Beast cover

Beast

Buckmaster Trilogy • Book 2

by Paul Kingsnorth

Narrated by Simon Vance

3.49 ABR Score (1.4K ratings)
★ 3.21 Goodreads (1.4K) ★ 3.78 Audible (36)
3h 59m Released 2017 Literature & Fiction

Why Listen?

Simon Vance's measured, unsettling delivery transforms Kingsnorth's fever dream into something genuinely haunting—a lean existential thriller that feels less like a story and more like a warning whispered in the dark.

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About This Audiobook

Edward Buckmaster retreats to the wild isolation of England's west-country moors, carrying burdens from a past he struggles to articulate. Alone in this harsh landscape, he confronts not only the brutal elements but something far more unsettling: glimpses of a creature that seems to stalk him from the periphery of his vision. As his obsession with this elusive beast intensifies, the boundaries between external reality and internal torment begin to dissolve, forcing Buckmaster into a primal confrontation with his own fractured psyche.

Simon Vance delivers a haunting performance that captures both the raw vulnerability and mounting paranoia of Kingsnorth's protagonist. His nuanced narration moves seamlessly between moments of quiet desperation and escalating psychological tension, allowing listeners to feel the weight of the moor's oppressive atmosphere. Vance's measured pacing mirrors the novel's deliberate structure, while his ability to convey subtle shifts in mental state makes this exploration of isolation particularly effective in audio format. The production's clean quality ensures that every whispered doubt and fevered observation resonates with unsettling clarity.