In this sequel to Volk’s Game (also available from Tantor and read by Hoye), Alekei “Volk” Volkovoy remains a covert military operative. Hoye’s tones of multilayered self-doubt and grief intensify as the hero must locate a Fabergé egg and find terrorists who bombed American property in Moscow. These missions force his return to bloody Chechnya—where he’d been captured, tortured, and maimed—and into the hands of his old enemy, Abreg. Hoye evokes heartfelt empathy for the anguished Volk, and for the agonizingly conflicted Abreg, too, a notable acting achievement. He skillfully reflects various Russian accents, some thickly guttural, and contrasts the subtle Russian rhythms and intonations of Volk as well as the southern-tinged American accent of a U.S. agent. The wrenchingly strong depictions of physical and emotional torture could distress some, but Hoye’s dark, brooding performance perfectly mirrors the plot. --Whitney Scott
Product Description
Long overshadowed by Jane Eyre, Villette is widely admired as one of Charlotte Brontë s finest works. This story of a young teacher at a girl s school in the city of Villette is a particular challenge for the young reader for it requires maturity of vision, a fine narrative sense and a command of French! Mandy Weston, a newcomer to Naxos AudioBooks, tells the story magnificently.