Product Description
Ian Holm provides a rare, intimate window on the peculiar people who inhabit his profession. This well-known actor’s narrative also talks with insight about his on-stage breakdown, the women in his life, the nervous condition that still haunts him, and his battle with cancer. ... Read more

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A BBC radio dramatisation of the first book in J.R.R. Tolkien's 'Lord of the Rings' trilogy. Brian Sibley's famous 1981 adaptation, starring Ian Holm and Michael Hordern, has been divided into three corresponding parts, with a newly recorded beginning and closing narration by Holm. Soon to be released as a feature film. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Very enjoyable radio dramatisation
This BBC radio dramatisation was much more enjoyable and entralling than a standard audio book would have been. It was very similar to the movie , indicating its professionalism. Highly recommended. ... Read more

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This audiotape is a collection of Dahl's thoughts and feelings during the last year of his life. It is a mixture of childhood anecdotes, witty adult observations and bizarre gardening tips. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Roald Dahl's Final Bow
This book, like every other of Roald Dahl's writings, is a work of art. Dahl writes in a way that reaches into the very soul of whoever opens the pages and awakens the imagination to unlimited possibilities. He gives hiswork such an imaginative, joyful effect that I have only seen his wonderfulwriting. Roald spent his last days discovering and bonding with nature.This is a book about the last year in his amazing life. ... Read more

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Chapters: Donald Sutherland, Ian Holm, Bob Hoskins, Roy Dupuis, Jeremy Irons, Christopher Plummer, Maury Chaykin, Gordon Pinsent, Brendan Fletcher, Genie Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role, Nick Mancuso, Roshan Seth, William Hutt, Elias Koteas, Lothaire Bluteau, Jacques Godin, Alan Scarfe, Tom Mccamus, Natar Ungalaaq, Tony Nardi, Rémy Girard, John Wildman, Gabriel Arcand, Thomas Peacocke, David La Haye, Luc Picard, Eric Fryer, Roger Lebel. Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 143. Not illustrated. Free updates online. Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: Roy Dupuis (born 21 April 1963) is a Canadian actor best known for his role as counterterrorism operative Michael Samuelle in the television series La Femme Nikita. He is one of the most famous actors throughout French-speaking Canada, while throughout English-speaking Canada he has become known for portraying hockey legend Maurice Richard on television and in film, as well as Roméo Dallaire in the 2007 film Shake Hands with the Devil. Dupuis was born Roy Michel Joseph Dupuis in New Liskeard, Ontario to parents of French-Canadian descent. From early infancy until he was eleven years old, Dupuis lived in Amos, Abitibi, Quebec. The next three years he lived in Kapuskasing, Ontario, where he learned to speak English. His father was a traveling salesman for Canada Packers; his mother was a piano teacher. He has a younger brother and an older sister. When he was fourteen, after his parents divorced, his mother moved the family to Sainte-Rose, Laval, Quebec, where he finished high school. After high school, he studied acting in Montreal, at the National Theatre School of Canada (L'École nationale de théâtre du Canada), from which he graduated in 1986. He lives southeast of Montreal, in an 1840 farmhouse located on 50 acres (200,000 m²) of land which he bought ...More: http://booksllc.net/?id=1206525 ... Read more

