Silence

Queen of the Dead, Book 1

By: Michelle Sagara

Narrated by: Alexandra Bailey

Length: 9 hrs and 22 mins

Publisher's summary

It began in the graveyard.... Ever since her boyfriend Nathan had died in a tragic accident, Emma had been coming to the graveyard at night. During the day she went through the motions at her prep school, in class, with her friends, but that’s all it was. For Emma, life had stopped with Nathan’s death. But tonight was different. Tonight Emma and her dog were not alone in the cemetery. There were two others there - Eric, who had just started at her school, and an ancient woman who looked as though she were made of rags. And when they saw Emma there, the old woman reached out to her with a grip as chilling as death....

Emma was not quite like others teenagers. It was true that other girls had experienced grief. Other girls had also lost their fathers, or had their boyfriends die in a senseless accident. But though she hadn’t known it till that night in the graveyard, unlike those other girls, she could see, touch, and speak with the dead. In fact, Emma could draw upon the essence of the dead to work magic. That was what Necromancers did. But Emma had no desire to be a Necromancer. She just wanted to help the ghosts who walked the streets of Toronto, unable to escape from the land of the living. And that was just as well, because had she chosen the path of the Necromancer, Eric would have had to kill her.

Instead, Eric and his fellow Necromancer hunter Chase found themselves violating every rule they were sworn to follow, becoming part of Emma’s group, helping her to stand against those who preyed upon the dead. But whether Emma and her friends could survive such a battle was anyone’s guess. And whether Emma could learn to use the magic of the dead against her enemies without herself falling victim to the lure of such power remained to be seen. Eric seemed to think she could, and her living friends would never abandon her. But only time would tell what Emma’s true destiny was....

©2012 Michelle Sagara (P)2012 Audible, Inc.

Narrator sucks

On a 10-point scale, I give this book a solid 3. The sub-par narrator didn't help matters. I didn't care about the bland characters. The generic dialogue bored me to tears. The monotone narrator needs caffeine and some acting lessons. All in all, a total snoozefest.

Not good, something wrong

What would have made Silence better?

I hate to blame the narrator but...... Also the story was just boring.

Would you be willing to try another book from Michelle Sagara? Why or why not?

No. I think the author and narrator may improve with time but, no.

Would you be willing to try another one of Alexandra Bailey’s performances?

No, ditto above. First I think is this narrator has potential with coaching etc. With this book, she was monotonous. All the voices, characters sounded almost the same. There was barely a difference in emotions. I couldn't tell the narrator from the main character. I can not finish the book.

What character would you cut from Silence?

It wasn't a character problem.

Any additional comments?

I wanted to like this book for the premise, something different but.....The story was boring!!!! It was like an episode of that angel show Touched by an Angel. I hate to be critical, really.
The main story line was a ghost boy stuck in a loop of him burning in his home.

If this is what its like to be Queen I'll pass.

Narrator was flat, characters had no life (no pun intended). Several chapters in and I still had no idea where the story line was going. I couldn't take it anymore, I had to give up. Her dad is gone, the boyfriend is gone, some weird guy is in the cemetery, her dog is huge and likes to eat biscuits, she has migraines and she and her mother don't communicate well. Seriously that is what I got from what I forced myself to listen to.