Author: Ali Shaw

Reader: Heather O’Neill

Short Review: An enchanting mythic fantasy about a woman searching for a cure or explanation for the mysterious ailment that is causing her feet to turn to glass, read beautifully by one of my favorite readers.

Long Review: Ali Shaw was working at the famous Bodleian library at Oxford when he wrote this book. I can’t help but think that that storied collection crept into his first novel. The book is set on the fictional St. Hauda’s Land, a remote northern archipelago peopled by unusual people and animals. Ida Maclaird returns to the island seeking a strange man she met there on a previous vacation and an explanation for her unique ailment. She meets and befriends Midas Crook, an awkward young photographer, and asks his assistance in her quest. As the story progresses, Ida attempts to help Midas come to terms with his family and his feelings.

Heather O’Neill is a fantastic reader, and I think her tone and pacing were just right for this book. I was excited to get to listen to her narration again, and enjoyed this book ever more than I did The Likeness.

Shaw’s book is so entrancing because of how he plays with mythic themes. You can tell he’s fully-versed in myth and fairy-tales, but this is no retelling of a classic story. He draws from that imagery and makes gorgeous, subtle allusions, but he creates something wholly new for us. The fantastic animals he invents for the story are particularly interesting, and help establish the strange, magical locale where such unusual things can happen. This isn’t fantasy in the sword and sorcery vein. St. Hauda’s land feels real and modern, though uncomfortably different. And his characters-his characters! I want to know Ida and Midas and Henry Fuwa. I feel as if I could meet them on the train.

I look forward to Shaw’s next book, and I’m crossing my fingers that O’Neill will read the audio version.

A Game of Thrones: A Song of Ice and Fire: Book One

Available from Audible.com

Author: George R. R. Martin

Reader: Roy Dotrice

Short Review: Martin’s Locus-Award winning novel, expertly read by Roy Dotrice, proves an engrossing opening to a long, unfinished series.

Long Review: I was initially hesitant to pick up this series because I had heard so many friends complain that Martin was slow to release subsequent novels in the series. I didn’t want to wind up invested in characters who might or might not have resolutions in future releases. HBO’s sneaky free preview weekend forced my hand, because seeing the opening episode of their adaptation of the story made me want to read the books before watching the TV show.

Martin’s books are long and intricate, and follow dozens of characters. I generally enjoy fantasy audiobooks because the novels themselves tend towards the narrative, mythic style I think is best read aloud. This series is a great example of that. I was immediately entranced by Dotrice’s narration. He developed different accents and styles for the varied characters, and his acting talent shines through in his reading. In many sections of the book where Martin’s wordiness might have annoyed me, Dotrice’s reading kept me interested. Were it not for Dotrice, I may not be so inclined to finish the series. Instead, I’m crossing my fingers that Martin writes fast enough to allow Dotrice to finish narrating all of the books before health problems make that impossible. I want Dotrice to read the paper to me. I love to listen to him.

Martin’s writing does suffer at times from overuse of certain tropes or words, but in general he knows how to write an engrossing, interesting tale. He makes sure none of his characters are true heroes or true villains, and he’s not shy about killing off lead characters. The story is largely medieval-styled fantasy, but Martin injects mysticism, the undead, magic, and some elements of classic mystery novels to refresh the genre. One of the most prevalent themes in the books is the odd progress of seasons in Martin’s world. Rather than living on a planet with four seasons in a year, Martin’s characters inhabit a world where seasons can last many years. The story opens as signs of waning summer are appearing, and the phrase “Winter is coming” becomes a regular refrain. As the novel progresses, many factions fight for the throne of Westeros, and the third-person narrative switches from one character’s experiences to another.

There is no shortage of specifics about the plot available online, so I’ll leave it to you to seek out as many or as few spoilers as you like. Just know that the corpses pile up and several of the characters are truly layered and intriguing. Martin might have benefited from more editing, but Dotrice’s reading makes the book is a great listen.

Author: Jim Butcher
Reader: James Marsters

Short Review: Harry Dresden, Wizard of Chicago, gets pulled into a murder investigation riddled with werewolves and betrayal. Marsters remains the perfect reader to bring the Dresden Files to life.

