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A review by lisakerd
The Empire by Michael Ball
5.0
What an absolute treat this book was after growing up listening to Michael Ball as Raoul and Marius, and all the other timeless showtunes he sang! I can’t believe this was Ball’s debut novel, it was excellent. What absolutely made the book all the more special was listening to his flawless audiobook, each character uniquely portrayed vocally. I would definitely recommend the audiobook for this reason, the only strange thing was the long pauses between chapters (which had me checking more than once to see if the NetGalley app had shut down.)
Although the number of characters is formidable, if you can follow the many storylines in Downton Abbey, The Empire’s large cast is doable. The storyline does require concentration to keep all the pieces straight, and I’m not sure if I would have liked it quite as much if it hadn’t been for Michael Ball’s notoriety and entertaining narration.
Overall, a delightful listen. As a musical theatre performer myself, I was absolutely tickled by Ball’s love letter to theatre which is this novel!
Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.
Although the number of characters is formidable, if you can follow the many storylines in Downton Abbey, The Empire’s large cast is doable. The storyline does require concentration to keep all the pieces straight, and I’m not sure if I would have liked it quite as much if it hadn’t been for Michael Ball’s notoriety and entertaining narration.
Overall, a delightful listen. As a musical theatre performer myself, I was absolutely tickled by Ball’s love letter to theatre which is this novel!
Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.