In the Northern Hemisphere, summer is heating up, especially in the American South. In response to that, SYNC brings listeners a pair of chilling tales this week. Thank you, Brilliance Publishing and GraphicAudio, for sharing the shivers—free to keep on Sora.
If you’re new to audiobook listening, put Robin Miles right to the top of your list of narrators to hear. If you’re already a fan, download, sit back, and get ready to chill. For BACCHANAL, by Veronica G. Henry, Miles gives every character a subtle accent and even a different personality, just using her skill as a voice actor. So, where do Miles and Henry take us? Back in time to the Depression Era, and into the life of Eliza Meeks of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, abandoned because of her Blackness and realizing she’s got some fantastic powers. Then she joins a traveling carnival that includes alligator wrestling—and a demon. In addition to supplying both historical fiction and fantasy, this audiobook delivers magic with authentic African underpinnings and enough of a chill to distract from summer’s heat while listening to a tale that is horrifying and compelling.
CEMETERY GIRL: Book 1: The Pretenders, is written by two prolific fantasy and horror authors, Charlaine Harris and Christopher Golden. Originally created by this team as a graphic novel, the story makes a successful move to audio with this production. Actor Emlyn McFarland portrays Calexa, a young girl who discovers she’s been left for dead and so moves into a suburban cemetery where she can feel safe from discovery by the living. Or can she? McFarland is joined by more than a dozen other actors for this full-cast production that's also filled with mood-setting sound effects. How do such stories arrive in the imaginations of their creators? This audiobook includes an interview with the authors, so listeners can explore that after the chill of the grave has dissipated.
Once again, AudioFile Magazine is pleased to note that both of the week’s free audiobooks won an Earphones Award for excellence. Keep building your personal library, and look out for more titles like these by exploring the “More Reviews” section of each review page on the magazine’s website.
Veronica Henry photo courtesy of the publisher, Robin Miles photo by Jordan Matter, Charlaine Harris and Christopher Golden photo courtesy of the publisher.
