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.

Really loved the Russian and Ukranian focus!

the book was so good!! really fun to imagine a fairytale like this and the ideas around it taking place in Ukraine was really cool and something new for me for sure.

The Sleeping Beauty with an American Ukraian mix

I was pleasantly surprised with "Enchantment." Based on an array of old versions of the fairytale of sleeping beauty, Orson Scott Card was able to create a powerful story that pulls you in.

Vanya and his parents lives in the USSR. One day when he came from school his parents informed him that his real name is Yitshak Shlomo and that they are going to immigrate to Israel. As they are waiting for visas the Shlomo family stays over at one of his mother's cousins on his farm. It was here that he discovered the sleeping beauty in the woods. But soon they immigrated...

Card sets up the characters in such a way that they find themselves often enough in humorous situation, maybe to soften the dark side of this Americanised fairytale. It seems that the seed of many of the ideas in 'the Gate Thief'-series are found in this fairytale. Card balances the humour successfully with the darker parts and like any fairytale (tarnished by the brothers Grimm) it has a happy ending.

I am not sure if I am getting tired of Stefan Rudnicki's voice, but I don't think that he is the best voice to match with this story. Having listened to a view of Card's books, almost all read at least partly by him, I find it difficult to picture new characters in Card's stories as the writer's style and Rudnicki's voice makes it feel as if some characters are just the same but with a different name. Danny in 'The Gate Thief,' Ender of 'Ender's Game' and Vanya/ Ivan/ Yitschak could just as well have had the same name, except that the libido of Vanya and Ender Wiggins is more subdued. So by the way, there is a woman also reading parts of the story (I didn't catch her name, but she sounds familiar), which did quite a good job.

I would recommend this book to both die-hard Orson Scott Card fans as well as someone who has not heard or read any of his books. It is an excellent, vibrant, humoristic and at times dark story with the power of a fairytale.

Magic!

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

Stefan Rudnicki did a great job narrating this imaginative and creative take on sleeping beauty. This story had it all- it's a story of magic, love, good vs. evil and destiny. I was not expecting to love this book as much as I did. It took me about 2 hours to get totally and completely sucked in!

Any additional comments?

Worth the credit!

even if you don't like fantasy

i only got this book because it was on sale and had good reviews - i don't normally read or like fantasy books

but this one was... amazing

it is soooooo well written and the narrators were soooo good. the man (Stefan) has such an amazing and expressive voice i looked forward to listening to it even in parts of the book that i did not like so much; the female narrator (why i her name not written by the way?) did a wonderful job of differentiating the female voices.

also, lots of reflective thoughts and ideas about religion and culture within the story that made it worth the time!!

interesting concept, ok execution

The story is an interesting concept, being based on old tales. However for me it fell a bit flat in execution. especially at the end rather than characters having real conversations, it often sort of paraphrased what the supposedly said. Most of the real dialogue seemed to be the Baba Yaga and bear sections. It was also a bit to religious for my tastes.

Fun and enchanting

Well done as an audio book and a wonderful story. I couldn’t stop from listening to it at any chance I had.

Quite fun

I'm glad Orson Scott Card took a break from sci-fi to play with fairy tales. I certainly enjoyed it.

Card at his best

Stepping away from science fiction with Card was a challenge, one which I kept neglecting for fear of finding a Card book that I do not like. Luckily for me, this fantasy novel of his did not disappoint.

Magical Read

This was an interesting listen. I loved the voice actors and thought they did a great job pulling off all of the different characters and accents. I liked the characters and I really thought they grew and evolved throughout the story. I enjoyed the twist on Sleeping Beauty and modern society.

I always love a change to a good fairytale. Orson Scott Card did a fun job with this tale.

fun and intelligent fantasy

Read this as a kid. Loved it then. Love it now. Would make a great television miniseries.