Nox Dormienda (A Long Night for Sleeping) cover art

Nox Dormienda (A Long Night for Sleeping)

An Arcturus Mystery

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Nox Dormienda (A Long Night for Sleeping)

By: Kelli Stanley
Narrated by: Ray Porter
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About this listen

Nox Dormienda is the award-winning debut novel of critically-acclaimed author Kelli Stanley (City of Dragons), and the first of a series in a new genre: Roman Noir. Featuring Arcturus, a hardboiled protagonist in the best Philip Marlowe tradition, Nox is a different kind of historical mystery, a suspense thriller that combines a classic noir style with the rich texture of the ancient past.

©2011 Kelli Stanley (P)2014 Audible Inc. Historical Modern Detectives Mystery Fiction

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I really enjoyed this book. I liked the setting of roman england and the characters where lifelike and engaging. the mystery was also well structured and intriguing. I got this for free and it was really worth the listen. I must admit I love ray porter but his american accent for the protagonist may put off british snobs from enjoying the narration

good srorytelling

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Promising start. Good story
Found a little hard to follow towards the end.
Couldn't reconcile Narrators Accent with story and found occasional slips onto Irish irritating.

Good story. Distracting narration

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I was a bit confused at first as the narrator was American but the story was set in Roman Britain.
The story itself was good although the ending was a little unsatisfactory.

A good story

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I enjoyed this book set in Roman Britain. Arcturus is the Governer's Doctor and problem solver. When Caesar's envoy is found dead he has to find out what happened whilst navigating the tricky political set-up and even more tricky affairs of his heart.
Not always entirely believable but a good story well told. The narration was excellent and brought the chapters to life.
A good read.

Murder and Intrigue in Roman Britain.

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The basic plot was good and kept you listening but the speed at which one relationship formed seemed forced and unlikely. The American accent of the narration (for a Roman British story) was unhelpful to me and the modern Americanisms in the language (e.g goddamnit) was irritating.

Storyline/plot good

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An interesting attempt at setting a Chandleresque tale in the ancient past. It worked well enough but I struggled with 2 things:
1. It's set in London but all the natives had what were probably Irish accents 2. The Latin pronunciations were done in a style that was old fashioned when I learned 30 years ago. Pronouncing villa as wee-la made me laugh out loud. If you're not a pedant (like me), it's perfectly enjoyable.

Roman Britain meets LA

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Just as another reviewer stated, I too am not just surprised but amazed at some of the negative reviews concerning the narrative. I would love to know how many accents and different voices, any of the reviewers could perform convincingly? 0 I expect. So on that note here’s my positive review. I am often amazed by the number of different voices narrators manage to find within themselves. As for those that include a variety of different accents is a rare talent. So I say to the picky picky reviewers go read a book and leave the audios alone. They are obviously not your thing. Personally I thoroughly enjoyed the story AND thought the narrator did a pretty good job, I couldn’t care less IF (?) he’s an American or not! It’s irrelevant to his ability to tell a good story well. Therefore if you are picky picky don’t go here but if like me you are happy to listen to a good story, narrated far better than so many amateur readers of books in the public domain, this is a good story worth giving a go. To those negative reviewers I say “ if you can’t say something constructive, DON’T SAY ANYTHING! Let the customer make their own mind up by listing to the short previews.

A Roman crime story.

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I enjoyed the what turned out to be a simple plot. But the interwoven intricate interactions between the characters had me mesmerised.

I enjoyed the description of the time period, the personal experiences of all the characters and the long term effects on each individual. I found I became very fond of each as they went about their daily life. And was quite unprepared to leave them at the end. It seemed to all end too soon.
I also enjoyed the passages where Artur described his medical interventions with humans and pets alike. The gentle Americanisms that I initially found irritating seemed to disappear as I became more involved with the characters.
I shall definitely feel able to listen to this again in future.

Held my attention throughout I didn’t want it to end.

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I am not sure why so many people have rated the book so low. It was well written, performed and very entertaining. Looking forward to meeting the medics again

Entertaining

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Very enjoyable murder mystery set in Roman Britain under the governorship of Vespasian. At the end of Saturnalia, the body of a wealthy Syrian visitor is found, slaughtered, on an alter in an underground temple dedicated to Mithras. The surgeon to Vespasian is asked to view the body and investigate the killing. It proves to be rather complex, especially when he falls in love with the close friend of the main suspect. Told in the first person by Arturus, the surgeon, the reader follows his ideas and emotions as he tries to unravel the complex and twisted plot. Narrator Ray Porter becomes the main protagonist, with an almost dismissive delivery, perfect for the man himself, perfect pacing and good voicing for all of the characters. A delightful performance.

I love books set in the time of the old Rome Empire, and especially in Roman Britain. Nox Dormienda skilfully takes the reader into old Londinium, bringing atmosphere of the area as well as glimpses into the lives of the local people, both high born citizens, slaves and other local people.

Good start to a new series, well written, with intriguing plot and sympathetic main character, recommended to all who enjoy thriller mysteries set in an historic background. A d I look forward to book teo.
My thanks to the Audible Plus programme which provided me, free of charge, with a complimentary copy.

"Chasing shadows can be dangerous."

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