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River of Smoke
- Narrated by: Lyndam Gregory
- Length: 22 hrs and 9 mins
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River of Smoke
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Summary
In September 1838 a storm blows up on the Indian Ocean and the Ibis, a ship carrying a consignment of convicts and indentured laborers from Calcutta to Mauritius, is caught up in the whirlwind. When the seas settle, five men have disappeared - two lascars, two convicts and one of the passengers. Did the same storm upend the fortunes of those aboard the Anahita, an opium carrier heading towards Canton? And what fate befell those aboard the Redruth, a sturdy two-masted brig heading East out of Cornwall? Was it the storm that altered their course or were the destinies of these passengers at the mercy of even more powerful forces?
On the grand scale of an historical epic, River of Smoke follows its storm-tossed characters to the crowded harbors of China. There, despite efforts of the emperor to stop them, ships from Europe and India exchange their cargoes of opium for boxes of tea, silk, porcelain and silver. Among them are Bahram Modi, a wealthy Parsi opium merchant out of Bombay, his estranged half-Chinese son Ah Fatt, the orphaned Paulette and a motley collection of others whose pursuit of romance, riches and a legendary rare flower have thrown together.
All struggle to cope with their losses - and for some, unimaginable freedoms - in the alleys and crowded waterways of 19th century Canton. As transporting and mesmerizing as an opiate induced dream, River of Smoke will soon be heralded as a masterpiece of twenty-first century literature.
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What listeners say about River of Smoke
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Lotika Singha
- 27-03-19
Wealth is always tainted
This rich historical trilogy reminds us of the tainted history of all wealthy Western nations
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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
- Vinay D.
- 17-11-21
Another stunning leg of this fantastic journey
I am so disappointed that the book is over. It’s an absolutely brilliant story that got me completely immersed in the Canton of the 1800s. I almost felt transported to fanqui town, felt the excitement of the maidan and joined in the trails and tribulations of the problems faced by the 13 hongs.
Lyndham Gregory was stunning in his delivery of the tale. His command on accents and ability to create so many different characters was absolutely brilliant.
Can’t wait to start on the next and lasts book in the trilogy.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- John
- 06-10-15
Great story
2nd part of a trilogy and really does need reading in conjunction with Sea of Poppies and Flood of Fire. So many wonderful stories woven together. I had previously read both of the first two books in the series but lived Flood of Fire so much that I wanted to hear the audible versions. The narrator on this was not as good (for me) as the others and I much preferred the narration of Flood of Fire by Raj Ghatak. I'm glad though that I didn't let the reviews of River of Smoke put me off buying it as I still enjoyed it.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- alli
- 05-09-15
Love the story, not enjoying change of narrator
I loved the first book, and I loved Kish Sharma's narration and character interpretation. I was disappointed to note that the narrators are different for each book in the trilogy. opinions may differ, but I feel Lyndam Gregory's narration style would be more suited to childrens books, as he has an unusual style, with pauses and emphasis in strange places, and for me, too much accentuation and intensity at times. It makes me feel slightly patronised. The story itself is still fascinating and I am persevering despite not enjoying the new narration style. Sorry Lyndam!
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4 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
- Christine
- 05-01-12
Different
This is a very finely crafted and interesting account of the opium trade in China. While some people have complained about this particular narrator, once I got used to his idiosyncratic cadences I found his reading quite musical, and found his grasp of the dialects to be excellent.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- KENNETH SYME
- 09-07-20
A fine sequel
Fascinating narrative of the British and American exploitation of India and China in pursuit of profit from the opium trade. Well told, though the portrayal of the painter Robin is a little overdone.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- ANNABEL
- 16-06-24
I’m enjoying the story
I’m enjoying the story, especially the horticultural bits, the compost making especially! BUT why is the narrator reading it as if we are children? The characters are expressed brilliantly with varied and wonderful accents, it’s just the story part. It would be improved enormously with a better narration and it is an audio book so…..
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 13-03-12
Accents and style
The story is huge and detailed and I found it quite difficult to maintain the flow unless I listened to large swathes and even then I got a little confused by the many characters. Excellent research but a little too much of the verbatim arguments in the council. The reader was excellent with all the different accents and languages and mostly managed to maintain characteristic voices for the characters, but oh, that irritating, patronising reading style, strange hesitations and inflections, I found it very irritating and had to consciously listen past it.
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3 people found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- yvonne tomlin
- 24-02-16
The narration spoiled the book for me
I found the story very fragmented and most unlike the first book. The narrator read as if reading to a child with exaggerated interpretation of the dialogue.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Stowe Clan
- 30-01-20
Couldn't finish it
I loved the first so much, kish read so well that I couldnt wait to get into the second. But the reading is awful. His voice and the way he reads is awful don't do it.
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