All Entries in the "The Chopin Manuscript" Category
Chopin now available to read
The Chopin Manuscript on Kindle
In a way anyway. ITW’s audio project The Chopin Manuscript, which won the prized audio Oscar an Audie earlier this year, is now available in book for, electronically that is. The work is out for Kindle, Amazon’s e-book reader.
That means sadly it is largely confined to the US for now (though my old mate Kathryn Fox somehow manages to own a Kindle she picked up on eBay and use it from Australia - hope this doesn’t dump you in the dunnee, doll.) But things will change I’m sure. Chopin was written for audio — Jeffery Deaver kicks off and ends the tale, I provide chapter two, and a variety of authors including Lee Child and Lisa Scottoline join in along the way. This does mean the piece is shorter than the average book which seems to be reflected in the selling price, a mere $9.99.
It’s only just gone up there but we have a nice review already. Thank you AW 830 of Bonita Springs, Florida, for the following…
This is fun. It held my interest throughout the book. Knowing a new author would have to pick up the pieces at the end of each chapter added mystery and anticipation. I wish it had been longer.
The first serial audio thriller
Former war crimes investigator Harold Middleton possesses a priceless, previously-unknown manuscript by Frederic Chopin. Within the notes of this work, which was originally found and hidden by the Nazis during World War II, lies a secret that has left death in its wake – and could kill tens of thousands more.
The Chopin Manuscript is a unique collaboration among 15 distinguished international thriller writers who came together to create a single audiobook with each author contributing a chapter to the ongoing story. The book is serialised and is hailed as the first-ever audio serial book.
Jeffery Deaver conceived the characters and the setting and put the plot in motion with the first chapter. David Hewson takes threads from this opening section to produce a second chapter which spins the story out of its opening in Warsaw to Rome, and sets it on the way to a climax in the US. From there the story was turned over to thirteen authors – including Lee Child, Lisa Scottoline, Joseph Finder, S. J. Rozan, and P. J. Parrish – who each wrote a chapter that propelled the story along. Along the way the plot took twists and turns as each author lent his or her own imprint on the tale. Characters were added as the action moved around the world — and the stakes got higher and higher. The book wrapped with Deaver writing the final two chapters bringing The Chopin Manuscript to its explosive conclusion.
The plot unfolds like this: Former war crimes investigator Harold Middleton possesses a priceless, previously-unknown manuscript by Frederic Chopin. Within the notes of this work, which was originally found and hidden by the Nazis during World War II, lies a secret that has left death in its wake – and could kill tens of thousands more. As Middleton races to unlock the mystery of the manuscript, he is accused of murder, pursued by federal agents and targeted by assassins. But the greatest threat comes from a man known only as Faust - a shadowy figure from Middleton’s past.
The Chopin Manuscript was the world’s first audio thriller, delivered serially. Readers received a new installment of 2-3 chapters every Tuesday, beginning September 25th. with the final instalment delivered on November 13th. It proved one of the fastest-selling audio titles of 2007, and a sequel is now under discussion.
Chopin picks up audio book awards
The Chopin Manuscript, the audio serial thriller of which I was lucky enough to be one of fifteen creators, has been listed among the year’s top forty five audio books, and number two in the mystery and suspense category. Since Lee Child, Chopin’s only other British collaborator, picked up the top spot in the latter, I think this side of the Atlantic can feel pretty proud of itself right now, thank you.Click the image to see what AudioFile Magazine had to say about this unique collaboration. I’m glad, too, that the same magazine makes special mention of the narrator, Alfred Molina, who was just as much a part of the team as the fifteen of us who wrote the piece.To listen to the first chapter for free, just click here. To read my take on the project, see some FAQs and watch a video, go here.
Sunday Times makes Chopin audio book of the week
The UK’s Sunday Times is one of the first newspapers to review The Chopin Manuscript, declaring it ‘fabulous fun’.
Nice to see a British newspaper get in first! Here’s the review in which the work occupies the audio book of the week slot…..
This unusual thriller is composed by a series of bestselling authors who each write a chapter. It opens with Harry Middleton, a mild-mannered American musicologist, getting into a spot of bother in Poland while he’s on his way home with a – possibly genuine – Chopin manuscript. Deaver, having set up the story, passes it to Hewson, who moves it to Rome and introduces a water pistol, used to clever effect by the next author. The plot switchbacks crazily around the world as characters painstakingly created by one writer are gunned down by the next (a Wikipedic knowledge of classical-music composition is the key to averting terrorist catastrophe). Published in weekly downloadable instalments to heighten the suspense, it’s fabulous fun.
The Chopin Manuscript… a unique thriller
I hate sitting on things, and for the last few months I’ve been sitting on something very interesting indeed. Finally the news just broke today. I will give you more details shortly but if you want to get the quick scoop take a look here.
A bunch of authors under the leadership of Jeffery Deaver and the editorship of Jim Fusilli have broken new ground by writing a serial thriller, one chapter per author (except for JD). It is as an audio download on Audible. Jeffery writes the opening and closing chapters. Lee Child, Joseph Finder and Lisa Scottoline are among the contributors. The project was put together by International Thrillerwriters.
And I wrote the second chapter after Jeffery’s cracking opener, taking his scene-setter in Warsaw on to Rome. The audio book is voiced by the incomparable Alfred Molina.
If you’d like my views on this very enjoyable project you can find them here on davidhewson.com. But I suspect you’d rather head off and see the author videos shot at Thrillerfest, New York, and grab the chance to listen to the first chapter for free and, for a short while, get a discount on the whole thing. Take a look at Audible’s special site for the project here.