Princess of Wands

By: John Ringo

Narrated by: Suzy Jackson

Length: 11 hrs and 29 mins

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)

Not my favorite Ringo, but good

John Ringo is always good and this was good, but I'm not a fan of short stories and this is basically several shorts put together.

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.

mixed

First book slow start. Stronger finish. 2nd book ok start with info dump and then long tedious middle with no point and final one good fight at the end. Needed more action driving plot & less dialogue.

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.

Fantastic

This is a great book by a favorite author. I hope for more than two books in this series.

I really love this book.

this is one of John ringo s best books. I just can't reccomend it enough. great story and interesting concepts.
the reader does a excellent job for the most part but her louisiana accents like most people's la. accents suck.

great story

it was a great story action packed but with out overdoing it looking forward to the next book

Great book. Mr Ringo does it again

Character development, excellent story. An all around great yarn. Can't wait to hear more about this new universe.

Good book, good re-listen as well

If you could sum up Princess of Wands in three words, what would they be?

Satisfaction, Surprise, and softball?

What other book might you compare Princess of Wands to and why?

I couldn't think of a comparative book.

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

I liked both Barb and Jenaea

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

I actually did sans small breaks

Any additional comments?

I really liked the book, it was a twist on hunting demons and such I hadn't heard before. While I know some Christians will lambaste it because it doesn't follow their exact beliefs they are the ones who either can't separate fiction from reality or don't have as firm a hold on their beliefs as they think they do. I can say this because I am a Christian and have listened to this book a couple of times, and don't find myself questioning my core beliefs because of it. This is a good and interesting listen, there are points that may get you thinking. That is a reason why this is a good book in my opinion, anytime a book makes you think and wonder is when you have read a really good book. For anyone who does find themselves questioning their beliefs all I can say is listen to Gomo and Barb.

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.