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The Sound at the End
On a near-abandoned research base in an Arctic ice field, a skeleton crew works to ensure the centre doesn’t collapse amid treacherous storms. Officially, Trieste Grayling arrives in order to explore and film a sunken shipwreck for a documentary film; privately, she's working through a complicated grief. Trieste soon realises she's not the only one who was attracted to this intense isolation in order to escape her ghosts.
Each of the crew members harbour dark secrets: Mal, the ever-competent medic conducting mysterious therapy sessions, Sweetie, the reclusive engineer with scarred hands, Thorsteinn, the aloof diver tender, Avelina, the temperamental base manager whose stories of home don't quite add up, Grace, an underwater welder and recovering addict, and Judd, the erratic former member of a ‘90s boy band. As they begin to reach breaking point, each one's hidden ghosts finally comes into the light.
Each of the crew members harbour dark secrets: Mal, the ever-competent medic conducting mysterious therapy sessions, Sweetie, the reclusive engineer with scarred hands, Thorsteinn, the aloof diver tender, Avelina, the temperamental base manager whose stories of home don't quite add up, Grace, an underwater welder and recovering addict, and Judd, the erratic former member of a ‘90s boy band. As they begin to reach breaking point, each one's hidden ghosts finally comes into the light.
11 pages, Audiobook
First published January 13, 2022
10 people are currently reading
226 people want to read
About the author
Kirsty Logan
80 books1,469 followersKirsty Logan is a professional daydreamer. She is the author of two novels, The Gloaming and The Gracekeepers, and two story collections, A Portable Shelter and The Rental Heart & Other Fairytales. Her fifth book, Things We Say in the Dark, will be published on Halloween 2019.
Kirsty lives in Glasgow with her wife and their rescue dog. She has tattooed toes.
Kirsty lives in Glasgow with her wife and their rescue dog. She has tattooed toes.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 82 reviews
February 26, 2022
The sound effects and voice acting were phenomenal, and if the story matched that it would have been 5 stars. If the story could have been as good as the premise and the sound design it might have been as great as the White Vault. It is not.
The main character is annoying and boring, and the entire plot of discovering more about each character from these "therapy" sessions just to have a tiny bit of backstory before they die, as a replacement of actually telling a story. What was the plot? What was the point? What was the theme? Could not tell you.
Each character has a random "plot twist" that sets them up to die, and while the original characters they do it too make sense they slowly just take it to the extreme for shock value instead of good storytelling (the one character going from mildly paranoid/liking conspiracy theories to suddenly believing he's one of the only real human beings alive and being monitored by everyone else was....a hard sell. And then what, the character with an eating disorder suddenly believing there's a virus with everyone else causing her to starve herself to death and destroying the radio. Once again, what was the point?). Plus, the ambiguous ending was supposed to be nice but overall it was just a letdown tbh.
It was an interesting listen but the main character going on and on about her lost love to narrating nonsense could have been cut to make the entire experience half as long and less painful to listen to.
The main character is annoying and boring, and the entire plot of discovering more about each character from these "therapy" sessions just to have a tiny bit of backstory before they die, as a replacement of actually telling a story. What was the plot? What was the point? What was the theme? Could not tell you.
Each character has a random "plot twist" that sets them up to die, and while the original characters they do it too make sense they slowly just take it to the extreme for shock value instead of good storytelling (the one character going from mildly paranoid/liking conspiracy theories to suddenly believing he's one of the only real human beings alive and being monitored by everyone else was....a hard sell. And then what, the character with an eating disorder suddenly believing there's a virus with everyone else causing her to starve herself to death and destroying the radio. Once again, what was the point?). Plus, the ambiguous ending was supposed to be nice but overall it was just a letdown tbh.
It was an interesting listen but the main character going on and on about her lost love to narrating nonsense could have been cut to make the entire experience half as long and less painful to listen to.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 26, 2024
“You can’t just put two broken things together and expect them to be fixed. It’s just twice as broken”
I know, I know… You guys are sick of me gushing about Kirsty Logan. Before I turn into a broken record and go off on how much I love her ideas, her writing and her entire canon of work: be aware that this one is a little different.
I’ve struggled a lot with Audible’s Original content, mainly because it’s a format that is completely new and a little uncomfortable to me. Although I love audiobooks, full-cast audioplays don’t come naturally to me, and take me some more effort to get invested in. My first reaction of hearing about The Sound at the End therefore was honestly one of disappointment: this story (grief and trauma combined with arctic isolation, ocean exploration and an established F-F relationship) told by one of my favourite authors, ticked so many of my boxes that I might as well already mark it down as a new favourite. If only it had been a novel…
After finishing it, a little of that feeling lingers, and more. There were the bones of a full five-star novel somewhere within this, had Logan been allowed to develop this further, and not been tied down by the format and expectations of action that come with an audioplay like this.
