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Post by kimalysong on Oct 16, 2016 12:24:31 GMT
France, 1915. In the trenches of the Great War, Lieutenant Dorian Gray reports to Captain James Anderson, shortly before a routine mission into No Man’s Land. His comrades rely on their faith to get them through - but is there any truth behind the story of the legendary Angel of Mons…? ~ By Roy Gill
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Post by omega on Oct 17, 2016 5:04:24 GMT
It's now available if you've pre-ordered series 5.
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Post by omega on Oct 18, 2016 5:12:20 GMT
It's a fantastic story from the ever dependably amazing roygill. I like how he and Guy Adams have explored Dorian through the eyes of other people he was close to. My favorite scene has to be when James is remembering him and Dorian gadding about and having fun, the music makes it really uplifting and it's one of the few times in Dorian's life when he seems genuinely happy with nothing bad happening. My second favorite bit is the final chance encounter between Dorian and James. Dorian wants to reach out and apologise when he recognises James, but his lifestyle prevents it. That feels like Dorian all over, too caught up in how he appears to be himself without bad things happening. I feel like Dorian and James really make each other better people. Being around James makes Dorian more aware of the effect he gives off (he isn't so cocky and smug when under pressure). You get the impression Dorian becomes more tolerable under pressure until you warm to him. Dorian encourages James to become more confident in his emotions.
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Tony Jones
Chancellery Guard
Professor Chronotis
Still rockin' along!
Likes: 2,132
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Post by Tony Jones on Oct 18, 2016 10:04:49 GMT
I loved this story - my train was held up going into London so I heard it all before I got to work
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Post by rosekitten on Oct 18, 2016 16:03:35 GMT
I listened to Angel of War yesterday. Love during war, beautiful. I'm also finding it interesting, learning about how other characters personally see Dorian. I must say i'm incredibly impressed with this last series, it's incredibly Epic, i'm sad only two stories left though, yet i'm still very excited to hear the next two. The stories are Art for your ears.
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Post by kimalysong on Oct 19, 2016 12:32:21 GMT
I want to do a deeper analysis of this story eventually but I just want to say how much I loved this one, an absolute beautiful story with rich themes. Like the first story this one had another ambiguous element to the supernatural aspect. Could the Angels of Mon be real especially considering what we know of Dorian? However the focus was not on that but on what Dorian meant to James. To James, Dorian was his angel but not in a supernatural sense. I feel the focus of this story was about finding hope in the darkest of places and love (albeit brief) that is everlasting in one's memories. In this story we see how much Dorian mean to James but James may not realize it but he did mean a lot to Dorian. In Dorian immortality very few people touched him and James was one of those people.
I also think the scene at the end was meant to be ambiguous did Dorian recognize James. I think he did. But in the end I think what matters is they got a better parting than the one in Prime of Deacon Brodie. I feel James can hold onto that last memory. And did James send his diary to Dorian? I hope he did as I do think it would mean so much to Dorian, maybe more than even James realizes.
There were so many scenes I loved but the scene in the crypt with just the two of them quietly talking and just the sound of the water may have been my favorite. It was poetic, an absolutely captivating love scene.
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Post by acousticwolf on Oct 20, 2016 8:08:45 GMT
I listened to this in the car and the sound of war was bloody loud coming through the speakers. Quite a beautiful story, I'm loving series 5 so far (and the storytelling from other people's viewpoint).
