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Metronome

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Metronome

By: Tom Watson
Narrated by: Christine Hewitt
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About this listen

Bloomsbury presents Metronome by Tom Watson, read by Christine Hewitt.

Shortlisted for the Arthur C. Clarke Award
Longlisted for the Goldsboro Books Glass Bell Award

‘Imagined with an impressively detailed three-dimensional solidity’ Sunday Times
'I loved it … You could feel the chill of the wind … Fantastic; it’s a great book' Sara Cox, BBC Two 'Between the Covers'
‘Stylish and thoughtful … The eerie claustrophobia of the setting will stay with the reader for a long while.' Literary Review
'Unputdownable … An extraordinary book … as insightful and as premonitory as Orwell’s 1984’ Litro
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Not all that is hidden is lost.

For twelve years Aina and Whitney have been in exile on an island for a crime they committed together, tethered to a croft by pills they must take for survival every eight hours. They’ve kept busy – Aina with her garden, her jigsaw, her music; Whitney with his sculptures and maps – but something is not right.

Shipwrecks have begun washing up, and their supply drops have stopped. And on the day they’re meant to be collected for parole, the Warden does not come. Instead there’s a sheep. But sheep can’t swim…

As days pass, Aina begins to suspect that their prison is part of a peninsula, and that Whitney has been keeping secrets. And if he’s been keeping secrets, maybe she should too. Convinced they’ve been abandoned, she starts investigating ways she might escape. As she comes to grips with the decisions that haunt her past, she realises her biggest choice is yet to come.
___________________________________________________
'Taut, unsettling and so completely charged with both tension and emotion' Naomi Ishiguro
'With echoes of Emily St John Mandel and Megan Hunter' Elizabeth Macneal
'Tense, taut and absorbing' Gemma Reeves
'As moving as it is chilling' Emma Stonex

©2022 Tom Watson (P)2022 Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Dystopian Literary Fiction Science Fiction Suspense Fiction Emotionally Gripping Exciting Scary
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What listeners say about Metronome

Average customer ratings
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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Raw, unnerving for a possible future narrative

Overall a great story, a new story and take on the future of humanity and how things can go wrong. The story teller was fantastic, she did a great job performing the different characters. Would have liked more of an ending, for me to close the story.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent

Beautifully written. The story carries you along with it's ups and downs. The book I wish I had the ability to write.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Excellent

Picked this after it was featured on Between The Covers as I wouldn’t otherwise have been drawn to it. Totally hooked from the start. The narrator was excellent. Unlike anything else I have read.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Brilliant

An interesting story. The suspense and suspicion between Aina and Whitney is carefully crafted throughout the story. It's slow paced, but captivating. I wasn't happy with the ending 🤣

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Promised much but never took off

I loved the idea and was waiting patiently for this book to develop into the story I hoped it would become. Unfortunately it never did… To call it a slow burner would be an understatement. The narrator is good and the underlying Idea is great, but there is very little action or plot to make it worth your time. Disappointing overall.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Fantastic

A fantastic story, I really hope there is a sequel as there is so much more to tell!

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Not my usual listen but gripping

I wasn’t sure if this was going to be for me, but I got drawn into the story. The narration was first class, the descriptions were beautifully done. I became involved in wanting to know whether it was a further test or not and it didn’t disappoint. I remained gripped to the end.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Very different to anything I’ve read before.

A couple are stranded ( imprisoned ?) on a desolate island. The book unfolds to tell the reader that only hey are on the island and have been for 12 twelve. The reason for their abandonment becomes clear as the story progresses.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Brilliant idea

Great story .. only gave three stars as books like this should come with a warning….. The ending is not clear and you will end up trying to decide what really happened yourself.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Metronome review

Great, stripped-back narrative with an interesting concept. Fleshed out characters and thought provoking themes of time, life, parenthood, and human vulnerability.

Well performed by the reader. It was nice to hear northern accents.

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