Heart breaking narrator

If you could sum up The Nature of the Beast in three words, what would they be?

Page turner, maybe overwrought

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

Yes

How could the performance have been better?

This narrator does not, from my perspective, understand Three Pines or the people who live there, We need someone who loves the place, the people, not someone who understands Shakespearian overstatement

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

In the sense it was a page turner.

50 people found this helpful

Try again, Ms. Penny!

I am an Inspector Gamache fan. I have listened to the entire series. In the introduction to this latest novel Louise Penny introduces the new narrator for the series. She says they did a thorough search for the replacement for Ralph Cosham, who sadly passed away. I say look harder. Robert Bathurst is a terrible choice and nearly ruined the story for me. I read the second half of the book rather than listened.. He was annoying, read to fast and made no attempt to characterize voices. The story is another good one for fans but my advice is to read it and spare yourself the disappointment.

62 people found this helpful

Really miss Ralph Cosham.....so sad :(

Takes a while to get used to a new voice and the experience is different but that is to be expected. Story is excellent as per usual and really wish I good visit 3 Pines....maybe some small Quebec town will be in for a name change soon....;). I still recommend.

34 people found this helpful

Great story, poor narration

Would you consider the audio edition of The Nature of the Beast to be better than the print version?

With Ralph Cosham, audio edition a great experience. New narrator gets in the way.

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

Typical Three Pines plot. These aren't really thrillers. More about the characters and they remain interesting.

Would you be willing to try another one of Robert Bathurst’s performances?

Maybe if matched with the right book. His stiff, plummy British voice, with little distinction among characters, is out of place. His Gamache is no longer the kind, easy-going French Canadian. He's been turned into a cardboard tough guy. I don't think that's who he is supposed to be.

54 people found this helpful

Another great book from Louise Penny

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

If there were any better, well developed characters in a series, I cannot find them. I have enjoyed every single book and this one does not fail to keep me tuned in.

Who was your favorite character and why?

This simply cannot be limited to a single character. Throughout the series, each character is fully developed and given palpable weaknesses and strengths that endear them to the reader. Of course, Ruth with her profanity (and duck) always cause me to smile...

Have you listened to any of Robert Bathurst’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Mr. Bathhurst certainly applies himself, but the talents of the previous narrator (who we still mourn), Mr. Ralph Cosham, simply cannot be outdone. Missing are the slight pauses in the dialogue to hold or create tension, the exquisite plasticity of Mr. Cosham's voice as he read for Ruth in that sharp yet mildly tremulous manner, the softness of Madame Gamache, the slightly ditzy but sincere Clara, the strong/deep and calming Myrna. Mr. Bathhurst - please slow down a bit and let the story flow a bit more gently, and let each of the characters have a voice.

Any additional comments?

Such an amazing author and amazing series - I look forward to the next!

25 people found this helpful

Poor Choice for Narrator

I have every Inspector Gamache Audible production. I also have read every book before I listen to the audio production. In this case I am so glad I do so as I am not sure I would have bought this book had I not. The book is wonderful, the audio production is not. Replacing Ralph Cosham would be a very difficult task. However, this is awful. The accent is so overly British it has no Canadian flavor. The voice is too high. The characters all sound as if I am listening to A Christmas Carol. I hope they will consider other narrators. I doubt I will order any more as this ruins a wonderful story.

23 people found this helpful

Awful narration.

Is there anything you would change about this book?

Where is Gamache's French accent? Why is the narrator reading so fast? I think I'll have to start reading the books instead of listening to audio if this narrator isn't replaced. He has a nice voice but not for this series. Please keep auditioning for a more Ralph Cosham-like voice. I can't even finish listening to this audio book it's so bad.

Who was your favorite character and why?

No one.

What didn’t you like about Robert Bathurst’s performance?

He has a nice voice but not for the Gamache series.

Do you think The Nature of the Beast needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

No idea. I couldn't finish it due to the poor narration.

Any additional comments?

Please please please get a new narrator for this series.

21 people found this helpful

Love this series but so miss Ralph Cosham-narrator

What did you like best about this story?

I liked hearing the voices of "my" old friend in Three Pines, and seeing the murder team work together again in their unique and dynamic way. I don't like apocalyptic tales, and was unsure this book would work for me, but as the story unfolded I enjoyed the familiar relationships and the healing process that is reuniting them. Some of the new characters didn't seemed fleshed out enough to make them matter, but the story was seamless in it's telling and satisfied my addiction to the series.

What does Robert Bathurst bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

He did an excellent job, truly an above average job at narration; but the aged and intelligent voice of Ralph Cosham so fit the character of Inspector Gamache that I struggled in believing the younger sounding voice of Mr. Bathurst.

6 people found this helpful

Story and Narration Disappointing

The story was disjointed, it didn't flow as most of the Gamache books do, and seems to have departed from the usual depiction of the characters. I added a star after listening to the interview with Ms.Penny at the end. Calling the rocket launcher a "big gun" was preposterous and amateurish, until I read that the story was based in fact! There really was a Project Babylon, the "supergun" weapon was really called a big gun! So I added the star.

But I really didn't care for the story. It hopped around among the characters, added a murder, touched a few wars - WW11, Vietnam, Iraq, sprinkled in some political notes - draft dodgers receiving asylum in Canada (with the aid of Ruth and Monsieur Belleveau no less - and was hard to follow. For that reason it also tended to lose my interest.

I also question whether or not Gamache is going in a new direction: does he perceive himself as having retired from the Surete because he lost his nerve? The story seems to suggest that he does, particularly in the passages where he's talking to the female spy.

Also, I couldn't understand what was so terrifying about the prisoner. The reason was never really presented, unless I missed it. What the reader sees is the Three Pines contingent of the Surete trembling as if he was Satan incarnate, but why? All he has to do is look at Gamache, and Gamache shakes in his shoes! Is this part of Gamache' new direction? It seemed uncharacteristic for the character up to this point.

Robert Bathurst has a tough row to hoe, following Ralph Cosham as the narrator. Bathurst isn't a bad narrator, nor is he a particularly good one, at least, not for this series. He doesn't do characters much, and when he does, they are harsh and rather guttural. Ruth and Gamache sounded the same in my ear. Where was Jean Guy Beauvoir? Because of the narraotor's style, Jean Guy was almost lost in the telling. The repetition of the discovery and presence of the "big gun" in sleepy Three Pines in his voice actually got on my nerves. Also, his British accent just was too jarring, it didn't fit either Canada or Quebec.

I hope another narrator is hired for the next book.

So, overall, despite the factual underpinnings for the story, this is the only book in the series that I didn't really enjoy, and was glad to finish. I certainly wouldn't recommend it to anyone as an entree into Three Pines.

33 people found this helpful

Well, that was different!

The storyline is certainly not what I have come to expect from Louise Penny. Three Pines is as much or more a part of the story as usual, but the tie to war armaments and Saddam Hussain is unexpected. Still, the book is quite good and should please Louise Penny fans.

Due to his death last year Ralph Cosham is no longer Penny's narrator. Robert Bathurst does a nice job, but the voice of some of the characters is different from Cosham's.

18 people found this helpful