Having never read George Orwell’s 1984, I was eager to listen to the audiobook when given the chance through NetGalley. This classic dystopian novel in set in a time when the government (Big Brother) controls all things and people and seeks to even control their thoughts. It was an interesting idea for a novel, but I couldn’t wait for it to be over. There was little originality in the plot. If you do want an audiobook option, this has a well done narration.

This classic newly released as an audiobook as of 4/5/22. Peter Noble is a fantastic narrator and he brings this book to life. Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the ALC review copy of this classic tale.

This version of 1984 is being narrated by Peter Noble, Audie Award winner for The Chestnut Man which was adapted into a Netflix series. Mr. Noble strikes the perfect tone to convey the sinister elements of a classic tale. I have read 1984 in the past, as has probably everyone in the U.S. but this version in particular the listener feels completely transported.

The only issue that I have is that there seems to be some kind of feedback/vibration while listening which for me is very distracting.

4.5 stars

Well, revisiting classic dystopian lit in 2022 is certainly a bit of a surreal experience. I first read this book when I was in high school and have read it a couple times since; it was one of the books I read for school that I really enjoyed (minus the dense part where Winston is reading the book…yikes). Fun fact, though: this book is the reason I’ve never been able to drink gin. The stomach-churning descriptions stuck with me, clearly…how’s that for vivid writing? This was a solid audio version of an older story; no new introduction or notes or anything like that, so the text itself hasn’t changed at all for the new edition. It’s one of the classics that I’ve mostly liked, and I’m sure I’ll find reason to revisit it again in my lifetime.

I ADORE 1984. This has been one of my absolute favorite books since I was 11, and the narrator breathes new life into this hallowed literary territory. I know that everyone always emphasizes how absurdly important this book is, but now, in the era of never ending fake news, it is vital. I hope that this new narration does very well, and reaches a new audience.

Frankly this is a little too close to reality to be enjoyable.

Not a huge fan of the male perspective and thoughts re women either.

Overall I couldn’t gladly skipped this ‘classic’.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Dreamscape Audio for my copy of 1984 by George Orwell narrated by Peter Noble. It publishes April 5, 2022.
First off, I have to say, Peter Noble is one of my very favorite audiobook near raters so I was very glad to see that it was him reading this book. He does an excellent job and has a very good voice for audiobooks.
Secondly, wow. This book was so wild and I knew it would be, however, I did not realize just how wild it would be. I think it is a great warning tool and was very interesting but also definitely terrifying.
In case you do not know what is in this book be warned that there is some sexual discussion, torture, and honestly it’s just very scary. However, if you can handle it, I think this is definitely worth the read and the listen when it is narrated by Peter Noble.

New audio release date: April 5, 2022. The main character starts writing in a journal at the start of this one, dated April 5! He takes a stab at the date as they don't actually know anymore. Coincidence? I think not...

I know that this was required reading in a lot of high schools, but my class read Animal Farm by Orwell instead (among many other novels). I've tried to pick this book up as a paperback many times, and the audio by other narrators a time or two, but never made it very far - the plot and the idea that it was getting closer to reality on a daily basis was always a little bit too terrifying.

Seeing the opportunity come up on NetGalley with a new narrator and the timing of what was happening on the other side of the world and that the poor people of the "R country" were having all of their means of communication cut off, and that basically the plot of this book was becoming their reality, I thought the timing was right to read this book again, and I wanted to give this narrator a try. Not only is this basically what they are living through right now (if you don't follow "P's" tyrannical ruling and step out of line, you either disappear, are arrested, or who knows what - perhaps it's that you go to the Ministry of Love and get reprogramed just like in this book, in Oceania).

Since reality can be stranger than Fiction - who knows what is truly happening over there, but Orwell seemed to have a very firm grasp on current events as well as a keen idea of the future (even though this was written in 1948, the reality of it not just for the near future, but the current 2022 future, seems pretty spot-on).


Beyond just the contents of the story, which so very many people are familiar with, the narrator is one that is new to me - Peter Noble. He did an absolutely BRILLIANT job narrating this version of the book. He was exactly the voice that I would have envisioned Winston Smith having, and he did a bang-up job of bringing the right feeling, emotions and heartfelt style that was absolutely necessary to this classic that pulls at everyone's heartstrings in the back 25% after a certain event happens (for anyone that is unfamiliar, I can't specify but it's after a bunch of crazy things occur all at once, and Winston goes inside the Ministry of Love building, and has a lot of talks with O'Brien).

(Be careful what you say - Big Brother/the telescreens and microphones (or friends and neighbors and children) are always listening... or maybe it's just Siri/Alexa/Google Home! It could get you into a lot of trouble!)


I have tried to listen to this one a couple of time with false starts and DNFs, even with other narrators I have enjoyed before, but just wasn't feeling it. Peter Noble is the best pick - if you've tried before and couldn't get far, try this one. You will love it and him!