The Sound at the End begins as a haunting, character-driven story about loss, obsession and trauma, that falls into that category of “melancholic horror” that I love. It was that story that I wanted to read! Unfortunately, it goes completely off the rails at around the 60% mark. Characters begin to lose their minds amids the arctic isolation, and a lot of what follow relies on shock-factor and loud sound-distortions to drive home the "creepiness" of it all. It had the opposite effect on me; it felt cheap and a contrast to the set-up of an actual character-driven story that was promised in the first half.
A part of me secretly hopes that Kirsty Logan will return to this story one day, to write it in novel form and fix that ending. I realise however that that is never happening, and we'll forever be stuck with this Audible Original. Granted, it's the best out of their category I've listened to sofar, but that says more about the quality of the rest of the trash in there...
I know, I know… You guys are sick of me gushing about Kirsty Logan. Before I turn into a broken record and go off on how much I love her ideas, her writing and her entire canon of work: be aware that this one is a little different.
I’ve struggled a lot with Audible’s Original content, mainly because it’s a format that is completely new and a little uncomfortable to me. Although I love audiobooks, full-cast audioplays don’t come naturally to me, and take me some more effort to get invested in. My first reaction of hearing about The Sound at the End therefore was honestly one of disappointment: this story (grief and trauma combined with arctic isolation, ocean exploration and an established F-F relationship) told by one of my favourite authors, ticked so many of my boxes that I might as well already mark it down as a new favourite. If only it had been a novel…
After finishing it, a little of that feeling lingers, and more. There were the bones of a full five-star novel somewhere within this, had Logan been allowed to develop this further, and not been tied down by the format and expectations of action that come with an audioplay like this.
The Sound at the End begins as a haunting, character-driven story about loss, obsession and trauma, that falls into that category of “melancholic horror” that I love. It was that story that I wanted to read! Unfortunately, it goes completely off the rails at around the 60% mark. Characters begin to lose their minds amids the arctic isolation, and a lot of what follow relies on shock-factor and loud sound-distortions to drive home the "creepiness" of it all. It had the opposite effect on me; it felt cheap and a contrast to the set-up of an actual character-driven story that was promised in the first half.
A part of me secretly hopes that Kirsty Logan will return to this story one day, to write it in novel form and fix that ending. I realise however that that is never happening, and we'll forever be stuck with this Audible Original. Granted, it's the best out of their category I've listened to sofar, but that says more about the quality of the rest of the trash in there...
January 19, 2022
Well, this was fun! And binge-worthy; once I started it was hard to put it down.
It's a full cast horror audio drama with a great production and amazing narrators. The characters are interesting and complex so I was enjoying following their journey to despair. Because this is a story of an isolation and loneliness, of twisted love and all the way we can hurt each other and ourselves. You know from the start that there's something very wrong with the main character and soon you learn there's something wrong with the others as well. This group of people, taking care of a base in Arctic is everything but stable.
The story is character based and the plot is not that important. What is important are all the demons and ghosts these characters brought with themselves to the Arctic and how it all crashes down.
There's a lot of sound distortions, cuts and switches between the recorded dialogs and monologues, weird sounds, banging and even jump scares, that play a big role in building the eerie and disturbing atmosphere. It was a bit difficult in the beginning to follow the chronology of events since the audio switched between main character narrating what happened and short recordings of the event in question, but after the rocky beginning it soon smoothed in transitions and it was much easier to follow what was going on. Though, the creepiest parts came from the therapy sessions not any of the jump scares or distortions. The human monsters, as usual, are the most horrifying of all.
In any case, I was super into the story because of the characters and I love sapphic horror and the story is basically about the main character and her relationship with her diving partner. This relationship is in the centre of this story. And the way the author explores it in this narrative was very interesting, and a lot of set up got a good payoff. Especially in the ending.
In the end, the story is told from a perspective of an unreliable narrator and the focus is on psychological unraveling, and I think it was very well done here. So I absolutely recommend.
It's a full cast horror audio drama with a great production and amazing narrators. The characters are interesting and complex so I was enjoying following their journey to despair. Because this is a story of an isolation and loneliness, of twisted love and all the way we can hurt each other and ourselves. You know from the start that there's something very wrong with the main character and soon you learn there's something wrong with the others as well. This group of people, taking care of a base in Arctic is everything but stable.
