The Kingdoms
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Narrated by:
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Theo Solomon
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By:
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Natasha Pulley
About this listen
For fans of The 7 ½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle and David Mitchell, a genre bending, time twisting alternative history that asks whether it’s worth changing the past to save the future, even if it costs you everyone you’ve ever loved.
Joe Tournier has a bad case of amnesia. His first memory is of stepping off a train in the nineteenth-century French colony of England. The only clue Joe has about his identity is a century-old postcard of a Scottish lighthouse that arrives in London the same month he does. Written in illegal English—instead of French—the postcard is signed only with the letter “M,” but Joe is certain whoever wrote it knows him far better than he currently knows himself, and he’s determined to find the writer. The search for M, though, will drive Joe from French-ruled London to rebel-owned Scotland and finally onto the battle ships of a lost empire’s Royal Navy. Swept out to sea with a hardened British sea captain named Kite, who might know more about Joe’s past than he’s willing to let on, Joe will remake history, and himself.
From bestselling author Natasha Pulley, The Kingdoms is an epic, romantic, wildly original novel that bends genre as easily as it twists time.©2021 Natasha Pulley (P)2021 Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
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Critic reviews
"Pulley’s latest genre-bending feat (after The Lost Future of Pepperharrow) masterfully combines history, speculative fiction, queer romance and more into an unputdownable whole.... This is a stunner." (Publishers Weekly, starred review)
"Natasha Pulley’s The Kingdoms is an intricate plot, for sure, but you get swept up in the narrative. If this sounds like the type of book you’re drawn to - epic! time travel! history! - you know who you are." (Alma)
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Sometimes it clicks
- By Terry on 12-09-09
By: L. A. Meyer
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When Eight Bells Toll
- By: Alistair MacLean
- Narrated by: Jonathan Oliver
- Length: 10 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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From the acclaimed master of action and suspense. The all-time classic. Millions of pounds in gold bullion are being pirated in the Irish Sea. Investigations by the British Secret Service, and a sixth sense, have bought Philip Calvert to a bleak, lonely bay in the Western Highlands. But the sleepy atmosphere of Torbay is deceptive. The place is the focal point of many mysterious disappearances. Even the unimaginative Highland Police Sergeant seems to be acting a part. But why?
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My Favorite Thriller Writer
- By Carl on 09-27-17
By: Alistair MacLean
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The Lion at Sea
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Kelly Maguire knew from a young age that he could accomplish great things. As World War I begins, Kelly enlists in the Royal Navy, hoping to win both the war and glory. But from the barbarous battles of Gallipoli to the nightmarish action of Antwerp, Kelly learns the trials a soldier must face: trials that will forge him into a man. As the epic battle of Jutland approaches, everything is at stake.
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Great Navy Tale
- By David on 10-21-20
By: Max Hennessy
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Vampirates
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Conor and Grace are twins, recently orphaned after their widowed father's death. They decide to set sail for new pastures in their father's last possession, his sailboat. But a vicious storm capsizes their boat, and the twins are separated. Two mysterious ships sail to their rescue, each picking up one twin before disappearing into the mist. Conor wakes to find himself on a pirate ship; Grace finds herself locked in a darkened room, as the vampirates wait for night to fall and their feasting to begin.
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Decent... with a lackluster finale
- By Halbert on 11-29-07
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A Choir of Lies
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Three years ago, Ylfing watched his master-Chant tear a nation apart with nothing but the words on his tongue. Now Ylfing is all alone in a new realm, brokenhearted and grieving - but a Chant in his own right, employed as a translator to a wealthy merchant of luxury goods, Sterre de Waeyer. But Ylfing has been struggling to come to terms with what his master did, with the audiences he's been alienated from, and with the stories he can no longer trust himself to tell. That is, until Ylfing's employer finds out what he is, what he does, and what he knows.
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Really great book!!
- By Pamela McCabe on 03-22-20
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Flora Segunda
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In Ysabeau S. Wilce's exciting debut novel, Flora's mom is away, leaving Flora and her father home alone at Crackpot Hall with its 11,000 constantly shifting rooms. Late for school one day, Flora decides to take the elevator down to the first floor. But without her mother around, the elevator has ideas of its own and drops Flora in an unfamiliar room. Lost in her own house, Flora embarks on a harrowing quest to find her way back to where she started.
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Surprising and fun
- By Charlene on 10-13-07
By: Ysabeau S. Wilce
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Creative but hard to stay engaged in
- By Karissa Eckert on 11-26-17
By: Philip Reeve
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After two years at the Russian front, Ernst Graeber finally receives three weeks' leave. But since leaves have been canceled before, he decides not to write his parents, fearing he would just raise their hopes. Then, when Graeber arrives home, he finds his house bombed to ruin and his parents nowhere in sight. Nobody knows if they are dead or alive. As his leave draws to a close, Graeber reaches out to Elisabeth, a childhood friend.
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It’s a lot to take in.
- By Michael Cutler on 02-27-22
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The Murderer in Ruins
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Wasn't sure at first, but...
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By: Cay Rademacher
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She’s 14yrs old
- By Alex D. on 10-23-21
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Secrets in the Mist
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In a world where humanity lives in the sky to escape a deadly mist below, Cass’s only goal is survival. That is, until she finds a job on the airship Daedalus as a diver. Now she explores ruined cities, looking for treasure and people’s lost heirlooms until a young man hires her to find the impossible: a way to eradicate the Mist.
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Loved it!
