New Reviews: Fantasy

This urban fantasy has a unique concept: A magical infestation eats the world, and only a few brave souls can stand against it. Narrator Natalie Naudus's beautiful, rich voice gives a lot of animation to the characters through the dialogue. Although her voice is equally lovely during the narrative, it's so fluid and soothing that the narrative needs more inflection. Her pacing... Read More

Eva Kaminsky's engaging narration plunges listeners headlong into Charlaine Harris's new alternate history-western-fantasy series, featuring Lizbeth "Gunnie" Rose. Following the assassination of President Franklin Roosevelt, the U.S. fragments into a domain of multiple empires. Tragedy strikes hard and fast during a routine desert escort, forcing the young gunslinger to accept... Read More

This first novel in a new series called The Founders Trilogy is infused with magic of the kind that suggests that nothing is exactly as it seems. Tara Sands has the unusual treat of narrating a story with a thief and a sentient key as two of its main characters. Sancia, the thief, has a talent for fitting into tight places and, more importantly, for escape from tight places.... Read More

Cynthia Hopkins narrates this fantasy in a detached tone that fits the serious and logical perspective of Katherine Lundy, a girl who finds her way into a magical world known as the Goblin Market. While fans of Seanan McGuire's Wayward Children series will feel comfortable with Lundy and her "high-logic" world, first-time listeners will not feel left behind. Lundy's love of... Read More

This grown-up fairy tale gone wrong features Goody, a Puritan woman who goes berry picking in a New England forest. What happens to her there is delivered by narrator Vanessa Johansson. At times spooky, and at times investigative, the story involves Goody's suspenseful attempts to return home. Johansson gives the many female characters their own vocal personas, helping... Read More

J. Keith Jackson narrates an epic African fantasy featuring warriors, demons, and monks-in-training. Amana has come to the village of Bajok to learn from a reclusive master. He ends up staying when it becomes clear that there is a supernatural threat to the population. Jackson creates a vibrant cast of characters, including somewhat feckless Amana, brave warrior Nya, wiley... Read More

In the thrilling conclusion to the Kate Daniels series, narrator Renee Raudman returns to send Kate off with a bang--or an Armageddon. Kate knows that the relative peace--18 months of it--following the birth of her child was too good to last. Now entire communities around Atlanta are being wiped out, and when an ancient terror takes credit, promising to lay waste to the world... Read More

Alyssa Bresnahan narrates a complex steampunk-tinged fantasy. The city of Corma is hosting the Decadal Conference, which several inhabitants try to take advantage of to improve their lives. While the plot is byzantine and occasionally outright confusing, Bresnahan forges a path through the chaos with her straightforward narration, creating a reliable foundation. Each of the... Read More

Julia Whelan masterfully narrates the quiet everyday moments of a new world in which people live like settlers. Her voice rises in tones of shock, urgency, passion, and vulnerability when the new normal is tested by raiders and purity warriors that exist "post Doom." This second book of a trilogy features young Fallon Swift, who is both sheltered and wise beyond her years.... Read More

Narrator Katharine McEwan will leave listeners loath to finish this audiobook, and her fully faceted performance lingers even after it has ended. Every year Gilene burns as a sacrifice to the empire so that the other women in her village don't have to. But when she's spirited away by the famous gladiator Azarion so that he can claim his birthright, everything she knows about... Read More

JY Yang's immersive fantasy novellas span twins Akeha and Mokoya's lifetimes as they confront government machinations in this all-in-one audio production. Sold as infants by their imperious mother, The Protector, they emerge with diverging roles and gender identities, which are enhanced by narrator Nancy Wu's keen characterizations. Wu charges the siblings' personal journeys... Read More

Andrew Fallaize's confident narration takes listeners into uncharted territory. His tenor voice draws us into an imagined world called Palestina, a Jewish nation located in East Africa. Listeners are grounded in the story through his steady performance, which describes what life is like in this alternate reality where Judean is the language and a wall is being built against... Read More

Jessica Ball narrates the English translation of this thrilling Russian novel, which falls somewhere between fantasy, sci-fi, and suspense. It takes the magical boarding school trope and roots it firmly in contemporary reality. In an appropriately eerie tone, Ball introduces Sasha, a teenage girl who is recruited to become a student at the mysterious Institute for Special... Read More

Whitton A. Frank narrates a fast-paced, action-packed adventure. The story is told in the first person in a stream-of-consciousness style. Elana made some powerful enemies in the previous book in this series, and now she and her friends are at great risk. The gods, a sorcerer, and other mysterious forces are against her, and her friend, Olivia, is facing death. This is a story... Read More

The first in a spin-off of Neill's bestselling Chicagoland Vampires series, narrated by Suzanne Elise Freeman, has vampire Elisa returning home from Paris. Much has changed in the four years since she left Chicago--including her feelings toward her childhood nemesis, shape-shifter Connor Keene. Freeman gives unique voices to the eclectic cast of characters, highlighting their... Read More

In this evocative conclusion to the Winternight trilogy, a fairy-tale spin on Russian history, Arden's high-stakes writing and Kathleen Gati's immersive performance weave a listening experience worthy of note. Gati's adept Russian accent enhances the cultural magic of the story. She further adds to the listening experience by clearly differentiating characters, giving some a... Read More