IN THE SHADOW OF THE GODS The Emperor in World History

Narrator John Lee is the companion one might choose for this survey of empires across the world and through history: how they rose, how they thrived or failed, how they ended, and the functions of an emperor or empress. His excellent deep-toned voice and crisp British accent are backed by the intelligence to express the text's meaning lucidly and gracefully and the talent and sensitivity to make well-timed and appropriate changes of tone to give certain phrases a telling emphasis or an emotional grace note. However, in this program his crisp enunciation too often devolves into micro-pauses, even between individual words, a manner that at its worst becomes a distracting choppiness. It's the only flaw in what is otherwise his usual fine performance. W.M. © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine [Published: OCTOBER 2022]