Audiobook Reviews

[thecatlistens]

Review of the audiobook - Carve The Mark by Veronica Roth

Time: 14 hours 50 minutes Narrators: Emily Rankin, Austin Butter

This is Veronica Roth’s first book since the Divergent trilogy, but it is a very different animal. Set mostly on the planet Thuvhe where there are two warring nations, the native Thuvhesits and immigrant Shotet. Two boys are kidnapped from their Thuvhesit home by Shotet soldiers after it is revealed that one will grow to be an oracle and the other can speak Shotet without having been taught (believed to be a sign he has Shotet blood). They are taken to the home of the brutal Shotet ruler and his sister who suffers intense and constant pain but inflicts it on others if they touch her.

Right from the off we have two very different cultures to learn, each with their own language. Some of the names are complex and hard to pick out from one another, and altogether this meant it felt a little difficult to get into the story. I found this to be equally true on reading the book last year and listening to it now.

The book is split between Shotet Cyra’s point of view in the first person, and Thuvhesit Akos’ story written in the third person. On page this makes it much easier to distinguish one from the other. Obviously isn’t needed on audio with a male and female narrator. However, An unintended effect was that Cyra’s very personal point of view drew the listener in whilst Akos’ third person story pushed the listener away, in comparison. Narrator, Emily Rankin gave Cyra humour and verve I didn’t pick up on the page, but Austin Butler’s Akos seemed hesitant and halting. I ended up speeding the book up a little because Butler’s narration wasn’t holding my attention.

Overall I enjoyed listening to the book and it was a good way to recap before starting book 2, The Fates Divide, released earlier this month

6/10

[thecatlistens]

The Bone Collector - Jeffery Deaver

Time: 12 hours 53 minutes Narrator: Jeffrey Harding

First of Deaver’s Lincoln Rhyme procedural thrillers. Lincoln was a forensic specialist for the NYPD until three years ago when a crime scene accident left him quadriplegic, and seeking an assisted suicide. Rhyme is drawn into a murder investigation, in the process meeting Amelia Sachs, a young policewoman with an instinct for forensics. So begins a chase in which Rhyme and Sachs are constantly chasing the clock trying to free a series of kidnap victims before they die.

Narrator The Bone Collector fame is a favourite of mine so I had in mind the soft tones of Denzel Washington, and Angelina Jolie’s tough kickass portrayal of Amelia. I accept that the audiobook is going to sound different but I really didn’t get along with Harding’s narration. He seems to have the ability to portray different male voices, but managed to make them all intensely irritating. His Lincoln Rhyme was raucous and unlikeable. Worse, poor Amelia Sachs became a soft, pathetic creature at his hands. Amelia is a tough lady, a New York beat cop who is not afraid to stand up for herself. Harding’s Sachs was a travesty.

This is a great film and the book is a even better read. The audiobook, however, leaves much to be desired. I may listen to other Deaver books, but not with this narrator.

5/10

[thecatlistens]

Red Rising (Red Rising #1) by Pierce Brown

Time 16 hours 10 minutes Narrator Tim Gerard Reynolds

The first of what was initially a trilogy but is steadily growing with a further book added, and another on the way, plus a series of graphic novels. Warning: this book contains violence and bad language. It is a story of revolution, set in space, but more in the vein of the Hunger Games than Star Wars, due it’s physical violence. No guns or lasers here.

Story Hundreds of years into the future, the human race is divided into castes named after colours; from golds, the ruling class that are the biggest, strongest and most ruthless, down to reds who are physically small and do the most menial jobs in society.

Darrow is a red miner in a Mars mining community, where his people live short brutal lives. Darrow is taken from his community by a terrorist group to help infiltrate the gold community. He is physically changed to look like them and sent to the Institute where the cream of the gold teens compete for honours and a high place in society. It seems however that many golds are expected to die during the process and someone is cheating.

Narrator Tim Gerard Reynolds is theatre actor and an experienced audiobook narrator. He studied at Trinity College Dublin. His voice is easy to listen to and the pacing was good. However, the most important factor in his narration of this book is the clever use of accents to highlight the plot. When TGR is narrating the story and voicing Darrow’s inner voice he reads in what I presume is his native Irish accent. However the dialogue between the golds is all read in a drama school, English accent. This means you never forget what Darrow really is. This device really lifts the story to another level.

