New Reviews: Fantasy

In a fantasy based on the late-fifteenth-century Mediterranean world, two people with problematic identities find themselves near the center of history-shaping events. Simon Vance tells the story in a confidential tone that is smooth and earnest. He suggests, rather than impersonates, most of the other characters, who also have confused or confusing identities. The story is... Read More

Gralen Bryant Banks brings great storytelling and animated dialogue to this debut audiobook. The story takes place in New Orleans and in an alternate version of New Orleans, known as NOLA, where music is magic. But something is awry. Perry, his younger sister, and her friend have been charged with finding several songs that have gone missing from NOLA, disrupting the city's... Read More

Katie Erich's Northern English accent transports listeners to the windswept Yorkshire moors in this atmospheric fantasy about a woman on the run. Devon grows up among book eaters--a mysterious species that consumes books instead of food. When her son is born with a rare condition that gives him a hunger for human brains, not books, she sets off on a dangerous journey to save... Read More

Narrator Samara MacLaren's Scottish accent sets the scene for this immersive high-fantasy audiobook. Raine saves an injured woman from the men pursuing her, an act leading to unforeseen consequences that completely uproots her life. Now she lives among privileged warrior magicians, keeping her ability to see ghosts of the dead a secret to avoid being killed herself. MacLaren's... Read More

Northern Irish actor and BBC television regular Colin Morgan ("Merlin") brings a happy-go-lucky tone to the voice of the hapless but cleverer-than-you-think wizard Rincewind. This is the ninth entry in Sir Terry Pratchett's wildly popular Discworld fantasy series. It all begins when a teenage nerd, Eric, attempts to conjure up a demon and ends up with the ever-put-upon... Read More

Seth Numrich's narration of 17-year-old Charlie Reade's story is moving and frightening in equal measure. Charlie befriends a reclusive curmudgeon, Howard Bowditch, and his aging dog, and inherits Howard's house and dog when he dies. Howard also leaves Charlie a cassette recording--voiced remarkably by Stephen King. On it, Howard recounts a story within the story, involving a... Read More

Liam Gerrard narrates a mystery set in a complex fantasy world. Thara Celehar, Witness for the Dead in the city of Amalo, finds himself on a dangerous path after starting an investigation into the bewildering murder of a marquise. Despite the grim turns that Celehar's story occasionally takes, Gerrard maintains a hopeful tone throughout, which is in keeping with Celehar's focus... Read More

Narrator Amy Scanlon's British intonation and wry tone suit the delightfully charming, lazy, and witty scribe Lana Baker, who finds herself stuck in the Low Parliament. There she's made to transcribe endless angry debates that inevitably end in hung votes--despite the threat of death by flood if members can't come to an agreement, as decreed by the shrillvoiced fairies who... Read More

Narrator Stina Nielsen conveys the horror that fuels this retelling of the Grimms' fairy tale "The Juniper Tree." Marlinchen, the youngest daughter of the twisted wizard Vashchenko, is kept captive in her dilapidated family home. She is forced to peddle her services as a flesh diviner, as she can read people's thoughts through touch. Nielsen communicates Marlinchen's desperate... Read More

Narrator Ray Porter introduces listeners to the first installment of Maberry's new dark fantasy series. Porter's distinctive voice portrays Kagen Vale, the powerful and devoted captain of the palace guard and protector of the royal children, whose world is upturned when the empire is attacked and the royal family is slain. Porter's dynamic performance depicts the devastation... Read More

Ben Onwukwe deeply engages the listening audience with this electrifying dark fantasy, which features characters with special powers who are in danger. They are being protected by a troubled female detective as they journey to a safe destination. Listeners must pay attention to the twists and turns that take them from London to the U.S. and other far-off places. The novel's... Read More

Celebrated voice talent Andy Serkis has a marvelous time narrating this 13th entry (of 41) in the late fantasy writer Terry Pratchett's vaunted DISCWORLD series. First published in 1992, it all starts when a once powerful god, Om, finds himself trapped in the body of a talking tortoise and seeks help from a novice at the local monastery. Satirical theological and philosophical... Read More

Vikas Adam and James Fouhey co-narrate this fantasy featuring political intrigue, magic, and an arranged marriage. Velasin, whose chapters are narrated by Adam, is raped, all but disowned by his father, and packed off to another country to marry Caethari, the son of the ruling family. Reading Caethari's chapters, Fouhey emphasizes his kindness. Velasin's arrival is followed by... Read More

Narrator Casey Jones tenderly delivers this slow-burn queer romance about a prince who can detect the composition of metals by touch. After an altercation with the father of the queen's new daughter, Prince Kadou is humiliated. To restore his reputation and prove himself useful, he investigates a nearby break-in with his newly appointed bodyguard, the stoic and handsome... Read More

This highly amusing audiobook, primarily narrated by Indira Varma, introduces listeners to Magrat, a godmother-witch who must stop the servant Emberella from marrying the prince, which (surprisingly) would destroy the kingdom. But Emberella's fate becomes twisted by a witch who will do whatever it takes to achieve the proper fairy-tale protocol of a happy ending. So Magrat will... Read More