Many thanks to ECW Press Audio and Randal Graham for the advanced audio copy of Nether Regions via NetGalley, in return for my honest and unbiased review. Quick note: I don’t recap plots in my reviews, as it’s easy enough to read the book’s synopsis and blurbs, I purely focus on my feelings & opinions of how the books makes me feel.

Unfortunately, I did not enjoy the storyline of this book very much. I think this comes down to two reasons.
1. Despite having done a little prior research and seeing that this could be read without needing to read the preceding two books, I just could not get engaged into the story. Whilst I suspect I may have felt this way with the first book (see point 2) anyway, it didn’t help that I felt like there were subplots that I was missing and many ‘in jokes’ going over my head.
2. North American vs British type humour. It’s just…different. The book is the former, and I enjoy the latter. Whilst I’m very sure it will appeal to many, many people, to me it just felt like it was trying too hard most of the time. There was no nuance, no dry wit, no veiled witticism. It was just too in-your-face and “look, I know clever stuff, I’ve written it all down here”.

I can appreciate that this is a well written book and that it will appeal to a large group of people. I’m just aware that I’m not one of those people!

The narrator, however, was wonderful! They were extremely talented at voices and accents, and there were many for them to do throughout the book. Their skill was superb, and I do hope to hear them read other books in future.

Pace: medium
Character development: weak
Plot or character driven: plot
Diversity: medium

Rating
Story: 2.5/5
Audio: 5/5
Overall: 3/5 (rounded up because I loved the narrator)

In an alternate universe, Socrates is thought into existence by a city solicitor. He takes very literally ‘I think therefore I am’, after all he was thought into existence, therefore he can surely remove people from existence? Thus Socrates becomes an assassin.



Funny, wittily written with an amazingly original storyline full of adventure. Excellent! The tongue in cheek humour and writing style remind me of the Magic 2.0 series, so if you enjoyed that I would definitely give this a go.

This is the third instalment of the series, but it works fine as a stand alone. I do think going back and listening to them in the intended order would be best though. (I will definitely be listening to the previous books, as I really enjoyed this one).

The narrator is excellent with clear character voicing and a great range.

Delightful Hilarity From Aristotle to Zeus

🧡 Quick note: this is the third in a series and the first I heard. You can do this. I was able to follow the plot just fine. BUT, it’s a bit like being the outsider in a group of friends, where you don’t get the in-jokes. So, my recommendation is to start at the very beginning. Which, I am reliably told, is a very good place to start. Speaking of which…

💚 So, we have an all-knowing narrator with a penchant for hyperbolic similes and snarky asides. His tone is a mix of bemusement, circumspection and alarm with a good dose of stiff upper lip. Basically somewhere between Dr Gregory House and Arthur Dent. Then we have a whole cast of historic and mythical characters as seen through a funhouse mirrorscape. For example, Socrates is an assassin.

💜 I cannot express how much I love this. Except I can and I will. I love the Monty-Python-esque smart silliness, the themes both underlying and face-smackingly overt, the performance (see below) and the characters. I enjoyed every devastating destruction of the fourth wall and every moment of artistic licence with historic characters.
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SOUNDBITE

🎧 This audiobook got the highest of praise from me in the form of not one, but several snort-laughs. Narrator Raoul Bhaneja nails the tone throughout, mixing the deadpan with the dramatic effortlessly. It was my first time listening to him via audiobook, but wasn’t surprised to find his IMDB page crammed full of well-known franchises.

🎧 I found this very easy to follow, which is saying something given the density of historic allusions and the fact that I was new to this (after)world.

Big thanks to NetGalley and ECW Press Audio for providing me with an ALC in return for an honest review.

A comical book where Socrates is an assassin trying to take out those who remember the mortal world. I appreciated all the cleverness in this book and thought it was a really unique concept!