The story is character based and the plot is not that important. What is important are all the demons and ghosts these characters brought with themselves to the Arctic and how it all crashes down.
There's a lot of sound distortions, cuts and switches between the recorded dialogs and monologues, weird sounds, banging and even jump scares, that play a big role in building the eerie and disturbing atmosphere. It was a bit difficult in the beginning to follow the chronology of events since the audio switched between main character narrating what happened and short recordings of the event in question, but after the rocky beginning it soon smoothed in transitions and it was much easier to follow what was going on. Though, the creepiest parts came from the therapy sessions not any of the jump scares or distortions. The human monsters, as usual, are the most horrifying of all.
In any case, I was super into the story because of the characters and I love sapphic horror and the story is basically about the main character and her relationship with her diving partner. This relationship is in the centre of this story. And the way the author explores it in this narrative was very interesting, and a lot of set up got a good payoff. Especially in the ending.
In the end, the story is told from a perspective of an unreliable narrator and the focus is on psychological unraveling, and I think it was very well done here. So I absolutely recommend.
January 17, 2022
New to Audible plus catalog. Full cast narrators. They’re all unreliable. If that’s something you dislike, this probably isn’t the book for you. The sound was often garbled or cut off on purpose. Audible ratings are mixed. With two 2 star ratings and one 5 star rating.
For fans of horror or books with a creepy vibe, it might be worth a try.
For fans of horror or books with a creepy vibe, it might be worth a try.
January 29, 2022
I believe that the voice acting and sound effects saved this book. The audiobook was so well acted, I became fully immersed. The first 3/4 of the book I found utterly wonderful, being intriguing, atmospheric and well written... that last quarter however, was just plain confusing.
I felt the book ended up going into a place I dislike, where the author feels like they have too many character plots and lose ends to tie up that they forget the actual story.
The last quarter really pulled me out of the story, so confusing, even after listening to it twice and no real ending. A lot of questions are left unanswered.
On a personal note, I disliked the mention of a global pandemic in this book. This book is not about that subject and it was mentioned in passing, almost like a footnote.
If you are going to bring your reader out of this fictional world you have created with tension, atmosphere and ghosts and bring us to our real world problems, there really needs to be a reason for it. To me, it felt like the author mentioned the Pandemic just to get in there and to use as an excuse to (needlessly) kill off one of her side characters that I'm assuming she had no real plot for but was there just as a filler.
Just not happy to be taken back to reality in a fictional book. If I wanted mention of real life, I wouldn't have picked an Arctic Horror story of all things to read.
I felt the book ended up going into a place I dislike, where the author feels like they have too many character plots and lose ends to tie up that they forget the actual story.
The last quarter really pulled me out of the story, so confusing, even after listening to it twice and no real ending. A lot of questions are left unanswered.
On a personal note, I disliked the mention of a global pandemic in this book. This book is not about that subject and it was mentioned in passing, almost like a footnote.
If you are going to bring your reader out of this fictional world you have created with tension, atmosphere and ghosts and bring us to our real world problems, there really needs to be a reason for it. To me, it felt like the author mentioned the Pandemic just to get in there and to use as an excuse to (needlessly) kill off one of her side characters that I'm assuming she had no real plot for but was there just as a filler.
Just not happy to be taken back to reality in a fictional book. If I wanted mention of real life, I wouldn't have picked an Arctic Horror story of all things to read.
January 24, 2022
Ummmmmm this book left me with questions. Like I get she’s probably crazy and did it all, but also like how? What was real? What was her imagination? Did no one notice these things happening? Or am I putting more into than I need to and it happened the way she saw it? I’m a little confused. I was hoping for some kind of closure at the end, answers in some gruesome way. But I don’t feel like I got them.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 18, 2022
Well done as far as the cast and audio. But I realized about 2 hours in that it was quite different than I was expecting. I don’t like horror. At all. But by that point I was invested in the characters. I finished it. But regretted my determination to do so. I wanted a conclusion. An explanation of what was going on. A revealing at the end. That didn’t happen. Far too many loose ends at the conclusion for me. Even an epilogue just to explain would have made me more content. I don’t enjoy a book with that much drama - just to be left with so many unanswered questions… love a good mystery, but I want to be able to solve it :)
February 16, 2022
3.5 stars. This ticks a lot of my boxes such as a cold location, related to water, written by a woman about a woman, and I really enjoyed it, but the ending got a bit carried away in my opinion.
