
The Good, the Bad and the Smug
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
$0.99/mo for the first 3 months

Buy for $18.15
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Ray Sawyer
-
By:
-
Tom Holt
About this listen
New Evil. Same as the Old Evil, but with better PR.
Mordak isn't bad as far as goblin kings go, but when someone or something starts pumping gold into the human kingdoms, it puts his rule into serious jeopardy. Suddenly he's locked in an arms race with a species whose arms he once considered merely part of a healthy breakfast.
He goes looking for the truth behind these sudden riches, accompanied by an elf with a background in journalism (she'll get the hang of 'truth' eventually), but the two will discover that the difference between human and goblin, and between good and evil itself, is far more complicated than it appears.
©2015 One Reluctant Lemming Company Ltd (P)2015 Isis AudiobooksListeners also enjoyed...
-
An Orc on the Wild Side
- By: Tom Holt
- Narrated by: Ray Sawyer
- Length: 13 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Being the Dark Lord and Prince of Evil is not as much fun as it sounds, particularly if you are a basically decent person. King Mordak is just such a person. Technically he's more goblin than person, but the point is that he is really keen to be a lot less despicable than his predecessors. Not that the other goblins appreciate Mordak's attempts to redefine the role. Why should they when his new healthcare program seems designed to actually extend life expectancy, and his efforts to end a perfectly reasonable war with the dwarves appear to have become an obsession?
-
-
Silly not Funny
- By Patrick on 11-15-20
By: Tom Holt
-
The Management Style of the Supreme Beings
- By: Tom Holt
- Narrated by: Ray Sawyer
- Length: 13 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When the Supreme Being and his son decide that being supreme isn't for them anymore, it's inevitable that things get a bit of a shake-up. It soon becomes apparent that our new owners, the Venturi brothers, have a very different perspective on all sorts of things. Take good and evil, for example. For them, it's an outdated concept that never worked particularly well in the first place.
-
-
not his best but still enjoyable
- By ton on 11-19-17
By: Tom Holt
-
Starter Villain
- By: John Scalzi
- Narrated by: Wil Wheaton
- Length: 8 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Inheriting your uncle's supervillain business is more complicated than you might think. Particularly when you discover who's running the place. Charlie's life is going nowhere fast. A divorced substitute teacher living with his cat in a house his siblings want to sell, all he wants is to open a pub downtown, if only the bank will approve his loan. Then his long-lost uncle Jake dies and leaves his supervillain business (complete with island volcano lair) to Charlie. But becoming a supervillain isn't all giant laser death rays and lava pits.
-
-
Volcanic Lairs, Death Rays & Cats… Oh My! 😼
- By C. White on 09-19-23
By: John Scalzi
-
The Colour of Magic
- Discworld, Book 1
- By: Terry Pratchett
- Narrated by: Colin Morgan, Peter Serafinowicz, Bill Nighy
- Length: 7 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Somewhere on the frontier between thought and reality exists the Discworld, a parallel time and place that might sound and smell very much like our own, but which looks completely different. Particularly as it’s carried though space on the back of a giant turtle (sex unknown). It plays by different rules. But then, some things are the same everywhere. The Disc’s very existence is about to be threatened by a strange new blight: the world’s first tourist, upon whose survival rests the peace and prosperity of the land.
-
-
TERRIBLE Narration!
- By Kayla I on 07-08-22
By: Terry Pratchett
-
Translation State
- By: Ann Leckie
- Narrated by: Adjoa Andoh
- Length: 12 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Enae's grandmaman passes away, Enae inherits something unexpected: a diplomatic assignment to track down a fugitive who has been missing for over 200 years. No one actually expects Enae to succeed; it's an empty assignment meant to keep hir occupied. But Enae has never had a true purpose—no one ever expected hir to do more than care for grandmaman—so sie is determined to accomplish this task to the best of her ability.
-
-
Single themed and not on par with the series
- By Andrew Pollack on 07-01-23
By: Ann Leckie
-
Mogworld
- By: Yahtzee Croshaw
- Narrated by: Yahtzee Croshaw
- Length: 13 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In a world full to bursting with would-be heroes, Jim couldn't be less interested in saving the day. His fireballs fizzle. He's awfully grumpy. Plus, he's been dead for about sixty years. When a renegade necromancer wrenches him from eternal slumber and into a world gone terribly, bizarrely wrong, all Jim wants is to find a way to die properly, once and for all. On his side, he's got a few shambling corpses, an inept thief, and a powerful death wish. But he's up against tough odds....
