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Eight Million Ways to Die

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Eight Million Ways to Die

By: Lawrence Block
Narrated by: Lawrence Block
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About this listen

Battling the bottle one day at a time, ex-cop, sometime PI Matthew Scudder finds that next to staying sober, staying alive seems easy. But in the mean streets of New York City it never is. Not for the prostitute who wanted out and got her beautiful self slashed to ribbons. Not for a pimp named Chance who is betting his life that the broken-down detective can find her murderer. And not for Matthew Scudder - just trying to stay alive in a city that knows nothing better than how to die. Winner of the Shamus Award!

©1982 Lawrence Block; 2012 AudioGO Modern Detectives Mystery Suspense Thriller & Suspense Fiction

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All stars
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Initially I thought that Lawrence Blocks voice wasn’t as good as professional voice actors, but after a few minutes I didn’t even notice. The reading was great. The story more so. I just love these Scudder books. Real slow, but the tension is great.

So good

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..but for the suspicion that I've just been subjected to 9hrs of AA propaganda! A shame! I have enjoyed all the previous books. Respect to the author but I listen for entertainment not recruitment to cults.

Would be a great story..

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I could listen all day long to Lawrence Block's books whether he reads them or someone else. Just great writing. Loved it.

this is so cool

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This would have been my 4th Matthew Scudder story, but the narration is appealing. apparently it’s Mr block himself. Tragic. I’d rather read this myself.

Any other voice but this

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Listened to the audio while reading the book myself.
So interesting where the text was changed or he said, I said were inserted.
A real positive aspect here, above, that it was the best of the five Matt Scudder I have read, listened to was that the author Lawrence Block narrates his own novel.
It is his creation, it is his imagination that forged this wonderful character and terrific murder mystery and it is his voice that purrs with each word you read or hear.
Scudder is in crisis here and it is all of his own doing, his drinking too much.
His unravelling while trying to solve the murder of a high end prostitute is both fascinating, totally absorbing and full of tension.
It is a story that draws you in with the originality of plot, believable characters and realistic dialogue. This is New York in the early 1980’s raw and unapologetic. A story of a stubborn private detective who can’t give up, who knocks doors, jots stuff down and is incredibly human.
I love reading, but the best books in audio versions come alive with great narration. Eight Million Ways to Die is a fine example of that.

Dark and gritty

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Have you listened to any of Lawrence Block’s other performances? How does this one compare?

Great book, and well read. I'm a fan of Block and the Scudder series. This is the first book of the Scudder series that breaks away from the formula of boozing-detective, as Scudder realises he has a drinking problem and exerts as much effort fighting his urge to drink as he does solving the mystery. So well written and crafted, all the story holds up except perhaps for the ending which was a bit 80s-B-movie for me, but considering this was written in 1982, is holds up amazingly well. I didn't read/ listen to this for a long time as I'd seen an awful film version, but the plot had been changed and has nothing to do with the plot of the novel (funny how Hollywood does that). Highly recommended

Brilliant noir

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the author
should have stuck to writing .it was spoilt by the auther narrating it.

disappointed

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I don't love this narrator, no big flaws just OK but the plot and character development just carried him! Best so far. Possibly best overall? I missed bits by dropping off but always went bac so I never missed a bit. When reading a good book I had the weird habit of nipping to the back, oddly the more exciting and intriguing the story the more often I did it. Well I went to the last chapter with about 90 mins to go and... Stopped myself. It was a long habit to break - old now! - but I did. I just took the book everywhere. I didn't want it to end as I was enjoying it so much. I have preferred English authors and female protagonists - often if not always flawed or damaged - but thus book just appealed

Superb

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Brilliantly narrated by one of the masters. Compelling Harrowing story about a tough and brutal old NYC.

Superb narration.

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Lawrence is a fantastic writer but terrible narrator. There is a reason professional narrators exist. They make the books come alive . This flat monotone narration almost had me giving up on a number of occasions what was actually a really good story.

Please do not narrate your own books

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