Colin James
- 28
- reviews
- 37
- helpful votes
- 99
- ratings
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Getting Nowhere Fast: Series 1-3
- A BBC Radio 4 Comedy
- By: Mervyn Stutter
- Narrated by: Mervyn Stutter, Lill Roughley, Martin Freeman, and others
- Length: 6 hrs and 32 mins
- Original Recording
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 1
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 1
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Story3 out of 5 stars 1
When Merv and Pam got divorced, that should have been the end of their relationship. But here they are, trying to turn a veggie-and-vodka bistro in a cyber café, while Merv is still living in Pam's front garden in a small caravan. Merv's dreams of being a rock star failed a long time ago, so the Cyber Pass is now his only hope.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Diverting. Formulaic. Silly. Fun.
- By Colin James on 20-02-2023
- Getting Nowhere Fast: Series 1-3
- A BBC Radio 4 Comedy
- By: Mervyn Stutter
- Narrated by: Mervyn Stutter, Lill Roughley, Martin Freeman, Tracy-Ann Oberman, John Challis, Christopher Etteridge, Michael Mears, Gyuri Sarossy, Geoffrey Given, full cast
Diverting. Formulaic. Silly. Fun.
Reviewed: 20-02-2023
Not burdened with subtlety. Energetic. Cast give it their all. The South African 'chick' skirts close to the current winds of political correctness.
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Geneva
- By: Richard Armitage
- Narrated by: Richard Armitage, Nicola Walker, Jane Perry
- Length: 8 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,935
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,792
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,791
Nobel Prize-winning scientist Sarah Collier has taken a step back from work to spend more time with her family. Movie nights with her husband Daniel and their daughter Maddie are a welcome respite from the scrutiny of the world’s press. As much as it hurts, it’s good to be able to see her father more too. He’s suffering from Alzheimer’s and needs special care. Sarah has started to show tell-tale signs of the disease too. She’s been experiencing blackouts and memory loss. It’s early days but she must face the possibility that she won’t be there to see her daughter grow up.
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5 out of 5 stars
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In a different league!
- By Miss B V Ash on 14-12-2022
- Geneva
- By: Richard Armitage
- Narrated by: Richard Armitage, Nicola Walker, Jane Perry
Simply superb.
Reviewed: 03-11-2022
Before I get to the story, let me talk about the narration.
The combination of Richard Armitage, Nicola Walker and Jane Perry was inspired casting.
The characters was beautifully rendered in sound. Award winning stuff.
This is Richard's first novel?
Amazing. The command of plot, structure, pacing supported by evocative, spare language meant my imagination had no option but to perfectly compose scene after scene.
I listened to the book on my drive from Melbourne to Sydney... Thank heavens it's dual carriageway most of the journey.
Get Geneva now.
Stunning.
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No Plan B
- Jack Reacher, Book 27
- By: Lee Child, Andrew Child
- Narrated by: Jeff Harding
- Length: 10 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 626
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 575
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Story4 out of 5 stars 575
Gerrardsville, Colorado. One tragic event. Two witnesses. Two conflicting accounts. One witness sees a woman throw herself in front of a bus—clearly suicide. The other witness is Jack Reacher. And he sees what really happened—a man in grey hoodie and jeans, swift and silent as a shadow, pushed the victim to her death, before grabbing her bag and sauntering away. Reacher follows the killer on foot, not knowing that this was no random act of violence. It is part of something much bigger.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Very disappointing
- By Vicki Thomas on 30-10-2022
- No Plan B
- Jack Reacher, Book 27
- By: Lee Child, Andrew Child
- Narrated by: Jeff Harding
Reacher said nothing.
Reviewed: 31-10-2022
The formula is now dominant. Paint by numbers. Even Jeff Harding sounded bored.
Time for Jack Reacher to actually lose a fight and retire.