-
-
An unexpected amount of punctuation
- By James M. Orlando on 03-24-23
By: Yahtzee Croshaw
-
An Orc on the Wild Side
- By: Tom Holt
- Narrated by: Ray Sawyer
- Length: 13 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Being the Dark Lord and Prince of Evil is not as much fun as it sounds, particularly if you are a basically decent person. King Mordak is just such a person. Technically he's more goblin than person, but the point is that he is really keen to be a lot less despicable than his predecessors. Not that the other goblins appreciate Mordak's attempts to redefine the role. Why should they when his new healthcare program seems designed to actually extend life expectancy, and his efforts to end a perfectly reasonable war with the dwarves appear to have become an obsession?
-
-
Silly not Funny
- By Patrick on 11-15-20
By: Tom Holt
-
The Management Style of the Supreme Beings
- By: Tom Holt
- Narrated by: Ray Sawyer
- Length: 13 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When the Supreme Being and his son decide that being supreme isn't for them anymore, it's inevitable that things get a bit of a shake-up. It soon becomes apparent that our new owners, the Venturi brothers, have a very different perspective on all sorts of things. Take good and evil, for example. For them, it's an outdated concept that never worked particularly well in the first place.
-
-
not his best but still enjoyable
- By ton on 11-19-17
By: Tom Holt
-
Starter Villain
- By: John Scalzi
- Narrated by: Wil Wheaton
- Length: 8 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Inheriting your uncle's supervillain business is more complicated than you might think. Particularly when you discover who's running the place. Charlie's life is going nowhere fast. A divorced substitute teacher living with his cat in a house his siblings want to sell, all he wants is to open a pub downtown, if only the bank will approve his loan. Then his long-lost uncle Jake dies and leaves his supervillain business (complete with island volcano lair) to Charlie. But becoming a supervillain isn't all giant laser death rays and lava pits.
-
-
Volcanic Lairs, Death Rays & Cats… Oh My! 😼
- By C. White on 09-19-23
By: John Scalzi
-
The Colour of Magic
- Discworld, Book 1
- By: Terry Pratchett
- Narrated by: Colin Morgan, Peter Serafinowicz, Bill Nighy
- Length: 7 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Somewhere on the frontier between thought and reality exists the Discworld, a parallel time and place that might sound and smell very much like our own, but which looks completely different. Particularly as it’s carried though space on the back of a giant turtle (sex unknown). It plays by different rules. But then, some things are the same everywhere. The Disc’s very existence is about to be threatened by a strange new blight: the world’s first tourist, upon whose survival rests the peace and prosperity of the land.
-
-
TERRIBLE Narration!
- By Kayla I on 07-08-22
By: Terry Pratchett
-
Translation State
- By: Ann Leckie
- Narrated by: Adjoa Andoh
- Length: 12 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Enae's grandmaman passes away, Enae inherits something unexpected: a diplomatic assignment to track down a fugitive who has been missing for over 200 years. No one actually expects Enae to succeed; it's an empty assignment meant to keep hir occupied. But Enae has never had a true purpose—no one ever expected hir to do more than care for grandmaman—so sie is determined to accomplish this task to the best of her ability.
-
-
Single themed and not on par with the series
- By Andrew Pollack on 07-01-23
By: Ann Leckie
-
Mogworld
- By: Yahtzee Croshaw
- Narrated by: Yahtzee Croshaw
- Length: 13 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In a world full to bursting with would-be heroes, Jim couldn't be less interested in saving the day. His fireballs fizzle. He's awfully grumpy. Plus, he's been dead for about sixty years. When a renegade necromancer wrenches him from eternal slumber and into a world gone terribly, bizarrely wrong, all Jim wants is to find a way to die properly, once and for all. On his side, he's got a few shambling corpses, an inept thief, and a powerful death wish. But he's up against tough odds....
-
-
An unexpected amount of punctuation
- By James M. Orlando on 03-24-23
By: Yahtzee Croshaw
-
Son of the Black Sword
- Saga of the Forgotten Warrior, Book 1
- By: Larry Correia
- Narrated by: Tim Gerard Reynolds
- Length: 16 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
After the War of the Gods, the demons were cast out and fell to the world. Mankind was nearly eradicated by the seemingly unstoppable beasts until the gods sent the great hero, Ramrowan, to save them. He united the tribes, gave them magic, and drove the demons into the sea. Ever since, the land has belonged to man, and the oceans have remained an uncrossable hell, leaving the continent of Lok isolated.
