The Darkling Thrush

By: Josh Lanyon

Narrated by: Max Miller

Length: 5 hrs and 32 mins

Publisher's summary

Fed up with his desk duty in the Imperial Arcane Library, book hunter Colin Bliss accepts a private commission to find The Sword's Shadow, a legendary and dangerous witches' grimoire. But to find the book, Colin must travel to the remote Western Isles and solve a centuries' old murder.

Please note: This book contains gay erotic content.

©2012 Josh Lanyon (P)2012 Josh Lanyon

Pathetic Protagonist!

Love the majority of Josh Landon’s work but this is one of two so far I’m not fond of. The book had a great premise, but it lack the time to unroll all of the potential elements successfully. I never devolved an attachment of any of the characters. Seem to me Josh was in a hurry to finish a book.

The narrator didn’t help the narrative at all. He tried to use voices that were not well within his rage, therefore, he dropped the ends of words and often seemed muddled, or at least for my ears he often did.

I was disappointed.

Cozy Enchantment

This is a different reality story; the UK and US seem to be around, with other things serving as reference points for the listener. Magic, the “terrible beauty” of Scotland, witches, and Fay make for a fine backdrop.

A Magical Story

What did you love best about The Darkling Thrush?

Lanyon's lyrical descriptive writing.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Colin. An appealing mix of stubbornness and youthful hope.

What does Max Miller bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

His amazing, distinct vocal characterizations of all the characters in the book.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Yes, when Septimus, who has been assigned to kill Colin even though he loves him, says "I would do anything to save you."

Any additional comments?

The story is a heady brew of fairies, brownies, witches, humans with magical powers, an ancient monster from the Deep, Celtic legends, and magic spells. Of course, it’s also a suspenseful mystery and a romance. Lanyon places his story in the haunted, wind-swept isles off the northwest coast of Scotland, a location which inspires some of the best, most lyrical descriptive writing he has produced.
The story’s title is a reference to the poem of the same name by Thomas Hardy. Appropriately for the story, the poems last lines are:

“I could think there trembled through

His happy good-night air

Some blessed Hope, whereof he knew

And I was unaware.”

Enjoyable

Highly enjoyable. I really liked the ebook and hearing it read is a real treat. Max Miller's voice is just perfect for the character of Collin and his handling of the Gaelic used throughout the story sounded authentic to this untrained ear.

All of the characters came to life as they do when the writing is excellent as it is here. I find the idea of using a type of psychometry (the ability to "read" the past of an object) to track down the history of a book a fascinating one. There's always a curiosity about where a book has been or who used it last and Collin is one who has the ability to do this. When he's hired to use his skills to hunt down an ancient tome of dangerous spells, Collin takes a vacation from his job in London and heads north to Scotland and straight into danger.

There is a male-male relationship within the pages of this story, but its well written and understated, as Josh Lanyon's skill at giving us the underlying emotions between the pairing (especially during the intimate scenes) is subtle and wonderful to read/hear.

On the whole, well worth the money. And I look forward to hearing another book read by Mr. Miller.

Mysterious & Charming. A break from Lanyon's norm.

I really really enjoyed this book and wish it were a longer series. It's a nice divergence from the typical murder mystery Lanyon usually writes.

I enjoyed the mystical/fantasy elements to the story as well as the early 20th century feel to the environment. The chemistry between the two leads was really well done and I hope there's more of these two to come at some point.

The narrator took a while for me to get used to and there seemed to be some audio issues where it'll go from whisper quiet to a much louder voice which you can tell is when the narrator stopped/started recording but after all is said and done I really did like his tone and his voices for everyone.

More than any other Lanyon story I find myself REALLY wanting to listen to/read this one again. Which I plan to do soon as I finish the book I'm reading right now.

Harry Potter meets Indiana Jones...

This was the first "fantasy"-style book I've listened to from Josh Lanyon, and I have to say straight up, it's not one of my favourites. Although I remain a die-hard Lanyon fan, I have to say this genre just didn't seem to work well.