At first, I found the audiobook a little hard to get into. I remember feeling the same way on reading it. There is a fair bit of unfamiliar lingo that I found hard to get my head round. Once I got into the meat of the story, though, I blasted through this audiobook in record time. I couldn’t leave it alone and found myself shunning tv and my reading book to progress it. If you like an epic and bloody space fantasy with only a small hint of romance, I’d highly recommend this one for you.

9/10

[thecatlistens]

Holy Island by LJ Ross

Time 11 hours 11 minutes Narrator Jonathan Keeble

The first DCI Ryan book. A self publish that became a best seller. Let ke all the Ryan books, this one is set in the North East of England. In this case Holy Island or Lindisfarne. A small occupied island, accessible to the mainland by road at low tide.

Story DCI Ryan is on extended leave following a personal loss. His sabbatical is interrupted by a murder on the island. Ryan soon gets into his stride investigating what seems to be a ritual murder among a very small pool of suspects, the island population.

Narrator Jonathan Keeble (Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow) has a classic English accents which suits Ryan, who is not a Northerner. I don’t remember if Ryan is a public school boy but he seems the type. Keeble’s portrayal of him does give him depth. His pacing is perfect.

However, and, for me, it is a big however, the other characters in the book are not drama school-voiced. The northern accent is a subtle one. It changes every couple of miles, and history shows that those not raised here really shouldn’t try to mimic it. Keeble obviously doesn’t know the difference between a Northumbrian accent, and any other North Eastern accent. I was completely distracted through large parts of the book, in mapping out the geography of the attempted accents, which occasionally even wandered around the UK. It is a shame as it’s a great book and deserved better.

Enjoyable book (if you don’t mind the accent faux pas) and the start of a decent detective series.

7/10

[thecatlistens]

The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time by Mark Haddon

Time: 6 hours 3 minutes Narrator: Ben Tibber

A relatively short novel written from the perspective of Christopher, a 15 year old boy with Asperger’s.

Story Christopher finds the neighbour’s dog after it has been killed. During his investigation Christopher finds information that he really wasn’t looking for and his carefully controlled life spirals out of control. Written in short pithy sentences, we see everything that Christopher doesn’t. It is incredible that a book written from the perspective of a child who doesn’t understand emotion, can inspire such deep feelings in us.

Narrator Ben Tibber (I Am David), was about 11 or 12 years old when this book was recorded, and he sounds it. As a breathless child he was and sounded a little too young to be 15 year old Christopher, but otherwise did a magnificent job. His youth made the story so much more emotional. As a parent, parts of the story made me ill to listen to. I don’t remember having that depth of feeling when I read the book, back when it first came out.

The narration is interspersed with dramatic renditions from the adults in the story, that are performed by various people. And break up novel, nicely.

This audiobook really does bring the novel to life. Be ready for some heart-stopping moments before the end though.

9/10

[thecatlistens]

The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins

Time: 11 hours 14 minutes Narrator: Carolyn McCormick

I originally read these books when the first film came out but haven’t touched them since, so, although I remembered the broad outline of the story, I really didn’t remember much of the detail.

It took me a while to get through the audiobook because I used Gspn.com’s Hunger Games fan podcast as a buddy read. Gspn also did a chapter by chapter of the Twilight Saga and they are ver good at picking up on the little details. It’s also fun to hear them speculate on where the book will go.

Story In a post-apocalyptic North America there remains 12 districts and a capital. The capital lives in luxury while most of the districts live in a state of poverty and starvation. After a failed rebellion, the capital set up the Hunger Games. Each year a boy and and a girl from each district, drawn from a pool of all 12 to 18 year olds, are placed in an arena to fight to the death. The capital treats this evnt as a popular reality show. This book opens at the draw for the 74th Hunger Games.

Narrator I really couldn’t get away with Carolyn McCormick as the narrator of these books. The main character, Katniss, is 16 years old, and the book is written in the first person. This narrator just seemed too old for the part. There was something slightly patronising about the narrator’s tone at times, as if she was reading a bedtime story. This really is no fairy tale. When Katniss had dialogue, McCormick played it with breathless naivety. Though Katniss is young, she is mature beyond her years through being the main provider for her family. She is also far from naive. There is a point in which Katniss screams out with emotion and then sings. The narrator just doesn’t pull this off.

Overall These are magnificent stories, but if you aren’t already aware of the books be warned of violence and heartbreak. The audiobook, however, fell short of my expectations.