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Night of the Fox
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In the fifth year of conflict, the master plan for the invasion of Hitler’s Channel stronghold is the Allies’ greatest secret. National security demands it doesn’t fall into enemy hands. So when Colonel Hugh Kelso is pulled from the sea off German-occupied Jersey in April 1944, a major crisis erupts. Because Kelso is still alive and knows the exact details of the imminent invasion, to ensure the success of their offensive, the Allies launch a suicidal mission to rescue the Colonel...or silence him forever.
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Glad it was a Daily Deal rather than full priced
- By Mark Hancock on 07-17-15
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Pietr the Latvian
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The first audiobook which appeared in Georges Simenon's famous Maigret series, in a gripping new translation by David Bellos.Inevitably Maigret was a hostile presence in the Majestic. He constituted a kind of foreign body that the hotel's atmosphere could not assimilate. Not that he looked like a cartoon policeman. He didn't have a moustache and he didn't wear heavy boots. His clothes were well cut and made of fairly light worsted. He shaved every day and looked after his hands. But his frame was proletarian. He was a big, bony man.
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Long live Maigret
- By Adeliese Baumann on 11-19-14
By: Georges Simenon, and others
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What listeners say about The Kingdoms
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- s. bee
- 10-30-24
A Beautiful
A masterpiece of a novel: genre-blending, thought provoking, socially and psychologically insightful, beautifully written and masterfully read!
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- Hunter Wade
- 08-28-21
Another fantastic novel from Natasha Pulley
Another fantastic book from Natasha Pulley!
I’d been looking forward to its release ever since I finished her last novel “The Lost Future of Pepperharrow”.
I highly recommend you listen to all her 4 novels starting with “Bedlam Stacks” - the narrator is fantastic as well.
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1 person found this helpful
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- unco
- 08-28-21
I wish I read it rather than listened
I am not sure my problem was with the narrator or the book in general. It was very difficult to follow the timeline via audio. I also found it very hard to differentiate between some of the characters. I liked Theo Solomon as a narrator but it was hard to tell at times just which character was speaking. Ultimately, I wish I had read the book.
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- psyence
- 03-10-22
Not her strongest work but still worth a read
Like the other folks, I do think it could have benefitted from a stronger performance and better character differentiation.
As for the story itself, I didn't really find the timelines super confusing, just wasn't sure about the protagonist's origin. Now, I rated this 4 stars because I do think the story meanders a bit more than it needs to and the characters aren't as focused as other ones she's written. That being said, if you can get through some of the less interesting stuff, I think all the twists loop back around nicely into something that makes sense and lets you see if your guesses about what were going on were right. So that was fun. I didn't think the chemistry was quite as good between the main characters in this one, but they grew on me after a while and things really picked up in the last couple chapters and end with a decent enough conclusion.
I would say this reads more like historical fiction than Sci fi, although it's hard to say it's fully either. And it's DEFINITELY not strictly a romance novel like some folks would have you believe. Oh sure there's the barest romantic plot thread throughout the thing, but it's no more blatant than Watchmaker. I actually feel like it could have been a little more obvious and still been fine. Trust me, I'm the kind of person who gets really bored with romance tropes easily, and it wasn't overly sappy or distracting or anything.
Anyway I mainly just like this story though because it feels like the target audience is the microscopic section of the Venn diagram where the circle of people who like Master and Commander a bit too much overlaps with the circle of people who would have liked Kingdom Hearts to be a lot gayer than it was. And if you also are inside that tiny group it'll scratch an itch for you too.
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- Amazon Customer
- 08-11-23
Absolutely wonderful
I think it best going into this book with as little background on it as possible. Super engaging and beautifully crafted story.
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- Pat
- 06-30-21
Fascinating story but not the performance needed
I have read all of Natasha Pulley's novels with delight both at the adventurous stories that she weaves and at the high quality and skill of her narrative writing. As other reviewers have said, the Kingdoms has a complex timeline and plot that is entertaining but also challenging to follow and figure out. Because of the various timelines and settings, a performance was needed that had consistent and clearly distinguished voices for the major characters. Theo Solomon makes everyone sound pretty much the same. He has a rasp to his voice that also shows up for all characters and never sounds quite natural but rather stylized. Mr. Solomon manages to make Joe Tournier sound quite whinny in his interactions with the other people he meets along with way. Joe's "why" sounds like that of a spoiled teenager rather than a confused adult. I'm now hoping that the book will be so popular and such a classic that it will get another and stronger performance some year soon.
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- Amazon Customer
- 09-06-21
A journey to remember
This is my favorite of N. Pulley’s books to date. The narrator was easy to listen to and plummeted me immediately into the maelstrom of the plot.
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- Kimberly Ligocki
- 08-07-21
Gay romance advertised as fantasy/sci-fi
I wish publishers would stop trying to cross books over from one category to another. This book is a romance novel with gay characters - the fantasy/alt-history is secondary. Just be aware so you can pick a book you will enjoy
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- Leah N. Cox
- 06-24-21
Satisfyingly Mysterious
I am an avid reader but I rarely write a review. This book deserved one and I have to say it was one of the best books I've read in a long time.The characters are engaging and the story interesting but the best part is the underlying mystery of the whole thing! You are never quite sure how all the different "Whens" tie together and I found myself pondering the plot even when not reading. I really enjoyed this book. Great read! I hope Ms. Pulley does more along this line.
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- Amazon Customer
- 09-02-22
WOW
PHENOMENAL. i went in totally blind at the recommendation of a friend and by the end i was so emotional, completely floored. what a beautiful story. if you're even a little interested, do not hesitate!!!
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