5 stars to Peter Noble and his incredible performance!
Still just 4 stars to the book and story itself - that will never change for me, but it's a book written in 1948 and the style from back then and the contents are the reason I can't increase it. The appendix at the end explaining "New Speak" also could have been handy to know about being there, pointed out at the start?

Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the ALC review copy of this classic tale. This is my honest review!

#1984 #NetGalley

How do you review a book like 1984 in 2022? An even better question is how do you review an ARC of 1984 in 2022?

Confession: I am in the minority of life-long book lovers that has never read this book before now. It wasn’t part of my high school curriculum and I just never got around to reading it. But at the start of this year I made a list of classics I wanted to read in 2022, and this was near the top of the list. So I was so excited to be approved for the audio arc on Netgalley.

Despite never having read it before, I was familiar with many of the key themes: totalitarianism, government surveillance and omnipresence (“Big Brother”), propaganda, etc. The whole time I was listening to the book I had to keep reminding myself that this was written almost 75 years ago, by someone who had no way of knowing the way our lives are now impacted by the internet and 24-hour news cycle. I can’t imagine what it would have been like to read this when it was first published, post-WWII, when Hitler was recent history and Stalin still reigned the USSR.

I’ve never been a huge fan of dystopian novels, but 1984 is pretty much the blueprint for modern dystopia, and it was interesting to experience. It was a masterclass in suspense building and literary dread. We are thrown into an alternate universe version of London called Airstrip One, and follow our protagonist Winston as he decides to commit an ultimate act of rebellion – thinking his own thoughts. Winston is a shallow and overall unsympathetic character, and doesn’t read like a fully formed person, but maybe that is intentional because in his world humans are treated more like machines.

To move on to what is new about this book, the narrator (Peter Noble), did a great job bringing this dark and unsettling story to life. His voice was nervous and shaky when needed, and ferocious and intimidating when needed, but always filled with haunting and foreboding. His characters were distinct from each other which is high praise for audiobooks. At times the book still did not hold my attention, and objectively I can understand that the writing and narration are deserving of 5 stars, but for me personally it is a 4-star read.

1984 by George Orwell

This is about a dystopian world that feels like it is coming close to today's reality. Big brother is watching you. I do not know if Orwell is a futurist that saw this coming close to being reality we are on a cusp of world where similar things could happen as Orwell describes in the book.

Winston was an interesting character he wrote a diary of what he remembers what happen before the party took over and controls everything. Who you marry, every thing is controlled and no going against the party.

I do not want to make political statements but this control was more apparent with the former guy as president and the future for us does not look promising as the wealthy again try to collect all the power and control the masses. With so much misinformation and being watched more and more than people realize how much there movement and what they do are being watched. We are almost to where Orwell describes the dystopian world and I believe some people would love us to be obedient little sheep as Orwell described. I know I would be similar to Winston in this reality.

This was an amazing book and a classic that everyone needs to read!

The narrator was great.

I want to thank Netgalley and Dreamscape Audio for my free copy of the book for an honest review.

There are a lot of reasons why I chose to read 1984:
1. 1984 is a common required reading title in high school, but I somehow managed to escape without having to read it.
2. 1984 frequently appears on Banned Books lists.
3. I am trying to read more classics, as well as more scifi and dystopian.
4. Netgalley had the audio version available to listen to and review. As this book was published decades before the titular year, the only difference I can see is that the version I listened to was narrated by Peter Noble.

All that being said, I was quite interested to begin this book. But I realized very quickly that this was not going to be a favorite of mine. While the world was very interesting and unique, the characters are flat and unlikable. The story drags and it isn't until Part 3 where my attention was finally grabbed. I knew going in that would probably be a slow burn in a sense, because the author would need to establish the dystopian world. But pairing that with characters that I wasn't attached to made it difficult to truly get into.

If I were only rating the book based on the narrator, 1984 would have a much higher rating. Noble does a fantastic job in his narration. However, storytelling ability does not cancel out a storyline I was unable to invest in.

I first read this book over 10 years ago and when I saw this audio version was available I was excited to revisit Oceania and how much further we've come to living in a world that George Orwell imagined back in 1949. Sadly, we keep getting closer and closer to fiction become reality. This is not an edge of your sit type of book. It is a slow plod through a dark and dreary time but the similarities to our current world are what pulls you along to your dismay and horror.

Peter Noble does a wonderful job with his narration and really helps to suck you into Winston's world.

Many thanks to #NetGalley and Dreamscape Audio for providing me with a copy of this audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

I have read 1984 multiple times and this was my first time listening on audiobook. I enjoyed the narration and felt that it really brought the story to life. I especially loved hearing the Proles sing. This book was a classic and I feel like the narrator captured the essence of the story well.

