Speaks the Nightbird

By: Robert R. McCammon

Narrated by: Edoardo Ballerini

Length: 30 hrs and 42 mins

Publisher's summary

Audie Award Nominee, Fiction, 2013

Judgment of the Witch

The Carolinas, 1699: The citizens of Fount Royal believe a witch has cursed their town with inexplicable tragedies - and they demand that beautiful widow Rachel Howarth be tried and executed for witchcraft. Presiding over the trial is traveling magistrate Issac Woodward, aided by his astute young clerk, Matthew Corbett. Believing in Rachel's innocence, Matthew will soon confront the true evil at work in Fount Royal....

Evil Unveiled

After hearing damning testimony, magistrate Woodward sentences the accused witch to death by burning. Desperate to exonerate the woman he has come to love, Matthew begins his own investigation among the townspeople. Piecing together the truth, he has no choice but to vanquish a force more malevolent than witchcraft in order to save his beloved Rachel - and free Fount Royal from the menace claiming innocent lives.

©2002 Robert McCammon (P)2012 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

“Edoardo Ballerini performs this story of accusation and fear flawlessly. He effortlessly switches his pitch, accents, and timbre to suit the unfortunate Rachel Howarth, the endless curious Corbett, and the various determined characters, good and evil.” (AudioFile)

"a compelling story that should find a wide readership. Highly recommended for popular fiction collections." (Library Journal)

"An excellent story, full of tension and suspense.” (Stephen King)

Great Story and Professional Performance

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

This book has taken its place in the pantheon of my favorite books, alongside Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte), The Pickwick Papers (Charles Dickens), Outlander (Diana Gabaldon), and The Quincunx (Charles Palliser). The story is complex and compelling, the characters are unique and complicated, and Edoardo Ballerini has turned in one of the most accomplished performances I have ever heard. Serious readers owe it to themselves to listen.

Heaven!

My full review of this series is embedded in The Providence Rider, but this is the beginning book and it is a good stand alone novel - unless you get completely sucked in as I did with all four books. Wonderful, riveting story!

This is no ordinary book

This book is not your ordinary suspense novel. It is not anything I as a reader expected. The writing style is unique and fascinating, old and quite descriptive. And more than once I thought to run to the dictionary to look up the words used to describe the situation. And when I thought the story itself could not get darker, it did. This book transformed me to a time in history I know now I wasn’t at all familiar with. And there was one thing for sure that kept crossing my mind and that was that I became very thankful I did not have to experience this kind of life personally myself. Sometimes I can’t help but remember what it must have been like when all the material that was made like wool, cotton, linen and silk were not easily cleaned and would retain odors that totally soured the air around them. The author Robert McCammon turned into a hypnotist as he wove the book from beginning to end and I could not stop going back for more. The danger, hardship and adversity of living in the early days of this countries birth was made painfully clear and the greed and darkness of some men’s soul was laid open for all to see. This book did have a saving effect on me personally as I compared my life’s experience lot with those in the book. As a child who often suffered from strep throat, I was very thankful for the discovery of penicillin and to be living in this later time span. No movie, TV show etc., could ever capture the reality of how it must have been to actually live at this historical time of struggle and challenge. I could not feel more blessed.

Like witnessing something you know you should not

In route to a colonial settlement in the Carolinas known as Fount Royal, a magistrate and his clerk take shelter at a inn. What happens there sets a very dark tone that carries throughout the novel.

Soon the two reach Fount Royal where they enter into a battle of wills with Robert Bidwell who is both the town's proprietor and their host. The purpose of the magistrate's journey is to try a woman who is accused of witchcraft. Because we live in modern times, it's clear to readers that sorcery doesn't exist, but try to put yourself in the mindset of a small town filled with God-fearing citizens who have no other explanation for what is happening around them. Or are they God-fearing citizens? Over time Matthew, the clerk, peels back the thin veneer of civility, unmasking ignorance, greed, and depravity. Yet no one, not even his mentor the magistrate, will believe him.

The book starts out a bit slow and predictable but don't give up. Soon you will be intrigued with the characters and their lives. One caution though, there are activities in the book that are repellent.

The narrator is perfect. He masters all the accents and nuances.

Lots of peaks and valleys on the snooze fest scale

What made the experience of listening to Speaks the Nightbird the most enjoyable?

The narrator is decant. So far he isn't my favourite but I thought he did an excellent job with the numerous different characters and such.

What was most disappointing about Robert McCammon’s story?

omg it just goes on and on and ON.... I haven't finished it yet and I have been contemplating for hours about if I even want to! The story goes from "OOOH INTERESTING" to "please get to the point" over and over again. The ups are why I've stuck it out this far. Perhaps it's just to long for me at 30 hours but there just seems to be to much lacking on a solid story line here. This book will not leave me with a book 'hang over' that's for sure. I wish I had taken some of the more negative reviews more seriously because I agree with all the lower reviews but got sucked in by all the positives... This one wasnt really worth the time I've put into listening to it though.

One of the Best Reads in a Long Time

"Speaks the Nightbird" takes place in 1699 in an isolated settlement near "the Florida country." The depiction of early colonial living is highly evocative and seems well-researched. (I was particularly intrigued by the habit of some settlers of allowing wasps to build nests in their homes to eliminate mosquitoes.) The sights, smells, and inconveniences of life in a frontier settlement are so vividly described that I felt as though I had experienced it for myself. Even the style of the writing, while modern, carried a flavor of the way people talked (or at least wrote) in this period.

The characters are well-rounded and all-too-human. Even the villains of the piece emerge as fully-realized people with understandable (if deplorable) motivations. Most of the characters are neither bad nor good, but a mixture of the two, and even our heroes have their flaws.

Taken on its own without the fleshing-out of the environment and the characters, the story is fairly lurid, and I doubt if any little colonial settlement could have gathered in one place so many strange people and bizarre motivations. But in the context of this well-crafted tale, I was carried along quite willingly to the conclusion. I believed in the characters and I believed in the story. I was moved many times, and cared about the outcome. And while the heart of the story is a mystery, it was so well handled that I never divined the entire solution. (Guessing the solution, or trying to, is one of the reasons I read mysteries.)

The narrator does an excellent job, playing the different character's voices with precision and subtlety so that I was never really conscious of him, if that makes sense. Sometimes narrators irritate with quirks of phrasing or bad accents, but Edoardo Ballerini (new to me as a moderator) was perfect.

I highly recommend "Speaks the Nightbird" to anyone who craves an intelligent, engaging read as well as a mystery. The fact that it is also 30+ hours makes for an entirely satisfying experience.

Endless details

There are times during this listen when I wondered when the author would stop with details and move the story along. Counterpoint is there are times when the details are not irritating and enrich the story. If you enjoy the longer books (and I do) don't hesitate to purchase it. Edoardo Ballerini does an excellent narration - all 22 hours! His timing is perfect. Several really great components were getting to know the cast, being able to picture the different setting, challenges faced and emotions. I suspect Robert McCammon will write a second book about Matthew and future adventure. If so I won't miss it.

Love the Matthew Corbett series

I had heard of this book when it was originally published, but didn't read it at the time. When I found it on Audible I purchased it and enjoyed it more than anything I've previously purchased. I thought the performance was impeccable. After seeing it was a series I purchase them all.

A new favorite!

I started this book on my mom's recommendation, and she did not steer me wrong. What a wonderful book! It was nice and long, had perfect narration, and a great story line that kept you hooked until the end. I cannot wait to start his next one.

I really enioy McCammon.

Richly detailed and nicely paced. The voicing by Ballerini was strong and each character was unique.