6/10

[thecatlistens]

The Eyre Affair (Thursday Next #1) - Jasper Fforde

Time: 9 hours 10 minutes Narrated by: Gabrielle Kruger

The first in a series of books about female investigator, Thursday Next set in an alternate timeline that includes a rich fantasy world. In this world, set in 1985, the Crimean War is still raging, time can be manipulated and book worlds touch on the real world so that characters can cross between the two.

The Story Thursday Next working as a low level Litera Tec or literature detective is temporarily recruited by high level government department to help hunt a master criminal (her former lecturer). The operation is a disaster but Thursday continues the hunt. Her prey, Acheron Hades, is abducting characters from classic novels.

Narrator Gabrielle Kruger rattles through this book at top speed. This is the first time I’ve had to consider slowing a book down. The book is jam-packed with word puns, word play and literary references that Kruger handles ably, but many go by so fast you don’t really have time to take them in. Her voice suits the part though. You can here the humour in her voice. She does differentiate many of the secondary characters with different voices and accents but with a limited range. Some of the characters blended together in the end.

This book made me feel a little shamed at my poor knowledge of the classics. There were undoubtedly more literary allusions than I picked up. I have quite a high tolerance for quirk, but some people might find this book would overfill their crazy quotient. Also, be warned, with characters like Jack Schitt in play, the book sounds like it has more bad language than it actually does on the page.

Overall, I enjoyed the ride.

8/10

[thecatlistens]

Daughter of Smoke and Bone - Laini Taylor

Length 12 hours 31 minutes Khristine Hvam

“Once upon a time, an angel and a devil fell in love. It did not end well.”

This fantasy trilogy is far and away one of my favourites. It has a highly detailed fantasy world, gorgeous imagery and a gentle sense of humour. It is a book series I will read over and over again. Listening to it on audio gave me a chance to approach it in a different way and notice different things about the writing.

Story Karou is an unusual girl. Though currently attending art school in Prague, she grew up with monsters. Brimstone, though a monster is kind of a father figure for her, and she aids him by going all over the world collecting teeth for him to use in magic. He pays for them in wishes. Everything changes when Akiva, appears. She doesn’t know him but seems to recognise her. His appearance, though, heralds destruction.

The story winds through humans, angels and monsters, through the real world and magic ones. This story will break your heart and put it back together again…more than once.

Narrator Khristine Hvam has done voice work for an Iron Man video game and for the Pokemon series. She has a soft American accent for the bulk of the narration but inserts a variety of accents and voices for the dialogue which brings the book to life. I could close my eyes and sink into her portrayal of Brimstone and I loved Zuzana’s heavily accented English.

Pacing of the narration was perfect, slow enough to make a dramatic impression but not so slow that you get bored or feel the need to crank it up.

The only criticism I would have, is a small but irritating word mispronunciation. I am channeling my inner Hermione Granger as I say this. It’s not staLAGmites, it’s STALagmites!!

If you are looking for a new fantasy world in which to immerse yourself, then these are the books you want.

9/10

[thecatlistens]

My True Love Gave To Me

Total Time: 12 hours 55 minutes

-Midnights written by Rainbow Rowell narrated by Rebecca Lowman

-The Lady and the Fox written by Kelly Link narrated by Fiona Hardingham

-Angels in the Snow written by Matt de la Peña narrated by Henry Leyva

-Polaris Is Where You’ll Find Me written by Jenny Han narrated by Kim Mai Guest

-It’s a Yuletide Miracle, Charlie Brown written by Stephanie Perkins narrated by Samantha Quan

-Your Temporary Santa written by David Levithan narrated by Dustin Rubin

-Krampuslauf written by Holly Black narrated by Julia Whelan

-What the Hell Have You Done, Sophie Roth? written by Gayle Forman narrated by Abby Craden

-Beer Buckets and Baby Jesus written by Myra McEntire narrated by Lincoln Hoppe

-Welcome to Christmas, CA written by Kiersten White narrated by Michelle Jubilee Gonzalez

-Star of Bethlehem written by Ally Carter narrated by Shannon McManus

-The Girl Who Woke the Dreamer written by Laini Taylor narrated by Ann Marie Lee

Story My True Love Gave To Me is a series of 12 young adult holiday tales, written by a selection of some of the best young adult authors of our time. Though mostly Christmas stories there are also Hanukkah, Yuletide and New Year stories. Some are supernatural, some are romances but all have the magic of someone miraculously finding exactly what they need to make them happy.

