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    The String Diaries: A Novel
    Unavailable
    The String Diaries: A Novel
    Unavailable
    The String Diaries: A Novel
    Audiobook13 hours

    The String Diaries: A Novel

    Written by Stephen Lloyd Jones

    Narrated by Gemma Whelan

    4/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    A family is hunted by a centuries-old monster: a man with a relentless obsession who can take on any identity.

    The String Diaries opens with Hannah frantically driving through the night--her daughter asleep in the back, her husband bleeding out in the seat beside her. In the trunk of the car rests a cache of diaries dating back 200 years, tied and retied with strings through generations. The diaries carry the rules for survival that have been handed down from mother to daughter since the 19th century. But how can Hannah escape an enemy with the ability to look and sound like the people she loves?

    Stephen Lloyd Jones's debut novel is a sweeping thriller that extends from the present day, to Oxford in the 1970s, to Hungary at the turn of the 19th century, all tracing back to a man from an ancient royal family with a consuming passion--a boy who can change his shape, insert himself into the intimate lives of his victims, and destroy them.

    If Hannah fails to end the chase now, her daughter is next in line. Only Hannah can decide how much she is willing to sacrifice to finally put a centuries-old curse to rest.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHachette Audio
    Release dateJul 1, 2014
    ISBN9781478953708
    Unavailable
    The String Diaries: A Novel

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    Reviews for The String Diaries

