The Child by Sebastian Fitzek adapted and dramatised for Audible.
The Blurb
Shortlisted for the BBC Audio Drama Awards 2015
My name is Simon. I’m 10 years old. I’m a serial killer. Robert Stern (Rupert Penry-Jones), a successful defense attorney, doesn’t know what lies in store for him when he agrees to meet a new client in a derelict estate on the outskirts of Berlin. Stern is more than surprised, when his old love interest and professional nurse Carina (Emilia Fox) presents him a ten year old boy as his new client: Simon (Jack Boulter), a terminally ill child, who is convinced he has murdered many men in a previous life.
Robert’s surprise turns into horror when he and Carina find human remains in a cellar the boy has led them to. The remains of a man whose head has been split with an axe 15 years ago - just like Simon claimed he had. Things go from bad to worse within hours when Stern discovers more dead bodies, the investigating police officer Engler (Andy Serkis) starts to chase him as a suspect in the murder cases, and his own past comes to haunt him. Stern’s friend and former criminal Andi Borchert (Stephen Marcus) is the only one to believe Stern and Carina. Hunted by the police, and led by Simon’s memories, they start to investigate shady sub cultures of Berlin, and soon discover things that are more gruesome than anything they could have imagined…
Audible Studios London presents a gripping audio dramatisation by Sebastian Fitzek, Germany’s most successful thriller writer, whose books are read around the world in more than 20 different languages. This unabridged dramatisation introduces listeners to a completely new approach to audio entertainment, a full-length dramatised book adaption with an original score and soundscapes from the heart of Berlin. Featuring amazing performances by a cast of over 20 actors in a breathtaking plot, The Child provides a truly immersive listening experience.
About Sebastian Fitzek
Sebastian Fitzek was born in Berlin in 1971. After going to law school and being promoted to LL.D., he decided against a juridical profession for a creative occupation in the media. After the traineeship at a private radio station he switched to the competition as head of entertainment and became chief editor later on, thereafter becoming an independent executive consultant and format developer for numerous media companies in Europe. He lives in Berlin and is currently working in the programme management of a major capital radio station.
My Review
Okay, it's a dramatisation, a departure from reading or listening to audiobooks, but as far as I'm concerned one step up from 4DX, Imax, 3D, blockbusting movies. A life time of reading has retained my childhood imagination and fine tuned it, so that special effects, CGI, panavisioned, technicolored vistas are far more vivid than a flat screen can throw at me. 'The Child' is an adaptation of Germany's top thriller writer Sebastian Fitzek's 'Das Kind.' It has an A-list cast, incredible sound effects, that Audible does so well, which I have recently discovered having got two-thirds of the way through 'The Scarlet City' trilogy. More like this please Audible.
