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Casting the Runes

By: M. R. James
Narrated by: David Suchet
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Summary

The tale of a man who unwittingly angers a sorcerer, who is assumed by some Monty scholars to be based on the self-styled 'Great Beast,' occultist Aleister Crowley.

Montague Rhodes James was a noted British mediaeval scholar and provost of King's College, Cambridge (1905–1918) and of Eton College (1918–1936). He is best remembered for his ghost stories which are widely regarded as among the finest in English literature.

One of James's most important achievements was to redefine the ghost story for the new century by dispensing with many of the formal Gothic trappings of his predecessors, and replacing them with more realistic contemporary settings.

'Montague Rhodes James has an intelligent and scientific knowledge of human nerves and feelings; and knows just how to apportion statement, imagery, and subtle suggestions in order to secure the best results with his readers.' HP Lovecraft.

Actor David Suchet is best known for his definitive portrayal of Hercule Poirot, the Belgian detective created by the legendary mystery author Agatha Christie, in a number of international television productions. He narrates his story in Poirot and Me.

©1904 M. R. James (P)2013 Audible Ltd
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What listeners say about Casting the Runes

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too silky

I love David Suchet, but for this one I am really wanting a bit more of the sinister undertones. This is after all story of the supernatural, and I was expecting to feel a little but of bit of a thrill. Suchet delivers with class and poise but it's far too relaxed for the spooky matter at hand.
Coded allusion to The Great Beast drew me to this tale, but alas I found the narrative cinstructiion a bit '3rd person' and bitty . Compared to MRJ's other classic works (which I love) I just wasn't feeling this. Perhaps I'll go and seek out a BBC version (must be one out there) for better results.

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Great storytelling. very well read. thank you sir

David sachet is one best storytelling people around to date . Well done sir. x

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Stunning performance

.....as are all of Mr Suchets readings of M.R. James. such a pity there aren't more.

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3 people found this helpful

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classic ghost story

m r james at his best read superbly by David suchet. having read all of m r james ghost stories it is a real pleasure to listen to this rendition

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Wonderful narration of an average story

David Suchet breathed as much life into this story as possible. Unfortunately, the story is rather slow and lacks tension or atmosphere. That’s a shame, because I liked the general idea, it was just let down in the telling.

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Excellent narration of a ghostly tale

M.R. James' ghost stories are wonderfully atmospheric and creepy and David Suchet's narration brings them wonderfully (horribly!) to life. The characters are well defined with different voices / tones and when put together with D.S.'s lovely voice made the whole listening experience great. I will be listening to this again but I will also be hunting out more books/ stories narrated by David Suchet as his voice is lovely and his narration very skilful and engaging; even without seeing his expression, the feelings of the characters came through brilliantly. Loved it.

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Excellent performance

Brilliant story , one of my favourite MRJ tales and beautifully read by the narrator

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David Suchet is an exceptional reader

First rate performance of a great ghost story.

I didn't think anyone could better Michael Hordern's readings of the ghost stories of M.R. James, but David Suchet has certainly done that with his readings for Audible. Brilliant stuff.

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Derek Jacobi is more scary!

Great story, great narration, but personally I prefer Derek Jacobi. Also the music needs to be more eerie.

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Very entertaining version

clearly read with a good rendition of the various character voices, the build up to the story climax has a sinister undertone giving the fate the
leading character is trying to avoid.

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