Long Review: The second installment in the Dresden Files is perhaps stronger than the first.  In this  all our enemies have either claws or guns. Not satisfied with simply one bad guy, Butcher has thrown a whole arsenal of people and creatures to complicate Harry’s life. Not just werewolves, but multiple kinds. Not just the cops of Special Investigations are not on his side, but the FBI is in town. Gangs not enough for you? Never fear, we have the Mafia too!

Can you read this without having read the first book in the series, Storm Front? I suppose so, but you will have more fun with it if you start at the beginning and meet everyone along the way.

In this book we also get a bit more background on Harry and the world he lives in. We learn a few Wizard secrets and get to know his allies a bit better. Butcher’s characters are not cardboard cutouts – even those just passing through get enough detail to make them feel real. To top it off, Marsters has all the right voices for this wild assortment of characters. Most importantly, his voice for Harry, both his speaking voice and the one inside his head, is just perfect. He makes it sound so easy, so natural.

I don’t want to spoil any of the story for you, so from here I just say – go listen!

You can download the first 3 Chapters for free.

Available from Audible.com

Author: Jasper Fforde
Reader: John Lee

Short Review: The first book in a new series by Fforde, set in a world where people have very limited color perception and live according to strict rules set forth by the Colortocracy. Eddie Russett, our hero, has a strong ability to see red and a plan to marry a upperclass red-perceiving woman. And then everything changes.

Long Review: I’m a fan of Fforde’s Thursday Next series, so I was excited to get into this new universe. I was not disappointed. As is often the case with series set in alternate realities, there is a lot of information to tease through to understand the setting of this book. It’s set in some future Britain, after the “Something That Happened” which left most people able to see only one color if any at all, a great shortage of spoons, and a very strict set of rules. A caste system has developed, wherein socio-economic station is set based on which color a person can see, and at what levels of intensity: those who can see purple are at the top of the ranks, and those who can see only gray must do all of the hardest labor. Eddie Russett, the protagonist, essentially comes from a middle-class family, but knows that his upcoming color perception test will reveal him to have excellent color perception in the red range. He and his father are sent to a town on the outskirts, apparently in Wales, and mayhem ensues when he becomes entranced by a Grey woman with an upturned nose.

I won’t say more about the plot. I will say that John Lee does an excellent job reading the book. He allows a great deal of humor and whimsy to creep into his reading, but he also knows when to keep things serious. His diction and pacing are excellent.

What really entranced me about this book is the world Fforde created. He invents a functioning health care system based on chromatherapy, a bestiary of strange, bar-coded hybrid animals, fascinating technologies, a governmental system and cultural mores–and we know there is more to come. As he did in the Thursday Next series, Fforde picked a few factual concepts to build his foundation on, and then his creativity bloomed. Because he has this foundation of factual content, like the Munsell color system, his fantasies and fancies avoid the ridiculous. But all of it is written with such humor. I can’t wait for the next book in the series.

Short Review: A fantastic picaresque novel about a man traveling throughout the US, working for and with American Gods. It’s expertly read by one of the most respected narrators in the business.

Long Review: Jeanne and I regularly joke about the need for more negative reviews on this site. This review won’t help to moderate our reviews one jot.

I love this novel so much on paper that I was slow to choose it to listen to. I loved Anansi Boys as much as Jeanne did, but knew that I wouldn’t have Lenny Henry as a reader this time around. I know many people who are fans of Guidall’s narration, but I wasn’t wild about his reading of Heaney’s translation of Beowulf, so I was a bit hesitant to hear his version of one of my favorite books. But then I was staring down a long, intricate project that I knew would require a good long audiobook to keep me going, and in stepped Guidall.

He did a fantastic job with this novel. His reading is well paced, his variations in accent and tone for different characters is consistent and strong, and he obviously enjoyed the book. His smokey natural voice is particularly suited to many of the characters in the novel, but particularly Wednesday and Shadow. My only complaint is that Guidall mispronounces the names of a number of Gods who show up in the novel. I know not everyone will catch the errors, but they set my teeth on edge.

The novel itself is one that I think everyone should read. It appeals particularly to mythology buffs like me, but I think other people enjoy it for a hundred different reasons. It’s a good Road novel, and it’s a mystery. It touches on prison, and family, and marriage and love, heroism and bravery, grifters, sensuality, small towns and cities, trust and betrayal, sacrifice and belief. Finally, it’s a winter novel that passes over the holidays but isn’t about them–that’s exactly the antidote I need at this time of year. I’m tempted to hit the back button and listen to the whole thing again right now.

