Another Review at MyShelf.Com

Publisher: Tantor Media
Release Date: July 2002
ISBN: 1400100437
Awards:
Format Reviewed: Audio book - CD / Unabridged edition / 7 CDs, / 8 hours, 6 minutes
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Genre: Classic Fiction
Reviewed: 2004
Reviewer: Brenda Weeaks
Reviewer Notes: I highly recommend the Tantor Media's unabridged classic audio books to those working or learning in Higher Ed.
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The Ring of Thoth & Other Tales
By Arthur Conan Doyle

Narrated by John Bolen

      Arthur Conan Doyle’s passion for mysteries, the supernatural, and the unexpected were most certainly the inspiration for his short stories. This particular set of stories take place in various locations, such as England, Canada, Africa, America, and Australia. The subjects are various as well -- the paranormal, love, fate, humor, etc., but some of his main characters are similar in that they are doctors, as was he. The one thing I personally enjoy about Doyle’s writings IS the unexpected, and readers will get plenty of that in The Ring of Thoth & Other Tales.

      The Captain of the Polestar: When the Polestar becomes trapped in an enormous ice field, the crew complains of eerie cries and visions of a ghost. The Captain quickly becomes obsessed with this ghostly form and John M’Alister Ray, student of medicine, decides to keep a psychological study of his Captain as a record – a record, he’s sure, no one will believe.

      J. Habakuk Jephson's Statement: The Marie Celeste is brought back from sea by the British ship Dei Gratia. The ship’s supplies and cargo are intact, but the crew and passengers have vanished. Ten years after the discovery, Jepson, a doctor of medicine, pens a statement of the ill-fated voyage, but . . . is he to be believed.

      That Little Square Box: Hammond is a man of peculiar temperament. A spiritualist mentioned he was sensitive in regard to supernatural phenomena. Hammond boards the Spartan, heading for England. When he overhears two gentlemen, hiding between two colossal chests, fussing over a strange little box, he attempts to stop the danger he “senses.” It’s an eyebrow raising adventure.

      John Huxford's Hiatus: “So crowded is this old globe of ours, and so interlaced our interests, that one cannot think a new thought without some poor devil being the better or the worse for it.” Don Diego starts a new business. In England, Mr. Charles Fairbairn closes his business. Fairbairn sends his best worker, Huxford Canada for a job. A chain of events and a journey sets Huxford on a life-changing adventure -- a touching story of faith.

     The Ring of Thoth: Student Vansittart Smith believes the man standing before him in the Louvre is a madman, as he shares the story of living during the reign of Tuthmosis, sixteen hundred years before the birth of Christ. His desire is the ring of Troth, which holds the key to the woman he loves. It’s a story of love beyond the ages – or is it?

     Other stories in this collection are: The Great Kleinplatz Experiment, The Man from Archangel, A Literary Mosaic, John Barrington Cowles, and Elias B. Hopkins.

     Tantor Media brings the classics of Arthur Conan Doyle to life through narrator John Bolen. Bolen’s gift of dialects helps to draw the listeners in. It’s mystery, humor, and fascination for all, so forget the headphones and share some classics.