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    The Last Siege
    Unavailable
    The Last Siege
    Unavailable
    The Last Siege
    Audiobook6 hours

    The Last Siege

    Written by Jonathan Stroud

    Narrated by David Thorn

    3/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    A chance encounter on the snowy slopes of a castle moat throws together three lonely teenagers: Emily, Simon, and the highly imaginative and enigmatic Marcus.

    At first, the castle's ruins are merely the backdrop to a day in the snow. But when the three break in to the forbidden interior of the keep, they find the castle taking on a different, and deeper, meaning. Despite the freezing conditions, they spend the night there, to experience the power of occupation.

    But when the reenactment gets out of control a very real siege ensues, and their playful dare soon turns into a frenzy of nightmarish action.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Random House Audio
    Release dateSep 12, 2006
    ISBN9780739336618
    Unavailable
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    Reviews for The Last Siege

    3/5

    50 ratings8 reviews

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    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 3/5
      In The Last Siege by Jonathan Stroud, it's winter vacation in the English countryside and Emily is bored. When she and local delinquent Simon meet Marcus, a boy their age with a passion for castles and sieges, they concoct the idea of getting into the local ruined castle and poking around a bit. This plan eventually morphs into an overnight stay at the castle (which is closed to the public). But Marcus has bigger plans than that, and his friends must soon decide where their loyalties lie. This is well written, wry and intelligent, but somehow it doesn't go far enough. I kept waiting for the real story to begin, and then it was over. And rather less nicely than I had hoped it would turn out, too. It has a more modern twist to it, the kind that would be considered Psychologically Important and analyzed in a classroom—rather than savored by the reader. If it wasn't a rather short audiobook (six discs) and I didn't have some decent pockets of listening time after I started it, I don't know that I would have been motivated to finish. And yet with all its shortcomings, this story has that quality about it that I first noticed in Stroud's Bartimaeus books: it gave me a hunger to go find another book, another series and swallow it whole, immerse myself in it, recapture a bit of what reading was like when I was a child and it wasn't a luxury, but a part of the everyday experience of life. A book that gives me a hunger for more books can't be that bad. But that desire is probably the most distinctive thing to me about this story. Meh.
    • 2/5
      I loved the Bartimaeus Trilogy, but this book fell flat for me.
    • 2/5
      I agree with the other three reviews - a fair enough story, easy to read, and interesting teenage characters, but the promise of something more interesting than what ACTUALLY happens never amounts to anything more than an overnight stay in a cold and windy building. The storyline is basically one teen lying to his friends, which gets them into slightly more trouble with the local police than they bargained for, ending in the teens holing up in an abandoned castle while the frustrated and - quite rightly so - angry adults try to get them out.. Sadly, I think this story could have been better...
    • 2/5
      I really wanted to like this one more than I did. A terrific idea that I felt was underdeveloped.
    • 4/5
      A trio of very different children meet and decide to break into an old castle and camp out there. These three teenagers don't really fit in with other kids and find themselves enjoying the feeling of togetherness. When Marcus returns the next day with bruises and blames his father they have to do something but is it the right something?Not really what I expected having read the Bartimeaus trilogy but still a good read.
    • 3/5
      This book was ok and I did enjoy reading it in a lazy kind of way, but not a lot happens for most of the story, and I never really felt much of a sense of danger or excitement that I was expecting from the synopsis. I liked the descriptions of the castle and setting, and found the shifting moods, loyalties, and motivations of the main characters interesting. The sense of that weird kind of fleeting but intense friendship that can develop between strangers in an unusual situation was this books strongest asset in my mind.
    • 3/5
      In The Last Siege by Jonathan Stroud, it's winter vacation in the English countryside and Emily is bored. When she and local delinquent Simon meet Marcus, a boy their age with a passion for castles and sieges, they concoct the idea of getting into the local ruined castle and poking around a bit. This plan eventually morphs into an overnight stay at the castle (which is closed to the public). But Marcus has bigger plans than that, and his friends must soon decide where their loyalties lie. This is well written, wry and intelligent, but somehow it doesn't go far enough. I kept waiting for the real story to begin, and then it was over. And rather less nicely than I had hoped it would turn out, too. It has a more modern twist to it, the kind that would be considered Psychologically Important and analyzed in a classroom—rather than savored by the reader. If it wasn't a rather short audiobook (six discs) and I didn't have some decent pockets of listening time after I started it, I don't know that I would have been motivated to finish. And yet with all its shortcomings, this story has that quality about it that I first noticed in Stroud's Bartimaeus books: it gave me a hunger to go find another book, another series and swallow it whole, immerse myself in it, recapture a bit of what reading was like when I was a child and it wasn't a luxury, but a part of the everyday experience of life. A book that gives me a hunger for more books can't be that bad. But that desire is probably the most distinctive thing to me about this story. Meh.
    • 4/5
      I had listened to The Last Siege before my local library withdrew it, but I remembered only that I'd liked it when I bought it at one of the Friends of the Library bookstores. I love history and would have enjoyed staying overnight in the partially ruined castle (not that I could have gotten in the way Emily, Simon, and Marcus did). The story is told in third person, from Emily's viewpoint. She and Simon are local. Simon comes from a family that is frequently in trouble with the law, although he hasn't been. Marcus is the outsider they meet when, along with other kids, they sneak into the castle grounds during winter, when it's closed to the public. Marcus, with his love of history, makes the castle seem more than a familiar landmark that the others have seen during school field trips. His longing to get inside infects them. How they manage it without being caught by Mr. Harris, the cantankerous caretaker, takes up the first part of the story. Once they're inside, they find a room that has been restored, but empty. It's Emily's idea for them to spend one night in the castle -- a real adventure. (Mr. Harris did come in, but never found them. Emily's hiding place seems the most painful to me.)They come prepared with wood, sleeping bags, food, and drink. Simon builds a fire in the room, then they close the door and explore some more. Marcus takes one of the pamphlet guides from the hut in the lobby. He tells the others about the castle, including the siege in which it was captured. It's an enthralling story. Too bad they overslept. It's not such a big deal for Emily and Simon, but Marcus is terrified about how angry his father will be if he's late getting home. Still, they clean up as best they can before leaving.A couple of days later, Emily is walking in the woods around the castle and runs into Simon. He saw a sign that someone was inside the ancient building, so they check. Yes, it's Marcus. He's run away from home and is camping in the castle. The story he tells about what happened to him after he got home arouses Simon and Emily's anger and sympathy. Too bad Marcus accidentally made it possible for his father to find him.The three work together to secure the castle, hence the "last siege". Marcus comes up with some very ingenious ideas. The police, firefighters, and at least one social worker are trying to get them to come out. Simon doesn't trust the police at all. Janet, the social worker who talks to Marcus and Emily from outside, fails to reassure Emily that Marcus will be safe if he leaves.The tension builds during the hours that the adults try to get in and get them. The descriptions of the cold and fleeing through corridors, arches, up stairs and down, especially in the unsafe parts (during a snow storm when much of the castle roof is gone), certainly kept my attention. I haven't read the Bartimaeus Trilogy, so I wasn't expecting this book to be anything like those books. Perhaps if I had, I would have been disappointed. As it was, I was proud of Emily for the way she handled the climax.