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Chapters: Ian Holm, List of People From Redbridge. Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 17. Not illustrated. Free updates online. Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: Sir Ian Holm, CBE (born 12 September 1931) is an English actor known for his stage work and for many film roles, including the hobbit Bilbo Baggins in the first and third films of the Lord of the Rings film trilogy, the athletics trainer Sam Mussabini in Chariots of Fire, Father Vito Cornelius in The Fifth Element and the android Ash in Alien. Holm was born Ian Holm Cuthbert in Goodmayes, then Essex, to Scottish parents, Jean Wilson Holm and James Harvey Cuthbert. His mother was a nurse, and his father was a psychiatrist who worked as the superintendent of the West Ham Corporation Mental Hospital and was one of the pioneers of electric shock therapy. He had an older brother, Eric, who died in 1943. Holm was educated at the independent Chigwell School in Essex. His parents retired to Worthing where he joined an amateur dramatic society. A visit to the dentist led to an introduction to Henry Baynton, a well-known provincial Shakespearean actor who helped Holm train for the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art from which he graduated in 1953. While at RADA he was offered 'spear-carrying' rôles at Stratford, staying for 13 years. Holm was an established star of the Royal Shakespeare Company before making an impact on television and film. In 1965, Holm played Richard III in the BBC serialisation of the Wars of the Roses plays, based on the RSC production of the plays, and gradually made a name for himself with minor roles in films such as Oh! What a Lovely War (1969), Nicholas and Alexandra (1971), Mary, Queen of Scots (1971) and Young Winston (1972). In 1967, he won a Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play as Lenny in The Homecoming by Harold Pinter. In 1977, Holm app...More: http://booksllc.net/?id=171137 ... Read more

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Chapters: Michael Marshall Smith, Ian Holm, William Penn, Bernard Williams, Ken Campbell, Nicholas Williams, Chigwell School, Ben Shephard, Austin Bradford Hill, Tim Collins, Horace Smith, Henry Hodge, Tim Stevens, William Cotton, Peter Collecott, Maurice Walter Sinclair, Michael David Thomas, Arthur Grimble. Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 102. Not illustrated. Free updates online. Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: William Penn (October 14, 1644 July 30, 1718) was an English real estate entrepreneur, philosopher, and founder and "absolute proprietor" of the Province of Pennsylvania, the English North American colony and the future U. S. State of Pennsylvania. He was an early champion of democracy and religious freedom, notable for his good relations and successful treaties with the Lenape Indians. Under his direction, the city of Philadelphia was planned and developed. In 1682 the Duke of York handed over a large piece of his American holdings to William Penn. This land included present-day Pennsylvania and Delaware. Penn immediately sailed to America and his first step on American soil took place in New Castle in 1682. On this occasion, the colonists pledged allegiance to Penn as their new Proprietor, and the first general assembly was held in the colony. Afterwards, Penn journeyed upriver and founded Philadelphia. However, Penn's Quaker government was not viewed favorably by the Dutch, Swedish, and English settlers in what is now today's Delaware. They had no "historical" allegiance to Pennsylvania, so they, almost immediately, began petitioning for their own Assembly. In 1704 they achieved their goal when the three southernmost counties of Pennsylvania, were permitted to split off and become the new semi-autonomous colony of lower Delaware. As the most prominent, prosperous and influential "city" in the new colon...More: http://booksllc.net/?id=19723957 ... Read more

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"The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" is a terrifying glimpse into both a horrific gothic scenario and a psychological phenomenon. One of the first classic works to tackle the concept of 'dual personality' and also an astute literary examination of behaviour a modern listener may equate with schizophrenic tendencies, the novel was streets ahead of its time in 1886 and continues to be a firm favourite in the horror canon. The Story: Dr. Henry Jekyll creates a mysterious elixir, which he intends to enable him to explore the hidden depths of his personality. Coinciding with his experiment, Mr. Edward Hyde starts to appear more frequently on the London scene, often by night, and always leaving a trail of destruction and fear in his wake. When Mr. Hyde is seen disappearing into Dr. Jekyll's office door, tongues begin to wag - how are the two men related, and how can the evil Mr. Hyde be stopped before a scandal ensues, dragging Dr. Jekyll down with him? The Reader: Ian Holm is a widely-respected actor, who was a resident with the world-famous Royal Shakespeare Company for many years. His many credits include playing Bilbo Baggins in the "Lord of The Rings" trilogy.He also brought joy to thousands, young and old, in his role as Pod in "The Borrowers", the popular television series. ... Read more