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From the Oasthouse: The Alan Partridge Podcast (Series 2)
- An Audible Original
- By: Alan Partridge
- Narrated by: Alan Partridge
- Length: 4 hrs and 15 mins
- Original Recording
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 189
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 166
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 167
Alan returns to podcasting, offering his unique perspective on life’s big questions, the hot-button issues of the day, his professional successes and the most intimate details of his personal life in a series he is already calling ‘seminal’. The second series will come partly from the oasthouse—in order to satisfy people who'd rather he didn’t mess with the format—and partly from other locations—to appeal to those who found the original format a bit limiting.
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3 out of 5 stars
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not a patch on series 1 but it does pick up.
- By My parsley has legs! on 22-09-2022
- From the Oasthouse: The Alan Partridge Podcast (Series 2)
- An Audible Original
- By: Alan Partridge
- Narrated by: Alan Partridge
Felt a little lazy - compared to Series One
Reviewed: 25-09-2022
Series One was flat-out brilliant. Devastatingly funny in the laugh-out-loud while grimacing way.
Series Two is underdone and feels like a contract fulfillment rather than the tour-de-force delivered in Series One.
This suffers by contrast. If Series One weren't so damn good, I would have scored 5's.
Coogan is a genius, though.
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Cutters End
- By: Margaret Hickey
- Narrated by: Bianca Bradey, Henry Nixon
- Length: 9 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 341
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 324
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 324
New Year's Eve, 1989. Eighteen-year-old Ingrid Mathers is hitchhiking her way to Alice Springs. Bored, hungover and separated from her friend, Joanne, she accepts a lift to the remote town of Cutters End. July 2021. Detective Sergeant Mark Ariti is seconded to a recently reopened case, one in which he has a personal connection. Three decades ago, a burnt and broken body was discovered in scrub off the Stuart Highway, 300 kilometres south of Cutters End. Though ultimately ruled an accidental death, many people - including a high-profile celebrity - are convinced it was murder.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Fabulous Australian Mystery
- By ric chivers on 17-09-2021
- Cutters End
- By: Margaret Hickey
- Narrated by: Bianca Bradey, Henry Nixon
Intelligent. Stark. Engrossing.
Reviewed: 30-06-2022
What a great piece of story telling. Superbly narrated, with Henry Nixon demonstrating his incredible character range, supported by smart audio production, I urge you to purchase this book immediately.
The Australian voice in storytelling is a fickle thing. Margaret Hickey, like Tim Winton, understands the need for uncluttered writing. Superb.
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2 people found this helpful
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Wake
- By: Shelley Burr
- Narrated by: Jacquie Brennan
- Length: 10 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 781
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 719
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 718
The small town of Nannine lies in the harsh red interior of New South Wales. Once a thriving outback centre, years of punishing drought have whittled it down to no more than a couple of pubs and a police station. And its one sinister claim to fame: the still-unsolved disappearance of Evelyn McCreery 19 years ago from the bedroom she shared with her twin sister. Mina McCreery's life has been defined by the intense and ongoing public interest in her sister's case. Now an anxious and reclusive adult, Mina lives alone on her family's sunbaked destocked sheep farm.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Seriously good.
- By Colin James on 24-05-2022
- Wake
- By: Shelley Burr
- Narrated by: Jacquie Brennan
Seriously good.
Reviewed: 24-05-2022
I listen to audiobooks every day... I go back to boxed cassettes days, hauling bulky boxes of cassettes around with me. The Walkman was a game-changer with books on CD's and then along came the iPod.
I have been an Audible member since 2008... we are talking over 1000 audio books easily.
Some books stick. Locked into consciousness.
Wake will be one of those. Brilliant.
Simply great storytelling by Shelley Burr.
Superb narration by Jacquie Brennan.
Get it now.
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24 people found this helpful
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Lolly Scramble: A Memoir of Little Consequence
- By: Tony Martin
- Narrated by: Tony Martin
- Length: 7 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 79
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 73
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Story5 out of 5 stars 73
Comedian Tony Martin has strip-mined his often unremarkable life to tell 16 small tales fraught with laughter and detail. Choosing to ignore his many dubious achievements in the world of Australian show business (Martin/Molloy, The Late Show) and a short-lived but torrid affair with Sharon on Kath & Kim, New Zealand-born Martin instead recalls dozens of tiny life-changing moments that, frankly, could have happened to anybody.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Get this book!
