Cast in Shadow

Chronicles of Elantra, Book 1

By: Michelle Sagara

Narrated by: Khristine Hvam

Length: 14 hrs and 25 mins

Publisher's summary

Seven years ago, Kaylin fled the crime-riddled streets of Nightshade, knowing that something was after her. Children were being murdered— and all had the same odd markings that mysteriously appeared on her own skin….

Since then, she's learned to read, she's learned to fight and she's become one of the vaunted Hawks who patrol and police the City of Elantra. Alongside the winged Aerians and the immortal Barrani, she's made a place for herself, far from the mean streets of her birth.

But children are once again dying, and a dark and familiar pattern is emerging. Kaylin is ordered back into Nightshade with a partner she knows she can't trust, a Dragon lord for a companion and a device to contain her powers—powers that no other human has. Her task is simple—find the killer, stop the murders… and survive the attentions of those who claim to be her allies!

Spellbound? Listen to more Chronicles of Elantra.

©2011 Michelle Sagara (P)2011 Audible, Inc.

Too much abstract gives me headaches

I purchased this book because I had heard such good reviews. Now, I regret it.
The author did not explain the world she was writing about. She did not describe the different races and cultures that make up most of this story. She wrote in an overblown dramatic writing style with no context. Her main character seemed to go into extreme emotional outbursts with no apparent reason. Needless to say, I just got nothing from this book but headaches.

Teenagers will like this series.

What would have made Cast in Shadow better?

The main character was tedious. I wanted to put her in "time out" until she turned 30.

Would you ever listen to anything by Michelle Sagara again?

I would check out more information on the book before I would purchase another book by Ms Sagara.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Khristine Hvam?

Ms. Hvam did a good job as narrator, just didn't have much to work with for the main character who was predictable in her reactions.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

I was disappointed with the book. I had already purchased the seond book in the series and could not even get started listening to it.

not good...

narrator is the only reason I finished the book. story jumped. plot holes. things changed between scenes I minute character only has a club next defending with a sword...

Drawn out

Too many questions, too little answers, progression of story stilted with bs- want a refund

Full of posturing but no story

What would have made Cast in Shadow better?

Imagine watching the good the bad and the ugly but only with shots of thegunfighter's eyes back and forth the whole movie. It was awful . Hours of posturing and descriptions of the charactor's eyes. Read mistborn, name of the wind, or any of the iron Druid chronicles instead!

Has Cast in Shadow turned you off from other books in this genre?

No. There are much better ones

What about Khristine Hvam’s performance did you like?

Voices were great!

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Waste of a credit

Any additional comments?

I have no idea why this book got good reviews .

Just couldn't keep it together in my head.

What disappointed you about Cast in Shadow?

Considering I had never heard of many of the species, I had a difficult time putting a face to the characters...which is not normal for me. Seemed like the extremities changed from paws to hands and back in a moment, difficult for me to picture. Obviously not others...I love fantasy stories. I guess because I was on vacation trying to listen to this, it was more than a bit frustrating.

Has Cast in Shadow turned you off from other books in this genre?

Nope, also bought Jennifer Estep's 1st one for the Spider series...loved that one!

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

I had no problem with the narrator.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Confusion and disappointment.

Any additional comments?

I really do wish I could have brought the characters to life for myself. Just wasn't working out.

Could not get into it

It sounded interesting, but I just couldn't get into it. The story seemed very superficial. It hinted at backstory but never delivered. I slogged through towards the end, but didn't find anything redeemable other than the narrator. She did a great job with a terrible story.

Could have been good

What would have made Cast in Shadow better?

Bring some understanding of the various races and creatures in the story. There is no explanation to environment or how the various beings came to be built into the story.

What could Michelle Sagara have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

Quit with the "she did, but she didn't...", "she could, but she couldn't....". this got really tedious.

Which character – as performed by Khristine Hvam – was your favorite?

Tiamaris the dragon.

What character would you cut from Cast in Shadow?

The liontine characters did not make sense.

Any additional comments?

The story could have been good, but there was too much time and words spent on odd and broken descriptions of emotions and situations. There also needs to be a reason built into the story as to how this world came to be. This would help the reader better identify with story.

Khristine Hvam is a very good reader and did as good a job as possible narrating a challenging script.

Did nothing for me

I tried. I really tried. This book was a hot mess. Just background noise. Only got 3 hours in before I couldn't take it anymore. Thanks audible for refunds!!

Only the narration is decent

Wow. I’ve never not been able to finish an audiobook. But this is the one I’m not going to finish. The entire book was half spoken dialogue where the rest of the sentence was left unsaid, leaving the listener in the dark! I consider myself a somewhat intelligent person, and have enjoyed quite a number of books over the years. I’ve never been so confused, or said out loud so many times “I have no idea what is happening” before this book. I also checked countless times that this was in fact book 1 of a series. There was no explanation of the clans, the characters, the conflict, or the world in general. I’m hoping my review makes it to a page where you’ll see, because I only saw excellent reviews when I glanced down the first page. Are these people the authors relatives?? Paid off? Gifted with telepathy?? How else could they possibly give this book five stars? Anyway, I wish I could return this book, and un-listen to the hours I wasted on it. I at least liked the narrator’s main voice, though all her other character voices sounded the same, and weird.