The Reavers
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The Reavers
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Narrated by:
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Bill Wallis
About this listen
Elizabethan England, and a dastardly Spanish plot to take over the throne is uncovered. It's up to Agent Archie Noble to save Queen and country in this saucy and swashbuckling romp from the bestselling author of The Flashman Papers and The Pyrates.
Spoiled, arrogant, filthy rich, and breathtakingly beautiful, the young Lady Godiva Dacre is exiled from the court of Good Queen Bess (who can't abide red-haired competition) to her lonely estate in distant Cumberland, where she looks forward to bullying the peasantry and getting her own imperious way. Little does she guess that the turbulent Scottish border is the last place for an Elizabethan heiress, beset by ruthless reivers (many of them unshaven), blackmailing ruffians, fiendish Spanish plotters intent on regime change and turning Merrie England into a ghastly European Union province.
And no one to rely on but her half-witted blonde school chum, a rugged English superman with a knack for disaster, and a dashing highwayman who looks like Errol Flynn but has a Glasgow accent. To say nothing of warlocks, impersonators, taxi-drivers riding brooms, burlesque artists, the drunkest man in Scotland, and several quite normal characters – oh, yes, gossips, it's all happening in The Reavers, a moral tale obviously conceived in some kind of fit by Flashman author George MacDonald Fraser … well, he's getting on, and was bound to crack eventually. He admits (nay, insists) that it's a crazy story for readers who love fun for its own sake.
©2007 George MacDonald Fraser (P)2007 HarperCollins Publishers Ltd, London UKListeners also enjoyed...
Critic reviews
Praise for Flashman on the March (HB):
'There is a little of Flashman in all of us – but not enough.' Evening Standard
'The Flashman Papers do what all great sagas do – winning new admirers along the way but never, ever betraying old ones. It is an immense achievement.' Sunday Telegraph
'In our crass, humourless, anaemic, politically correct age, there could be no better tonic or treat than the outrageous Flashy's bold descriptions of action in battle or bedroom. To relish George MacDonald Fraser is to rediscover the joy of reading.' Daily Telegraph
‘Everything we expect from a Flashman adventure is here: lechery, double-crossing, real people, the epic poltroonery from which Flashman emerges as saviour of the hour…my one complaint about the series – surely the great mock-historical romp of the past half-century – is that MacDonald Fraser does not add to it often enough.' Mail on Sunday
'A welcome reminder of a prolific, playful talent'
Seven
‘Entertaining stuff and actutely observed’
News of the World
What listeners say about The Reavers
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
- Christine
- 03-11-11
Wonderful!
What a surprise. I downloaded this because it was cheap and was historical but it ended up being one of my favourites! Bill Wallis is brilliant, and if you love language, you will love this.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Catharine Jones
- 17-01-20
A rollicking good read and brilliant audio book
I loved this book when i read it several years ago. But as a big fan of Bill Wallis I had to try the audible version and I was not disappointed. Thoroughly entertaining, at times laugh out loud, do yourself a favour and try this book.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- G. Walton
- 14-04-16
Made me laugh out loud
Fabulous characters with tongue firmly wedged in cheek. If you want historical niceties this isn't for you but it is very funny.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
- Mr
- 23-08-12
GMF Enjoying himself
Really good fun and the narrator Bill Willis sticks to the accents of the book, with hysterical results. It can be a bit difficult to hear when you first get stared but the ear soon tunes in.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
- Rachel
- 05-07-09
OK, but certainly not 5*
I downloaded The Reavers on the basis of its two, existing 5 star reviews and the fact that I've loved the Flashman books in the past. How disappointing. I've only listened to an hour of the eight so far, and I'm not sure whether I'll continue. So far it's taken an awfully long time for the plot to start developing, but it is well read, and the voice characterisations are very good. It's not great on historical detail and there are some curiously modern pop culture references, but some of the humour is quite engaging.
All in all, not a five star audio book by any stretch of the imagination, but bits are quite fun.
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5 people found this helpful
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
- Sara
- 08-06-10
Fans of GMF - do not listen to this book!
I am afraid to say that this is an awful book. I am a great fan of GMF, especially his Flashman novels, and assumed this would be up to his usual fantastic standards. Unfortunately, despite the introductions claims that this book is merely a humourous poke at how seriously life is taken nowadays, there are just a spattering of genuinely funny moments in an otherwise slapstick mess.
The action is all over the place and the insistence of the author to write in the regional accent of the character clearly made reading it beyond the talents of the narrator. The narrator faithfully reads the text exactly as it is written, apostrophes and all, rather than naturally adopting the accent as it is intended - this renders some of the passages absolutely unintelligable. Anachronistic references to technology and pop culture only detract from the story and are just not funny.
This is the late, great authors last offering, and the positive reviews the book received are, I believe, testament to the warm affection that people held for the author rather than any actual literary merit. Sorry.
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3 people found this helpful