THE BLACK RECKONING Books of Beginning, Book 3

The third installment of this young adult fantasy series drops the listener right into the middle of the plot and wastes no time. Narrator Jim Dale's timbre has a bright, crisp quality that is immediately engaging. The story follows siblings Kate, Michael, and Emma, who are faced with a dark foe called the Dire Magnus, whom Kate once knew and loved as a boy named Rafe. The wizard, Dr. Pym, who embodies the British "stiff upper lip" even in the face of extreme danger, is given a grandfatherly charm by Dale. But it's the the affable Scots brogue that Dale gives the dwarves that steals the show. Dale's performance, married with top-notch writing, will delight audiences of all ages. E.E. © AudioFile 2015, Portland, Maine [Published: JULY 2015]