The Ferryman Institute

A Novel

By: Colin Gigl

Narrated by: Stephen Hoye

Length: 14 hrs and 14 mins

Publisher's summary

In this stunning, fantastical debut novel from a bold new voice in the best-selling traditions of Christopher Moore and Jasper Fforde, a ferryman for the dead finds his existence unraveling after making either the best decision or the biggest mistake of his immortal life.

Ferryman Charlie Dawson saves dead people - somebody has to convince them to move on to the afterlife, after all. Having never failed a single assignment, he's acquired a reputation for success that's as legendary as it is unwanted. It turns out that serving as a Ferryman is causing Charlie to slowly lose his mind. Deemed too valuable by the Ferryman Institute to be let go and too stubborn to just give up in his own right, Charlie's pretty much abandoned all hope of escaping his grim existence. Or he had, anyway, until he saved Alice Spiegel. To be fair, Charlie never planned on stopping Alice from taking her own life - that sort of thing is strictly forbidden by the institute - but he never planned on the president secretly giving him the choice to, either. Charlie's not quite sure what to make of it, but Alice is alive, and it's the first time he's felt right in more than 200 years.

When word of the incident reaches Inspector Javrouche, the Ferryman Institute's resident internal affairs liaison, Charlie finds he's in a world of trouble. But Charlie's not about to lose the only living, breathing person he's ever saved without a fight. He's ready to protect her from Javrouche and save Alice from herself, and he's willing to put the entire continued existence of mankind at risk to do it.

Written in the same vein as best-selling modern classics such as The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde and A Dirty Job by Christopher Moore, The Ferryman Institute is a thrilling supernatural adventure packed with wit and humor.

©2016 Colin Gigl (P)2016 Audible, Inc.

Fun

Very fun unpredictable.
And had a shout out too another fun book
It’s a Dirty Job by Christopher Moore

Funny, very well-written

Reminders of Christopher Moore, though far less crude. I did not find it misogynistic at all- that is an unfair criticism. I look forward to his future works.

entertaining

Loved it. interesting idea for a book. Now I plan read this authors other works .

slow start but suspenseful and captivating.

Very captivating story when I finally got into it. i definitely think its a binge worthy book.

Narrator does not capture tone of the story

Would you try another book from Colin Gigl and/or Stephen Hoye?

I would read Colin Gigl. I would not listen to another book by the narrator.

What did you like best about this story?

The sarcasm and the dark humor was great. It was an interesting take and a fresh story.

How could the performance have been better?

The narrator sounded like a sports announcer. None of it sounded genuine and it really colored the story for me. For an edgy book dealing with an extremely serious and tragic topic with humor, the sports announcer just didn't do it for me.

Any additional comments?

Don't listen to this book. Buy hard copy and read it yourself.

Humor/Dark Comedy at its Best!

I loved this story. I loved everything about it, and Stephen Hoye was the perfect narrator for it.
I found myself re-listening to chapters over again just because it was THAT good.

Compassion and Humor dealing with death

Excellent Read. This book is about death and the role of one Ferryman who's job it is to convince the dead to move on to their next life. It is sad and dark but contains compassion and humor as the Ferryman tries to deal with his job and the bureaucracy of his organization. I listened to the audible version and found this to be a 4 star read.

Not sure why it didn't work for me

The idea is good, and the plot was good, yet I plodded through this book without enjoyment.

I know the narration was annoying at first. I am starting to think that narrators that use the snarky sing-song voice do that in lieu of an ability to do a variety of character voices. Even when the author had a character say a short sentence in a tense situation - followed immediately by a descriptive explanation that Each.Word.Had.Been.Said.Like.This - the narrator didn't do that and I had to go back in my mind to rephrase the sentence as the author described it.

But, maybe the story could have used more likeable main characters. And more descriptions that set the scene, then reminders woven in.

The book uses interesting ideas, but had room for improvement in delivery - both in better writing and performance.

Great Book!

I loved the book and the narrator! I keep looking for more books from this author, but nothing.

Captivating

Great storyline, unexpected twists, original plot. Excellent job and pleasant voice by narrator. Overall, highly recommend for middle school age (depending on child) through adult.