Spellbound

Book II of the Grimnoir Chronicles

By: Larry Correia

Narrated by: Bronson Pinchot

Length: 16 hrs and 52 mins

Publisher's summary

Audie Award, Paranormal, 2013

Dark fantasy goes hardboiled in Book II of the hard-hitting Grimnoir Chronicles by the New York Times best-selling creator of Monster Hunter International. The Grimnoir Society’s mission is to protect people with magic, and they’ve done so - successfully and in secret - since the mysterious arrival of the Power in the 1850s, but when a magical assassin makes an attempt on the life of President Franklin Roosevelt, the crime is pinned on the Grimnoir. The knights must become fugitives while they attempt to discover who framed them.Thing go from bad to worse when Jake Sullivan, former P.I. and knight of the Grimnoir, receives a telephone call from a dead man - a man he helped kill. Turns out the Power jumped universes because it was fleeing from a predator that eats magic and leaves destroyed worlds in its wake. That predator has just landed on Earth.

©2012 Larry Correia (P)2012 Audible, Inc.

Great performance of a compelling action storyline

Pinchot's performance is top notch, his use of inflection, timing and ability to compel the listener help raise what would be a really good page turner into something I would sit in the car a few minutes longer to hear how situations got resolved.

The pacing and creativity in the storyline are good. While the author used some tried and true plot elements, the characters are interesting enough and deep enough to involve the listener and kept me wondering where the turns would be coming and from whom they would be coming. His characters span s broad range and he gives enough time to developing supporting cast to have the reader incest in them. With one exception of what I thought was an overwrought motivation drawn from the death of a minor supporting character, I thought the characters were well developed and time spent enough on each to make their motivations accessible to the reader.

Well done and I plan to listen to the next in the series. Really curious about Pinchot's readings of HP Lovecraft!

Good story, but I was hoping for a cast of readers

Correia does a commendable job but knowing that a cast of voice actors separately did at least the first book in the series leaves this reading comparably flat and more difficult to distinguish characters.

excellent

loved this book from start to cliffhanger. I highly recommend this series to any noir/magic fan out there

Good stuff

Solid build up, this feels less like a "second book" and more like a direct continuation of the previous book

Maybe the BEST fantasy novel I've ever read!

Would you listen to Spellbound again? Why?

Yes. It's enthralling. Carry Correia is a fantasticly talented writer.

What did you like best about this story?

Larry Correia is a flood of smart fresh ideas. Some so strange they made the hair stand up on my head. Utterly brilliant!

What about Bronson Pinchot’s performance did you like?

He has a great talnt to do many voices. Seemed like a whole cast. Male and female.

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

YES! It's amazing! I never wanted it to end.

Any additional comments?

This is the second book. Hard Magic is #1. This series is so darned good I can only hope Larry Correia keeps writing ... for a very long time. His alternate reality starts in the 1900's and continues through WW1 with the Kaiser raising a army of the undead. That is a mere background detail...and then the book really gets exciting! I have not read a story this fresh and this thrilling in so long it made me marvel at the magic that a good book can be this entertaining. The first book is great. The second book is tremendous!! There are ideas so wild and original that it made my hair stand on end. Larry Correia is one of the very VERY best, smartest, and well researched fantasy writers of our time. I bow to his towering imagination. He is a flood of new ideas, and creates a great retro/pulp story. It all unfolds in a beautifully detailed world so real that it lives and breaths with life and heart pounding action. Each book adding rich detail to a ever changing and growing reality with stranger and adding more clever sub plots and characters. Characters? There are NO flat characters - everyone has depth, a history, and growing story arches in a world so much like ours, yet so utter fantastic - it's hypnotic and enthralling. You cheat yourself out of the read of a life time if you do not read these books. I hope Larry keeps going. Keeps writing. Talent this good is very rare... far too rare. I cannot say of any fantasy writer as good as he is right now. And I think he's getting better.

One of the Good Ones!

I started with book one and I didn’t think I would like it in the beginning. I had to start it over three times to get past the first chapter, but once I started listening I couldn’t put it down. I was glad to have part two they’re ready and waiting. These books are filled with plotting, scheming and all kinds of twist and turns that you don’t see coming. And Faye! I love me some Faye. I love her quirky and weird sayings which really helps to bring the story to life. I can’t wait to get started on book 3!

Another addictive book

This is another greatly written book that will have you listening non-stop from beginning to end.

great fun

I hope we get more in this world. the trilogy and short stories are fantastic.

Great storytelling!

Fantastic world building and likeable characters. The narrator knocks this one out of the park

truly excellent continuation of the story

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

he is truly outstanding! the best overall narrator i've heard to date! he brings the characters to life!

Any additional comments?

first things first...after the conclusion of hard magic, i wasn't sure if larry correia could create a villan as powerful or as dreaded as the chairman, but i'm here to tell you that larry successfully crafts another lethal villain with the temerity to directly confront and challenge the grimnoir knights head on!

the events that transpired in hard magic have made the public even more wary of actives. magical opposition groups are organizing, and the gov't is proposing laws that require actives to register themselves. a secretive, new gov't agency is given a blank check to "deal with" the active problem.

enter agent crowe. crowe's mandate is to retrieve a particular grimnoir knight at any cost. crowe is merciless and relentless. he will go to any length to capture his prize, and the grimnoir knights quickly discover he won't stop. his strange and mysterious powers manage to frighten the grimnoir knights. i found crowe to be a worthy villain. he reminded me of agent smith from the 1st matrix movie- crafty, creepy, frightening powerful, relentless.

new characters are introduced, and their backstories are just as intriguing as our original cast. correia easily weaves the new characters into the overarching plot. there is a surprising addition to the grimnoir knights, and his/her inclusion (i won't tell) further fills out the story.

i hesitate to say more b/c i don't want to rob you of discovering a truly rewarding story. spellbound is an excellent continuation of the story and definitely worthy of your time.