Product Description
Pocket Books, publisher of 16 Higgins bestsellers, now presents an extraordinary novel that reunites retired British agent Liam Devlin and renegade American Martin Brosnan. The two legendary guerrillas of the most ruthless wars take on a terrorist who delivers maximum destruction for whoever pays. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

Decent Cold War Thriller with Some Great Set Pieces
I recently reread, and rather surprisingly enjoyed Higgins' classic WWII thriller The Eagle Has Landed -- and that led me to seek this out. One of the most engaging elements of that book was the Irish-terrorist-turned-German-agent Liam Devlin, and this book visits him some thirty or so years later, in the midst of the Cold War. After a rather strange Vietnam War-set prologue involving the rescue of a lovely French photographer by an immensely skilled special forces solider, the story shifts to the sometime around 1980 or so. We meet a freelance terrorist who has been paid to assassinate the British Foreign Secretary during a visit to France. This opening is the kind of procedural operation that Higgins excels at, as the master-terrorist Frank Barry puts together a plan and lays his trap. However, there's a British secret agent in on the plot, and the story takes a twist that leads Prime Minister Thatcher to authorize Barry's execution.

This task falls to the Brigadier in charge of such black ops, who, in delving into Barry's past, discovers connections to Liam Devlin, and the Irish-American special forces fella' from the prologue (Martin Brosnan, who apparently appears in some other Higgins' books). The good old "set a thief to catch a thief" plot is brought forth, and the Brigadier coerces Devlin and Brosnan to take out Barry. This sets the stage for two other lovely set pieces: an SAS-ssnatch team renditioning Devlin to England, and an good old-fashioned prison break to spring Brosnan from an island prison off the coast of France. This involves fun stuff like the Corsican mafia, and much more. Meanwhile, Barry has been hired by the KGB to steal a revolutionary new anti-tank rocket weapon that the West Germans have developed and represents a severe blow to Soviet tank supremacy in the European Theater. So, that's yet another fun procedural set piece, as Barry works on that heist while Devlin, Brosnan, and the British try to track him down.

As with "The Eagle Has Landed", Higgins does not plumb particularly deeply into any of the character's psyches. Their motivations are pretty linear and there's nothing unexpected along the way -- however, that's not really much of a concern in a thriller like this. The set pieces are all pretty fun, and the Cold War setting is kind of interesting in its own retro way. The book concludes with another fun set piece, that, while predictable, puts just the right cap on things. All in all, if you like Higgins, you'll probably like this.

Touch the Devil
Excellent service, prompt delivery, excellent conditon
as described, packaged well.
Would use again.

Early 80's thriller, nice mix of villains and good guys!
Our introduction to the prolific Jack Higgins was his early (1969) thriller "A Fine Night for Dying".That novel, while mildly entertaining, was short and pretty tame by modern standards.With "Devil" we moved ahead several years to a Higgins' work written in 1982 and set in roughly that same time frame.Based on other reviews, apparently the lead characters -- Martin Brosnan, Liam Devlin, and Frank Barry -- appear in several other Higgins stories; but their appearances stand by themselves just fine in this story.A flashback prologue set in Viet Nam during the war introduces us to Brosnan and a female photographer, Anne-Marie Audin, who plays a minor role throughout the book.But the main focus is on Barry, who spends most of his time as a paid assassin with seemingly little loyalty to any cause or country.When he nearly offs a British Foreign Secretary on a visit to France, and slays an important agent instead, the Prime Minister orders her Secret Service to retaliate.The guy in charge, Brigadier Charles Ferguson, deciding it takes a killer to kill one, in effect hires (now) death row convict and ex-IRA terrorist Martin Brosnan to attempt the deed.Brosnan figures Ferguson will never pull off getting him out of the slammer, and so stages a stunning escape instead, setting up a climax where it's bad guy versus bad guy for the suspenseful latter section of the book.

