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The Listener and Other Stories

By: Algernon Blackwood CBE
Narrated by: Finn J.D. John
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Summary

First published in 1917 by Alfred A. Knopf, this collection of Algernon Blackwood's short stories includes some of his most beloved classics:

"The Listener"

A reclusive, impoverished writer is delighted to find an inexpensive home in an old building at the heart of London; but he soon comes to understand why it's so cheap....

"Max Hensig: Bacteriologist and Murderer"

A tabloid newspaper reporter is assigned to cover the trial of a frightful psychotic murderer, and earns his implacable enmity. Then the murderer is set free, and the deadly cat-and-mouse game begins....

"The Willows"

A pair of adventurers on a canoe trip down the Danube discover, after stopping for the evening on a small island covered with tiny willow trees, that they are trespassers at the gate of unknown and hostile forces from beyond the Earth.

"The Insanity of Jones"

An mild-mannered clerk in a fire insurance office becomes convinced, through the intervention of the ghost of a deceased co-worker, that his manager was an official of the Spanish Inquisition who tortured him to death in a past life - so he buys a gun.

"The Dance of Death"

A young man, just diagnosed with a weak heart and feeling despondent about it, goes to a dance, where he meets the woman of his dreams. But is she real, or a ghost? And if she is a ghost, what is he?

"The Old Man of Visions"

The old man didn't talk much, but through him one could see beyond the veils of the material world. But he was careful to warn: "Should you seek to explain me to another, you must lose me beyond recall."

"May Day Eve"

A skeptical, materialistic physician, on the way to visit a dreamy folklore professor, strays from the road on May Day Eve and finds himself wandering helplessly into a strange and terrifying spirit world.

"Miss Slumbubble - and Claustrophobia"

Miss Daphne Slumbubble is on holiday when for no apparent reason a ghostly terror creeps into her soul, causing her to try to leap from a train. But why?

©1917, 2016 Finn J.D. John (P)2016 F.W. von Junzt Bibliothekspresse (Pulp-Lit Productions)
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What listeners say about The Listener and Other Stories

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A new author for me.

Until HBabble created this collection Algernon Blackwood was unknown to me. Having now listened to their (fantastic) production I'm glad this is no longer the case.
I've scored 4/5 for the story as one or two tales didn't really do anything for me but the majority was very good, although not in the same soul-shuddering way or fear-inducing style of HPL or EAP respectively.
A great collection of (mostly enjoyable) tales brilliantly produced.

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Great stories, terrible narration

Would you consider the audio edition of The Listener and Other Stories to be better than the print version?

Not this version - the audio narration is just not for me.

What other book might you compare The Listener and Other Stories to, and why?

Any other weird fiction or ghost stories. William Hope Hodgson is very similar in style and substance.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

Maybe its personal but I just don't like the Finn JD John's voice (I've heard him before in Lovecraft narrations and thought the same). Some of the accents he attempts are laughable.

Any additional comments?

The Listener (first story) is truly terrifying - loved it! The Willows is also on here, probably his most famous and also great.

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