The Dead of Rannoch Moor

By: Marty Ross

Narrated by: Chris Reilly, Shirley Henderson

They conquered the highlands.

But on the moor, something waited… to curse and conquer them.

1746, Scotland.

The redcoat forces of King George II have defeated the Highland rebels led by Bonnie Prince Charlie. Now Government troops are free to plunder and punish the locals.

To avoid court martial, Captain Shawwood is ordered to lead a band of troops and map-makers to chart the most isolated and mysterious landscape of the Highlands – the mighty Rannoch Moor.

But the Moor is home to more than just bog and heather, it's a place of shadows and secrets. Before long, their expedition comes face to face with uncanny forces far greater than anything they have fought before. Even when Captain Shawwood accepts the shelter of Ishbel, a young Highland woman, he and his men still cannot escape the world of terror and vengeful desire into which they have strayed.

After his award-winning adaptations of Charles Dickens and Treasure Island, Marty Ross brings you a haunting tale of horror and dark romance. Narrated by Chris Reilly (Slow Horses) and Shirley Henderson (Dept. Q) The Dead of Rannoch Moor will take you to a landscape of terrifying mystery and beauty.

Available in Dolby Atmos on Audible.

This production contains scenes of warfare, violence and sexual assault.

©2025 Marty Ross (P)2025 Audible Ltd.

The accent is the narrator!

Very good story, all the voice actors were outstanding. The story had a lot of twists and turns. Certainly kept me interested!

I’m not Scottish but that plot jumped more than an Olympic hurdler

Maybe I just wasn’t checked into this one as the other ones, but that accent kept on throwing me off, it’s far for the course with the Astoria I understand, but I couldn’t help it notice that the soldiers kind of kept on marching until the story went into another direction, which I guess all stories do… But in this case it just felt jumpy

Heart of Darkness on a highland moor

This is a rough read. Take the warnings of sexual assault and violence seriously - every chapter includes one or the other, or both.

That said, it’s a damn good reworking of Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, or the movie Apocalypse Now. It explores the hatred and dehumanization that people in combat feel toward the enemy, and the utterly debased brutality with which conquerers and colonisers treat those “beneath them.”

However, being Marty Ross, there’s a twist on the madness - his version is set on a peat moor in the highlands of Scotland, shortly after the massacre of the Clans at Culloden.

It was a time in which the worst excesses of the British army were inflicted on the highlanders. Just as they would be in Africa, and around the world.

But native populations in isolated regions have specialized knowledge, and perhaps even magic. And some sins don’t die with their victims…

Well written, perfectly performed and sound edited, this version of Heart of Darkness with a touch of MacBeth is worth listening to if you can handle the subject matter.

Vivid and Gruesome

I liked the story, it’s definitely for adults. Probably shouldn’t have kids around when you listen to it.
I thought the narrator did a really good job with the different characters and the story was engaging. Some parts were hard to listen to but not so much that I considered to stop listening to it. It’s a different kind of horror story.

Terrific story

Vivid descriptions. Not my typical genre but a great story and cast of characters. Definitely worth a listen.