"Devil" is a fun read: it's long enough and complex enough to build and sustain your interest; the characters are interesting; and in the end we're not completely sure which bad guy we want to root for!!Along the way a number of bystanders and lesser characters get knocked off by our author, but some twists and turns fool us on more than one occasion.A somewhat philosophical but stunning denouement even gives us pause for thought. Presuming this is more representative of Higgins' work than our first read, we can see why he has built a loyal following.Enjoy "Touch the Devil"!

Fast Paced
With a Jack Higgins book you always get a fast paced, easy to read book. He always gets the correct mix of historical facts and a new story line to make his books some of the best of the class. The thing with Higgins is that he probably is not going to go down in history as one of the best writers ever, but the stories are so good with enough action to make you lose track of time.You have fun reading this book and I bet that if this is the first of his books you read you will start to hunt down other works of his.This book is worth the time.

He has been called ther master by Clancy I understand why.
I have read all of the books by Jack Higgins. He is the master of world war II espionage and puts his history knowledge in every book he writes.I have read all of the books. This is a true grabber. Un-down-putable! ... Read more

Product Description
A companion cassette to "Boy", this second instalment of Roald Dahl's life on audiotape includes his escapades in East Africa and fighter pilot missions during World War Two. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (37)

Dahl's life was more amazing than his fiction
Dahl is the author of some of the most imaginative works of fiction ever created and this tends to overshadow his personal accomplishments, which are considerable. This book is an autobiography of his early adulthood, starting from the time he traveled to east Africa to work for the Shell Company through the first years of World War II.
Dahl was one of the people that left the British Isles to work in and administer a colony in the British Empire. His descriptions of that group of people are amusing and accurate, for they were simultaneously a tough group of people although a bit daffy. Dahl's descriptions of the Major and his wife making several rounds on the deck in the nude every morning followed by the strict rule of everyone formally dressing for dinner were very amusing.
Dahl volunteered for the Royal Air Force (R. A. F.), received his initial training in Kenya and flew fighter planes. He crash-landed in North Africa and after his recovery; Dahl was transferred to Greece as the Germans were moving in. It was a hopeless battle, at one time six fighter planes was all the R. A. F. could put in the air against hundreds of German planes. This installment of Dahl's amazing life ends with his flying a plane in the British campaign to take Syria from the forces of Vichy France.
Dahl cheated death many times in this book; he was a true war hero of the first magnitude. Some of that was skill, but as he repeatedly admits, luck also had a great deal to do with it. In many ways, his life story is more amazing than his fiction, this is a great book for readers of all ages.

Utterly compelling
I'm trying to imagine the kind of person who would not enjoy this book, and quite frankly I'm failing. If you can read this review, you will enjoy the book.

It tells the story of Roald Dahl from his journey out to Dar-es-Salaam at the age of 18, to start working for Shell, to his being invalided home as a fighter pilot from the Middle East in 1941. Throughout he makes it sound as if it's all a bit of fun, but in reality the odds against his surviving the events in the book must have been 50 to 1.

It's all told in a lovely deadpan voice that clearly shows up the utter absurdity what he was going through, from his servant killing a local German with a 17th century antique sword to being one of 15 fighter pilots in all of Greece to take on 1000 Luftwaffe planes. It's to his everlasting credit that he manages to do this in such a straightforward way. Of course, events speak for themselves, but it requires a skillful author to let them do so, and Dahl is more than skillful. This is a work of genius.

"You're too tall," the flight instructor said. "Are you sure you want to do this?"
"I must learn to fly a Hurricane and then I must take it to Greece and rejoin the squadron.
When I got this news I was in Ismailia, a large RAF aerodrome on the Suez Canal. A Flight-Lieutenant said, 'You can have a couple of days to learn how to fly it, then you take it to Greece.'
'Fly that to Greece?' I said.
'Of course.'
'Where do I stop to refuel?'
'You don't.' he said. 'You go non-stop.'
'How long will that take?'
'About four and a half hours,' he said.
Even I knew that a Hurricane had fuel for only one and a half hours' flying, and I pointed that out to the Flight-Lieutenant. 'Don't worry about that,' he said. 'We're fitting extra fuel tanks under the wings.'
'Do they work?'
'Sometimes they work,' he said smirking. 'You press a little button and if you're lucky a pump pumps petrol from the wing-tanks into the main tank.'
'What happens if the pump doesn't work?'
'You bale out into the Med and swim,' he said.
'No,' I said. 'Be serious. Who picks me up?'
Nobody.' he said. 'It's a chance you have to take.'"
- Roald Dahl (GOING SOLO p. 119)