American Gods

Author: Neil Gaiman
Reader: Neil Gaiman
Available from Audible.com

Short Review: One of my favorite urban fantasies, read expertly by the author.

Long Review: I think it’s very brave for authors to narrate their own audiobooks. Many authors try it and fail. Gaiman, however, is consistently good as a reader. His pacing is wonderful, his diction is good, he obviously understands the emotions and pacing of the story, but is better able than most non-actors to get that meaning across to the listener. This audiobook reminded me of just how much I’d enjoyed Gaiman’s narration of both Fragile Things and The Graveyard Book. I’d like to think his daughter grew up with the best bedtime stories in the world. This book seems to argue that she did.

The story follows Richard Mayhew, a young Scottish businessman living in London and preparing to marry his controlling, posh girlfriend Jessica. Richard decides to assist an injured young woman he finds on the street, and who appears to be homeless. And then everything goes haywire. Door, the young woman, turns out to be from “London Below,” a world heretofore unknown to Richard. Villains come looking for Door, who narrowly escapes with Richard’s assistance, and he assumes all will return to normal once Door is safely away. However, Richard becomes inexplicably invisible to the London where he lives, and inadvertently departs for a quest, attempting to help Door and himself, working with and against a number of interesting characters in London Below. One task and one danger follows another, and we watch Richard grow from a clueless office drone into a real hero, in the classical sense of the world.

Part of the reason I appreciate Gaiman’s books so much is that I’m such a fan of mythology in general and Joseph Campbell in particular. Gaiman clearly understands, and likes to play with, the hero cycle Campbell elucidates in The Hero with a Thousand Faces. Richard, as a modern man, was unprepared for the tests and adventures awaiting him, so his transformation into a hero baffles him. He’s likable though, and layered, as are most of Gaiman’s characters. His villains in this book are excellent as well–terrifying and powerful, and seemingly undefeatable. He questions modern priorities and relationships, the careers available to most people and how they differ from the things we dream for ourselves. I always come away from Gaiman’s books reassessing how I spend my days, and whether I’m allowing the mundane to usurp the time and space I like to save for wonder.

Audio sample available online.

Short Review: Dark hyper-real earth-based fantasy for adults, heavier on the emotional life-tracking and lighter on the actual magic. Great reader + descent story = a pleasant listen.

Long Review: Some might try and simplify describing this book as Harry Potter goes to Narnia – but that isn’t going set your expectations properly. Yes, magic is real. There is a hidden school for magicians. Kids grew up reading a multi-book series about a magical world called Fillory long before they discovered magic. But in this story Quentin Coldwater grew up in Brooklyn and the school for magicians is a five year college and is hidden north of New York City on the Hudson.

As I have admitted in the past, I am a sucker for world building and character-driven stories. This book held me more with the cast of characters and a curiosity about how things would work in Grossman’s vision of a world with magic pulling the strings than it did with the overall plot.

This is not a happy book. Much of the darkness that touches Quentin’s world can be linked back to magic, but its impact on Quentin is real. You won’t love Quentin all along the way – often you want to reach into the recording and shake him and point him at what is right in front of him. That said, I did root for him. I wanted him to succeed, find what he was seeking and just be happy. There were some characters who I wish had gotten more time in the limelight, but ultimately this is Quentin’s story. I wonder what this story would have been like if it had been told from the point of view of one of the other main characters – Eliot or Janet perhaps? I would welcome that, a la Ender’s Shadow.

I was torn between being pleased at the way that Grossman tied together all the elements of the story and being a little frustrated that somehow it was too neat in the end. I suppose that I would have been more annoyed to not have had everything he had dangled in front of us along the way explained.

I am not certain I would have liked this as much on paper. Bramhall did a great job. His voice became Quentin’s inner voice so seamlessly, but he also made it easy to recognize the broad cast of characters. I do recommend this book – but know that your mileage may vary on this one.

Audio sample available online.

Short Review: Average paranormal romance made appealing by an excellent reader. Likely to be more enjoyable for those already invested in the Dark-Hunter series.