- By Anonymous User on 14-02-2021
- Lolly Scramble: A Memoir of Little Consequence
- By: Tony Martin
- Narrated by: Tony Martin
Delightful...
Reviewed: 19-05-2022
Tony Martin is a yarnster of the highest order. I rarely laugh out loud, but Tony had me guffawing... particularly the story of the car bingle...
Now I know how he has such vocal range on Sizzletown podcast.
Awaiting the next instalment...
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Turning Around a Troubled School
- A Journey of School Renewal
- By: Peter Hutton
- Narrated by: Les Horovitz
- Length: 4 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 5
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 5
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Story5 out of 5 stars 5
Turning Around a Troubled School is the story of a very public leadership challenge in reversing the fortunes of a failing government school in the affluent eastern suburbs of Melbourne, Australia. The school population had crashed from over 1,000 students to just over 250, and the school had been given only 12 months to turn around, otherwise it would be closed. Peter Hutton, a new principal with a bold vision, took on the task. Eight years later, the population had grown to over 1,000, and the school was recognized internationally as one of the most innovative in the world.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Refreshing
- By Anonymous User on 12-05-2023
- Turning Around a Troubled School
- A Journey of School Renewal
- By: Peter Hutton
- Narrated by: Les Horovitz
This about leadership... not just schools
Reviewed: 16-05-2022
Red line.
White pointers.
Know names.
Just some of the practical principles used in turning a failing school into one that is regarded internationally as one of the most innovative progressive schools focused on student empowerment and student centred learning.
Peter shares a remarkable journey with evidence based ideas that work in any context.
Brilliant book.
Les Horovitz is an excellent narrator.
Highly recommended.
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Satori
- By: Trevanian, Don Winslow
- Narrated by: Holter Graham
- Length: 12 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 20
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 19
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 19
Japan 1951. After spending the last three years in solitary confinement for the murder of his mentor, Nicholai Hel is offered the chance of freedom - but at a price. Overseen by his American spymaster and the beautiful and mysterious Solange, he must travel to China and assassinate the Soviet Union's commissioner. In a landscape primed for war this is a suicide mission he has no choice but to accept. From the glittering corruption of Beijing to the darkest shadows of the Vietnam jungle, his mission will sweep him through a world of chaos, violence and betrayal.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Wonderful Prequel
- By tesslinger on 25-11-2022
- Satori
- By: Trevanian, Don Winslow
- Narrated by: Holter Graham
A hard act to follow
Reviewed: 12-05-2022
Roger Whittaker had such a unique voice. When l first read Trevanian's Shibumi, the effect on my 18 year old mind was profound. It influenced my world view. Winslow does a stirling effort... however it felt a little manufactured. Holder Graham is an outstanding narrator.
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Moonflower Murders
- Magpie Murders, Book 2
- By: Anthony Horowitz
- Narrated by: Lesley Manville, Allan Corduner
- Length: 18 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 369
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 340
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 338
Retired publisher Susan Ryeland is living the good life. She is running a small hotel on a Greek island with her long-term boyfriend, Andreas. It should be everything she's always wanted - but is it? She's exhausted with the responsibilities of making everything work on an island where nothing ever does, and truth be told she's beginning to miss her old life in London.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Fabulous, but listen to Magpie Murders first
- By Dee-Dee L. on 31-08-2020
- Moonflower Murders
- Magpie Murders, Book 2
- By: Anthony Horowitz
- Narrated by: Lesley Manville, Allan Corduner
Both Narrators are exceptional. The story is solid
Reviewed: 26-04-2022
Lesley and Allan are superb narrators... bringing life and distinction to the characters. Always a wonderful experience to be led by masterful performers of the written text.
I listened to both books in the Magpie Murders series back to back. Moonflower has the usual Horowitz dexterity, however, it was a tad indulgent at the end. Anthony Horowitz wanted to show us his workings, to demonstrate his smarts, however, it became a tad obvious. I picked the guilty parties early on so the final denouement was not a surprise.
It was a major time commitment, so was not fully sated at the end.
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1 person found this helpful