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Peter Noble
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By:
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Richard Woodman
About this listen
The year is 1652. General George Monck has been through an awful lot since he sat as a prisoner in the Tower of London eight years before. He had led his men admirably through campaigns in Ireland and Scotland, but still storm clouds surround his future. He had been away from his beloved Anne for many months and had come to London to find whether Ratsford was alive, and still proving to be an obstacle to their proposed marriage, or dead. His life with Anne will have to wait, as Parliament and the Army Council require the general's artillery expertise as naval conflict with the Dutch becomes inevitable.
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-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 148
Quillifer is young, serially in love, studying law, and living each day keenly aware that his beloved homeport of Ethlebight risks closure due to silting of the harbor. His concerns for the future become much more immediate when he returns from a summery assignation to find his city attacked by Aekoi pirates, leading to brigands in the streets and his family and friends in chains.
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5 out of 5 stars
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The opposite of George R R Martin (in a good way)
- By A reader on 10-30-17
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By the Mast Divided
- John Pearce, Book 1
- By: David Donachie
- Narrated by: Peter Wickham
- Length: 15 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 169
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 110
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Story4 out of 5 stars 110
London: 1793. Young firebrand John Pearce, on the run from the authorities, is illegally press-ganged from the Pelican tavern into brutal life aboard HMS Brilliant, a frigate on her way to war. In the first few days, Pearce discovers the Navy is a world in which he can prosper. And he is not alone; he is drawn to a group of men who eventually form an exclusive gun crew, the Pelicans, with Pearce their elected leader.
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1 out of 5 stars
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Didn't work for me
- By Michael E on 07-23-08
By: David Donachie
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Sea of Poppies
- Ibis Trilogy, Book 1
- By: Amitav Ghosh
- Narrated by: Phil Gigante
- Length: 18 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 754
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 518
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 519
At the heart of this vibrant saga is an immense ship, the Ibis. Its destiny is a tumultuous voyage across the Indian Ocean, its purpose to fight China's vicious 19th-century Opium Wars. As for the crew, they are a motley array of sailors and stowaways, coolies and convicts.
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5 out of 5 stars
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ignorance may be bliss
- By Evelyn M Kloepper on 07-27-09
By: Amitav Ghosh
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His Majesty's Dragon
- Temeraire, Book 1
- By: Naomi Novik
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 9 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 5,832
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 4,779
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 4,779
When HMS Reliant captures a French frigate and seizes its precious cargo - an unhatched dragon egg - fate sweeps Captain Will Laurence from his seafaring life into an uncertain future and an unexpected kinship with a most extraordinary creature. Thrust into the rarified world of the Aerial Corps as master of the dragon Temeraire, he will face a crash course in the daring tactics of airborne battle.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Excellent AU period fantasy
- By Melanie on 07-08-10
By: Naomi Novik
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Captain Blood
- By: Rafael Sabatini
- Narrated by: Robert Whitfield
- Length: 10 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,022
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 826
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 829
George MacDonald Fraser, author of the Flashman novels, praises this hearty saga as "one of the great unrecognized novels of the 20th century." Doctor Peter Blood's quiet life is shattered when he is convicted of treason for helping a wounded nobleman in the 1685 rebellion against King James II.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Outstanding rendition of classic swashbuckler
- By Gary on 03-27-04
By: Rafael Sabatini
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Mr Midshipman Hornblower
- By: C. S. Forester
- Narrated by: Christian Rodska
- Length: 8 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 1,911
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 1,712
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,696
Shaking off this label, a shy and lonely 17-year-old, Horatio Hornblower, embarks on a memorable career in Nelson's navy on HMS Justinian. In action, adventure, and battle he is forged into one of the most formidable junior officers in the service.
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5 out of 5 stars
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First rate historical fiction
- By Jason on 04-30-17
By: C. S. Forester
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Through Russian Snows
- A Story of Napoleon's Retreat from Moscow
- By: G. A. Henty
- Narrated by: Jim Hodges
- Length: 10 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 36
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 28
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 28
In 1812 Napoleon invaded Russia. Two brothers, diligent Frank and carefree Julian, end up on different sides of the conflict! Napoleon’s army of 500,000 defeat the Russians at Smolensk and Borodino, but wait too long after entering a deserted Moscow for Russia’s capitulation, which never comes. Retreat is the only option and a mere fifth of the army survive. Frank and Julian meet in Moscow under unexpected circumstances; one as the aid-de-camp to Sir Robert Wilson, the other having rescued the child of a Russian nobleman.
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2 out of 5 stars
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I...JUST....CANT
- By Heidi Schwarzinger on 09-24-23
By: G. A. Henty
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The King's Coat
- By: Dewey Lambdin
- Narrated by: John Lee
- Length: 13 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 732
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 627
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 620
It is 1780, and 17-year-old Alan Lewrie is a brash, rebellious young libertine. So much so that his callous father believes a bit of naval discipline will turn the boy around. Fresh aboard the tall-masted Ariadne, Midshipman Lewrie heads for the war-torn Americas, finding - rather unexpectedly - that he is a born sailor, equally at home with the randy pleasures of the port and the raging battles on the high seas. But in a hail of cannonballs comes a bawdy surprise.
