The Man Who Would Be King and Other Stories

By: Rudyard Kipling

Narrated by: Sean Barrett

In a remote part of 19th-century Afghanistan, two British adventurers pursue their ambition to rule an empire. Using betrayal, threats, and guns, they win the respect of a primitive tribe and become worshipped as gods until one day they draw blood, and the game is up. "The Man Who Would Be King" is an action-packed tale about the pitfalls of colonialism and the temptations and evils of power. This volume also includes the stories "The Phantom Rickshaw", "The Strange Ride of Morrowbie Jukes", "The Mark of the Beast" and many more.

Download the accompanying reference guide.Public Domain (P)2015 Naxos AudioBooks

wonderful stories

just wish the titles of each short story were announced definitively. Had to sort it out as the story progressed. otherwise fantastic

Outstanding Deep Mystical Stories

Very grateful to have discovered Rudyard Kipling story telling. Such beauty profound deep lyrical writing. The Narrator is extraordinary and lovely to listen to. So happy to have discovered Rudyard Kipling ... He is one of the best authors I have ever had the pleasure of listening to.

Worth a Second Read

Where does The Man Who Would Be King and Other Stories rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

The Man Who Would Be King and Other Stories is among the best short story collections I have listened to so far. The stories were so condensed and crafted that I listened to the book back-to-back to pick up all of the nuances of details I had missed in my first reading.

What other book might you compare The Man Who Would Be King and Other Stories to and why?

I would compare The Man who Would Be King and Other Stories to Ray Bradbury's collections, because they were both great storytellers. However, Kipling's focus on India during the height of British colonial empire lends his stories the air of the exotic and the political.

What about Sean Barrett’s performance did you like?

Sean Barrett performed the hundreds of characters with craft and creativity, especially women, children, soldiers, Muslims, Hindus, and Sikhs. There were many castes and classes of characters he had to voice over a broad range of Anglo-Indian society at that time. When I heard Barrett, I heard India.

If you could take any character from The Man Who Would Be King and Other Stories out to dinner, who would it be and why?

If I could talk any character from The Man Who Would Be King and Other Stories out to dinner, I would take Kipling himself. He had served as a reporter and correspondent in India. Any reporter and correspondent that served in his stories represented him, eager to hear stories in this exotic land in a time of conflict. Stories literally walked into the door of this reporter's office. A dinner with him would be fascinating because he would regale me for hours. As a storywriter myself, I would ask him questions about his craft.

Any additional comments?

Read and listen to Kipling's books. He is an exemplary short story writer and a pioneer of its form.

? character voices

The narrator has a fine, excellent reading voice. However, his choices when affecting various accents and charachter voices throughout the reading were often unfortunate and detracted from the overall experience.

Hard To Dislike A Classic Storyteller

I had previously read some Kipling. His style and alliteration is always beautiful. The Man Who Would Be King is a great short story!

The remaining compilation is an up and down experience, with several fantastic stories and a few that are so period and place specific that they were hard to follow.

I listened to the entire compilation and was more than glad I did. The final trilogy is worth any wading through earlier stories.

The narrator was quite good, but at times was so melodic that I lost track of the stories. This may not be entirely his fault as some of the lesser stories were at times difficult to follow in their own right.

Kipling remains a great storyteller in the best English tradition.