Long Review: If you have read other Dark-Hunter books and know who Fang and Aimee are, then you will probably enjoy this book. If you have no idea what I am talking about, I feel pretty strongly that this isn’t the right way to start this series. This book ties together snippets from many other stories earlier in the series. There are lots of characters you meet briefly – but if you have read what comes before they are old friends rather than confusing drop-ins.

Graham’s reading is what convinced me to give this book over 3 stars. I suspect it was more entertaining delivered in his voice than it would have been had I read it on paper. I have read the earlier books (all on paper actually) and have a soft spot in my heart for authors who build worlds and weave complicated stories among a great throng of characters. This is one of those stories where all the loose ends that had been left dangling in multiple other books are finally tied up in a neat bow.

I will confess that I rolled my eyes the 25th time that a character “would have it no other way” – but that said, I enjoyed the story and the reading enough that it made my commute to work fly by. I even missed my stop to change trains once! It isn’t profound, but it is fun. Sometimes I enjoy a good romance novel precisely because I feel confident in the happy ending waiting around the corner. Kenyon loves her characters and I always end up rooting for them, even if I wish that they would all stop arching their eyebrows at each other.

Short Review: Fun listen for the whole family. A fantasy classic brought to life by a full cast. Four siblings find a magic token and wacky adventures ensue.

Long Review: The full cast of readers aim for the fun of this story – and they hit the nail on the head. Originally published over fifty years ago and set in the 1930s, this book has withstood the test of time. We listened to this one with our seven year old, and any interruptions in the story were greeted with “can we turn it back on now?”.

It tells the story of three sisters – Jane, Katherine and Martha – and their brother Mark. Mostly left to their own devices for the summer as their widowed mother works to support the family, the daily life of the children is governed by their quest for adventure (and careful plans to avoid the woman meant to mind them). On their walk home from the library, Jane finds what looks like a nickle and claims it for her own. It isn’t until some odd things begin to happen that she realizes that it isn’t a nickle at all – but rather a magical coin that grants wishes. It grants half of any wish made by one who holds it.

The children are not just cardboard cutouts – they are real people with personalities and opinions. The story strikes a nice balance between fantasy adventures and the challenges that the children face in everyday life. We care about the four of them and their ultimate happiness, and that makes the story all the more captivating and enjoyable.

I don’t always love full casts, but this one works. The narrator is perfect and the voices for the four children are distinct and believable. A lovely listen for the family, sure to put a grin on everyone’s face. If you recall this book fondly from your own childhood, don’t be afraid to revisit the story – you won’t be disappointed.

Audio sample available online.

Short review: One of my favorite humorous novels, expertly read by Martin Jarvis. I’m sure I’ll listen to this book over and over again.

Long review: I have a deep and abiding love for this novel. I’ve read it on paper a number of times, and was happy to find an audio version of it. I’m an unabashed fan of both authors, and find works like this one feel particularly suited to audiobook format, since it is such a storyteller’s story. It’s funny and silly, but also examines important questions about belief and ethics. It’s peopled by interesting, charismatic characters who are wonderful to listen to. And, as is vital to a work like this, the authors know the source material they’re playing with.

In short, the angel Aziraphale and the demon Crowley become unlikely friends way back in the way back, and both end up being posted on Earth in the UK in our modern world, expected to do their work to support their sides in the great ongoing war between heaven and hell. The two fall in love with their lives on Earth, and decide that perhaps the apocalypse wouldn’t be all that great for them and maybe should be prevented. They set out to track down the Anti-Christ, an 11 year old boy unaware of his true parentage, and try to prevent his rise. As the story progresses, we learn of Agnes Nutter, Witch and her descendant Anathema Device, witch-hunters, the Four Horsemen, some interesting kids, and a number of other kooks wandering around this Gaiman/Pratchett universe of the book. I won’t say more, because I can’t say any of it as well as they did.

Author: Kaza Kingsley
Reader: Simon Jones
Extra: Introduction by author Kaza Kinglsley in which she shares her inspiration for Erec and his quests.

Short Review: Strong second installment in Kaza Kingsley’s Erec Rex series combines imaginative adventures with some solid life lessons. Simon Jones is still a fabulous reader.