    4/5

    341 ratings50 reviews

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    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 4/5
      A great and entertaining supernatural thriller about long living shapeshifters amongst us. Extra plus for me that it's party set in Hungary with Hungarian characters and places. Clear to see that the author made a great and throughout research because apart from a few accent mark mistakes everything is correct. I've already ordered the sequel.
    • 5/5
      Gemma Whalen narrator? Gold star, five gold stars in fact! She lends her skills to the story so well it was more than enjoyable to tag along for the shifting POV.Stephen Lloyd Jones writer? Awesome and five stars again! I was so drawn in by his writing I would find hours had gone by while I worked and I didn't want to stop listening. There is a historical vibrancy to this tale of fantasy and fiction. He put me much in the mindset of Elizabeth Kostova's The Historian (a long time favorite of mine), but his pacing is better and not as heavy. It wasn't predictable and the characters never seemed to bore me. I want more! Definitely owning this book and the next...and looking forward to the reprise of Gemma's role as narrator for book two!
    • 3/5
      I'm not sure how to rate this novel. It's well written mostly and drew me in. But I didn't love it. It does drag on too long and I think the end lets it down. There is a sudden appearance of a load of new characters and I got very confused as to who was who and what they wanted. And I felt the final death was necessary and to then find a way to reverse it was a cheat. It would have been better to keep it. I guess my feeling about this book is summed up in that I won't be seeking the sequel.
    • 5/5
      synopsis:a family is hunted by a near immortal shape shifter. I wish there were more to it, but when it comes down to it... that's all it is.review:I would have given this book a 5 star rating if the author had been able to control himself and not written the last two or three chapters. I felt like it was too anticlimactic and petty for me, others may find it endearing and just as beautiful as the rest of the book, I, however, did not. That said, it is beautifully and eerily written! The story line progressed slowly, about 80-90 pages in I knew what was going on, but don't mistake that as the story itself being slow or uninteresting until then. Quite the opposite, I found myself in love with the book from the first chapter and just let the author tell me story. Like I previously stated, the only disappointment was the ending, and it held such promise to end well.
    • 4/5
      I am enjoying so far and will update star rating once finished other than one thing. The narrators swollowing sounds are awful. I have never noticed this in an audiobook before. Would it have killed to edit it out?
    • 5/5
      a great story...I need more! looking for book number 2!!
    • 5/5
      unexpected ending. kept me wondering the entire book and all my guesses were wrong.
    • 5/5
      Very interesting and engaging. Well written and good pacing. Better than a Netflix binge!
    • 5/5
      great book. loved the audio book. although there were a ton of words I didnt really understand (being from a different language) I would have probably gotten too hung up on them while reading this book rather than listening to it.
    • 4/5
      I love this book!! If only I could finish it, but it won't play chapter 26, it keeps skipping back to the beginning of chapter 26, it won't cooperate for some reason. If you can get the whole book to play, it's very interesting and a lot of fun once it gets going
    • 4/5
      An excellent story, told very well. This would also make a great movie. I would have given 5 stars but the ending was a little long. Great read!
    • 4/5
      Could not put it down. Every chapter is a cliffhanger.
    • 4/5
      The reason for the intense and never ending hunt is not really explained in equal proportion to the effort that appears in this book. Otherwise, I really enjoyed the chase!!
    • 3/5
      While I loved the story I did not care for the audio recording. You could hear the narrator swallowing and breathing which was disconcerting. Otherwise the story was very interesting and unique and well developed.
    • 5/5
      This is a great book written by a great author and read by a wonderful voice.
    • 5/5
      Different, to say the least, but it sucks you in! Well worth the read!
    • 4/5
      fun read, somewhat predictable end. It was an entertaining read.
    • 5/5
      Love the narrator, though sometimes it was difficult to tell when multiple people were having a conversation, they ran together a little bit. She does excellent accents though and sounded like she was a part of the action. Loved the story! Very unique, kept me guessing and wanting to know more until the end.
    • 3/5
      Book was too long. Story should be told in half the words used to move the action forward. Too much graphic violence for me. But the characters seemed real, and Jakab was an especially creepy sociopath, and a wily opponent.
    • 5/5
      I could not stop listening to the audio version of this book! The author has chosen his words very carefully and his descriptions of action scenes in particular are spectacular. I must praise the narrator as well, as she did a fantastic job varying her voice depending on the characters and what the scene demanded. Pain and fear were palpable at various points. Her voice and Jones' words truly transported me into the book. There were multiple times while listening and driving that I momentarily forgot where I was. I can't wait to listen to the second book!
    • 5/5
      The best book I've EVER listened to! loved every minute of it! HIGHLY RECOMMENDED FOR THOSE WHO LOVE THILLERS!
    • 4/5
      I didn't expect to enjoy this as much as I did! In the style of Michel Faber, otherworldlyness is inserted in our world with little acknowledgment that it is science fiction. I really liked the characters and the narrator.
    • 4/5
      It was interesting. Unfortunately I found the antagonist to be very one dimensional and I really had difficulty understanding his motivation. Just saying he was insane seemed a bit of a cop out. I also kept asking myself why would these people keep having children, which seemed like a selfish inadvisable choice. There were just a lot of unanswered questions for me. In fairness to do the premise justice it would require a series. The pace built through the book and I was interested in the denouement. Overall I liked it.
    • 3/5
      The ending is a big let down; Jones breaks the rules of his own internal universe and gives us a paltry "Don't ask me to explain it" excuse. Otherwise it's not a bad read, and the audiobook is performed wonderfully by Whelan.
    • 5/5
      A book that really pulls u in from page one. Written to where u can easily see the scenes in your head. Plus an amazing ending. Enjoy!
    • 4/5
      I enjoyed this quite a bit more than I expected. It read as a thriller with a slight sci-fi/creature bent. It also seems ripe for being adapted for film.
    • 3/5
      The end pissed me off. No lead in, no breadcrumbs, just a revilation witjout proff.
    • 4/5
      Entertaining supernatural thriller. Well written, good characters, and a good payoff at the end.
    • 3/5
      Hannah arrives at a safe house in the middle of nowhere with a sleeping daughter and a bleeding husband. In a frantic attempt to save his life, she invites in a complete stranger to clean and close the wounds. Shortly after she settles down, Hannah notices an all too familiar mark on the stranger’s hand that may bring to light his true intentions. You see ,Hannah is on the run, and what’s chasing her may not be recognizable at first..

      The book is about a lot more than that, trust me, but to fully divulge the plot would most certainly risk spoilers, so you can imagine that Stephen Lloyd Jones’ debut novel is a difficult one to talk about it. There’s a lot going on within these four hundred plus pages and while there are a few intense action scenes and thrilling moments (don’t trust that guy/woman/thing!), the whole plot feels like it’s going through the motions.

      While the scattered timeline narrative used in Jones’ novel is often something I have issues with – obviously no fault of the author, just a preference on my part – it fit well given the subject matter. I liked the use of travelling through time (so to speak) to expand and flesh out the mythology surrounding the villainous Jakab and his relentless pursuit of Hannah and her predecessors.

      Overall, I felt the story was OK but didn’t particularly knock my socks off. Jones is a hell of a writer when it comes to frenetic action – I’d love to see more of that from him in the future. In my opinion, he’ll definitely be an author to watch in the coming years.

      Also posted @ Every Read Thing
    • 2/5
      I couldn't get into the audiobook. The narrator's constant spit swallowing is very distracting and sounds disgusting. She has a lovely voice but I can't get past that noise.