Wow, so utterly difficult to ‘review’ classic literature. But here I go!

1984 is 1984. Big Brother rules the new world order of Oceania. There are ‘Thought Police’, people killed and tortured for seemingly even thinking against the rulers. Language is being whittled down in order to keep communication limited and to make people more ignorant. We follow one man as he tries to grasp onto some semblance of individuality and keep what he believes makes him a human being.

1984 was written in 1949. I think that’s important to discuss because the focus, ideas, and some problematic aspects can easily be attributed to the times. I almost wish I did read this in school with an analysis on historical context cause that could be super interesting (though 16 year old me would probably hate myself for saying so).

Dystopian genre was written before and obviously much so after this. No one can say that Orwell’s ideas weren’t powerful and still reflected down to today. I can’t imagine reading this when it first came out! It must have been amazing.

However, in today’s world: Its great, but its not a good current read. These ideas can be found everywhere now and while Orwell might have been one of the grandfather to the ideas that doesn’t exactly make the reading experience itself anymore exciting after you have read five million dystopians. Our lead character is dull. A man who thinks he’s better and smarter than everyone around him. The one female lead is dim-witted and basically presented as a male fantasy. Sex obsessed but loyal, smart enough to make extremely good sneaking around plans but apparently has literally no care in the world beyond getting laid. Despite what *seems* to be an underfeed and provided for populace, anyone that the main character does view as stupid seems to be overweight. Everyone in the ‘underclass’ appears too stupid to be capable of rebelling in any way.

The book in today’s light is misogynistic, classist, fat-phobic, and even squeezed in some ageism there. That doesn’t take away from its messages and the effect it has had in literature and the world for years and years. I really liked some of the theoretical debates or arguments that are presented, even if it felt a little dragged down by seeing them through this main character’s particular lens.

The ending was also super powerful and very sad. Maybe read this in a class setting, or at least an analytical one but as a casual audiobook for the first time in my thirties I got why it was so popular and analyzed but I’m not really enamored with it.

This was an audiobook ARC from Netgalley and Dreamscape Media, narrated by Peter Noble. Noble did an absolutely wonderful job and I think that the listening experience was definitely worthwhile.

Just finished it. I did NOT expect that ending. It was so good, and honestly scary. The sporty and the characters are super well written, and the voice of this audiobook impersonated them perfectly.
There was a tension that constantly kept on edge, not knowing what will come next, or when will the worst happen.
Naturally I liked some characters more than theirs, but they all added to the story and none of them flat unnecessary. It helped that the main character was likable, and I wanted to know what will happen to him.
The twists, some were expected, some where not. This balance was great because it kept me wanting to keep going without streaming myself to guessing the outcome.
This book is for young adults and adults. It touches subjects that might be triggering to some audiences, like torture, death, etc.

I can't tell if this was supposed to be about capitalism or communism... but so many of the things happening in this fictional society are things that are or that could very well happen in our current dystopian hellscape.
Also didn't appreciate the blatant misogyny. Or the racism. So major points loss there.
"BuT iT wAs NoRmAl FoR tHaT tImE pErIoD"
I literally don't care. It isn't okay now and it wasn't okay then. Shut up.

I don’t recall much about this book, 1984 by George Orwell. however, I rediscovered the fact that I this novel is pretty weird. It wasn’t intriguing to me from the first chapter on and there’s a reason why I couldn’t wait to get through it when I read it in high school and when I read it now.

1984 is spooky. This book was published 73 years ago. This was before McCarthyism, before the height of the Cold War, before Facebook started selecting what content you are presented, before news media became driven by clicks instead facts, and before technology existed to actually listen to everything we say. It is amazing how well George Orwell was able to predict potential threats and weave them into such a compelling narrative. Listening to this novel on audio allowed me to experience it in a new manner and I really enjoyed it. The narrator does an incredible job portraying the characters, especially Winston and Mr. O’Brien during Winston’s imprisonment and reprogramming.

“War is peace.”

I’ve been wanted to read this as it often comes up on Banned Books list. I believe the banned books are some of the most important ones to read. So I jumped at the chance to listen to this audio.

Taking place in a dystopian timeline. The story follows the life of William Smith. Like the rest of “the party”, he is always being watched by brother.

This story really makes you thinks, about how much politics really plays a role in everyday life and how slowly things can change to over take your everyday rights.

There is so much going on in the world right now, in the States and as well in Russia and across the global.

I feel like more than ever this is an important and powerful read.

The Narrator did an awesome job, with this story. He voice was very soothing. I think he should definitely think about being on the calm app.

*Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this audio ARC in exchange for an honest review. Pub date: April 5, 2022

It has been years since I’ve read this so I jumped at the chance to review this new audiobook version of Orwell’s classic, originally published in 1948. The narrator brought new life to this if you’re considering a read or re-read of this hauntingly prophetic classic.