• Princess of Wands

  • By: John Ringo
  • Narrated by: Suzy Jackson
  • Length: 11 hrs and 29 mins
  • 4.3 out of 5 stars (424 ratings)

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Princess of Wands  By  cover art

Princess of Wands

By: John Ringo
Narrated by: Suzy Jackson
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Publisher's summary

Audie Award Nominee, Fantasy, 2013

Special: distinguished by some unusual quality... Circumstances: a piece of evidence that indicates the probability or improbability of an event...

Barbara Everette, a homemaker living in a small town in Mississippi, had the perfect life. Perfect husband, perfect children, perfect house, perfect Christian Faith. She cooked and cleaned perfectly and managed all of the chores of the modern suburbanite, toting the kids, running the PTA, teaching kung-fu in the local dojo... perfectly. But perfection has a price, and the day came when Barbara snapped. She simply had to have "one weekend off". God had to grant her that much. It said no where that she was a slave. Waving goodbye to her hapless, entirely undomestic husband, she set out on the quest for a weekend of peace and maybe some authentic Cajun food.

Detective Sergeant Kelly Lockhart, New Orleans Homicide, had a perfect record on his latest case: not a single suspect. And there should be at least five or six, given the DNA traces on the many bodies. Furthermore, his sole really outstanding clue, a mysterious fish scale, had disappeared into the recesses of the FBI Crime Lab. But the old fortune-teller was sending him into the bayou, down in the land of authentic Cajun food, on the track of a mysterious pimp with the admonition to "watch for the Princess". Or die.

Barbara and Kelly were heading to a rendezvous that might be fate and might reveal the hand of God. There was more cooking in the swamps than jambalaya. Unknown to either, the mystery of the Bayou Ripper had Special Circumstances.

©2005 John Ringo (P)2012 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Suzy Jackson performs with aplomb, making the vivid characters come to life.... Her variety of female voices makes it easy to differentiate the characters, and her deep, gruff voices for men are fully believable. Listeners will be drawn into Barbara's world and find themselves happily rooting for the good guys as Barbara works to save the day." (AudioFile)

What listeners say about Princess of Wands

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Not a Novel but a collection of 3 short stories

This is not a novel but a collection of 3 short stories based around the book's heroine Barbara Everette, a very religious, gun toting, martial arts & weapons expert who sees her self as a christian homemaker but who who's antics when she goes into action is best described as a souped up Lara croft.

The description given by Audible is basically for the first story where Babara is "taking a break from the family". Her couch potato husband main concern about her going away for a few days, is who is going to wait on him and the look after the children.

The second story is based around a Convention and the last is a very short one based around her home home turf.

The first is probably the best paced.

The second drags a bit but the action kicks in at the end.

The last well I will leave that one to you it seems more a filler.

I am trying to understand who this book is aimed at

If you are religious you may like it, but there is a lot of violence, gore & demonology especially near the end of each story and whilst the heroine is very religious all bets are off once the action starts she does not believe in turning the other cheek.

If a book with a fair bit of religious overtones turns you off then you probably would not like this book.

You might be upset because the description given by audible / the publishers does not state this is a collection of 3 short stories & not a novel.

The Stories are linked by Barbara Everette and yes another world wide society which exists in secret to fight evil.

The narrator is excellent.

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31 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Know your Authors

John Ringo writes adventure based fantasy, with lots of action and gore. That is what he is known for, and what his fans expect. This book is no exception and has both action and gore in spades. The most interesting thing about the protagonist is that she is a committed Christian, It makes a nice break from all of the characters that have little or no religion.

In some ways the book reminds me of a D&D campaign based around a cleric, The cleric must be both devout and a true believer in order to recieve heavenly aid.

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15 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Too Graphic for me...

Any additional comments?

Let me start by saying that I couldn't get past chapter 7 of this book. At that point in the you reach a very graphic & violent scene of gang rape & what I would consider to be beastility. I normally enjoy John Ringo's work but I couldn't keep going through a scene like that. I'm hoping to return to his books, perhaps when he produces another book in the Troy series.

