Bryan J. Peterson

I am, at best, a mild fan of King's work. Oh he's a talented writer and there's no denying that, but generally speaking I'm a fantasy buff with some mystery and suspense thrown in. And of the suspense genre my preferred author is Dean Koontz.
That said, I haven't yet encountered a King novel that I actually didn't like, though there were a few that I started and haven't yet finished, It and The Stand being two cases in point, and that being mainly becase other things just got in the way and I haven't yet found the time to pick them back up again.
Eyes of the Dragon is, to my knowledge, King's only true fantasy novel, written for his then teenage daughter Naomi. Like some of his other novels, Eyes ties into and makes reference to the Dark Tower series and indeed could probably be called a prelude.
It tells the story of King Roland the Good of Delain and his two sons. These Peter, the likely heir, and his brother Thomas, who is regrettably a spitting image of his father and demonstrates a similar lack of any real character. And then of course there is the court magician Flagg, a sinister, hooded figure whose origins are unknown but whose purposes are no mystery.
This is a well-written tale brought to life by a well-cosen narrator. I'd never heard Bronson Pinchot before, but his style of narration, even during the imple narration parts, is engaging. I particularly like his sinister, sibilant portrayal of Flagg. Generally speaking though he does very well, able to bring emotion to his characterizations when it's required. I'd heartily recommend this book if you're in the mood for a good fantasy read by a good narrator.

This fifth installment of Incarnations of Immortality opens some years before the events of Wielding a Red Sword. It tells the story of Orb, the daughter of Niobe Kaftan. When she was five, Orb woke to the sound of a beautiful but mysterious melody and followed it. In time she learned that tis melody, called the Song of the Morning by most who knew of it and could hear it, was but one ffragment of a mysterious melody known as the Llano said to be te ultimate music. Years later Orb, now a young woman, embarks on a quest to learn as much as she can about this elusive song and, if possible, possess it. But Orb's quest for the Llano could bring danger, for it soon becomes apparent that Satan, Incarnation of Evil, has an interest in Orb and seeks to marry her in fulfillment of a prophecy made long before Orb's birth. The Llano itself also has its own dangers and, if handled improperly, could bring about the destruction of the entire world.

Unlike the first four volumes in the series, this book is not read by George Guidall. Fortunately however, Barbara Caruso has a pleasant voice for narration and a talent for expression, accents and dialects. She also has a fair singing voice, which is extremely fortunate considering the songs sprinkled liberally throughout the story. Even a good narrator can ruin a performance if they try to sing the songs in the story if they can't sing. Fortunately both George Guidall and Barbara Caruso have good singing voices. Needless to say I couldn't put it down for long.

The fourth novel of the Incarnations series tells the story of Mym, a young Indian prince. As the story opens, Mym has fled his father's cort, believing himself unfit for his station due to a severe stutter and the presence of his more desirable brother. To make ends meet, he joins a traveling circus where he meets Orb, a beautiful young woman with a unique gift, the ability to put people into a trance whenever she sings and plays her harp. With the aid of his magic ring Mym aproaches Orb and soon forms a connection with her. As time goest by the two fal in love, but Mym is soon discovered and take back to his fathher. His brother is dead, meaning that Mym must become Raja uponhis fathher's death. Mym refuses to accede to the arranged marriage, resulting in the deaths of several would-be brides. Finall his father arranges for him to spend a month with Princess Rapture of Malachite at the Honeymoon Castle, a castle with magical properties that leave the thoughts of those who reside within the grounds open to one another. As time goes by Mym discovers that Rapture is indeed worth loving and finally agrees to marry her. Before the wedding can take place, the Raja changes his mind and begins to arrange a different marriage for Mym. This results in Rapture's father declaring war on Mym's kingdom, greatly angering both Mym and Rapture. Mym's anger draws a strange red sword to him, which e takes only to learn from Gaea, Incarnation of Nature, that he is now Mars, Incarnation of War and that it is now his mission to foil the plots of Satan, Incarnation of Evil. Mym has trouble wit this concept, having come from a completely different belief system. It's not long before Satan approaches Mym, and only time will tell whether Mym will have the necessary quickness of mind to avoid falling prey to Satan's insidious plots.
All in all this is an excellent book and George Guidall does a fine job of bringing it to life. It's unfortunate that he doesn't narrate the next three books in the series.