-
-
Woo'd & Won
- By Toriangirl on 11-06-15
By: Larry Correia
-
Two Necromancers, a Bureaucrat, and an Army of Golems
- An Unconventional Heroes Publisher's Pack
- By: L. G. Estrella
- Narrated by: Fred Berman
- Length: 13 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Timothy Walter Bolton - better known as Timmy - has spent most of his life as a necromancer. When he isn't terrorising his enemies, he's plotting inside his castle, which is built on top of lightless chasms filled with nameless horrors and beings of a generally malevolent and megalomaniacal nature. But after one of his latest creations, a zombie hydra-dragon-bear, tries to eat him, he decides that maybe it's time to find a new, less dangerous, career.
-
-
Sound Editing Needed
- By Robert on 05-29-20
By: L. G. Estrella
-
Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City
- The Siege, Book 1
- By: K. J. Parker
- Narrated by: Ray Sawyer
- Length: 13 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A siege is approaching, and the city has little time to prepare. The people have no food and no weapons, and the enemy has sworn to slaughter them all. To save the city will take a miracle, but what it has is Orhan. A colonel of engineers, Orhan has far more experience with bridge building than battles, is a cheat and a liar, and has a serious problem with authority. He is, in other words, perfect for the job.
-
-
An Adventure the Questions Empire
- By Joe Kraus on 01-29-20
By: K. J. Parker
-
Forging Hephaestus
- Villains' Code Series, Book 1
- By: Drew Hayes
- Narrated by: Amy Landon
- Length: 26 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Gifted with meta-human powers, Tori Rivas kept away from the limelight, preferring to work as a thief in the shadows. But when she's captured trying to rob a vault that belongs to a secret guild of villains, she's offered a hard choice: prove she has what it takes to join them or be eliminated. Apprenticed to one of the world's most powerful (and supposedly dead) villains, she is thrust into a strange world where the lines that divide superheroes and criminals are more complex than they seem.
-
-
A Nice Surprise with some Really Fun Characters
- By Small Mountain on 09-29-17
By: Drew Hayes
-
Will Save the Galaxy for Food
- By: Yahtzee Croshaw
- Narrated by: Yahtzee Croshaw
- Length: 10 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Space travel just isn't what it used to be. With the invention of quantum teleportation, space heroes aren't needed anymore. When one particularly unlucky ex-adventurer masquerades as famous pilot and hate figure Jacques McKeown, he's sucked into an ever-deepening corporate and political intrigue. Between space pirates, adorable deadly creatures, and a missing fortune in royalties, saving the universe was never this difficult!
-
-
Great
- By K. F. on 03-09-17
By: Yahtzee Croshaw
-
The Utterly Uninteresting and Unadventurous Tales of Fred, the Vampire Accountant (Dramatized Adaptation)
- By: Drew Hayes
- Narrated by: full cast, Christopher Walker, Nora Achrati, and others
- Length: 5 hrs and 53 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Some people are born boring. Some live boring. Some even die boring. Fred managed to do all three, and when he woke up as a vampire, he did so as a boring one. Timid, socially awkward, and plagued by self-esteem issues, Fred has never been the adventurous sort. One fateful night, Fred reconnects with an old friend at his high school reunion. This rekindled relationship sets off a chain of events thrusting him right into the chaos that is the parahuman world.
-
-
No Kirby means No Fred
- By Rubin S. Bashir on 01-04-21
By: Drew Hayes
-
Mission Clockwork: The Complete Series
- Mission Clockwork, Books 1-4
- By: Arthur Slade
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 29 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The complete collection of the best-selling Mission Clockwork series, a steampunk-powered, action-packed adventure featuring brilliant heroes and bloody brilliant villains.
-
-
Why is this not advertised as for teens and kids?
- By 🔥 Phx17 🔥 on 04-28-23
By: Arthur Slade
-
Something Fresh
- By: P. G. Wodehouse
- Narrated by: Jonathan Cecil
- Length: 7 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The one thing that could be expected to disturb the peace of life at Blandings is the incursion of imposters. Blandings has imposters like other houses have mice. On this occasion there are two of them--both intent on a dangerous enterprise.
-
-
So That's Where "Upstairs, Downstairs" Came From!
- By Beverly on 01-26-12
By: P. G. Wodehouse
-
Good Omens
- By: Neil Gaiman, Terry Pratchett
- Narrated by: Martin Jarvis
- Length: 12 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The world will end on Saturday. Next Saturday. Just before dinner, according to The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch, the world's only completely accurate book of prophecies, written in 1655. The armies of Good and Evil are amassing and everything appears to be going according to Divine Plan. Except that a somewhat fussy angel and a fast-living demon are not actually looking forward to the coming Rapture. And someone seems to have misplaced the Antichrist.
-
-
At long last!!
