The Cold Millions by Jess Walter, Read by a Full Cast
Outstanding Full-Cast Historical Fiction
Every Monday through Friday, AudioFile’s editors recommend the best in audiobook listening. We keep our daily episodes short and sweet, with audiobook clips to give you a sample of our featured listens.
Narrator Edoardo Ballerini anchors a full-cast performance of The Cold Millions, a story that takes place in Spokane, Washington, in the early 1900s. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Michele Cobb discuss this Earphones Award-winning story centered on a difficult time in America’s history, and Jess Walters’s memorable characters. Young brothers Rye and Gig take dangerous jobs in the hopes of improving their station in life, but nothing is easy. Events take a turn when they get caught up in the free speech movement and with union organizing. Narrators jump in with spot-on portrayals of activists, detectives, and more, giving backgrounds and ultimate fates of key characters. The outstanding production captures the heart of this affecting snapshot of life during the Progressive Era.
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Today’s episode of Behind the Mic is brought to you by Oasis Audio, publisher of Dust, the first in the new Heirs of Neverland series, a dark and dramatic take on the classic story of Peter Pan.