In this marvelous autobiographical sequel to BOY: TALES OF CHILDHOOD, Roald Dahl entertains and delights by recalling his experiences just prior to and during WW2 writing of the many adventures he had: traveling by ship from England to Dar-es-Salaam, Tanganyika (aboard the SS Mantola) and observing the bizarre habits of his fellow-British-passengers while on his way to work for the Shell Oil Company there, avoiding certain death from the venom of the Green Mamba, joining the Royal Air Force at the start of the war, learning to fly at an RAF airbase in Nairobi, Kenya, and crashing a Gladiator bi-plane in the Western Desert of Egypt, finally winning his wings and becoming a fighter pilot with the RAF in Africa and Greece, and then surviving dog-fights in the skies above Greece against German ME 109s. While many of Dahl's adventures were harrowing, others were very humorous.

I won't spoil the fun for anyone in this brief review by writing too much. Pick up a copy of this wonderful little book and enjoy! You'll just have to take my word for it that you won't be bored or disappointed. Several maps and quite a few photos are included.

As another reviewer wrote, it's a shame Mr. Dahl didn't write another autobiographical sketch about his life as a writer of children's books before he died in 1990. That, I'm sure, would have been an absolute pleasure to read.

Terriffic story-telling from a charming guy
Another writer once told me that one of the most important elements to be found in a memoir is a "likeable" narrator. Roald Dahl is perhaps one of the MOST likeable of narrators. Modest to a fault and blessed with a very sly and subtle sense of humor, the story Dahl tells in GOING SOLO, his sequel to BOY, is perhaps one of the most readable memoirs of modern times. His story of the quick and almost informal training he received at a flying school in Africa shortly after Great Britain entered WWII, is hair-raising and nearly impossible to believe, except you do believe, because you trust this man. At six foot six inches tall, Dahl was physically quite unsuited to be a fighter pilot, noting that when seated in the various planes he flew, his knees were nearly under his chin and he had to hunch over to fit beneath the plane's canopy. But fly he did, even after surviving one horrific crash in the desert early on in his career as an RAF pilot. He sustained a very bad concussion (which was to come back to haunt him and finally "invalid" him out of service nearly two years later) and had his face bashed in. As he explained to his mother in a letter: "My nose was bashed in ... and the ear nose and throat man pulled my nose out of the back of my head and shaped it and now it looks just as before except that it's a little bent about ..." Dahl went on to fly many combat missions in North Africa and Greece, usually against vastly superior odds, but somehow he managed to survive until the middle of 1941, when the migraine headaches caused by the aforementioned crash made him unfit for further flying. Dahl's nearly laconic and completely unself-conscious manner of writing about the things he did - absolutely heroic things - made me think of Sam Hynes's WWII memoir of his missions in the Pacific theater. Both writers downplay the importance of their roles. They never speak of heroics or derring-do, only about the importance of their comrades, doing the jobs they were trained to do and trying their best to simply stay alive. This was an enormously satisfying, moving and often hilarious tale. After reading these two slim volumes of memoirs by Dahl, I do wish he had written another. I have ordered his slim collection of stories about WWII already. What a wonderful writer - and gentleman - Roald Dahl was. - Tim Bazzett, author of SOLDIER BOY and LOVE, WAR & POLIO

Going Solo
Excellent life story, adventure.Bought because of its aviation aspect and personal Greek attraction with the Battle of Athens during the last war. Having served on 84 Sqn RAF in Cyprus it was really interesting to review first hand flying activities during these times of conflict.A really nice short story. ... Read more