February 19, 2022
I usually enjoy full-cast narration with sound effects and I think it worked really well for this creepy little story. The ominous groans of the ice and the station building worked to make the whole story very ominous and there were even a few jump scares! This was fun entertainment for a couple of nights listening.
February 3, 2022
Spooky but only because of the sound effects which were getting very annoying by the end. There was basically no pay off at all which was very disappointing. Just a long slide into craziness.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 25, 2022
Hmm, this is a tough one to rate for me. Audio production, voices, sound effects all excellent. It was fun, intriguing and creepy but it lost me a little at the end. It leaves you with a lot of questions which is maybe the point but I think an epilogue or something to give a little closure or explanation would've left me with a more enjoyable feeling at the end. I'll leave it with 3 stars because, as I already said, the sounds, effects and voices were entertaining, chilling and jump worthy in many moments but the story was lacking for me overall and felt too confusing in the end.
October 21, 2023
I’m actually surprised by the low ratings, personally I quite enjoyed this one. The theme has been done and redone and there were some awkward acting moments, but the writing was good and it managed to keep the creepiness and discomfort right until the very end.
May 26, 2025
Interesting concept, but confusing and boring most times ..the immersive audio was neat, but the story just wasn’t it for me
July 9, 2024
Read June 2024
Loved the audio production for this so much! Really added to the creepy vibe of the story with the sound effects and voice acting.
(Yes, I did get audible just so I could listen to this. I’ve also cancelled it right away.)
Loved the audio production for this so much! Really added to the creepy vibe of the story with the sound effects and voice acting.
(Yes, I did get audible just so I could listen to this. I’ve also cancelled it right away.)
February 4, 2022
First off, this was an amazing audio production. A lot of time and effort went into it and it tells. It's very immersive with the sound effects. The voice acting was also pretty stellar across the board. The only downside is sometimes you have to turn the audio up to listen to the characters whisper only to all of a sudden be hit with a loud sound effect booming in your ear next second, maybe it's intentional to keep you on edge.
The story itself was good, creepy tone and the production really does give you that feeling of isolation at an Arctic base. That said, yes it is kind of predictable. You get the feeling very early on that Trieste is an unreliable narrator, combine that with the story unfolding and it's not hard to put 2 and 2 together long before the end. In that regard I do think it could have been more suspenseful and kept you in the dark longer but overall it was a fun listen.
The story itself was good, creepy tone and the production really does give you that feeling of isolation at an Arctic base. That said, yes it is kind of predictable. You get the feeling very early on that Trieste is an unreliable narrator, combine that with the story unfolding and it's not hard to put 2 and 2 together long before the end. In that regard I do think it could have been more suspenseful and kept you in the dark longer but overall it was a fun listen.
January 29, 2022
This story is so intriguing, mysterious, and dynamic. I couldn’t stop listening to it so I could find out what was happening next.
I loved all the characters. The storyline was very suspenseful.
I loved all the characters. The storyline was very suspenseful.
February 12, 2022
I love Polar / Arctic horror novels and I really enjoyed listening to this full cast audio production. Kirsty Logan is a queer Scottish author whom I love dearly and this queer novel full of unreliable narrators does not disappoint. But if you don't like horror / gothic novels, this might not be the one for you. It takes a lot from "Mountains of Madness" but without the scifi twist. I really liked it but I am biased. I also loved "Dark Matter" by Michelle Paver. I like to be creeped out (a bit).
Besides being queer horror, the novel is also a great example for an unreliable narrator. From the beginning of the novel you know that something is not quite right with our protagonist but you keep listening, you try to see beyond the gaps, you try to figure out what is real and what isn't. Even though my suspections were correct from the very start, it was still entertaining.
Some reviewers have complained about the sound quality but I loved how different the audiobook sounded depending on where our protagonist recorded something (bed, pocket of jacket, under water, in a room full of people, eavesdropping on people, outside in the storm, on the ice, in the water) and how this made the entire audiobook feel quite intimate. I would've liked the ending to be slightly different but it was quite fitting and I enjoyed "The Sound at the End" a lot.
As the novel also didn't go entirely where I expected it to go, it'll be 4.5 stars.
Besides being queer horror, the novel is also a great example for an unreliable narrator. From the beginning of the novel you know that something is not quite right with our protagonist but you keep listening, you try to see beyond the gaps, you try to figure out what is real and what isn't. Even though my suspections were correct from the very start, it was still entertaining.
