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chicagobob's review
4.0
Rewriting of Hamlet in novel form for an excellent audiobook reader. It worked very well for me. You know the plot.
ipreferquiet's review against another edition
3.0
Hamlet as a thriller, superbly narrated by Richard Armitage.
irishhuggs's review
5.0
"Read" this a an audio book. It was never a favorite play but I really enjoyed this novel, and with Richard Armitage narrating, how can it be bad? :)
szachary's review
5.0
an oustanding adaptation of a familiar story. I have to say even though I knew the plot and characters before hand, the authors found a way to shine new lights on the story. Surprisingly the authors notes at the end were a welcome hidden gem.
catmos's review
3.0
I gave the book 3 stars, because 3.5 isn't allowed, and it simply wasn't up to the forth star.
The biggest thing to remember when approaching the story is that it cannot live up to the play, no matte how hard they try.
The writing itself became monotonous to me about halfway through, and I found myself continuing just to see how they presented different scenes. Some of the suspense and plot twists they tried to add to the story were obvious, and not enough on their own to keep you drawn in.
Part of what has made the play so timeless is the ambiguity present at so many scenes. The interesting thing about the novel is seeing how they interpreted those big questions.
In the end, this isn't a book I would recommend to people on its own. However fans of Shakespeare, especially those interested in the interpretation of Shakespeare, would likely find this book amusing.
The biggest thing to remember when approaching the story is that it cannot live up to the play, no matte how hard they try.
The writing itself became monotonous to me about halfway through, and I found myself continuing just to see how they presented different scenes. Some of the suspense and plot twists they tried to add to the story were obvious, and not enough on their own to keep you drawn in.
Part of what has made the play so timeless is the ambiguity present at so many scenes. The interesting thing about the novel is seeing how they interpreted those big questions.
In the end, this isn't a book I would recommend to people on its own. However fans of Shakespeare, especially those interested in the interpretation of Shakespeare, would likely find this book amusing.
stephen11's review
5.0
Audiobook version. Great variation. Wonderful narration. I'm definitely going to read the authors version of "Macbeth" sometime.
girish0731's review
5.0
Hamlet, the masterpiece amongst tragic dramas needs less said by myself.
This audio-book done by Richard Armitage just takes this classic to a different level.
This audio-book done by Richard Armitage just takes this classic to a different level.
fdterritory's review
5.0
I was really torn by this at first. It's not a paraphrase as much as a reimagining and a filling-in-the-blanks. Because of this, Hartley has no interest in following canon or "sticking to the story". Since Hamlet is my favorite Shakespeare, it felt really wrong at first. But I was enthralled by the story...by what people knew, and who, and when. All of the characters are well-colored and vivid, and I couldn't stop once it got going. Excellent work all around. I'm not sure I'd recommend you read this IF YOU'VE NEVER READ HAMLET, because it would definitely color your view of it. But as your second viewing of the classic story? Totally.
paulataua's review
2.0
I get what commentators have said about it not being about regurgitating Shakespeare, and how we should judge it on its own merits. Unfortunately, I really didn’t get it. It seemed to suffer from not giving enough time to developing the story, but rather seemed hell bent on rushing through the action, and I really wonder how much I would have really understood if I hadn’t had previous knowledge of the play. I guess I am one of a very small minority who found it a little boring among a large majority who loved it. There’s no accounting for taste.