Try free for 30 days

  • Blood Meridian

  • Or the Evening Redness in the West
  • By: Cormac McCarthy
  • Narrated by: Richard Poe
  • Length: 13 hrs and 6 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (415 ratings)

1 credit a month to use on any title, yours to keep (you’ll use your first credit on this title).
Stream or download thousands of included titles.
Access to exclusive deals and discounts.
$16.45 a month after 30 day trial. Cancel anytime.
Blood Meridian cover art

Blood Meridian

By: Cormac McCarthy
Narrated by: Richard Poe
Try for $0.00

$16.45 per month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $40.99

Buy Now for $40.99

Pay using voucher balance (if applicable) then card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions Of Use and Privacy Notice and authorise Audible to charge your designated credit card or another available credit card on file.

Publisher's Summary

Author of the National Book Award-winning All the Pretty Horses, Cormac McCarthy is one of the most provocative American stylists to emerge in the last century. The striking novel Blood Meridian offers an unflinching narrative of the brutality that accompanied the push west on the 1850s Texas frontier.
©1985 Cormac McCarthy (P)2007 Recorded Books

Critic Reviews

“The authentic American apocalyptic novel…I venture that no other living American novelist, not even Pynchon, has given us a book as strong and memorable as Blood Meridian.” (Harold Bloom)
"McCarthy is a writer to be read, to be admired, and quite honestly envied." (Ralph Ellison)
"McCarthy is a born narrator, and his writing has, line by line, the stab of actuality. He is here to stay." (Robert Penn Warren)

What listeners say about Blood Meridian

Average Customer Ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    299
  • 4 Stars
    67
  • 3 Stars
    27
  • 2 Stars
    14
  • 1 Stars
    8
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    307
  • 4 Stars
    39
  • 3 Stars
    12
  • 2 Stars
    7
  • 1 Stars
    4
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    265
  • 4 Stars
    56
  • 3 Stars
    28
  • 2 Stars
    9
  • 1 Stars
    10

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Hypnotic

I initially purchased Blood Meridian in audio form and enjoyed it so much that I have since purchased and read a printed copy. There are few writers capable of using descriptive language as eloquently and with such dexterity as McCarthy, who is without a doubt among the most preeminent writers of our time. His masterful depiction of the setting evokes extremely vivid imagery of the desolate, unforgiving terrain and lifelike characters. After reading Blood Meridian the first time to absorb the story, I read through the book a second time, stopping to pay particular attention to certain phrases and rereading entire scenes in order to fully appreciate the use of language.

The Judge is absolutely one of the most fascinating characters I have come across. His "suzerain" speech is among the most poignant moments in the development of a character I have ever experienced, and one of a number of glimpses into the fundamental nature of this enigmatic, preternaturally intelligent individual.

Blood Meridian, like many Cormac McCarthy novels, will stay with you long after you put it down.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

: |

Incredible book, hated every minute of it. What else to say? That’s pretty much it.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

The honest Old West

I am ashamed to say I had not fully read a book for a couple of years. Too many podcasts and news apps have taken my attention for too long. However a friend recommended Audible and I decided on this book to start my audiobook journey.
After listening to the story I am very glad to have done it but it was a heavy book both in content and detail. The violence described and implied makes you flinch and I'm thankful to live in more peaceful times.
It is a great story to compare with the Hollywood westerns made in the 50s and 60s as this book does not whitewash any of the horror and misery that occurred. I hope listeners reconsider how their nation's histories have been portrayed and maybe ideas like Manifest Destiny should not be as glorified. The book also led me to read about Gnosticism and I may consider other McCarthy books in future.
By the way, Judge Holden is intriguing but he sure does like one-sided conversations. I do almost feel sorry for his illiterate brethren having to hear him soliloquize. It might also keep you up at night to wonder if he is still out there somewhere...

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

never knew I could love a story so much

will most likely listen to again, I'm now obsessed with finding something similar. cormac McCarthy is up there as one of my favorite authors after this .

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Very heavy

This book is incredibly violent. Not my cup of tea. Very repetitive also and didn't really go anywhere

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Boring book

I start reading this book without any context of the story, and I couldn’t reach out of the group because it is boring. There is no real plot. 

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A western by Hieronymus Bosch

A poetic but vividly gruelling epic that really only works as allegory. Everything and everyone can be read as symbol, which was, if I’m honest, the only way I could get through it. At the same time, I kept thinking of parallels with Australian frontier history and our national attempts to avoid facing it. The bottom line is that this is a masterpiece but, like many masterpieces, it demands serious commitment from its readers.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Great performance good story

Great performance good story. Listened to it over several days and I enjoyed it thoroughly :)

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Rubish

One slow (detailed) account of pointless massacres / McCarthy has a very vivid command of language

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

McCarthy Has Cemented Himself Among The Stars

An incredible read. My first of Cormac and surely not my last. Has definitely earned himself the title as one of the greats. Exited for the film adaption by John Hillcoat - fingers crossed!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.