Across the Nightingale Floor

Tales of the Otori, Book One

By: Lian Hearn

Narrated by: Kevin Gray, Aiko Nakasone

Length: 8 hrs and 25 mins

Publisher's summary

A tour-de-force novel set in ancient Japan filled with passion, fantasy, and feuding warlords. The first volume in the highly anticipated Tales of the Otori trilogy.

Sixteen-year-old Takeo's village has been massacred by an evil warlord, and he is about to be slain by the men who murdered his parents and neighbors. At the last moment, his life is saved by a nobleman, who claims the boy as his kin and begins his education.

But nothing is as it seems. Takeo discovers that he has rare powers that are useful to those around him. As he grows into manhood, he must decide where his loyalties lie: with his noble master and adoptive father; with the Hidden, a secret, spiritual sect whose beliefs are forbidden; or with the Tribe, the assassins and spies who consider him one of their own.

A story of treachery, political intrigue, and the intensity of first love, set in a world ruled by formal ritual and codes of honor, Across the Nighingale Floor crosses genres, generations, and genders to captivate fans of all ages.

Don't miss the rest of the Tales of the Otori series.

©2002 Lian Hearn (P)2003 HighBridge Company

Critic reviews

"The novel fills a unique niche that is at once period piece and fantasy novel." (Amazon.com)

Wow!

A breath of fresh air! What a wonderful story!! Different, beautifully written, can't say enough good about it!!!

Loving it!

Where does Across the Nightingale Floor rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I'm currently listening to this audiobook and I can't stop. From the beginning I have been entranced and addicted to what's next. I am enjoying the readers interpretations and how they take the time to enunciate and fully describe what to envision in my mind. Some may think it's slow but compared to others, I find this perfectly timed and well done.

What did you like best about this story?

The ability to not determine what is going to happen next.

What about Kevin Gray and Aiko Nakasone ’s performance did you like?

I am enjoying their calm voices, enunciated words, and overall performances combined. Together they pair nicely.

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

Not that I can recall. I've been engrossed from the beginning.

Any additional comments?

Very happy purchase and excited to listen to the following series.

Excellent -- can't wait for book two!

This is a fantastic story! Not only can I not wait to start book two, "Grass for His Pillow" - which I'll do today (!) - I was happy to find that the newly-published book three, "Brilliance of the Moon", is already available through audible.com.

I think this book owns all five stars easily; it's a well-written book with a great story to tell and readers who do a great job telling it. I agree with Lisa from Newton, CT, that the female reader does change the flow of the reading and is rather stilted. It was almost a tiny jolt whenever the narration turned over to her, but I found that after a few moments my ear would get used to her voice and the story would take over again.

I also agree with Jody from Tulsa, OK, that the names are a bit difficult (and hard to remember) because they're unfamiliar, so a look over the printer version at some point may help...

But overall a fantastic book and I highly recommend it!

worth a listen

Bought this on sale because the preview sounded interesting. The story grows on you, as do the characters, but I have to admit some parts are predictable. Never the less it was worth listening too.

Breathtaking!

I am astounded by the narrators performance of such an amazing tale! Outstanding work! I felt as though I was part of the story, and I definitely look forward to listening to the rest of the series.

Excellent Story

Well written, excellent story. This book and the whole series are books that I have enjoyed reading in the past. The reading is done well, but both readers read in such a measured pace that they seem tired. It made me impatient in some areas, but it was fitting for others. It would have been nice to have a little more emotion read into the words.

Wonderful book

Very difficult to pull off stories from duel perspectives but the author does a decent job Worth the time and effort of reading/listening

Across the Nightingale Floor

This is an extremely engaging story, with an interweaving of history, adventure, culture, and fantasy. I'm thoroghly hooked on this trilogy and am looking forward to listening to the next part.

Waitng for the movie

Author Hearn creates a magical world every bit as beautiful, terrible and engossing as those of the best of the Chinese fantasy-action films. This production is almost visual, with suberb narrators. I took a chance on an unknown work and was captivated. I had forgotten how fantasy can seem so much like history: "One Hundred Years of Solitude" comes to mind.

a young adult book

I really like some accents in the narrators. I took this book because I loved Brian Nishii's voice in Barry Eisler's first book. The accent was not well represented in the next book that Nishii tried of Eisler's series. The same seems to be true here. This first book is the strongest in the series and the narrators are at their best in this book. The formality in the story telling is likable to me. Overall it is a likable fairy tale and not at all hard to enjoy. The series wears thin though and the need to go on with a series is suppose to be strong. The reviews seem to indicate this experience is shared.