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10 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Demon hunting soccor mom ROCKS!!

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

Yes. Good story with a nice twist, Barbara Everett is dropped into a world of supernatural creatures and magic users while on a weekend trip down to the Gulf Coast. As she survives her encounters she meets others who also fight to defend the world from otherworldly evil, unfortunately most of them are pagans of various types, while she is a devout Episcopalian. Talk about serious culture shock on both sides.

What about Suzy Jackson???s performance did you like?

Most of it. Good voice with lots of expression.

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

When she confronted her daughter's softball coach, a self-described Satanist, who has been trying to corrupt the girls, and not only defeated him, but did it in such a way as to show the girls just what magic is really all about.

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Incredibly sanctimonious and incoherent

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

A coherent plot and credible characters

What do you think your next listen will be?

A prayer for Owen Meany

Would you be willing to try another one of Suzy Jackson’s performances?

The reader was o.k., the writer was the problem.

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from Princess of Wands?

The whole book

Any additional comments?

The whole thing belongs to some kind of ideological extreme waspish right with a few elements of the silliest new agey confusions. There's no real "fantasy". Really dreadful.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Urban Fantasy at it's Best!

Great concept, that of a Christian soccer mom, who by virtue of her training and faith, is ready when the time comes to utilize both in defense of self and those who will never know what she has done for them. Tension is high, action is quick, I hope dearly that he continues with this story line. Overall a great read or listen.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Outstanding strong female lead!!

What made the experience of listening to Princess of Wands the most enjoyable?

To me a believable strong female lead character. Described as some number of women I have known in my life, not many are like Barb Evans, but the few I know who are, definitely have my vote of confidence! Strong confident woman who can kick some serious butt!!

What did you like best about this story?

Portrayal of a woman as the legitimate heroine in a military science fiction setting. Barb does not need backup, she is the 7th cavalry riding over the hill.

Which character – as performed by Suzy Jackson – was your favorite?

Barb Evans, the main character.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

absolutely!

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

One of the weirdest books I have ever read

This book is off the wall. I had to make myself read the whole thing. I will definitely not look for any more books by this author. At first, all I kept thinking, this is a Bible thumping book, kind of like the Mittford books. But then when it got more into the plot...it just got weirder and weirder. A Bible thumper who banished demons etc...and is a gun toting soccer mom.

I thought about asking for a refund and only decided not to because I had gotten a refund a 2 others recently that were disappointing also. I don't want to abuse the refund offer via Audiobooks. Who knows, maybe I will find another book in my library that will be more disappointing than this one.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

The "Anti-Ghost"

Where does Princess of Wands rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Interesting new twist on a previously used plot, not on audible.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Princess of Wands?

Realizing Ringo put himself into the story, and seeing the story as the "Good Side" of "Ghost" (At the moment, Ghost isn't on Audible, though if people feel this book has graphic violence, they should steer clear of Ghost. Ghost is a spec-ops "wet dream", while Princess of Wands was written (perhaps as penance?) as a Christian's path and recognition that evil is in more places people assume "other people will handle".

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

Didn't mangle it, though could have improved it. Voice was too "soft/caring" for story, but I believe that was the goal.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Good dark and light humor, violence is minimal for Ringo.

Any additional comments?

Worth every penny!

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Too much religion.

What made the experience of listening to Princess of Wands the most enjoyable?

The parts of the story without all the religion was well paced and exciting.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

I would take out the religious opinions. I did not expect it in a supernatural story and do not agree with the author's opinions. I would not have bought it if I knew it included the prothelizing (which the main character does do frequently, despite her statements otherwise).

Which character – as performed by Suzy Jackson – was your favorite?

n/a

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I did not enjoy all of the fundamental, religious positions.

Any additional comments?

After getting about 3/4 of the way through, I started getting really annoyed with the religion. I finished it because I wanted to hear the ending. But I would not purchase the second book, knowing now what to expect from the author.

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