- By Mike From Mesa on 11-21-09
By: Neil Gaiman, and others
-
Off to Be the Wizard
- Magic 2.0, Book 1
- By: Scott Meyer
- Narrated by: Luke Daniels
- Length: 10 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It's a simple story. Boy finds proof that reality is a computer program. Boy uses program to manipulate time and space. Boy gets in trouble. Boy flees back in time to Medieval England to live as a wizard while he tries to think of a way to fix things. Boy gets in more trouble. Oh, and boy meets girl at some point.
-
-
Hang in there
- By Kelly on 03-04-17
By: Scott Meyer
-
True Grift
- By: Jack Bunker
- Narrated by: Harry Dyson
- Length: 7 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A bankrupt lawyer and a greedy insurance adjuster concoct a personal injury scam involving a runaway grocery cart and recruit a half-wit golf course greenskeeper as their fall guy. But the plan goes horribly wrong, and as it spirals into a murderous fiasco, the grifters must deal with betrayals, shakedowns, bombs, and mobsters to avoid prison...or worse, an early grave in a Southern California landfill.
-
-
Entertaining Listen!!!
- By Jan M on 04-27-17
By: Jack Bunker
-
The Magicians
- A Novel
- By: Lev Grossman
- Narrated by: Mark Bramhall
- Length: 17 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Quentin Coldwater is brilliant but miserable. A senior in high school, he's still secretly preoccupied with a series of fantasy novels he read as a child, set in a magical land called Fillory. Imagine his surprise when he finds himself unexpectedly admitted to a very secret, very exclusive college of magic in upstate New York, where he receives a thorough and rigorous education in the craft of modern sorcery.
-
-
Not an average book
- By Kyle on 04-30-11
By: Lev Grossman
Critic reviews
What listeners say about The Good, the Bad and the Smug
Highly rated for:
Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Afro History fan
- 07-01-21
Mastery of Humour
I loved Tom Holt books and the audible version brings to life just how clever and funny the writer is.
The performance was sterling… did justice to the work.
I quite enjoy and appreciate witty satirical humour and recommend this book to those that do as well.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- DParker
- 07-29-16
funny and a little scary
was an excelent accomanyment to long drives. had me laughing out loud in traffic. fun throughout
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- M Harmless
- 05-22-16
Douglas Adams or Terry Pratchett he is not
......But that can hardly be held against him, so he does the job what needs doing.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Andrea Duff
- 04-28-19
Worthwhile
A fun add to your library, especially if you like bureaucratic humor with side of fantasy. 💓
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- NOLA Darling
- 03-21-16
Good enough to re-read.
Smartly-written, snarky & entertaining. If Frank L. Baum (The Wizard of Oz) and Matt Taibbi (Griftopia) wrote a book together, this would be it.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Amazon Customer
- 03-11-24
not in the right order
Amazon please fix the title order. otherwise okay book the next one in the series really puts this together.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Boom
- 09-26-15
Still heads above the rest
Would you consider the audio edition of The Good, the Bad and the Smug to be better than the print version?
I didn't read the print version. I love the narrator, so I don't bother with print.
Who was your favorite character and why?
The old man and nephew. Always funny and slightly foreboding.
Which scene was your favorite?
When the old man is a scene it's always worthy of a rewind to me.
Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?
Not really. The book is interesting through and through. It didn't move me, it it makes e laugh a lot.
Any additional comments?
I think that Tom Holt's books are always deeply interesting and funny. By interesting I mean they keep my attention the whole time, and I often take twice as long to get through them because I rewind a lot just to hear parts again. It is hard to measure his books in terms of story or plot because the meat of his novels are the process of storytelling itself and character development. I think that in a way his novels border on the experimental in terms of narrative in general. There are other worlds, carry overs from other novels, imported characters, and the like. I would say that his writing is similar to terry pratchett's in this way but with more real-world references.
I disagree with the negative reviews here. Rather, I would suggest that this novel is best appreciated for its playfulness and humor as well as the fresh approach he brings to writing. It is, at times, demanding, but always worth it. Also, he is one of the few writers whose novels are rich enough to make a second and third reading just as enjoyable as the first.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
8 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Beth Swope
- 01-07-19
Business based fantasy
In the realm of Orcinomics. Great book with lots of fun and solid plot. Will definitely read more from Tom Holt.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Isaac Schultz
- 08-09-19
what an imagination
this book is funny and thrilling. an occasional re read. never a full moment trying to predict the outcome
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Ian Doyle
- 10-22-18
Not as good as prior entries in the series
Not as good as prior entries in the series. simply less interesting than the oursorcerer's apprentice and with a plot less fascinating and bizarre than doughnut or its sequel.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!