New Reviews: Fantasy

Nene Nwoko, born and raised in Nigeria, is a natural choice for narrating this audiobook. This is the third installment in Okorafor's Nsibidi Scripts trilogy. When Sunny moved from New York to Nigeria in AKATA WITCH, she discovered her heritage--membership in a secret magical community called the Leopard People. Now 16, she and her friends are on a quest to save the world,... Read More

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

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

Billie Fulford-Brown captures the gothic ambiance of this audiobook. When her parents disappear, Myra and her young sister are plunged into poverty. Fulford-Brown presents Myra as a scared young woman who is desperate to earn money. She is a portrait artist who, through magic, can alter her subject's actual appearance to match the portrait she paints. When the governor's son... Read More

Simon Vance narrates a continuation of the classic PETER PAN story in which the youngest of the Darling children fights to keep Neverland safe from a catastrophic threat. Michael Darling is grown up, and after a disastrous attempt to join a mythical society of knights, he returns to his mundane life until he's called upon for an earth-shattering mission: Peter Pan is missing,... 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

Nora Achrati takes on two roles in this production: that of narrator and that of Dina Demille, a witchy Texan who runs a magical bed-and-breakfast in a town called Red Deer. This paranormal story is voiced by a full cast who portray the diverse characters: Arland, an aristocratic vampire; Lord Marshal, of House Krahr; Maud, Dina's hard-nosed sister; Helen, a 5-year-old giggly... 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

Taking a break from narrating other authors' audiobooks, Travis Baldree narrates his own debut fantasy. Viv, a fierce orc warrior, has decided to retire. She has discovered coffee, a gnomish delicacy, and she wants to open a café in Thune, a city where no one has heard of the beverage. Baldree has created a delightful set of characters. He introduces the motley crew of... 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

January LaVoy turns her skills to the story of the strange relationship between a Black teenager with unreliable mystical abilities named Redwood and a well-meaning Indian-Irishman named Aiden. Together, they explore minstrel shows and theaters in the early 1900s. LaVoy embraces the roles, particularly that of Redwood, with an impressive skill. Her delivery allows the listener... 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

Heather Wilds narrates an unusual romantic fantasy about an exiled dragon who shape-shifts into a woman in order to live among humans. When Typhoeus is driven out of the mountains his people call home, his life becomes even more difficult. He shifts into a human disguise and is taken in by a wandering adventure party. Issues arise when Typhoeus discovers that the journal he's... Read More

Narrating in her native Midlands accent, self-proclaimed queer-cripple author Nicola Griffith, diagnosed with MS in 1993, tosses a welcome new character into the uber male world of Arthurian legend. Peretur--an intelligent, strong, and strong-willed young woman--leaves her snug home in the woods, disguises herself as a man, steals a spear, and sets off to join the Knights of... Read More

As three protagonists set out to find a treasure, this audiobook's point of view shifts among them. Nikki Massoud imbues relic seller Loulie, the Midnight Merchant, with confidence and inner strength that is occasionally undercut by nervousness. Massoud keeps Loulie at a simmer as she is forced to join the relic hunt. Sean Rohani captures Prince Mazen's youth and eagerness for... 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