Julian: A Novel Audible Audiobook – Unabridged

Gore Vidal (Author), Malcolm Hillgartner (Narrator), George Newbern (Narrator),

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The remarkable bestseller about the fourth-century Roman emperor who famously tried to halt the spread of Christianity, Julian is widely regarded as one of Gore Vidal’s finest historical novels.

Julian the Apostate, nephew of Constantine the Great, was one of the brightest yet briefest lights in the history of the Roman Empire. A military genius on the level of Julius Caesar and Alexander the Great, a graceful and persuasive essayist, and a philosopher devoted to worshipping the gods of Hellenism, he became embroiled in a fierce intellectual war with Christianity that provoked his murder at the age of thirty-two, only four years into his brilliantly humane and compassionate reign. A marvelously imaginative and insightful novel of classical antiquity, Julian captures the religious and political ferment of a desperate age and restores with blazing wit and vigor the legacy of an impassioned ruler.

Listening Length

20 hours and 34 minutes
Author

Gore Vidal
Narrator

Malcolm Hillgartner, see all
Audible release date

Sept. 3 2019
Language

English
Publisher

Brilliance Audio
ASIN

B07VZN3NCZ
Version

Unabridged
Program Type

Audiobook
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Product details

Listening Length	20 hours and 34 minutes
Author	Gore Vidal
Narrator	Malcolm Hillgartner, George Newbern, David de Vries, Jeff Cummings
Audible.ca Release Date	September 03 2019
Publisher	Brilliance Audio
Program Type	Audiobook
Version	Unabridged
Language	English
ASIN	B07VZN3NCZ
Best Sellers Rank	#68,693 in Audible Books & Originals (See Top 100 in Audible Books & Originals) #1,261 in Politcal Fiction #3,171 in Literary Fiction (Audible Books & Originals) #4,489 in Historical Fiction (Audible Books & Originals)

Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5

380 global ratings

5 star		67%
4 star		22%
3 star		8%
2 star		2%
1 star		1%

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Top reviews from Canada

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G A Strong

Sloppy production by Vintage International of a good novel - redeemed by Amazon's reaplacement

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on May 7, 2017

Verified Purchase

I am a long-time customer for Amazon and a Prime subscriber.

I ordered two of Gore Vidal's novels from Amazon ("Burr" and "Julian") at the same time, trusting the reviews and the quality of Amazon's products. Both are published in apparently good quality trade paperback format."Gore" appears to be fine, but the printing of "Julian" is a real problem.

I took Julian on a long business trip, expecting to be entertained by the 500- page novel while I was in Bangladesh, where English language novels are not easily accessible. Having read 15 chapters and 286 pages of this novel.I turned the page, at a critical juncture (where Julian
becomes Emperor - apparently) and found myself back at page 175 in chapter 9. The next 30 pages were simply replaced with pages 175-206. The novel then resumed, minus the essential missing components at page 319.

There is no excuse for this kind of sloppiness, either on the part of the publisher - or on the part of Amazon in marketing this - and I can say this experience undermined my confidence both in the reviews here, and in the integrity of the products being sold by Amazon - and I say this as someone who has spent a lot of money here, and as a subscriber to the Prime service. I was pleasantly surprised therefore when Amazon offered me a replacement - long past the time when a free return could normally be made. I received it today, and, although it is the same edition, with the same binding - it was complete, with no missing or misplaced pages.

So, while I applaud Amazon for fixing the issue, I still worry about the Vintage editions of books, and what surprises may lie in store. The book itself deserves a 4 star rating, and Amazon's response 4 stars - but the one star remains for the production of the Vintage edition.

One person found this helpful

Helpful

Bima

A Good Book by a Master

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on December 25, 2012

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For Vidal fans and people interested in the role of Christianity in the decline of the Roman Empire, this book is indispensable. The narrative, presented as excerpts from the journal of the Emperor Julian with commentary from two philosophers who knew him, provides insights into contemporary politics, religion, human nature, and philosophical thought. Vidal's extraordinary intelligence and sophistication have a worthy subject and field of play.

The latter part of the book is less interesting and detailed than the beginning. Julian's rise is much more insightfully detailed than his decline. That said, this is a very worthwhile and thought-provoking novel. It reminds us forcefully of the dangers of mixing religion and politics.

One person found this helpful

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Dedicated reader

One of Gore Vidal's good ones. Try also his history series

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on June 27, 2018

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Deeply fascinating work. One of Gore Vidal's good ones. Try also his history series, (e.g LINCOLN, Hollywood ...).