Some reviewers have complained about the sound quality but I loved how different the audiobook sounded depending on where our protagonist recorded something (bed, pocket of jacket, under water, in a room full of people, eavesdropping on people, outside in the storm, on the ice, in the water) and how this made the entire audiobook feel quite intimate. I would've liked the ending to be slightly different but it was quite fitting and I enjoyed "The Sound at the End" a lot.
As the novel also didn't go entirely where I expected it to go, it'll be 4.5 stars.
March 23, 2022
Really, we ought to be able to give six or seven stars for when a book absolutely floors you. This would be a six star book for me. I know I'm going to keep thinking of this story and these characters for a long time. It was proper scary, as well as funny in places and occasionally heart-breaking. The cast and performances are top notch.
And it does some clever stuff with the audio that I've not encountered elsewhere: for example [MINOR SPOILER] at one point someone says something creepy, then insists they didn't, even though we all heard it, then the narrator plays back the audio recording AND IT SAYS SOMETHING DIFFERENT TO WHAT WE HEARD THE FIRST TIME. It's extremely effective and creepy, and it makes the audience weirdly complicit in what's happening: we know it's not all in someone's head, because we're hearing it too.[END SPOILER]
There are a few loose ends in the plot but, honestly, the author gives you enough information that you can piece together the obfuscated bits (and feel smart while you're doing so).
Thoroughly recommend this to anyone who likes some good unnerving horror.
And it does some clever stuff with the audio that I've not encountered elsewhere: for example [MINOR SPOILER] at one point someone says something creepy, then insists they didn't, even though we all heard it, then the narrator plays back the audio recording AND IT SAYS SOMETHING DIFFERENT TO WHAT WE HEARD THE FIRST TIME. It's extremely effective and creepy, and it makes the audience weirdly complicit in what's happening: we know it's not all in someone's head, because we're hearing it too.[END SPOILER]
There are a few loose ends in the plot but, honestly, the author gives you enough information that you can piece together the obfuscated bits (and feel smart while you're doing so).
Thoroughly recommend this to anyone who likes some good unnerving horror.
April 6, 2022
Rating 2.5/5
I wasn’t sure what to expect going into this audiobook as I haven’t really experienced many that have been made for the sole purpose of being an audiobook, I wasn’t sure if it would be for me but I wanted to try it anyway because the description sounded amazing. Unfortunately, it wasn’t quite the right choice for me, this book definitely has horror vibes and I am really not that keen on the genre, so bear that in mind whilst reading.
I feel like I have experienced a few books lately that have loads of promise and potential and then just don’t quite land where I expected, this book is definitely one of them. It started out really interesting, a remote setting is always a plus for me but one that is so isolated and with constant danger means there is already a lot of good tension in the story. Getting to know the characters through what Trieste discovers about them was another thing that kept me interested in the story as you could tell that everyone had demons that they were trying to escape.
Then the story takes a bit of a turn, therapy tapes conducted by Mal are introduced and start to show that this is something more than just minor issues, and this is where I kind of lost my way with the story. I think I was having trouble deciding if this was by design, as Mal seems to be pushing some kind of therapy that is not approved of, or whether it was due to the environment, or whether it was something that I just didn’t pick up on because the characters start to act so differently. The kind of change that for some doesn’t really match what we have witnessed so far, so it felt a little like the timeline was a bit off.
There were also a lot of things mentioned that didn’t really have any explanation and I spent a lot of time trying to figure out why they were relevant or waiting for it to become clear as I got further into the story but that didn’t seem to happen either. At the end of the story I was left with far more questions than answers and whilst it was definitely chilling and creepy I didn’t come away feeling satisfied, because I felt like I had missed something.
The production was great for the most part, full of different sound styles and purposeful distortion and it really worked against the context of the story. Each of the characters had their own voice and the narrators did a great job adding to the suspense of the story, there were a couple of times that I did find it hard to listen mostly when Trieste was scared and it was very dramatic heavy breathing because that did sometimes get a bit repetitive. However, I do think the style of this audiobook is what kept me coming back even when I wasn’t really sure what was going on.
As I said this genre isn’t really my cup of tea but I still feel like this story had a lot of good elements that didn’t quite deliver and whilst the production overall was impressive, the story left me with one too many questions to be able to recommend.
Originally posted on everywhere and nowhere
I wasn’t sure what to expect going into this audiobook as I haven’t really experienced many that have been made for the sole purpose of being an audiobook, I wasn’t sure if it would be for me but I wanted to try it anyway because the description sounded amazing. Unfortunately, it wasn’t quite the right choice for me, this book definitely has horror vibes and I am really not that keen on the genre, so bear that in mind whilst reading.
