Rider: Spirals of Destiny: Book 1

By: Jim Bernheimer

Narrated by: Christine Padovan

Length: 8 hrs and 9 mins

Publisher's summary

Forget everything you thought you knew about unicorns and maidens...

A unicorn is not supposed to survive the death of its rider, but Majherri did. Now he is a pariah, mistrusted by the Greater Herd. To reclaim his lost honor and status, he will entrust the remnants of his life to a new human female while unraveling the mystery of his continued existence.

Kayleigh Reese is not Battle Maiden material. She's three years older than any other recruit and has enjoyed a peaceful, nomadic life working with her artist mother. The rigors of joining the High-King's elite unicorn cavalry are clearly not for her. Now, with a bond to Majherri, she must overcome her mother's disapproval, the ire of her commanding officer and fellow trainees, and, most importantly, the secrets of her unicorn's past if she is to become a legendary warrior. To prevail, they must quickly come together as a team and unlock the powerful and dangerous magic inside them.

©2011-2015 David Wood- Gryphonwood Press (P)2011 David Wood

Couldn't put it down!

Lots of magic in a female military setting. Features unicorns and how they relate to "their humans"

good listen

i sure wish the final book would come out because I love this series. I have listened to it several times

good gracious, the audio

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Christine Padovan?

The reader sounded like the young girl that the protagonist was, which wasn't a bad fit. But her "voices" for other characters are pretty atrocious and it just sounds like a middle-school-girl pretending to be something else. It was interesting for a while, to hear the story told like a middle schooler might recount events to her friends at lunch, but the further into the book I got, the less the voice seemed to match the evolving main-character.

Any additional comments?

The audio also had a couple of obvious cuts, some of which were at different volume levels. And there was one instance of an un-cut "edit click" (where the reader wants a re-do, clicks a thing to mark the audio for later edit, then re-reads the line). I've heard repeated lines before in other audiobooks/podcasts, but this was the most obvious editing failure I've heard to date. They don't really detract from the story, it just sounds unprofessional.

The story itself was interesting. A bit of a simple wish-fulfillment kind of magical-girl story, but it was fun and had a little depth. I think the unicorns are more interesting characters than most of their riders.

Great Book for all ages

If you could sum up Rider: Spirals of Destiny: Book 1 in three words, what would they be?

A strong woman

Who was your favorite character and why?

Kayleigh she starts off as a week willed girl but changes into a brave warrior.

Which scene was your favorite?

Yes I think the book was aimed at teenagers, but it kept me interested and I'll continuethe series. There were plenty of plot twist.

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

nothing

Any additional comments?

I think the story has a lot of merit in the way that a person is responsible for his or her own actions. Also growing up means leaving behind all you know and following a new goal.

Reminds me of....

Any additional comments?

This book reminded me a bit of the feel of Tamara Pierce writing/atmosphere and school set up of Kristen Britain's first book 'green rider'

Great Story! :) Not so great narrator! :(

I enjoyed this story. It was good and I'm ready for the next one. The narrator was lacking quite alot. She didn't distinguish character voices and I'd get confused wondering who was talking or reacting to a situation. Often she read as if ending a sentence and then very slowly picked up where she left off to complete it. I would have preferred to have read this one on my own! I recommend it actually!

Creative big picture, limited dialogue/story

What did you like best about Rider: Spirals of Destiny: Book 1? What did you like least?

Liked: creative construct
Disliked: reader's performance

How did the narrator detract from the book?

Very poor voice adjustments for different characters (too high, whiny); no adjustment in tone for emotion or (intended) delivery speed during dialogue; stilted

Overdone falsetto narration

I tried through 17 chapters to plug along through this book in hopes things would improve. Finally got to the point where I can’t take another moment of this narrator so it’s going back. Also seems to be a young adult book. Not what I was expecting.

Couldabeen but just wasn't

Would you try another book from Jim Bernheimer and/or Christine Padovan?

Perhaps the writer ,NEVER the reader.

Would you be willing to try another book from Jim Bernheimer? Why or why not?

The story had some merit, but couldn't finish because her voices were like listening to sesame street puppets(only worse)!

Did Rider: Spirals of Destiny: Book 1 inspire you to do anything?

stop listening

Any additional comments?

I have never given a negative review before ,but this was really awful!

Not the best performance

Any additional comments?

I always listen to the beginning of a book before purchase to see if I can live with the voice and the delivery of the book. The initial voice was okay for this book, but the secondary characters were horrible. I thought. I was watching a 'lamb chops' TV show with the high pitched shrill voices of the other maidens. Then it was hard to tell when the unicorn was talking or when Kayla was speaking. The plot was only so-so but the narration made that tedious for me. Even tho I'm slightly interested in what happens next - not so much as to listen to more.