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This recording dips into the wealth of the Stratford's Shakespeare Theatre's history with reminiscences of some of the people who created it. ... Read more

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'I am in blood stepped in so far that, should I wade no more, returning were as tedious as go o'er.' The shortest and most intense of Shakespeare's tragedies, "Macbeth" traces a man's descent into hell. A meeting with three witches unlocks secret jealousies and desires, and sets Macbeth on a path of murder and oppression. His fall is all the more harrowing to him but is powerless to stop it. Sir Anthony Quayle and Gwen Ffrangcon-Davis lead a distinguished cast in a haunting performance, directed by Howard Sackler. ... Read more

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A dramatization of Tolkien's celebrated fantasy. Sauron, the Dark Lord, has gathered to him the Rings of Power - the means by which he will be able to rule the world. All he lacks in his plan for domination is the Ruling Ring, which has fallen into the hands of the hobbit, Frodo Baggins. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Astonishingly well done performance with enhancing sound effects and enchanting singing.
Multiple cheers for the BBC!!!Such sensitivity of production and choices as to what and whom to include. As this is the same as the boxed set that I own I can attest that it is a joy to own! I have lent it out on several occasions to discerning friends. One professor opined that driving the distance from Santa Cruz to Los Angeles was made tolerable because enjoying this set enabled him to drive the speed limit without boredom, thus saving him from speeding tickets.
The voices engaged in this performance are exceptionally well chosen and the sound effects present truly enchanting additions, like the sound of puffing on a pipe, the singing of the Tolkien songs and other special additions, such as the sound attributed to the ring of power and those of the fire. In addition. there are delightful sounds for Loth Lorien and for the descending of the river.
One can listen to it many times with considerable pleasure and without becoming tired of this version. Some of the voices become one's idea of what this character should be. I return to certain tapes many times to enjoy the thoughtful touches which have been so sensitively provided. ... Read more

Product Description
Mick Inkpen is a household name; his books are loved and cherished by children around the world. This treasury will be very special for children to listen to and enjoy for many years. Titles featured in the treasury are: "Lullabyhullabaloo", "Billy's Beetle", "Nothing", and, "Bear". ... Read more

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When Draxy Miller's father was a boy, he read a novel in which the heroine was a Polish girl, named Darachsa. The name stamped itself indelibly upon his imagination; and when, at the age of thirty-five, he took his first-born daughter in his arms, his first words were--"I want her called Darachsa."

"What!" exclaimed the doctor, turning sharply round, and looking out above his spectacles; "what heathen kind of a name is that?"

"Oh, Reuben!" groaned a feeble voice from the baby's mother; and the nurse muttered audibly, as she left the room, "There ain't never no luck comes of them outlandish names."

The whole village was in a state of excitement before night. Poor Reuben Miller had never before been the object of half so much interest. His slowly dwindling fortunes, the mysterious succession of his ill-lucks, had not much stirred the hearts of the people. He was a retice'nt man; he loved books, and had hungered for them all his life; his townsmen unconsciously resented what they pretended to despise; and so it had slowly come about that in the village where his father had lived and died, and where he himself had grown up, and seemed likely to live and die, Reuben Miller was a lonely man, and came and went almost as a stranger might come and go. His wife was simply a shadow and echo of himself; one of those clinging, tender, unselfish, will-less women, who make pleasant, and affectionate, and sunny wives enough for rich, prosperous, unsentimental husbands, but who are millstones about the necks of sensitive, impressionable, unsuccessful men. If Jane Miller had been a strong, determined woman, Reuben would not have been a failure. The only thing he had needed in life had been persistent purpose and courage. The right sort of wife would have given him both. But when he was discouraged, baffled, Jane clasped her hands, sat down, and looked into his face with streaming eyes. If he smiled, she smiled; but that was just when it was of least consequence that she should smile. So the twelve years of their married life had gone on slowly, very slowly, but still surely, from bad to worse; nothing prospered in Reuben's hands. The farm which he had inherited from his father was large, but not profitable. He tried too long to work the whole of it, and then he sold the parts which he ought to have kept. He sunk a great portion of his little capital in a flour-mill, which promised to be a great success, paid well for a couple of years, and then burnt down, uninsured. He took a contract for building one section of a canal, which was to pass through part of his land; sub-contractors cheated him, and he, in his honesty, almost ruined himself to right their wrong. Then he opened a little store; here, also, he failed. He was too honest, too sympathizing, too inert. His day-book was a curiosity; he had a vein of humor which no amount of misfortune could quench; and he used to enter under the head of "given" all the purchases which he knew were not likely to be paid for. It was at sight of this book, one day, that Jane Miller, for the first and only time in her life, lost her temper with Reuben.