Skein begins many years before the events of On a Pale Horse. As the story opens, Niobe, a headstrong and proud young Irish woman is betrothed to a boy five years her junior and none too pleased about it. But as her father points out, the marriage to Cedric Kaftan will benefit the family. The marriage proceeds and, as time passes, Niobe discovers that Cedric, despite seeming little more than a backwoods bumpkin, is a decent and hardworking young man with the astonishing ability to conjure an invisible but otherworldly musical accompaniment anytime he sings a song. Niobe gradually grows to love Cedric, who soon begins to share her own passion for protecting wetlands and decides to study to become a magician in order to further that goal. In time the couple welcome their son, Cedric Junior, into the world. Not long after, however, the outside world intrudes on their happiness when plans are made to drain the wetlands and build a housing development. While fighting alongside the other residents to halt this project, Cedric is unexpectedly shot to death, prompting Niobe to seek the aid of the Incarnations to try to save him. She soon learns, however, that Cedric's death had less to do with his attempts to halt development of the wetlands than with Niobe herself. She in fact was the intended target of the bullet, a fact which reminds Niobe of disturbing visions she would have when she and Cedric made love. Niobe learns that she is destined to foil Satan, Incarnation of Evil, and it was for that reason that he tried to have her killed. Cedric, it transpired, somehow learned of this and resolved to switch places with Niobe. With that knowledge, Niobe readily accepts the Incarnations' invitation for her to become one of the three aspects of Fate, resolving not to allow Cedric to have died in vain.
All in all this is an excellent read and it explains the origins of some characters and events mentioned in On a Pale Horse and Bearing an Hourglass. George Gidall as usual does a fine job with the narration. Recorded Books, I've noticed, generally tends to pick excellent narrators for the titles they put their hands to.

Bearing an Hourglass is the second installment of Anthony's Incarnations of Imortality series. It is set some years after On a Pale Horse. As the story opens, the solitary, nomadic Norton is enjoying a camping trip when he's paid a visit by a ghost who makes a strange request. The ghost, a young dragonslayer named Gawain who met is demise in battle with a dragon that actually turned out to be a dinosaur, is married to a young woman who lives on and enjoys all the benefits of Gawain's estate in exchange for producing an heir. Gawain's request is that Norton meet the girl and sire said heir. Though reluctant, Norton agrees to meet the young woman, Orlene. He quickly discovers that Orlene has the peculiar ability to see a person's aura, which manifests itself in the form of a glow, and to know the character of that individual based on that glow. Despite his best efforts Norton becomes attracted to Orlene and as Gawain hopes impregnates her. Not long after the birth, however, Gawain reappears with devastating news that ultimately causes Orlene to commit suicide. As compensation, the ghost arranges for the grieving Norton to have the chance to assume the office of Chronos, the Incarnation of Time. Though reluctant, Norto takes up the Hourglass and soon finds himself embroiled in the endless struggle againstSatan, the Incarnation of Evil, who seems bent on discrediting or otherwise neutralizing an influencial senator who could prove to be his greatest foe. Only time will tell if Norton will have what it takes to avoid Satan's subtle snares and keep Seator Kaftan safe from harm.
All in all this was an excellent story. I've always enjoyed Piers Anthony's writing and George Guidall does a fine job narrating this tale. If ou haven't already done so I heartily recommend this series, particularly the first four books. These are On a Pale Horse, Bearing an Hourglass, With a Tangled Skein and Wielding a Red Sword. The rest are Being a Green Mother, For Love of Evil, And Eternity and most recently Under a Velvet Cloak, though this last is not currently available from Audible.

I first read this series when I was in High School. Having been a fan of Anthony's Xanth series for a good two or three years and therefore become accustomed to it by then I wasn't sure I would enjoy this one as much. However, I ultimately did. Pale takes place on an Alternate Universe version of Earth, an Earth where science and magic enjoy almost equal potency, and where creatures long believed myythical I.E. Dragons, Unicorns and others are real. The story centers around Zane, a young man facing poverty and likely eviction from his meager home and desperate to improve his fortune. Visiting a shop selling magical stones, he makes a deal with its proprietor, to use a love stone to locate romance, but to let the shopkeeper take his place in that romance. Zane, for his part, will receive a stone that supposedly will bring him wealth not only to erase all his gambling debts but to have any woman he could want. It soon becomes apparent to Zane that he's been duped and, seeing no other way out, he puts a gun earlier taken from a would-be robber to his own head in preparation for suicide. Conronted suddenly by the specter of Death, Zane turns the gun on the apparition instead, which turns out to be a living man. Immediately afterward he's visited by a woman who introduces herself as Lachisis, who tells him that having killed Death he must now assume that office himself. Death, it turns out, collects the souls of mortals whose good and evil deeds in life are so perfectly balanced that they can't transition on their own. Not long afterward he makes the acquaintance of Luna, daughter of a powerful magician whose soul he collected. The magician urges Zane to protect Luna from the forces that would destroy her. But those forces willstop at nothing to see that Luna is removed from their path before she has the chance to fulfill an ancient prophecy that could tip the world's balance toward good. Can Zane protect Luna, or will he be forced to destroy her? And what other terrible choices might he have to make in order to foil the forces of evil?
Pale is narrated by distinguished actor and narrator George Gidall. Guidall may not have been my first choice for a narrator for these novels, at least that's what I thought before I listened. He does a fine job of narrating the story and his portrayals of thevarious characters didafter all turn out to be what I would have imagined. He has a talent for different accents and dialects and he has the sort of voice that lends itself to narrating all sorts of situations from calm, relaxed ones to more tense and suspenseful ones without seeming overdone. He also has a way of conveying Piers Anthony's irrepressible humor. Needless to say I wholeheartedly recommend this one.