Narrator Each story has a different narrator and all seem suited to their respective tale. Lincoln Hoppe’s breathy teenage boy in Beer Buckets and Bethlehem amused me; Kim Mai Guest’s Asian tones gave a extra dimension to Polaris Is Where You’ll Find Me. By the time I reached Angels in the Snow, I did have to turn the speed up a little. On reaching the final story, The Girl Who Woke the Dreamer, I ramped it up again.This was the longest story and probably my least favourite of the bunch.

I went through the collection enjoying each story for itself. Even the non-supernatural ones have a magical quality to them that suited my (dwindling) Christmas mood. My favourite, though, would have to be Beer Buckets and Bethlehem. There is something about second chances and redemption at this time of the year that gives me a warm feeling. A close second is Star of Bethlehem because of the joy among the grief. This was the one story that raised a tear from me.

If you are searching for your Christmas spirit, give these tales a spin and listen to some Christmas miracles from the world of young Adult fiction.

8/10

A happy, healthy, peaceful 2018 to one and all.

[thecatlistens]

A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens

As the nights draw in and Christmas approaches, I begin looking to old favourites I can curl up by the fire with. A Christmas Carol is a book I always try to make time for at this time of year. Dickens’ classic dates right back to 1843, but its themes of love, redemption and transformation, engender as much emotion today as when it was first written.

When you shop for an audiobook version of A Christmas Carol you find a plethora of different versions all offering different things. You can get abridged (it’s not a long book anyway), unabridged, dramatic performance. It’s available on CD, podcast, Audible, ITunes, even app form, and with dozens of choices of narrator from unknowns to famous actors such as Patrick Stewart (Star Trek), Tom Baker (Doctor Who), David Jason (Only Fools and Horses) and my personal favourite, the seasoned British actor, George Cole.

Personally I always go for unabridged narration over drama. Given that this is an old English tale I also go for an English narrator. Sorry my American friends but having tested out American narration of this story I’ve found it jars. There are other audiobooks I’ve tried where an English accented narrator is not the right fit, but for this book it has to be an English person. I say person because there are some great female narrated versions. I am rather fond of the version narrated by Miriam Margolyes (Blackadder) for example.

Narrator: George Cole Length: 2 hours 53 minutes

Story

Scrooge is a mean businessman. His poverty stricken clerk is starving and Scrooge begrudges giving him time off for Christmas. His nephew invites him to spend Christmas with his family. Scrooge refuses with bad grace. He is then visited by the ghost of his business partner and this is a prelude to the visits of three more ghosts, those of Christmas past, Christmas present and Christmas future. There are some unwelcome revelations for the hard hearted man.

Narrator

I love George Cole. His voice is suited well to the part. The pacing is good and he makes light work of the, sometimes archaic, writing, so that you never struggle to understand. Sadly it sounds like his false nashers interfere with his reading occasionally. He does bring all of the emotion of Scrooge’s revelations to the story though. Cole played a young Ebeneezer Scrooge way back in 1951 so maybe he has a little extra insight.

9/10

[thecatlistens]

Daughter of Smoke and Bone

Rivers of London - Ben Aaronovitch

Length 9 hours 53 minutes Narrator Kobna Holdbrook-Smith

Initially famous for working on Doctor Who and Blake’s Seven, Ben Aaronovitch published his first River’s of London book in 2011. Six more books and a whole host of graphic novels later, PC Ben Grant is a well established best selling series. The Rivers of London books are what happens if you take police procedurals and throw Harry Potter into the mix.

Story PC Ben Grant is a beat policeman fresh out of Hendon and destined for a mediocre career when he is posted as crowd control at a murder. Unbeknownst to him the murder has magic implications. The London Metropolitan Police’s sole remaining magical officer, Detective Chief Inspector Nightingale, spots Grant at the scene and recognises a dormant talent. Grant is transferred to become his apprentice and together they investigate the murder. Along the way Grant meets the goddesses of the London rivers. Some of whom are friendlier than others.

This may sound like a fantasy novel disguised as a mystery but actually the police procedural aspect of the novel is a huge factor. I’m no expert but it does appear to be based on a considerable amount of genuine knowledge. Similarly the history and geography of London take on a life of their own under Aaronovitch’s skilled hands. One day some bright spark of an entrepreneur will create a River’s of London guided tour, and I will be on it.

