Timeless by Gail Carriger: Audiobook Review

Book: Timeless (The Parasol Protectorate #5) by Gail Carriger, Hachette Audio, March 1, 2012

Audiobook Info:  Received for review from Audiobook Jukebox and AudioGo,  Audio length: 11 hours 29 minutes, read by Emily Gray.

Rating: 4 / 5 Stars

I finished Heartless, and dove right into the last book in the series, Timeless. Don’t you love when that happens? Reading series books back to back is the best. The final book in the Parasol Protectorate series takes place a couple years after the last installment with our heroine Alexia facing several exciting challenges. Alexia is living in Lord Akeldama’s closet, and the werewolves also have a new residence. She’s adjusting to life with a uniquely talented toddler, and along comes a summons from the vampire Queen of Alexandria.

The series conclusion wraps up some of the loose ends, but some of the storylines are teasingly left open. There are juicy twists and reveals, plenty of humor and trademark Alexia-ism’s, though it’s also bittersweet at times. I’m glad there will be not one, but two spinoffs to keep the series alive.

The setting jumps from Egypt to London and there are some big developments happening in both locales. I preferred sticking with Alexia, her family and the Tunstells brood in Egypt, but it was also interesting learning more about Biffy and the goings on back in London. Sometimes the switch between locations would get a little tiresome as I got hooked on a particular storyline but I was never bored.

You never know how it’s going to work when a child is added into the mix of a series, but Prudence was a breath of fresh air. Her scenes were standouts in terms of comic relief and her charming way always brightened the mood. Her precociousness allowed her to be involved in the plot as well.

I started getting nervous midway through about the direction of the book and was thinking Carriger was really making some bold choices for her characters. There are some surprise pairings and turns of events that really kept me on my toes.

I again listened to the audiobook version, and Emily Gray is still wonderful. Her pacing is just right and consistent throughout. There are some emotional highs and lows in this book and she conveys the appropriate tone to set the mood. There are a lot of adventures with Biffy in this book and the narration made his story even more intriguing. Also, Gray does very well with the voice of Prudence- a tricky thing to bring a terrible two to life convincingly. But her calls of “No”, “Dama”, and “Mama” were cute and fun. The setting and time frame come to life with Gray’s narration. I’ve read three of the books, and listened to two of the audiobooks and both formats are great, though Gray gives the story something extra that makes the experience more enjoyable overall.

The Parasol Protectorate series is a treat, and I loved reading all the books and following Alexia’s adventures. Thankfully I don’t have to be too sad that it’s over because Gail Carriger has two more series in the works. I can’t wait to read the YA spinoff prequel in early 2013 entitled Etiquette and Espionage, and Prudence’s Parasol Protectorate Abroad series to follow later in the year.

Ornament

3 thoughts on “Timeless by Gail Carriger: Audiobook Review

  1. VeganYANerds says:

    I’m really glad to hear you enjoyed the final book in the series and you are so right, reading series books all in a row is fantastic! You’ve got me really excited to start this series now 🙂

  2. Fyrefly says:

    I haven’t tried any of these in audio, but I can only imagine how tough it must have been to do Prudence’s voice! Nice to hear the narrator does it well.

    Like you, I also got a little frustrated occasionally with the shift in viewpoint, but I wanted more of Lyall & Biffy… they’ve been my favorites for several books. 🙂

  3. I had never listened to any of these in audio either. I love reading the books, but for some reason they slow me down when I read them. The humor and the characters draw me in, but there is just something about them that keep me from reading them as fast as I do other books. Glad you enjoyed it. I loved it and am so sorry to see the series come to an end. I’m super excited that Gail Carriger is starting a couple of new series though. Hopefully we will still get glimpses of Alexia and crew through the new characters. 😉

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