The Midnight Charter, David Whitley
The Midnight Charter, David Whitley
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The Midnight Charter

Author: David Whitley

Narrator: Simon Vance

Unabridged: 9 hr 31 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 09/01/2009

Synopsis

In this spellbinding fantasy novel, newcomer David Whitley has imagined a nation at a crossroads: misshaped by materialism and facing a choice about its future. He has brought to life two children who will test the nation's values-and crafted a spellbinding adventure story that will keep readers turning the pages until the very end.

In a society based on trade, where everything can be bought and sold, the future rests on the secrets of a single document-and the lives of two children whose destiny it is to discover its secrets.

THE MIDNIGHT CHARTER combines great storytelling with a compelling vision - a many layered adventure with powerful and timely implications.

About David Whitley

David Whitley was born in Chester in 1984 and graduated from the University of Oxford with a double First in English Literature and a passion for writing Children’s fiction.  At age 17 his first children’s novel was shortlisted for the Kathleen Fidler Award and at 20 he won the Cheshire Prize for Literature for a children’s short story, the youngest writer ever to win this prestigious award. Presented by Children’s Laureate Michael Morpurgo, who said some very complimentary words, the award was sponsored by Maryland Bank of North America and the £2000 prize helped David to spend a postgraduate year writing The Midnight Charter.  Whilst his first and overriding aim is to write fiction, David is also a scholar, particularly interested in the works of Jonathan Swift and his contemporaries; he had just received an offer of a place at Oxford to study for a Master’s Degree when his book was picked up by Puffin and Roaring Brook Press.  Although David’s primary medium is the written word, he is no stranger to performance. As well as straight acting, he is an in-demand bass-baritone having taken several leading roles in musical theatre. David’s numerous ‘serious’ music credits include Masetto in Mozart’s Don Giovanni for Carte Blanche Opera and concert performances of Tosca, Tannhauser and Peter Grimes under the baton of the late Richard Hickox, musical director of Opera Australia. As well as appearing on stage himself, he has also enjoyed directing youth drama. In his home town he has worked with The King’s Players to direct and produce two musicals and a play between 2006 and 2009, including Sondheim’s Assassins and Into the Woods. David loves giving readings of his stories, to audiences of all ages.

About Simon Vance

Simon Vance is the critically acclaimed narrator of approximately 400 audiobooks, winner of 27 AudioFile Earphones Awards, and a 12-time Audie Award-winner. He won an Audie in 2006 in the category of Science Fiction and was named the 2011 Best Voice in Biography and History and in 2010 Best Voice in Fiction by AudioFile magazine.   Vance has been a narrator for the past 25 years, and also worked for many years as a BBC Radio presenter and newsreader in London.  Some of his best-selling and most praised audiobook performances include Stieg Larsson’s The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Hilary Mantel’s Bring Up the Bodies (an Audie award-winner), Ian Fleming’s Casino Royale, Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray, Patrick O’Brian’s Master and Commander series (all 21 titles), the new productions of Frank Herbert’s original Dune series, and Rob Gifford’s China Road (an AudioFile 2007 Book of the Year). Vance lives near San Francisco with his wife and two sons.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Sofia on July 12, 2010

David Whitley é um jovem autor que em 2005 ganhou o prémio Cheshire Prize for Literature. Depois de ter lido esta obra, consegui perceber o porquê. Um livro de uma imaginação fantástica, de um enredo de nos prender à leitura e que vai pondo à prova todos os conceitos que temos relacionados com eleme......more

Goodreads review by Yasmin on March 06, 2018

The Midnight Charter is kind of a Dystopian story, but not quite. It’s like the origins of pretending to be dystopian, you know? It follows Mark and Lily, two eleven year old kids that are “slaves” of an oppressive system in which EVERYTHING can be exchanged for something else. Furniture, people liv......more

Goodreads review by Christina on April 20, 2010

Unique idea for a fantasy setting: a society where money isn't used, but everyone has a value. People barter, signing contracts that they will do such and such for someone else; all kids are worth a certain amount to their parents and some kids get sold by their parents when they can't pay their deb......more

Goodreads review by Anja von "books and phobia" on March 25, 2019

Für dieses Buch entschied ich mich im Rahmen einer meiner Jahres-Challenges, um den sagenumwobenen SuB etwas zu verkleinern. Und wieder einmal zog mich ein Buch aus dem Fantasy-Genre an, wobei ich sagen muss, das Fantasy diesmal ein sehr dehnbarer Begriff war, denn wirklich außergewöhnliche Sachen ge......more

Goodreads review by A. on September 19, 2009

Do you need something? Well you aren't going to get it if you don't have something worthwhile to trade...not in Agora anyways. Mark comes from the slums of Agora, only managing to escape the deadly plague because his father sold him. Lily is the servant who takes care of Mark in his new home. In thei......more

Quotes

“Young readers who enjoy tales of mystery and fantasy will find much to admire in Whitley's story...Simon Vance's thoughtful, unrushed narration is the perfect foil for the book's brooding atmosphere. Vance is a master narrator who brings characters of every type to life.” —AudioFile

“[Simon Vance's] skill is his ability to provide just the perfect pace and emphasis to convey wonder and amazement as well as dismay and disbelief... His almost imperceptible change in pacing, pitch, and rhythm perfectly conveys the author's intent.” —Voya Voice of Youth Advocates

“Charity, greed, freedom, fate and political scheming are all woven through debut author Whitley's richly conceived world. Readers will be buoyed by every small triumph that cannot be recorded in an account book.” —Publishers Weekly

“Exciting and gripping from the first heart-stopping line, this first book in a trilogy takes readers only part of the way to resolving the predictions of the Midnight Charter and its relationship to Mark and Lily. Readers will anxiously await the next installment as they reach the cliff-hanger ending.” —School Library Journal

“Deft world-building and crafty plotting combine for a zinger of an ending that will leave readers poised for book two. Surprisingly sophisticated upper-middle-grade fare, with enough meat to satisfy older readers as well.” —Kirkus Reviews

“Whitley threads together a thrilling page-turner with the two young heroes' lives intertwining in surprising and illuminating ways.” —Shelf Awareness

“One of the most original and creative books I've read in a long time.” —Wands and Worlds.com

Awards

  • Audie Award Finalist
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