Narrator Holdbrook-smith is perfect for the part. PC Ben Grant came alive with his voice. The book feels more like a recounting than a reading. He could have been Grant sitting in my living room with tea and biscuits telling me about his day. His accent is genuine and suitable and the different characters are given different voices that are consistent and recognisable. Aaronovitch’s subtle British humour is portrayed with dry manner that made me feel that Holdbrook-Smith was enjoying the joke too.

These books are never dull, even when explaining police procedures and Oldbrook-Smith brings them alive.

10/10

[thecatlistens]

Oblivion - Jennifer L Armentrout

Length 11 hours 30 minutes Read by Rob Shapiro

Oblivion is book 1.5 of the Lux series by Jennifer L Armentrout. Unfortunately the rest of the series is not available on audiobook. The hard copy that f this book also contains a substantial amount of bonus material that is not used. This series is a Young Adult fantasy series - think Twilight with aliens, and a heroine who can actually kick ass. This particular book is written from the point of view of the required moody teenage boy (it’s almost impossible to find a YA story without one!). If you’ve read the rest of the set you will enjoy revisiting this world from a different perspective. If you haven’t, you could still enjoy it as a stand-alone but it won’t have the same impact.

Story Daemon is a teenage boy-alien from the planet Lux. He lives with his sister Dee. The two were originally triplets together with Dawson who disappeared the previous year after falling for a human girl. When Katy moves in next door, Daemon is determined that history will not repeat itself.

Narrator The book is read by Rob Shapiro. He is clear speaking and emphatic. However he sounds a little old to be reading a story from the perspective of an 18 year old boy. Someone slightly younger could have been better. Also he seems to have a love of dramatic pauses. Overly so, I felt. He was no Alan Rickman and the pauses were so long and so frequent that I soon lost patience and speeded the book up. He did a reasonable job of differentiating the voices of the various characters though I found his falsetto of the female lead was unintentionally humorous.

Score - points knocked off because the rest of the set isn’t available on audio and because the narrator was so slow.

6/10

[thecatlistens]

The Cuckoo’s Calling by Robert Galbraith

Length 15 hours 53 minutes Narrator Robert Glenister

The series of books famously written by JK Rowling under a (no longer) secret name. Now a fantastic tv series starring Tom Burke and Holliday Grainger.

Story

Cormoran Strike, illigitemate son of a rock star and a groupie, former soldier and amputee. Now running a near bankrupt detective agency. Robin Ellacott is his secretary mistakenly sent by her temp agency to work for Strike. Strike is hired to look into the supposed suicide of a famous supermodel. The case leads both Strike and Robin into the intertangled worlds of fashion and the rich upper class.

Narrator

Robert Glenister suits the text. He is an accomplished actor and handles the different voices well. His pacing is good and his inflection gives the narrative gravitas. Robert’s voice is not so dissimilar to Tom Burke that the two clash in my head. Also the tv series was true enough to the original book that I didn’t spend my time picking out differences.

Whether you’ve read the book already and are approaching it in a different way, or are experiencing it for the first time, you should enjoy this one.

10/10

[thecatlistens]

Jaws by Peter Benchley

Length 9 hours 37 minutes Narrator Erik Steele

This one actually did give me nightmares. That’s what you get for listening to descriptions of sharks munching on the local populace, late at night.

People tell me of the impact of the movie when it came out back in the seventies. They swear it made them afraid to go in the sea, though I’m pretty sure our local beach was more famous for its pollution than its sealife.

Story

Long Island, tourist town Amity is plagued by a man-eating shark. Police Chief, Martin Brody battles politicians, intent on protecting their wallets, to keep everyone safe. Brody’s marriage to a one-time summer tourist, Ellen, suffers in the process.

Narrator

Erik Steele does a good job. He narrates with measured pace, but not so slow that you feel the need to speed it up. He does a good job of differentiating between the voices of the male characters but the women come over a little falsetto sometimes.

If you are familiar with movie but don’t know the book you will find a few differences. In truth there aren’t a great number of bloody attack scenes but the tension is gradually ratcheted up to a brutal climax.

