
The Serpent
Gameshouse Novella 1
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Narrated by:
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Peter Kenny
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By:
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Claire North
About this listen
In this adventure novel set in 17th-century Venice, one brave woman dares to compete in the higher league of a mysterious establishment known as the Gamehouse.
There, fortunes are made and fortunes are broken over games of chess, backgammon and every other game under the sun.
But those whom fortune favours may be invited to compete in the higher league . . . a league where the games played are of politics and empires, of economics and kings. It is a league where Capture the Castle involves real castles, where hide and seek takes place on a scale as big as the British Isles.
Not everyone proves worthy of competing in the higher league. But one woman, who is about to play, may just exceed everyone's expectations.
Though she must always remember: the higher the stakes, the more deadly the rules . . .
©2015 Claire North (P)2015 Hachette AudioListeners also enjoyed...
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- Unabridged
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Overall
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- Narrated by: Peter Kenny
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- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Everyone has heard of the Gameshouse. But few know all its secrets.... It is the place where fortunes can be made and lost through chess, backgammon - every game under the sun. But those whom fortune favors may be invited to compete in the higher league...a league where the games played are of politics and empires, of economics and kings. It is a league where Capture the Castle involves real castles, where hide and seek takes place on the scale of a continent.
-
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-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Ven was once a holy man, a keeper of ancient archives. It was his duty to interpret archaic texts, sorting useful knowledge from the heretical ideas of the Burning Age - a time of excess and climate disaster. For in Ven's world, such material must be closely guarded so that the ills that led to that cataclysmic era can never be repeated.
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-
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By: Claire North
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The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August
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- Narrated by: Peter Kenny
- Length: 12 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Harry August is on his deathbed. Again. No matter what he does or the decisions he makes, when death comes, Harry always returns to where he began, a child with all the knowledge of a life he has already lived a dozen times before. Nothing ever changes. Until now. As Harry nears the end of his 11th life, a little girl appears at his bedside. "I nearly missed you, Doctor August", she says. "I need to send a message". This is the story of what Harry does next, and what he did before, and how he tries to save a past he cannot change and a future he cannot allow.
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What listeners say about The Serpent
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- clifford
- 08-30-16
Great idea. Poor writing
I very much like the idea behind The Serpent. Claire North is a brilliant mind. Her ideas so far have all been incredibly unique.
The Serpent is a story about a young wife who is swept up into a game where the pieces are real people, the board is the city of Venice, and the moves have real implications on world events.
I did not enjoy the writing style of North. Its very dry. It hardly ever moves with a passion. You can tell that North has no knack for writing itself. She does though have a knack for ideas. The idea here saves this story from total loss. I'd recommend this novella if you are wanting to explore something new. Its short. Its a great idea. And once you are done, your left with some new thoughts.
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6 people found this helpful
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- Christopher Huhn
- 11-11-15
Loved it
I'm a big Claire North fan and this series isn't letting me down. I'm about halfway through the third novella and my only complaint is this is the end of it. Peter Kenny is great too!
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5 people found this helpful
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- Chris
- 02-04-17
Great Novella
Great series with an interesting new concept. The characters are strong and the narration is fantastic. I quickly went through all three in the series. Worth the credit.
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4 people found this helpful
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- MStaver
- 03-30-18
not like her other books
I gave it about an hour of listening, and still couldn't care about the story or the characters. I've liked her other books, but this one just comes up short.
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