Cheers
Tony
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Post by philomina on Oct 20, 2016 8:17:33 GMT
In Dorian immortality very few people touched him and James was one of those people. Hallo my first posting here. Bear with me, English is not my first language I listened to "Angel of War" on Monday and had a laughing and a crying eye for the rest of the day. After diving deep into the relationship between Dorian and Toby I hadn't thought we would get a love story that could move me as much or even more. Now knowing both sides to the story of James and Dorian I wonder if this is actually the happiest Dorian has ever been. And here Dorian's immortality comes into play. In the end of "Deacon Brodie" these two, who loved eachother so much, just didn't understand eachother, each other's needs. It ended on a hurtful note for Dorian, and he compartmentalised, knowing he will have to go on (forever). James on the other hand knew he has a limited lifespan and he might never meet anyone like Dorian again, so he spends his life reflecting. I really really hope James did send the diary! I think all of roygill 's stories subtly play with the human need to connect on a very personal level, in very different circumstances. Now it is in times of war. The scene in the crypt was my favorite, too, along with the very last montage. In the crypt the voices carry so much intimacy, I had goosebumps. I'm not sure we had such an intimate moment before. I love we got 2 stories in s5 so far that have a narrator who loved Dorian. We saw Dorian through their eyes and I choose to believe that James is much more reliable narrator than Oscar was last week
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Post by rosekitten on Oct 20, 2016 9:26:35 GMT
I want to do a deeper analysis of this story eventually but I just want to say how much I loved this one, an absolute beautiful story with rich themes. Like the first story this one had another ambiguous element to the supernatural aspect. Could the Angels of Mon be real especially considering what we know of Dorian? However the focus was not on that but on what Dorian meant to James. To James, Dorian was his angel but not in a supernatural sense. I feel the focus of this story was about finding hope in the darkest of places and love (albeit brief) that is everlasting in one's memories. In this story we see how much Dorian mean to James but James may not realize it but he did mean a lot to Dorian. In Dorian immortality very few people touched him and James was one of those people. I also think the scene at the end was meant to be ambiguous did Dorian recognize James. I think he did. But in the end I think what matters is they got a better parting than the one in Prime of Deacon Brodie. I feel James can hold onto that last memory. And did James send his diary to Dorian? I hope he did as I do think it would mean so much to Dorian, maybe more than even James realizes. There were so many scenes I loved but the scene in the crypt with just the two of them quietly talking and just the sound of the water may have been my favorite. It was poetic, an absolutely captivating love scene. I hope He did sent his diary to Dorian, I can imagine in my imagination, seeing Dorian opening the parcel and reading it. I think it would mean a huge amount to him.
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bobod
Chancellery Guard
Likes: 2,759
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Post by bobod on Oct 20, 2016 11:00:31 GMT
In Dorian immortality very few people touched him and James was one of those people. Hallo my first posting here. Bear with me, English is not my first language I listened to "Angel of War" on Monday and had a laughing and a crying eye for the rest of the day. After diving deep into the relationship between Dorian and Toby I hadn't thought we would get a love story that could move me as much or even more. Now knowing both sides to the story of James and Dorian I wonder if this is actually the happiest Dorian has ever been. And here Dorian's immortality comes into play. In the end of "Deacon Brodie" these two, who loved eachother so much, just didn't understand eachother, each other's needs. It ended on a hurtful note for Dorian, and he compartmentalised, knowing he will have to go on (forever). James on the other hand knew he has a limited lifespan and he might never meet anyone like Dorian again, so he spends his life reflecting. I really really hope James did send the diary! I think all of roygill 's stories subtly play with the human need to connect on a very personal level, in very different circumstances. Now it is in times of war. The scene in the crypt was my favorite, too, along with the very last montage. In the crypt the voices carry so much intimacy, I had goosebumps. I'm not sure we had such an intimate moment before. I love we got 2 stories in s5 so far that have a narrator who loved Dorian. We saw Dorian through their eyes and I choose to believe that James is much more reliable narrator than Oscar was last week Roy has also written some lovely stuff for the Dark Shadows range.
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Post by Trace on Oct 24, 2016 4:09:43 GMT
A very rich and poignant story of friendship and love against the backdrop of the war. I agree--James is one of those characters who made Dorian a better person. Lovely story, Roy Gill! And the sound design is stellar, as usual. Kim said exactly what I was feeling: it's about finding hope in the darkest places...or, as the title suggests, angels--even in Hell.
I hope James sent the diary too.
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Post by omega on Oct 27, 2016 7:05:29 GMT
Where would one place this in a chronological listen-through? I know there is the main story that takes place before Prime of Deacon Brodie, but the framing sequence with the diary would indicate a period after that, as it's mentioned in the entry James is reading/writing.
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roygill
Big Finish Creative Team
Likes: 78
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Post by roygill on Oct 27, 2016 9:01:30 GMT
Where would one place this in a chronological listen-through? I know there is the main story that takes place before Prime of Deacon Brodie, but the framing sequence with the diary would indicate a period after that, as it's mentioned in the entry James is reading/writing. James's narration is set in 1939, the summer before World War II.
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Post by nottenst on Jan 19, 2017 15:07:01 GMT
Just finished listening to this on the way in to work this morning. One of my favorite Dorian Gray stories. The series is going out strong.
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