Flesh and Spirit

Lighthouse, Book 1

By: Carol Berg

Narrated by: Allen O'Reilly

Length: 14 hrs and 47 mins

Publisher's summary

The rebellious son of a long line of pureblood cartographers and diviners, Valen has spent most of his life trying to escape what society - and his family - have ordained for him. His own mother has predicted that he will meet his doom in water, blood, and ice. Her divination seems fulfilled when a comrade abandons Valen in a rainy wilderness half-dead, addicted to an enchantment that converts pain to pleasure, and possessing only a stolen book of maps.

Offered sanctuary in a nearby monastery, Valen discovers that his book - rumored to lead men into the realm of angels - gains him entry into a world of secret societies, doomsayers, monks, princes, and madmen, all seeking to unlock the mystery of a coming dark age. To his dismay, Valen must face what he fled so long ago, for the key to Navronne's doom is buried in half-forgotten myth and the secrets of his own past....

©2007 Carol Berg (P)2013 Audible, Inc.

takes a while to get going,

perseverance it's w o rth it. first have was a hard slog through half frozen mud.

Hard to get into

Maybe it just wasn't what I expected but I had a hard time getting into the story...the way the characters talked was odd, but again that could have just been off putting for me because I didn't expect it.

Stellar book, quite strikingly bad reader...

Carol Berg is a wonderfully vivid and talented writer, and this dark fantasy is one of her best, and Valen’s journey toward the “end times” engaging. It is something of a cliffhanger, so if that’s something you don’t like, well—be warned. I read this book when it came out in print and really looked forward to the audiobook version, since I adore Carol’s writing and this book.

Unfortunately, the reader is one of the worst I have ever heard in my 16+ years and 800+ titles with Audible. Unsuited to the material, weird cadence, misplaced pauses, often too-fast reading, almost no difference in character presentation (women sound like men, everyone sounds almost the same!), and let’s not talk about the mispronunciation of common English words! Over and over and over. The repeated mispronunciation of such words nearly sent me into a rage-stroke. He even mispronounces—start to finish—the main character’s name! I finally gave up listening and pulled out the e-book to finish. I’ll re-read the second volume in print or the e-book. I just cannot even stand it anymore. Fortunately the reader for second set of books set in the same world have a much better reader! So there is hope there.

I love the story, but...

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

If the narrator would have read more slowly, using an appropriate accent and changing his voice for different characters, this would have most likely been a 4 or 5 star listening experience.

Who was your favorite character and why?

I love Valen, he's got an engaging personality that makes me want to get to know him better.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

The narrator's style of reading is very off-putting. He says the words really fast, with weird pauses and in this tone that doesn't fit the story at all. And he speaks with what sounds like an American accent, which really doesn't match at all with how I imagined the characters voices. I love this book, but unfortunately I'm very disappointed with the choice of narrator.

Love the book, bought the audible

This was the most fascinating world I have ever read about, and loved all the characters.

Intricate, intriguing story; so-so narration

As for the story, Carol Berg has done a superb job. This dark fantasy will grip your imagination with its refreshingly multidimensional plot and compelling characters. A must-read for all fantasy fans. Word to the wise, you'll definitely want to check out this book's sequel, Breath and Bone.

The narration, however, is mediocre. The pacing is a bit awkward. There are many mispronunciations of words and hesitations that make it seem like the narrator doesn't understand the meaning of what he's reading. This isn't a glaring issue and many people may not even notice, but it did bother me. Having said that, I still wholeheartedly recommend this series on the strength of the story alone.

Love the book. The narration is abysmal.

Ok, I've heard worse narrations. But this one sounds like he's running toward the end of the book as if promised eternal salvation if he finished as fast as possible. No particular inflection, no attempt to differentiate voices or narration. One of the worst narrations I've heard that didn't drive me so crazy that I didn't demand a refund.

THIS NARRATOR SUCKS

THIS NARRATOR SUCKS
if I could give a negative review.....it would be -100 for the narrator.

A wonderful book with workable narration

I avoided this book, as well as the second in the series, after hearing the preview and hearing other reviewer's cautions. This series is one of my very favorites though, so I'm glad I took a chance. I don't recommend allowing these audiobooks to be your first experience, but if you already love the books, the narrator is workable. Slow down the reading speed to .8x instead of 1x. He still mispronounces and stumbles, and his character voices aren't super well defined, but at least you can absorb the prose and pacing. I even started to look past the imperfections and enjoy his voice. He's not a perfect narrator, but certainly workable with some adjustments, especially if you already adore the story.

As for this series, I highly recommend you read it in some way, shape, or form. This first book is a bit of a workup — much character and world building, all leading to the wonderful and exciting second book. Valen is a tough main character as he is quite flawed, but I assure you his character arc is masterfully done and you will absolutely adore him by the end of the series. Similarly with the world. Carol Berg has created a rich and complex world that is often cruel, but still well worth your time. Truly, one of my most favorite authors, whose books bring me joy yearly as I re-read and re-listen to them. She's an incredible writer and story builder, so if a slower pace, intricate creation, and fascinating complexities don't scare you, I urge you to dive in (just, possibly with the written book first).

Almost unlistenable

I'm a big Carol Berg fan. I deeply enjoyed Dust and Light and was excited to learn that there were a couple of other books written in the same world at about the same time period.

In over ten years of subscribing to Audible I haven't heard a more poorly narrated novel. Berg's elegant prose is battered by having been read at too fast a pace and with with zero sense of the rhythm of the phrasing. What should be elegant is stilted and rushed. Character voices are poorly differentiated and I've noticed that several words are mispronounced. An audiobook that I had eagerly anticipated has been rendered too painful to finish. I should have previewed the book sample instead of expecting that it would equal Dust and Light.