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Wbm

Julian

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on August 28, 2015

Verified Purchase

Another great read from Vidal .

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Greg at 2 Book Lovers Reviews

A thought-provoking novel!

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on June 15, 2021

When it comes to Roman fiction, I find that authors tend to go to that transition period when Rome went from being ruled by the Senate to the Emperor. This period is filled with great fodder for intrigue, drama, and characters that scream for attention (I’m talking to you, Caligula). We tend to forget that Rome was growing, expanding, and thriving for over seven hundred years before Augustus consolidated his power; additionally, Roman power continued for nearly another five hundred years after Augustus (fifteen hundred years if you want to include the Byzantine Empire). Are we supposed to believe that during these twenty-five hundred years there was only a couple hundred with all the necessary plot lines for great fiction? Well, Gore Vidal didn’t think so!

Julian was the Emperor of Rome from 361-362 A.D. His life (as I read it from Gore Vidal) was filled with intrigue, drama, and lots of threats. I appreciate how Vidal left that Julio-Claudian period well behind, he gave me something new and interesting to enjoy. I learned quite a lot about the tumultuous period without feeling like I was being taught.

Gore Vidal’s writing, as delivered by the cast from Brilliance Audio (yes, I listened to the Audible version of the story), was captivating; the back and forth between the characters really helped to pull me into the story.

While I was listening to Julian, I was reading Mythos by Stephen Fry. I found that it actually helped to put Julian and his views of Christianity into perspective. The novel came off as almost a commentary on Christianity, the contradictions of it and how many of our “Christian” traditions were: stolen, hijacked absorbed from (pick your poison) pre-existing religions. I really don’t know where Vidal stood with regards to organized religion, but I was left with the impression he felt that the organized Christian churches are chameleons, taking on the aspects and traditions to make people feel comfortable, while at the same time their only concern is/was expanding their power and influence. Julian was really a book to make you think.

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Top reviews from other countries

Phil

One of the few thoroughly believable historical novels

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on February 19, 2015

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The sheer detail and exquisite use of the English language makes this an historical and literary feast for anyone remotely interested in the times and people portrayed. They are, one feels, described with consummate accuracy and as much historical veracity as is possible given the passage of time. Julian as a religious rebel in an increasingly over-Christianised society will endear himself to those of us who have a (secret?) yearning for a less hypocritical and pompous dispensation which has hardly proved itself worthy of the very Person who is said to be responsible for its inauguration. A fascinating read - and a pity that Vidal did not write with such acumen and professional style about other figures from the classical past. Phil

3 people found this helpful

MR P BUCZKO

Julie,Julie,Julie, if only................

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on July 9, 2015

Verified Purchase

An interesting period in history, a good emperor, a philosopher emperor, but if you do not kill your opponents or potential opponents then you will not survive for long. And Julian did not survive for long, stabbed in the back by the Christian zealots who could not tolerate competition for their new religion. A religion full of contradictions and hypocrisy and a lust for power. Julian was right to allow complete religious tolerance which was soon to disappear with the Christians in control until the Ottoman Empire came to power centuries later. A good read, I am going to try Creation next which looks fascinating.

7 people found this helpful

AndreC

Vidal at his best

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on May 26, 2014

Verified Purchase

Having read most of Gore Vidal's historical novels, I left this until last. In my opinion it's one of his best. The characters are all quite engaging, and have a feel of authenticity about them.
The fact that we know in advance that Julian's project to roll back the rise of Christianity in the 4th century Roman Empire was set to fail doesn't detract from the book.
Like all Vidal's work, this is witty, fascinating, intelligent and shows at times great depths.

One person found this helpful

M. McCulloch-Keeble

Lively

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on August 27, 2015

Verified Purchase

I thoroughly enjoyed this but I can't really say why! I fully expected to tire of it at some point but I didn't. The two commentaries by Priscus and Libanius, that run alongside Julian's autobiograpical musings, are quite bitchy but a very useful device that keep the narrative lively. I found myself rooting for Julian and was quite sad when the inevitable happened.

2 people found this helpful

Leonard M. Reidy

Great price. Great book. Arrived on time.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on November 13, 2018

Verified Purchase

4 out of 5 for a great book, delivered in a timely fashion, at a great price. I'd give it 5 stars if it were half the price. But that's just me being an obnoxious tightwad. I couldn't recommend it more!

One person found this helpful

See all reviews

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Julian: A Novel Audible Audiobook – Unabridged

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