I feel like I have experienced a few books lately that have loads of promise and potential and then just don’t quite land where I expected, this book is definitely one of them. It started out really interesting, a remote setting is always a plus for me but one that is so isolated and with constant danger means there is already a lot of good tension in the story. Getting to know the characters through what Trieste discovers about them was another thing that kept me interested in the story as you could tell that everyone had demons that they were trying to escape.
Then the story takes a bit of a turn, therapy tapes conducted by Mal are introduced and start to show that this is something more than just minor issues, and this is where I kind of lost my way with the story. I think I was having trouble deciding if this was by design, as Mal seems to be pushing some kind of therapy that is not approved of, or whether it was due to the environment, or whether it was something that I just didn’t pick up on because the characters start to act so differently. The kind of change that for some doesn’t really match what we have witnessed so far, so it felt a little like the timeline was a bit off.
There were also a lot of things mentioned that didn’t really have any explanation and I spent a lot of time trying to figure out why they were relevant or waiting for it to become clear as I got further into the story but that didn’t seem to happen either. At the end of the story I was left with far more questions than answers and whilst it was definitely chilling and creepy I didn’t come away feeling satisfied, because I felt like I had missed something.
The production was great for the most part, full of different sound styles and purposeful distortion and it really worked against the context of the story. Each of the characters had their own voice and the narrators did a great job adding to the suspense of the story, there were a couple of times that I did find it hard to listen mostly when Trieste was scared and it was very dramatic heavy breathing because that did sometimes get a bit repetitive. However, I do think the style of this audiobook is what kept me coming back even when I wasn’t really sure what was going on.
As I said this genre isn’t really my cup of tea but I still feel like this story had a lot of good elements that didn’t quite deliver and whilst the production overall was impressive, the story left me with one too many questions to be able to recommend.
Originally posted on everywhere and nowhere
April 1, 2022
Quality Rating: Three Stars
Enjoyment Rating: Two Stars
For me, this audiobook was just a lot of things done not very well which led to ten hours on the tube that felt like it extended the commute instead of shortening it. While I liked the actors to begin with, their performances didn't develop and when they changed from the same tone of voice it was to go into complete hysterical melodrama. The middle of the story was the same three scenes happening over and over again for like six hours ('talk to me,' 'no, go away!' 'but I can-' 'go away,' 'just listen' 'go away'). I read a review where someone was complaining about all the 'woke' characters and dismissed it, but as I kept listening I couldn't help but start to understand where they were coming from. Poor delivery in the criticism, but I can't deny that by the end the ensemble almost felt like caricatures from how stereotypically 'odd' they were. And, there I was waiting for the ghosties to arrive and, dear reader without wanting to spoil it, I was not satisfied by the end.
Look, sound-based storytelling is really hard to get right, but it can be so so powerful when done well. And that means not falling into the same potholes that most do: relying on dialogue to describe actions and behaviour rather than sound design and narrative implication; overuse of creepy breathing and audio distortion; passages way too long just describing how people are feeling like an internal monologue. Yes, the protagonist carrying around a recorder all the time might be a clever 'reason' why we the audience are hearing all of this, but it only goes so far before it feels like a cop out. In all fairness, this isn't the kind of story I'd particularly enjoy in any format, but I love Kirsty Logan's book and wanted to give it a go. Sadly, I wasn't particularly persuaded to change my feelings about narrative audiobooks (I much prefer non-fiction in this format).
Enjoyment Rating: Two Stars
For me, this audiobook was just a lot of things done not very well which led to ten hours on the tube that felt like it extended the commute instead of shortening it. While I liked the actors to begin with, their performances didn't develop and when they changed from the same tone of voice it was to go into complete hysterical melodrama. The middle of the story was the same three scenes happening over and over again for like six hours ('talk to me,' 'no, go away!' 'but I can-' 'go away,' 'just listen' 'go away'). I read a review where someone was complaining about all the 'woke' characters and dismissed it, but as I kept listening I couldn't help but start to understand where they were coming from. Poor delivery in the criticism, but I can't deny that by the end the ensemble almost felt like caricatures from how stereotypically 'odd' they were. And, there I was waiting for the ghosties to arrive and, dear reader without wanting to spoil it, I was not satisfied by the end.
Look, sound-based storytelling is really hard to get right, but it can be so so powerful when done well. And that means not falling into the same potholes that most do: relying on dialogue to describe actions and behaviour rather than sound design and narrative implication; overuse of creepy breathing and audio distortion; passages way too long just describing how people are feeling like an internal monologue. Yes, the protagonist carrying around a recorder all the time might be a clever 'reason' why we the audience are hearing all of this, but it only goes so far before it feels like a cop out. In all fairness, this isn't the kind of story I'd particularly enjoy in any format, but I love Kirsty Logan's book and wanted to give it a go. Sadly, I wasn't particularly persuaded to change my feelings about narrative audiobooks (I much prefer non-fiction in this format).