I feel I should start off with what I LIKED about the story, which was definitely the characters, although I have to say Septimus Marx did very closely resemble a certain Potions Master from a very popular series! But I'm not adverse to a little fanfic now and then. Colin Bliss was also likeable, and the world-building was intriguing, I just felt it really didn't go anywhere.

Now with the negative: to begin with the story was badly paced. Although Lanyon is usually the master story teller who builds up the relationships between characters (with great pay-offs at the end!), in this book, the relationship felt very rushed. The story then dragged in the middle, but the ending was extremely hurried, and left me wanting. I felt that the narrative was suddenly cut off, which would make sense if there were to be a sequel book, but as far as I can tell there isnt. It was almost (and it pains me to say it) as if he got tired of the story, and just ended it abruptly.

Never the less I still remain a HUGE fan, and this book seems to be a small blip in an otherwise stellar collection. I just think his detective works are much better. Sorry, Josh!

Intriguing and exotic adventure

Any additional comments?

This is one of the few Lanyon books that I’ve read (listen to) where I felt more would have been better. The premise of the story was interesting and the characters were very well suited for one another. However the relationship between Colin and Septimus was lacking the build up that allowed me as reader to believe the lover, my executioner relationship.

The narrator drew me in. At first I wasn’t sure his quiet lulling was going to take me to that place in which I think every good narrator has the gift to do. The place, that allows you to close your ends, and melt away to the time, place and emotion of the characters.

Lanyon came to the shooting range but missed the bull-eyes.

The Darkling Thrush

What did you love best about The Darkling Thrush?

It's a very atmospheric (urban) fantasy story, and I love the idea of book perusing, the ability to feel and see into the past of a book and the people who've read it or handled it. It's such a good story!

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Darkling Thrush?

There are several 'most memorable' moments involving Colin Bliss, Magister Septimus Marx, decisions and revelations.

What about Max Miller’s performance did you like?

I love everything about Max Miller's performance! he's such an amazing narrator, with such a good range of voices, he always finds the right cadence for the book, and he makes every character come alive. For this book, i especially liked the voices he had for the "villains", very distinct, triggering an instant reaction towards the character, as i expected/remembered from the book.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

There were definitely intense moments - suspenseful, exhilarating, moments when i held my breath, some scary moments and some heart-warming ones. It's a journey, an adventure. I highly recommend it!

Great narration of a good story

What made the experience of listening to The Darkling Thrush the most enjoyable?

The narrator's voice was very pleasant and he impersonated all the characters beautifully. He had a distinct voice for each of them and switched from male to female voices, or American to English to Scottish accents convincingly. You can tell that he probably read and really understood the book before narrating the story.

What did you like best about this story?

The subtle strangeness of the characters and the lyrical quality of the vocabulary: "veneficus", "librivinator" "vox pessimires", "Sociestas Magicke", "Faileas a’ Chlaidheimh" etc. I also liked the mystery plot and the British setting. Compared to the rest of the plot, the romance was a bit under-developed, unfortunately.

Who was the most memorable character of The Darkling Thrush and why?

Colin Bliss. The book is written in his POV and he has an amazing voice. He is self-deprecating and proud at the same time, suitably imperfect (just enough to be interesting and still appear like the good guy). He is funny without trying too hard but he is also a boring nerd. He is lucky and very unlucky at the same time, he is in love and not so in love. He is everything and its contrary. I loved it!

Any additional comments?

I recommend this book if you are looking for a good fantasy, but not if you are looking for a fully developed and fulfilling romance. If you are looking for THE great gay romance, check the Adrien English Mysteries series by the same author.

Phenomenal!

I love that Josh Lanyon's stories are full stories, not really love stories although romance is an element. This was a great story. I have no idea where these ideas come from and have never even heard of a Librivinator but this wowed me. The magic occult, the European countries, I was transported!

This was my first book narrated by Max and he was amazing. There were so many characters with so many accents and he nailed each one like they were his native speak. Each character so distinct and spoken so well, I could easily conjure an image. Brilliant work!