7/10

[thecatlistens]

The Girl In The Ice - Robert Bryndza

Length 10 hours 7 minutes Narrator Jan Cramer

I love Robert Bryndza’s crime thrillers. Detective Erika Foster, together with her sidekicks Moss and Peterson, wrestle through police bureaucracy to save lives.

Story

Erika Foster is just back to work after losing her husband and several other officers during a police raid she was in charge of. She has to hit the ground running as she is put in charge of a the murder case of the daughter of a prominent politician. The girl’s father is interfering in the investigation as he doesn’t want details of his daughter’s unsavoury relationships to come out. Erika is reprimanded for maverick investigations but continues anyway, much to the dismay of her bosses. Meanwhile the murderer is still on the prowl and has Erika, herself, in his sights.

Narrator

Jan Cramer is an experienced narrator and does a great job of differentiating the voices of the various characters. I would, however, take issue with the fact that Erika is played with a strong Lancashire accent. As a Slovakian immigrant I would have expected some hint of Eastern Europe in there, no matter how many years Erika has been in the country. English is not her first language and this should occasionally break through, but it doesn’t. The only other thing I would say is that Erika is, at times very strident, though I feel this is a feature of the book not the narrator. Her boss, Marsh, had my sympathy in a way he didn’t when reading the story on the page!

When I read this book I read it fanatically, setting other things aside to finish. Similarly the audiobook took over my world for a couple of days and followed me round my life. Other books and tv programmes were cast aside till I had finished.

Addictive mystery thriller

8/10

[thecatlistens]

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving

Length 1 hour 15 minutes Narrator Tom Mison

A nice short one but packing in a lot of description. This felt a bit like studying for an English exam as I tried to pick up all the nuances.

Story

You may think you know the from films and tv but the original story is quite different from it’s original depiction. As you can see by the length it isn’t very long but there is a wealth details. Connecticut teacher, Ichabod Crane, lives a relative poor existence relying mostly on the charity of his pupils’ parents. He dreams of marrying a local heiress but another man has designs on her. At a local party many ghost tales are told, most especially about the local spook, the headless horseman. After the party, Crane is chased by the ghost.

Narrator

There is something very attractive about having the tv Ichabod Crane narrate this story, though in truth the two tales barely converge. Tom Mison being an accomplished theatre actor enunciates the details with precision making easy work of the slightly archaic language (first published 1820). Though the tale is American, from an American author, Mison’s English accent still somehow suits the purpose.

The magical town of Sleepy Hollow becomes a character in itself and the music at the beginning of the recording, sets the atmosphere. Ichabod is not a attractive man, but we do develop a good understanding of him. The story builds to a thrilling climax in the form of ghostly chase.

Fun to while away an hour or so, but unlikely to give you nightmares.

7/10

[thecatlistens]

Illuminae - Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff

Length 11 hours 41 minutes Narrators: Olivia Taylor Dudley, Lincoln Hoppe, Jonathan McClain and a full cast.

I was a little worried on starting this audiobook, having read the hard copy on a previous occasion and knowing that the print is set out in places so as to form pictures to illustrate the story. I was afraid that the audiobook would not have the same impact without that factor. Also knowing that the story is made up of a mixture of messages, reports, descriptions of cctv and ‘computer data’ I was worried this would feel disjointed on audio. I confess I really only wanted to recoup on the story before beginning book 2, Gemina. I wasn’t prepared for the superb full cast production and the sheer emotion of the story. It was so worth it.

Story

Kady and Ezra are teenagers living on an illegal mining planet. The day after they break up the planet is attacked. They initially flee together but are separated onto different evacuation ships. There are three ships, the passengers on one of the ships are infected by a virus from a dirty bomb during the evacuation. The virus makes them paranoid and violent. A second ship requires its AI system to flee but the system has been damaged and is behaving erratically. The small fleet is pursued across space by a battle cruiser intent on destroying the evidence of the attack. The electronic communications between the two ships tell the story.

Narrators

The main narrators suit their parts to perfection. Olivia Taylor Dudley (The Magicians) brings all her acting skills to bear, giving Kady heartbreaking emotion. The use of the full cast means all of the characters feel real and important, though some of the accents seem a bit suspect. There is, at one point, a list of names of those killed. In book form you tend to skim read these, if at all, so I thought I would need to jump the narrative, but actually they used a different voice every few names which helped keep the focus and then faded out. The finale left me tearful and emotional, and desperate to start the next book. Good job guys!

Score 9/10