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5 out of 5 stars
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"Sex, Swords, Sailing Ships"
- By Andrew on 05-16-10
By: Dewey Lambdin
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The Forest Laird
- A Tale of William Wallace - The Guardians, Book 1
- By: Jack Whyte
- Narrated by: David Monteath
- Length: 19 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 61
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 53
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 53
In the pre-dawn hours of August 24th, 1305, in London's Smithfield Prison, the outlaw William Wallace - hero of all the Scots and deadly enemy of King Edward of England - sits awaiting the dawn, when he is to be hanged and then drawn and quartered. This brutal sundering of his body is the revenge of the English. Wallace is visited by a Scottish priest who has come to hear his last confession, a priest who knows Wallace like a brother. Wallace's confession - the tale that follows - is all the more remarkable because it comes from real life.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Great Audiobook.
- By Thomas W Porter on 03-04-18
By: Jack Whyte
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Nights of the Witch
- War God, Book 1
- By: Graham Hancock
- Narrated by: Barnaby Edwards
- Length: 22 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 576
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 500
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 501
A young girl called Tozi stands at the bottom of a pyramid, waiting to be led to the top where her heart will be cut out.... Pepillo, a Spanish orphan who serves a sadistic Dominican friar, is aboard the Spanish fleet as it sails towards Mexico.... This is the epic story of the clash of two empires, two armies and two gods of war. Five hundred desperate adventurers are about to pit themselves against the most brutal armies of the ancient Americas, armies hundreds of thousands strong.
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5 out of 5 stars
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engaging story.
- By Dennis Lewis on 12-14-16
By: Graham Hancock
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Being George Washington
- By: Glenn Beck
- Narrated by: Ron McLarty
- Length: 9 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,218
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,074
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,079
If you think you know George Washington, think again. This is the amazing true story of a real-life superhero who wore no cape and possessed no special powers—yet changed the world forever. It's a story about a man whose life reads as if it were torn from the pages of an action novel: Bullet holes through his clothing. Horses shot out from under him. Unimaginable hardship. Disease. Heroism. Spies and double-agents. And, of course, the unmistakable hand of Divine Providence that guided it all.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Awe Inspiring!!
- By Bryce on 12-14-11
By: Glenn Beck
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War and Peace
- By: Leo Tolstoy
- Narrated by: Frederick Davidson
- Length: 61 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 4,841
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 3,871
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 3,810
Often called the greatest novel ever written, War and Peace is at once an epic of the Napoleonic wars, a philosophical study, and a celebration of the Russian spirit. Tolstoy's genius is clearly seen in the multitude of characters in this massive chronicle, all of them fully realized and equally memorable.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Glad I finally decided to read it
- By Plumeria on 09-25-05
By: Leo Tolstoy
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The Tudor Crown
- By: Joanna Hickson
- Narrated by: Karen Cass, Oliver J. Hembrough
- Length: 14 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 59
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 50
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 48
When Edward of York takes back the English crown, the Wars of the Roses scatter the Lancastrian nobility, and young Henry Tudor, with a strong claim to the throne, is forced into exile. Recently widowed and vulnerable, his mother, Lady Margaret Beaufort, forges an uncomfortable alliance with Edward’s Queen, Elizabeth Woodville. Swearing an oath of allegiance to York, Margaret agrees to marry the King’s shrewdest courtier, Lord Stanley. But can she tread the precarious line between duty to her husband, loyalty to her son, and her obligation to God and the King?
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5 out of 5 stars
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Another excellent book by Ms. Hickson
- By C. Abbott on 09-26-18
By: Joanna Hickson
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Midshipman Bolitho
- By: Alexander Kent
- Narrated by: Michael Jayston
- Length: 7 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 311
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 263
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 264
October 1772, Portsmouth. Sixteen-year-old Richard Bolitho waits to join the Gorgon, ordered to sail to the west coast of Africa and to destroy those who challenge the King's Navy. For Bolitho, and for many of the crew, it is a severe and testing initiation into the game of seamanship.
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3 out of 5 stars
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This is *not* the book advertised.
- By Robert Bolin on 08-26-16
By: Alexander Kent
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The Skystone
- Camulod Chronicles, Book 1
- By: Jack Whyte
- Narrated by: Kevin Pariseau
- Length: 21 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 776
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 693
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 690
Everyone knows the story-how Arthur pulled the sword from the stone, how Camelot came to be, and about the power struggles that ultimately destroyed Arthur's dreams. But what of the time before Arthur and the forces that created him?
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4 out of 5 stars
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Fascinating new series
- By Jim R. Whitt Jr. on 08-27-13
By: Jack Whyte