Cat of Bubastes (Audio Drama)
Summary
The Cat of Bubastes audio drama by Heirloom Audio is a high-quality adaptation of G.A. Henty’s beloved 1889 historical novel of the same name. This full-cast audio drama boasts the voices of Brain Blessed, Anthony Daniels, Sylvester McCoy, and John Rhys-Davies, to name a few. While abridged, this adaptation follows the original story’s overall plot and message, providing the same excitement and richness to the plot and characters as in the novel. The story follows Amuba and Chebron, a prince stolen from his land to be sold as a slave in Egypt and the son of the High Priest, respectively. In the story, the boys encounter adventure, conflict, and find a guiding faith in the One True God through interactions with faithful Israelites.
Assessment
The Cat of Bubastes was originally a novel in G.A. Henty’s line of historical fiction for boys and young men. In this abridged audio adaptation, the story takes on new life with a roster of familiar actors from across Hollywood. The overall quality of the production is top-notch, with immersive music and sound effects. The story uses a blend of narration — as if Henty himself is telling the story — and acted pieces with the characters.
The story’s overall flow is significantly faster than the original novel — the entire audio drama sits at somewhere around 2 hours total — but the original message of courage, steadfastness, and bravery are unchanged. Set around Moses’ time as the adopted son of the Egyptian royal family, this story focuses on two boys, the enslaved prince Amuba and his master/friend Chebron as they navigate the intricacies of Egyptian religious zealotry and protect the people they love. Through this, they find a deeper faith than any a cat or false god could offer them.
In terms of historical accuracy, the original story — and thus the audio version — is heavily influenced by Henty’s own culture and the knowledge available to him at the time. He was very well-studied in each story era he wrote about, but there are definitely some gaps and misconceptions compared to the modern understanding of Ancient Egypt. Regardless of this, the story is immersive and excellent when it comes to painting a picture of Ancient Egyptian daily life.
Light-o-Meter
Writing Style: 5 out of 7 Little Lights
Plot: 5 out of 7 Little Lights
Worldbuilding: 4 out of 7 Little Lights
Characters: 5 out of 7 Little Lights
Performance: 6 out of 7 Little Lights
Theological Message: 5 out of 7 Little Lights
Overall: 5 out of 7 Little Lights
Talk
I remember digging through a homeschool catalogue as a kid and pouring over the book section, trying to figure out what to ask my parents to order next. This particular catalogue (I’d tell you the specific one if I could remember, but I was entirely too interested in the contents IN the catalogue to be bothered with the company name), had a whole host of reprinted classics for both boys and girls from the 1800s, including the whole line up of G.A. Henty historical fiction. It was such a great time to be a voracious reader.
The Cat of Bubastes was an immediate hit for me as a kid and a story that’s stuck with me even now. If I think about the list of books I remember most fondly from my childhood, this one is definitely in the Top 10, maybe even Top 5. Henty’s stories are easily adapted to suit the modern audience, with plenty of daring escapades, dramatic adventures, and the need for good, old fashioned courage and integrity.
Heirloom Audio was able to bring this story to life with ease! The overall quality of the editing, sound production, musical score, and acting are all top-notch and infinitely immersive. They were able to really take me into the story with ease and should be highly engaging to a younger crowd. The story has also been somewhat cut down — which would annoy me a little, as a The Book Was Better type purist — but I think for the audience and the type of storytelling they are using (i.e. an audio drama, not an audiobook) it works perfectly.
Where to Enjoy
Heirloom Audio Productions: Cat Of Bubastes | Heirloom Audio Productions
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