March 9, 2023
Listened to the first few chapters and then the end, based on reviews talking about how long and unsatisfying it is. Seems like I made the right decision, if I'd had to listen to Trieste's poetic ramblings for seven more hours I might have lost it too. Plus any time someone mentions being "off their meds" or "not needing them anymore" at the beginning of the book, I know what kind of ableist "insanity" is coming.
Here are the spoilers I gathered, for the curious:
Here are the spoilers I gathered, for the curious:
June 10, 2024
So I ran out of audible credits and resorted to the free book from the Plus Catalogue because I still need something to listen to on my way to work and back. The Sound at the End surprised me by being the first audiobook I listened to that has no printed version, I can't even tell you how many pages it has. Goodreads states 11 pages, but for a book that's 10.5 hours long, I highly doubt that's accurate 🤨
There is one reason, and one reason alone, that this even got 2 stars, and that is solely due to the immersive audio experience we receive. With multiple narrators, a bunch of sound effects, and audio tuning to make it sound like we're really listening to tape recordings, this audiobook feels like chilling while a movie plays in the background somewhere. Absolutely amazing, 10/10 for quality.
Now we get to the actual story, the plot, and I wish I could tell you what it is, but I still have no idea. I wouldn't want to spoil it in case some of you might want to have a listen, but it's all just so nonsensical. There really isn't a point to this book, which is a shame because the setting of 7 people alone in the North Pole has so much potential.
I really didn't care for any of these characters and they all just seemed very over the top 🤷🏻♀️
I don't know, I really didn't like the actual story, but very much enjoyed the experience of the audio, and I don't think that's enough to push it higher than 2 stars for me. Interesting concept to only have it available in audio format, I'll give Logan that and nothing more 👏🏻
There is one reason, and one reason alone, that this even got 2 stars, and that is solely due to the immersive audio experience we receive. With multiple narrators, a bunch of sound effects, and audio tuning to make it sound like we're really listening to tape recordings, this audiobook feels like chilling while a movie plays in the background somewhere. Absolutely amazing, 10/10 for quality.
Now we get to the actual story, the plot, and I wish I could tell you what it is, but I still have no idea. I wouldn't want to spoil it in case some of you might want to have a listen, but it's all just so nonsensical. There really isn't a point to this book, which is a shame because the setting of 7 people alone in the North Pole has so much potential.
I really didn't care for any of these characters and they all just seemed very over the top 🤷🏻♀️
I don't know, I really didn't like the actual story, but very much enjoyed the experience of the audio, and I don't think that's enough to push it higher than 2 stars for me. Interesting concept to only have it available in audio format, I'll give Logan that and nothing more 👏🏻
March 22, 2024
This book had SO much potential. A great setting, fascinating characters, and an incredibly unreliable narrator. It was produced more like a podcast audio drama as well, with multiple voice actors and sound effects.
So where did it go wrong?
The pacing started to drag, even as the bodies started to pile up. Things just kept getting more and more confusing without providing any answers or clarity about what was happening or why. There'd be small time jumps between or even during chapters, making it hard to keep track of where we'd left off and what had just happened. I honestly think I missed the explanation about how one of the characters died.
There's also at least one frustratingly unanswered question at the end (and it's a pretty big one, since it's about the event that caused everything to start going wrong at the station). Unless I somehow missed the reveal or answer...
The audio mixing also had some issues. Certain parts being intentionally distorted for "effect" but the effect they actually had on me was just making it hard for me to understand.
All in all, what could have been a fantastic story went too far into the realm of confusion and delusion to be understood and enjoyed clearly. Such a shame.
So where did it go wrong?
The pacing started to drag, even as the bodies started to pile up. Things just kept getting more and more confusing without providing any answers or clarity about what was happening or why. There'd be small time jumps between or even during chapters, making it hard to keep track of where we'd left off and what had just happened. I honestly think I missed the explanation about how one of the characters died.
There's also at least one frustratingly unanswered question at the end (and it's a pretty big one, since it's about the event that caused everything to start going wrong at the station). Unless I somehow missed the reveal or answer...
The audio mixing also had some issues. Certain parts being intentionally distorted for "effect" but the effect they actually had on me was just making it hard for me to understand.
