Enchantment

By: Orson Scott Card

Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki

Length: 17 hrs and 26 mins

Publisher's summary

As one of the most consistently exciting writers to emerge in the last 25 years, Orson Scott Card has been honored with numerous awards, while immersing readers in dazzling worlds only he could create. Now, in Enchantment, Card works his magic as never before, transforming the timeless story of Sleeping Beauty into an original fantasy brimming with romance and adventure.

©1999 Orson Scott Card (P)2007 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Great narration, creative take on old tale

If you like the narrators on Orson Scott Card's Enders Game and Enders Shadow, you will enjoy listening to this tale. The tale is a unique take on an old tale everyone is familiar with and has a good pace throughout.

Second time as good as the first.

Bought this when it came out and loved it. Very easy listen and great for the gym. Decided to listen again and I really enjoyed it a second time. An interesting take on a fairy tale that was easy to listen and enjoy during workouts. I wish he wrote more of this type.

Disenchantment

I'm very thankful that Ender's Game was the first O.S. Card book I ever read, because, unfortunately, the Ender series seems to be the only writing Card does that really grabs me. I was willing to take a chance with this one, because the idea of a modern take on the fairy tale "Sleeping Beauty" intrigued me.

The story line begins with a young man and his family who live in the Stalinist Ukraine. I know that many people who are younger than the Baby Boomer generation have a hard time grasping the idea of how life in the USSR (no Beatles reference intended) really was. I really enjoyed this part of the book because it detailed the insecurity due to the Cold War, the Refusenik movement (several years in in the early 1970's and 80's when Jews were allowed to emigrate to Israel) and the difficulty Jews had applying for permission to leave the "Mother Country" and the worldwide astonishment as the Berlin Wall, then the U.S.S.R. and finally statues glorifying Stalin - fell.

Card does an amazing job of adding complexity to mythical characters and their lifestyles, including casting the evil witch as Baba Yaga. It's tantalizing to think that her spell was so complicated that the princess was indeed hidden in the forest, but in a century so far in the future that, even if someone managed to encounter her, language had changed so much over the centuries that it was almost impossible that they would be able to communicate.

Sounds like great stuff, doesn't it? But for some reason it just drags. I got pretty far into the first part of the book before I realized that I wasn't really looking forward to turning on my iPod. It just became . . . ponderous.

I think if you are someone who enjoys, e.g., the Pathfinder series, or some of his more fantasy-style "sci-fi", you will probably greatly enjoy this novel. I can see that much of what I find way too verbose (and hey, you can tell that I don't have an issue with verbosity in general!) might be appreciated by a reader who enjoys stretching out and immersing themselves into the totality of characters' everyday lives.

Unfortunately, as the title of this review indicates, it's not for me.

good story, narrator only okay

I really enjoyed this story at. I am a fan of most of Orson Scott card's books. I was not as much of a fan of the narrator. I was especially irritated by Baba yaga's and bears voices. overall though I would recommend this listen.

A Wonderful new take on Sleeping Beauty.

What made the experience of listening to Enchantment the most enjoyable?

The narrator. I love someone who can voice foreign accents and words properly. That gives it such authentic flavor. Plus, the story by O.S. Card has such a wealth of cultural and historic background seamlessly flavoring the story, to give such a different viewpoint. It's not just another "going backwards in time" story. It's fleshed out.

What did you like best about this story?

The versions of old Russian/Ukrainian folk tales. I love folk tales!

What about Stefan Rudnicki’s performance did you like?

As previously mentioned, Rudnicki's mellow baritone voice pronouncing foreign words well just adds to the overall authentic experience.

Enjoyable

Overall a decent purchase, story predictable but still entertaining. My issue is with the female narrator, her performance of the bear and Baba Yaga were awful and I almost didn’t finish listening. It was as if she was making fun of the characters, very childish and taunting delivery. It reminded me of a child parroting back “I know you are but what am I” when she was speaking in the bears voice, making him sound slow and dumb. Baba Yaga was basically a bad imitation of the wicked witch of the west. The male narrator was wonderful though and it was still an enjoyable performance. the authors historical details and explanations made it interesting rather than another bland retelling of a fairytale. I do wish it was wrapped up a little better, at the end I still had some questions.

Fun story!

Card does it again! Fun story. I couldn't put it down. Is there a sequel? I didn't know Sleeping Beauty could be Sooo much fun.

The best fairytale ever!

I simply could not stop the audiobook. The detail that this was written kept me wanting to here more and more. I was sad when it ended because I wanted to here more about their lives together. The attention to detail and consequences was a bit overwhelming sometimes, but it kept making me ask more questions that would later be answered. Simply loved this audiobook. The narrator was great to listen to.

This story will be on my mind for awhile

Excellent narration, riveting story. I'm blown away by this author's thorough world-building and attention to detail. It's a book that will stay with me for awhile. There is some PG-13 related non-explicit sexual content and swearing(not a lot) so be aware if listening around children. If you love fairytales and Russian culture/history, this is a must read/listen. There was a very sweet romance in it, too. Enjoy!

Enchantment is Enchanting...and Funny!

The reason I LOVE Audible is because somehow they have sales on wonderful books I would never choose just left to my own devices. "Enchantment" is one of those books. I found it by turns funny, imaginative, original, informative, romantic, and even enlightening. The pace was mostly very good...only a few parts lagged.

The narrators were excellent as well, and handled the numerous characters deftly. And even though this is a longer book, I got through it quickly and was in fact sorry when it ended. I only wish I had more books like this one to listen to.

Highly recommended.
Enchantment | [Orson Scott Card]

* Enchantment
* UNABRIDGED
* By Orson Scott Card
* Narrated by Stefan Rudnicki

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