Download Saxe Holm's Stories Now! ... Read more

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Complete and UNcut in the text of the New Shakespeare edited by John Dover Wilson in two cassettes. ... Read more

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33 1/3 RPM - 4 records & complete text. Cast: Ian Holm, Charles Gray, Ian McKellen, Janet Suzman, Bernard Bresslaw, John Laurie & John Gielgud as Chorus ... Read more

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The BBC dramatization of Tolkien's celebrated fantasy. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A striking adaptation
My greatest enjoyment of this trilogy has come from the reading of the original books, which I did many times as a boy, and perhaps twice as a man.I also liked the movie cycle, which I saw once in a theater and perhaps two other times on DVD.

This radio play was, to me, considerably more engaging and imaginative than the movie cycle.Its power derives from effective use of basic ingredients like spoken voice, sounds, music and silence. I do like the spectacular visuals in the movies, but I shall probably return more often to this radio play than to the movies.

A great companion on the commuter bus and train, when perhaps at the end of the day I may not feel like reading.

A sentimental element - the Frodo here is wonderfully played by Ian Holm, who appeared some 20 years later as Bilbo in the movies.

I have not heard the later edition of this radio play, so my comments pertain only to this product in its own right.

BTW this edition is in the collection of several public libraries in my region, which are not exceptional in other respects, so it is probably widely available for free listening. ... Read more

Product Description
After ten years in prison for shooting -- and permanently crippling -- a young policeman, Victor Jenner is released to a strange new world and told to make a new life for himself. It's hard to fill the days, but at least there's one blessing -- he was never convicted for all those rapes he committed. Then Victor meets David, the policeman he shot all those years ago, and David's beautiful girlfriend, Clare. And suddenly Victor's new life is starting to look an awful lot like the old one . . .
... Read more

Customer Reviews (11)

A bit different from Rendell,but still terrific
The heart of this novel is the relationship between a rapist released from prison after serving his term and the policeman he's permanantly disabled.This time, Rendell is slow in buildng suspense, but still keeps the reader glued to the page as we see through the eyes of a severely mentally disabled personality.

INTRIGUING LOOK INTO THE SOCIO-PATHIC CRIMINAL MIND...
This is an absorbing story that could only have been crafted by Ruth Rendell, the doyenne of the quirky murder mystery and chiller killer thrillers. Here, she takes a look into the socio-pathic mind of the amoral Victor Jenner, released back into the world after serving ten years in prison for shooting and paralyzing a young police sergeant.

He tracks down the now wheelchair bound officer, meeting both him and his beautiful, devoted girlfriend. You see, in Victor's skewed world view, it was the officer's fault that he got shot, costing Victor ten of the best years of his life. Victor just wants to set the record straight. Who would have thought that they could all be friends? Therein lies the tale.