All in all, what could have been a fantastic story went too far into the realm of confusion and delusion to be understood and enjoyed clearly. Such a shame.
August 21, 2023
The Sound at the End is the tale of a group of damaged people working in an Arctic research base. It is told through the recordings of Trieste Graying, who came to the base to explore a sunken shipwreck nearby, and some other sources.
The audio production of this story is fantastic. It's got sound effects and an excellent cast of narrators. Note that it is highly dynamic, so there may be parts that are too quiet to hear if you're in a noisy environment.
The entire setup of this book felt contrived. First of all, at a research station, you'd expect it to be staffed with competent, screened, scientific staff. Instead, we get a hodgepodge of loonies who wouldn't be qualified to mop a riverbed. It's like the start of a bad joke. What happens when you put a boy band member, a drug addict, an anorexic, and a conspiracy theorist in an isolated research center...
If you're willing to suspend belief a little it, however, The Sound at the End is rather entertaining. And there are some scenes that will resonate hard with anyone who has been SCUBA diving before.
The audio production of this story is fantastic. It's got sound effects and an excellent cast of narrators. Note that it is highly dynamic, so there may be parts that are too quiet to hear if you're in a noisy environment.
The entire setup of this book felt contrived. First of all, at a research station, you'd expect it to be staffed with competent, screened, scientific staff. Instead, we get a hodgepodge of loonies who wouldn't be qualified to mop a riverbed. It's like the start of a bad joke. What happens when you put a boy band member, a drug addict, an anorexic, and a conspiracy theorist in an isolated research center...
If you're willing to suspend belief a little it, however, The Sound at the End is rather entertaining. And there are some scenes that will resonate hard with anyone who has been SCUBA diving before.
February 22, 2022
Most of the bad reviews I’ve seen are focusing on the lack of plot. There wasn’t a lack of plot, it was just a character driven story. I understand that isn’t for everyone. If you’re like me and like stories that hold more weight in the subtleties, you might enjoy this book. The writing was beautiful and the performances on audible were wonderful. I specifically loved listening to Trieste and Grace speak. I loved the psychological terror that slowly ate away at you and just kept building and building. The setting was so easy to get into with the multi-media sound scapes and the unraveling of each character. It was a pretty bleak story overall, but it’s kinda of about a small group of people going insane in isolation, so what else would you expect? I absolutely loved it and will be recommending it to my friends who like psych horror.
July 28, 2022
Honestly I didn't really enjoy the full cast audio, I kept feeling like I was listening to a radio show like The Archers, rather than reading a book. I did like the sound effects, and I thought they added to the remote feeling of the setting. I know some people found them distracting.
The actual story was reasonably enjoyable, and would've been 3 stars, as the characters were ok, but I totally hated the ending!
I'm glad I tried this, but I don't think I'll be listening to any other full cast audio books. It just didn't feel like reading a book.
The actual story was reasonably enjoyable, and would've been 3 stars, as the characters were ok, but I totally hated the ending!
I'm glad I tried this, but I don't think I'll be listening to any other full cast audio books. It just didn't feel like reading a book.
August 23, 2022
I absolutely loved the audio in this book. It made me feel immersed in the story in a way I didn't think I would be. I felt like I was under that water with them. The story was actually sad to me. I felt for all the characters in this one and was shocked a bit at the end of it. Was the world really over? Was this the last of it or was it all about a psychotic break? You be the judge. I give this one 4 stars.
June 28, 2023
I’m giving this 3.75 stars for the voice acting and sound effects. It was actually really great and immersive from that perspective.
I highly enjoyed this until about 2 hours left in the story, from there it just went downhill for me. Like it got so weird and was a little hard to follow and I just kind of didn’t care any more.
Performance = 5 stars
Story = 3 stars
I highly enjoyed this until about 2 hours left in the story, from there it just went downhill for me. Like it got so weird and was a little hard to follow and I just kind of didn’t care any more.
Performance = 5 stars
Story = 3 stars
July 4, 2023
The voice talent in The Sound at the End was wonderful. I recognized a few voices from Impact Winter. The story though, the story was really not good. It was a closed room mystery although the room was a base in the Arctic. There were so many red herrings, unreliable narrators, and sound distortions that the reveal at the end was exciting because the book was over.
May 17, 2024
I really liked the initial premise of this story. I was immediately drawn in. I definitely wanted to read/listen on..... but then things got confusing. I got a little bored. I felt there was too much going on, yet simultaneously it was repetitious. I thought things would become clear by the end, but they didn't. The audio production, narration and sound effects were wonderful though!
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