Long Review: The Monsters of Otherness begins with Erec back at home with his family, far from the magical world we got to know in the first installment of this series (The Dragon’s Eye). Never fear, we quickly find a reason to go back to Alypium. Once there, Erec finds himself faced with a choice. Either he can take on the quests required of him to become King or step aside to let the evil Stain brothers take the thrown unchallenged.

There are a lot of things afoot in this story. We have missing baby dragons, rioting crowds who seem to hate Erec and an assortment of new monsters. Kingsley has done a nice job of pulling Erec (and the rest of us) back into the Kingdom of the Keepers. Erec still has his friends along for most of the ride, but as we get deeper into the book – more of the challenges rest squarely on Erec’s shoulders. Erec is not greeted with the adoring fans he expected – but rather brainwashed mobs who think he is a fraud. He has remember that he has people who believe in him, perhaps most importantly himself.

I like the way Kingsley sneaks in lessons about not judging others by either their appearance or by what others tell you. While I don’t appreciate heavy-handed morality in stories, Kingsley has truly woven the message into the fabric of her tale.

My six year old son loved this book – plowing through it faster than I could keep up with him.  He did warn me that something sad happens near the end. When I asked him if it made him cry, he replied with ‘almost’.

Jones delivers another beautifully read story with distinct voices and an appealing style of narration. I think I would listen to him read just about anything, judging by how he handles this series. I recommend you join him for this fabulous fantasy.

Audio sample available.

Readers: Davina Porter and Simon Prebble

Short Review: Clarke’s entrancing, charming short stories about the magical world introduced in Jonathan Strange & Mr.Norrell particularly focusing on the women who practice magic in this alternate England and run-ins between Englishpeople and faeries. Prebble and Porter are incomparably good readers, taking turns reading stories about men and women, respectively. Clarke’s storytelling is downright fascinating, and her language precise and beautiful. I love this audiobook, have listened to it twice, and know I’ll listen to it again and again. I cannot recommend it highly enough.

Long Review: I absolutely loved Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell. The only real fault I found with it (and yes, I know this is obnoxious) was Prebble’s mispronunciation of the word sidhe. Prebble reads the first section of this book, and I can’t tell you how widely I smiled when he said sidhe, and said it correctly. We language geeks can be pleased just as easily as we can be annoyed.

The title story of this volume is one of the real gems of the book. It describes Jonathan Strange’s meeting with the ladies of Grace Adieu, where his brother-in-law serves as a preacher. The Ladies, of course, practice magic in secret: in this alternate England, most Englishmen assume no women have any truck with magic, and that no one alive apart from Norrell and Strange has any real power. Porter narrates this story, and her reading is fantastic. She uses a precise, posh British accent for many of the characters, but switches deftly from one character and accent to another. She keeps to a quick pace, but her diction is so clear that no meaning or words are lost. Porter also reads “Mrs. Mabb;” “On Lickerish Hill,” a retelling of Rumpelstiltskin; and “Antickes and Frets.” The latter two are particularly dear to me because they trace magical spinning and magical attacks via embroidery. As a fiber-artist, I love to see anyone write well about fiber arts.

Prebble reads the introduction and the other stories in the book. Of his, my favorite is “John Uskglass and the Cumbrian Charcoal Burner,” the final story in the book. It’s a comic story about the play between the Raven King, a charcoal maker, and a variety of Christian figures. I chuckled at “The Duke of Wellington Misplaces His Horse,” which is set in the town of Wall from Neil Gaiman’s Stardust: I love to see my favorite authors collaborate.

As in the novel that precedes these stories, Clarke plays with concepts of femininity, magic, learning, power, manners, history, and morals. She erases the silly, romanticized visions of faeries and replaces them with portraits of dangerous, powerful, careless otherworld people. Her heroines subvert the rules laid out for them, however secretly. Her heroes win more often through study and thoughtfulness than force. I love her England. I want more of it.

Clarke’s audiobooks are some of the finest examples of the art I’ve come across. The author’s stories and language are beautiful and entrancing, and the readers are engaging, precise, entertaining, skilled with accents, and a joy to listen to. I can’t wait for Clarke’s next book, and when it does come out, it will be hard to decide whether to read it on paper first or listen to the audiobook version first.