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Under Drake's Flag
- Narrated by: Fred Williams
- Length: 12 hrs and 31 mins
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Under Drake's Flag
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Summary
Such was the confidence of this daring privateer. His superb navigational skill enabled him to outrun or outmaneuver his incessant pursuers. He escaped so often and so ingeniously that he became legendary and was assumed by some to have supernatural powers.
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Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
- Mrs. G. Chew
- 06-01-18
A weighty novel, read in steady tones., but I learned some history.
As much as I prefer a narration with some personalisation and dramatic variety to it, this steady reading has introduced me ably to Henty's work, and kept me company in bits and pieces over the last few weeks. My congratulations to Fred Williams on his maintenance of tone, and the smooth sound quality as he passes from one section to another, which is also credit to Blackstone Audio.
Henty (writing between 1866 and 1906) is a truly Victorian storyteller, unlike Pansy (Isabella Alden MacDonald, writing from 1865-1929) who is of quite a different and more easily digested style. However I enjoyed the detailed descriptions, and I've certainly learnt far more about Drake, his voyages, and the world politics of his era than I ever have from any other source. However some of his descriptions and opinions are standard for the time, some are offensive to modern minds, and as with any author, the reader decides the matter. It was very refreshing, though, to read a book with no swearing, not even blasphemous that im aware of, and no sex. Whether you think the insults hurled by different characters are worse than the foul language and loose morals of today's novels says just as much about you, as about me, as about Henty.
1 person found this helpful
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- Mr. C. A. Rixen
- 09-01-19
soooo boring. great subject matter awful delivery
what should have been exciting was boring in its delivery. Don't bother, monotone delivery. factually inaccurate.
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
- Frances
- 12-07-05
Dreadful waste of a credit
Please don't take this review as a negative criticism of the book - the text is interesting and typical of the genre but the narration is truly dreadful! I thought we had entered the era of interesting, animated readers and I have had many good listens with Audible but Oh Dear! the reading of this book is really, really bad. The pace is such that I thought the playback speed was just wrong. Even when you get used to the slow, slow pace of reading then there is no expression in the voice. Don't waste your credit on this!
14 people found this helpful
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
- Thomas
- 30-09-05
Destroyed by the reader
The above reviews are absolutely correct, the story is great but the reader is atrocious.
9 people found this helpful
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 17-08-05
Really Boring!!!
I was so much looking forward to a rollicing tale of adventure, which it well might be... but the story is deleivered in a truly tragic monologue. We turned it off after just a couple of minutes. How sad!
9 people found this helpful
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Susan
- 27-01-14
Not what I expected.
What would have made Under Drake's Flag better?
it was supposed to be theater in audiobook form and it was just some old monosyllabic fool reading a book.
What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)
The whole thing stunk
How could the performance have been better?
Do what it was advertised to do which was to be engaging and entertaining. I'd never subject my grandchildren to this boring an account of some very important history lessons.
What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?
Great disappointment.
Any additional comments?
Don't advertise it as one thing and then sell something else. What a waste of time.
3 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Kellie
- 03-07-15
Great story
The narration is a downer at first but the story is great and I got used to the monotone of the narrator. He does use inflections but they are subtle until you become accustomed to it. Definitely worth the read so don't let the narrator throw you off this -one of Henty's best books!
1 person found this helpful
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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
- Tyler Duke
- 16-01-23
Under Drake's Flag
I loved it and I think it was the best book in the world
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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
- Kraig
- 22-09-22
Engaging story about early exploration
The history of Captain Drake's voyages is expertly woven through the fictional accounts of several boys apart of the crew. Their many adventures make this a very engaging story. I usually speed up his books since they are so long. Overall I'd say I enjoyed it, I just found the parts about the inquisition a bit much for a book geared towards teens. Henty tries to explain the inquisition by saying it stemmed from religious fervour and was actually not as horrific as it seems to modern ears given the horrific forms of capitol punishment in that day. Which historically I think is true, but it just felt a little too dark to dwell on in this genre. As always though, Henty is a masterful writer of historical fiction and you learn so much about the era.
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- Jason E Blauch
- 14-02-22
Parable. Not a historical account.
Historically a fascinating story but rendered into nauseating story told through an outdated and irrelevant colonial-era lens.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Rebecca Huff
- 06-11-21
slow reader
loved the story, but the reader was really slow. just listen to it a 1.3 speed and it's perfect
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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
- HJLII
- 23-02-21
Enjoyed all of it even the narration.
Amazing story, thoroughly enjoyed it and the narration didn't bother me a bit. I have heard much worse.