A Chilling, In-Depth Psychological Thriller!
"Live Flesh" is not the usual crime mystery/thriller. It is, however, a thrilling psychological study of a rapist, Victor Jenner, who suffers from chorea, a disease of the nervous system marked by involuntary, jerky movements of the arms, legs, and/or face. Sometimes this illness is called "live flesh." Victor also has a severe phobia of tortoises, along with a multitude of other neuroses. Throughout the novel, he feels a need for psychiatric treatment, but never follows through. Typically, he blames the system for not providing him with therapy. He does understand that he has serious problems, though, and more often than not knows the difference between right and wrong. The inimitable Ruth Rendell thoroughly explores Jenner's motives, secrets, and complex emotions. She paints a chilling portrait of a man doomed by violence he cannot control. This is obviously much more a book driven by characters, and their development, than by action. The heart of "Live Flesh" lies in the complexity of Victor Jenner's personality and how he interacts with others, two characters in particular. These people are all steeped in a web of consequences stemming from one single event, a gunshot, which alters their lives forever.

Victor Jenner was convicted of shooting a young police officer in the lower back and permanently crippling him. He had been holding a young woman hostage in her bedroom, after breaking and entering her home, while escaping from the scene of an attempted rape. David Fleetwood, the officer, had been trying to gain the woman's release. Victor was not tried for the attempted rape, or the numerous other acts of sexual violence he had successfully committed. The police probably had no idea he was responsible for the crimes. After ten years Jenner is released early, for good behavior. He has serious problems adjusting to life after incarceration. But then, he always had problems adjusting. His irrational thought processes cause him to blame everyone but himself for the events leading up to the shooting. Underneath, however, he feels tremendous guilt for giving in to his irresistible urges which cause so much harm to others. The author allows the reader to enter Jenner's mind, his very thoughts, throughout the novel. He constantly constructs false scenarios which absolve him of guilt. Primary among his rationalizations is that if David Fleetwood had not taunted him by saying that the gun was a fake, a replica, then he wouldn't have had to fire it in order to prove that it was real. Other rationalizations include: if the girl hadn't screamed, then he wouldn't have had to hold her hostage; and if his uncle hadn't owned a gun, which he had easy access to, he never would have had it in his possession. Victor is also firmly convinced that he is incapable of restraining himself because of the chorea, which acts up when he is stressed. He believes that his behavior is as blameless and uncontrollable as the involuntary twitching which torments him.

The plot takes an unusual twist when Victor looks to meet the man he maimed, now wheelchair bound. His delusions allow him to think that, for the first time in his life, he has found true friendship. I must say that I really empathized with Victor, right up until the conclusion - which is a stunning one. His crimes are heinous, but so is the life he has to live with himself. I don't absolve him. I just feel terribly sorry for him - which is all Ms. Rendell's doing. Her characters are rich and so believable. And her narrative is spellbinding. This is a brilliant analysis and portrayal of a deranged man.
JANA

AN INTRIGUING LOOK INTO THE SOCIO-PATHIC CRIMINAL MIND...
This is an absorbing story that could only have been crafted by Ruth Rendell, the doyenne of the quirky murder mystery and chiller killer thrillers. Here, she takes a look into the socio-pathic mind of the amoral Victor Jenner, released back into the world after serving ten years in prison for shooting and paralyzing a young police sergeant.

He tracks down the now wheelchair bound officer, meeting both him and his beautiful, devotedgirlfriend. You see, in Victor's skewed world view, it was the officer's fault that he got shot, costing Victor ten of the best years of his life. Victor just wants to set the record straight. Who would have thought that they could all be friends? Therein lies the tale.

Brilliant!
Though I must admit I might not have made it through this book if I'd read it (I need constant action), listening to it was a real experience. It was slow at the beginning, but I quickly got swept into Victor's world, and felt his humiliation, cringed at his perceptions, and rooted for him . . . for awhile. And then I absolutely hated him. Which, I daresay (can you tell I've been listening to too many British books?), is just what the author intended. Or at least she won't mind.

I thought the book was well read and all the characters were convincing. My favorite was David Fleetwood. I felt I knew him very well, even though only one chapter was from his perspective.

Rendell has written many wonderful books, and this is one of the best. I highly recommend it. ... Read more