Roland Deschein and his companions have managed to get aboard the sentient monorail Blain, thanks to the mathematical abilities of Susannah Dean's still-present alter ego Detta Walker. After narrowly surviving a deadly riddle game with the computer that controls the train, the companions find themselves in a deserted city that appears to be Topeka, Kansas. But it's in a United States that appears to have been ravaged by war and disease. Roland, urged by Eddie, Susannah and Jake, tells the story of his long lost love, Susan Delgado and the events that led to the fall of his homeland.
All in all this is a great listen. It's the last to be read by the incomparable and much missed Frank Muller. It also provides a fascinating glimpse into Roland's past. If you haven't already I definitely recommend giving it a listen.

This is a worthy conclusion to the series. It begins with the Stanton family, all of wom are home for the summer holidays. When Will's elder brother Steven intervenes in the matter of an Indian boy being teased by a group of local villagers, the family finds themselves pitted against the hateful father of one of the bullies, an encounter that reminds Will of the absolute power the forces of the Dark will wield if the Circle of Light is unable to push them back. The next stage of the quest begins that night when Meriman Lyon appears to Will and tells him that the time has come for the six signs of light, gathered during the events of The Dark is Rising, to be recovered from the place where they were hidden following their joining. The time for the final battle between the Light and the Dark is drawing near, and the forces of Light must be ready for that critical moment. Recovering the signs is the easyy part. But Will and his friends must also recover an ancient sword, the one weapon that, combined with the six signs, can bring a final end to the threat of the Dark. This sword, however, lies in the Lost Land, in the keeping of its despairing maker. Only Will and Bran Davies, the latter being the lately revealed son of the legendary King Arthur, have any hope of reaching the Lost Land, and even then they must still reach the tower where the king of that realm has hidden himself in his despair. And once there they must find some way to rouse the king from his despair and persuade him to part with the sword. Will their efforts be enough to turn back the forces of the Dark in their greatest rising?
All in all this is a worthy conclusion to the series. Alex Jennings returns for this final installment and as usual he does an excellent job of narrating it.

This was actually the first book of the sequence that I ever read. At that time I didn't know it was part of a series. This latest adventure begins when Will Stanton, last of the Old Ones, is sent to visit relatives in Whales while he recovers from a bout of Hepatitis. Soon after his arrival he meets Bran, an introverted, pale boy who seems to know something of Will's true nature and his business. It soon becomes apparent that even here the forces of the Dark, and indeed one of their most powerful lords, are at work, with the unwitting but not entirely unwilling aid of a disagreeable farmer with a grudge against Bran's father. Will the two boys be able to accomplish their mission before all is lost?
This is the only book in the series not read by Alex Jennings. Fortunately Richard Mitchley, Jennings' stand-in, has both a good voice for storytelling and a good ear for accents and dialects. This is a fairly short book but I couldn't put it down for long.

Following the disastrous battle at the conclusion of Brisingr that saw the deaths of both Oromis and Gledr, Eragon and the Varden have embarked on the mission to take the last few cities that stand between them and Galbatorix. But dethroning the tyranical Galbatorix may be more difficult than the Varden realize, for even their magicians may be helpless against the dark king's newest secret.

As with the previous installments, narrator Gerard Doyle does a fine job of bringing this one to life. As with the prior books I don't think I'd have portrayed Saphira in quite this way but at least he leaves you in no doubt that she's a dragon. Suffice it to say he is a narrator I would definitely listen to again.

I was a fan of the Fudge books when I was in grade school, but I never knew there was a fourth installment until recently. When I discovered Audible had it I decided to use one of my last set of credits to buy it.
Double Fodge opens with Farley Drexel Hatcher, better known as Fudge, asking how much it would cost to buy New York. This question is just the first sign of a major obsession with money and all things connected to it. As time goes by the rest of the family begins to grow concerned about Fudge's unhealthy obsession, but they're at a loss for how to teach Fudge the truth about money. Finally Peter and Fudge's dad agrees to a suggestion from the boys' grandma to take Fudge to Washington D.C. to tour the Bureau of Engraving and Printing where money is printed. Far from curing Fudge's obsession this trip has just the opposite effect, ee causing him to go so far as to declare his intention to buy Washington, now renamed Fudgington. A sideeffect of the trip is the unexpected reunion with a family of long lost relatives, the Honolulu Hatchers. This family of five includes Warren Hatcher's cousin Howie, accompanied b his wife Udora, their twin daughters Flora and Fauna and their three-year-old son Farle Drexel also nicknamedFudge. This, of course, creates no small amount of friction between the two small boys.
Things only become more chaotic when the Honolulu Hatchers, who didn't exactly endear themselves to Peter and his family, suddenly invite themselves to stay in the family's small apartment. This of course leads to a whole series of mishaps as the two Farley Drexels try to coexist and Peter and his parents try to cope with the rather uptight nature of their newly-discovered relations. Will everyone survive the visit with their sanity intact? You'll have to listen on to find out.