• Alanna, The First Adventure

  • Song of the Lioness, Book 1
  • By: Tamora Pierce
  • Narrated by: Trini Alvarado
  • Length: 5 hrs and 14 mins
  • 4.7 out of 5 stars (2,444 ratings)

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Alanna, The First Adventure  By  cover art

Alanna, The First Adventure

By: Tamora Pierce
Narrated by: Trini Alvarado
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Publisher's summary

Becoming a legend is not easy, as young Alanna of Trebond discovers when she disguises herself as a boy and begins training to be a knight. Alanna's skills and stubbornness help her befriend Prince Jonathan and alienate his evil uncle, Duke Roger.

Filled with swords and sorcery, adventure and intrigue, good and evil, this audiobook is a rousing introduction to the intensely satisfying story of Alanna.

Follow Alanna of Trebond's quest to knighthood in the Song of the Lioness series.
©1983 Tamora Pierce (P)2000 Random House, Inc., Listening Library, an Imprint of the Random House Audio Publishing Group

Critic reviews

"A lively, fascinating tale." (Booklist)
"Pairing [Trini] Alvarado's vocal talents with [Tamora] Pierce's well written and engaging story makes this a quality audiobook worthy of inclusion in any audio collection." (School Library Journal)

Featured Article: The top 100 fantasy listens of all time


When compiling our list of the best fantasy listening out there, we immediately came up against the age-old question: Is this fantasy or science fiction? The distinction is not as clear as you may think. Dragons, elves, and wizards are definitely fantasy, but what about wizards that also fly space ships? (Looking at you, Star Wars.) For the sake of fantasy purity, the top 100 fantasy listens include the best audio works in all manner of fantasy subgenres.

What listeners say about Alanna, The First Adventure

Average customer ratings
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    5 out of 5 stars

A favorite that I reread regularly

To be fair I reread all of Tamora Pierce's books regularly. She is such an amazing author

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

wonderful story telling

seriously one of my favorite books are there. The speaker that plays very good at narrating story it was the perfect length and speed.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

A fabulous audio . . .

This audiobook is a fabulous find! A great story about a girl who longs to live in a world that is strickly forbidden to her --- the life of a knight! And to top it off, her brother Thom hates the very thing she aspires to be because he wants to be a wizard.
It's a wonderful story of unrelenting determination, pin-point focusing, and sheer strength-of-will that draws the listener into the story and keeps one enthralled until the end. It's a short story (less than 6 hours) as most audio's go, still, Trini Alvarado is a wonderful narrator who makes this audio a pleasure to listen to!

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Still great 40 years later

I read this book when I was 11 or so, and it was my favorite book for a long time. I lost track of it, and I’m so glad to find it again on Audible, 30 years later. It’s still a great book and the recording is really good even thought it’s 23 years old. Alanna’s coming of age story while posing as a boy training to be a squire and learning her value as a person in ways besides gender and status - all great themes for today as much as when I was a kid her age.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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My opinion

A powerful story of a young woman who works hard to prove herself. Every challenge she sees it through to the end

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Amazing reunion with a beloved series ❤️

So glad I now have the audiobooks of this book series! This was a great start, and I really can’t wait to listen to the rest of the series now.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • W
  • 10-13-05

Good, but a trifle predictable

I listened to Alanna: the First Adventure via my subscription with Audible, and I found this story to be pleasantly entertaining (if at a few times) simplistic.

Alanna is a young girl with red hair and violet eyes. When her father dictates she must enter a convent, she trades places with her brother Thom who is to become a page and eventually a knight.

I read the Alanna series as a teenager and was fascinated by her adventures. Now as an adult some of this story seems a tad predictable. Pierce's writing lacks detail and some of her characters (such as the prince, George etc.) are rather clich? for the fantasy genre. Still, this is a great series of books that young girls and adults will enjoy... I only wish that Pierce had fleshed out her characters a bit more. Although I liked the characters I never got the sense that they were anything other than stereotypes.

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2 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

I have loved this book since I was 13 years old.

The audiobook has done a great job at capturing the way I heard the characters in my head.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Tamora Pierce is always fantastic

A good version of one of my favorite books of all time. Not much differentiation between characters, though.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Childhood favorite

I read Alanna when I was around 10 years old and I loved the story! Now that I can listen to it when I'm excerising or cleaning it's great to listen to the story over and over again. This is a superb series for tweenies and young adults. Alanna is an awesome character and is a great read!

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