Under the Mountains

West Virginia Weird, Book 1

By: James Agee Jr.

Narrated by: Charles Hayward

Length: 2 hrs and 52 mins

Publisher's summary

Jonas dreams of a life outside of the coal town in West Virginia where he was born. He soon discovers that there is more mystery and adventure in his home state than he ever could have imagined. Living with the knowledge that dark creatures and folklore are alive and among the living changes his life forever. Venture to iconic West Virginia locations such as Bramwell and the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum, as his adventure takes him to some very unexpected locations.

©2016 James Agee Jr. (P)2016 James Agee Jr.

One of the best stories of West Virginia

This is by far one of the most interesting and wonderful stories using all of West Virginia’s folklore and historic places as a setting.

Story great, narrator not so much

I enjoyed the story but the narrator often sounds like a robot (and making a bunch of jump cut like pauses). The narration flowed smoothly with the dialogue parts - he doesn't sound robotic! Despite my lack of familiarity with the West Virginian accent I'm assuming, I think he nailed it spot on. With the other parts, however, I had trouble getting immersed in the story from time to time because of all the awkward pauses and neutral tone.

Really good

I really liked under the mountains great story line good characters I found this audiobook on audio boom and the author sent me a free code im really glad I got a chance to hear this story the narrator did a great job
Thank you

Fun Book

Entertaining book, fun listen during drive to and from work. The presenter was excellent. It felt like he was reading just like the author intended. Very well-written and creative.

Filling & fun like an Appalachian Meal!

“Under the Mountain: West Virginia Weird, Book 1”
Author: James Agee Jr.
Publisher: Self Published/James Agee Jr (02.27.2016)

Narrator: Charles Hayward
Audible.com Release: 09.06.2016
Length: 2 Hours and 52 Minutes (Unabridged)

Agee writes a fantastic coming of age book concerning Jonas, a recent high school graduate, who desires to leave his small West Virginia town to find his place in life. After packing his meager belongings, he seemingly goes where the wind takes him, and quickly finds a family deep in the Virginia mountains. This family, he quickly realizes, is not what they seem and quickly leads him to the darker and more disquieting areas and people in his home state. The narration is serviceable, but I am not entirely convinced he nails the dialect of the Appalachian people. In summary, “Under the Mountain” is like an Appalachian meal- the entire experience is filling with a satisfying ending that is rather heart-warming. I recommend this book for anyone looking for a coming-of-age experience with that “X Files” twist or, like me, live in the Appalachian region and curious to read more about it in a fictional setting. I hope Agee continues with this series.

Note: I was provided a free audiobook copy at my request and voluntarily left this review.

A 3.5 actually

The story is nice. Author's writing skills are very good and his imagination is able to create a good plot. Still, the storytelling is a bit underwhelming.

Performance is okay. The narrator does a weird pauses, and I didn't understand the purpose of them.

No... No...No...

This WV girl couldn't get past the narrator on this one. I'm usually pretty forgiving with narrators I don't care for and rarely have I ever stopped a listen just because of one.
But this is one.
The Appalachian accents were forced, and either too much or too less; syntax was too fast - just didn't sound right.
He should have studied Bronson Pinchot do Latham Ballard or Shannon McManus do the Julia Keller Bell Elkins series.