Let the Swine Go Forth

By: Auriel Roe

Narrated by: Adrian J. Landers

Out of the blue, a failed actor turned drama teacher, Tristram Randolph, has greatness thrust upon him in the form of the top job as headmaster at a new school in the dysfunctional capital of a despotic post-Soviet state. Swineforth International, a franchise of a third-rate public school in England, is out in the desert, and there's no escape as the foreign faculty have had their passports confiscated. To make matters worse, Randolph and his motley crew of teachers, each of whom embodies one of the seven deadly sins, gradually fall victim to their own vices. Things come to a head when a revolution breaks out, the school is shut down, and Randolph is accused of aiding and abetting the rebellion. His only hope lies in winning a presidential pardon with the performance of a lifetime.

©2021 Auriel Roe (P)2021 Auriel Roe

Critic reviews

“A sprightly, inventive novel, rich in amusing characters and situations. I enjoyed every word of it.” (Tony Connor)

A Wild and Funny Tale full of Great Characters

I absolutely loved this absurdist look at the journey of a drama teacher at Swineforth Hospital, a British secondary school. As Tristram Randolph attempts to transition his career to the next level by accepting an offer to be headmaster of a new school in Diskebapisbad, the capital city of what had been part of the soviet empire and was now a dictatorship. Hilarity ensues as he recruites his staff, learns about the culture of this crazy country, interacts with the two daughters of the dictator and ends up with way more of an adventure than he signed up for. The extremely colorful characters and ridiculous situations Auriel Roe dreamt up are carried off with excellence by narrator Adrian J. Landers whose lively delivery and seemingly endless stable of all kinds of accents and character voices made this audio book spring to life. I would describe this as a 'lighthearted dark comedy ' because even though the book takes serious jabs at the failings of people and the inner workings of world politics (Tristram and his staff all represent one of the seven deadly sins with Tristram being a fairly unsympathetic protagonist) it nonetheless comes off wonderfully! With elements that reminded me of great British comedy like Monty Python, the strangely humorous but disconcerting tales of Roald Dahl and books like The Master and Margarite. I highly recommend it!

entertaining

At times, this read like a cautionary tale to be careful what you wish for. Tristram wanted to better his life and job, but instead git the other end if the deal. Amusing, frightening, entertaining, and fun listen. I voluntarily listened to a free copy of this and am giving an honest review. The narrator did an excellent job bringing the characters and story to life.