Magic Lands

Journey Beyond the Beyond

By: Robert Stanek

Narrated by: Karl Fehr

Length: 2 hrs and 47 mins

Publisher's summary

Magic Lands: Journey Beyond the Beyond is a refreshingly unique fantastic adventure that is suitable for readers of all ages while containing all the icky-gooey-creepy details that are sure to delight! Following the village elder's advice, Ray leaves his home village, setting out for the place lost and deep where he will find a companion for his journey to the stone land and where he will discover that there is no easy path from childhood to manhood. "Beware lashing tail and gnashing teeth," the village elder warns him, "and if Old Bull doesn't get you, Mother Slither surely will."

©2005 Robert Stanek (P)2005 Reagent Press

Get it.

Amazing book with great characters and a fast pace that still has details and depth. This is the enduring tale of a young man. A young man who has to set out into the world and prove himself. The story is orginal and unfolds in just the right ways so it's logical but not predictable. I embraced this book from the first chapter and couldn't let go until it was done. By all means read "Magic Lands".

Great!

I got this as a treat for my son to listen to on a trip across the country but it was so good the whole family ended up listening to it and we loved it. Because it was so good we also bought the printed book.

Great Listen

Journey Beyond the Beyond is a great story: imaginative and well written. My heart wrenched for Ray and I thought we should all aspire to be more like him. The reader of the audiobook is also one of the best I've ever heard. He gets this book. Do not hesitate to get this book. I think this is a definite CLASSIC!

Wild About Magic Lands

Robert Stanek is one of those great children's book creators who can literally create magic. He helped me dream. Stanek seemed to have found my creative pulse, as he drew me in to wonder about his water-filled world. The reading is very well done. There is a rich, full-of-flavor tension in the reading at points and deservedly so. The voices of the characters come across as genuine. Don't be fooled by the amazing reading. You'll enjoy the carefully laid story just as much, and your child can close his eyes and imagine his own version.

A wonderful book. A classic. If you've got kids, or if you read to your family's or neighbor's kids, this is one book which will be listened to over and over. I fully recommend "Magic Lands" by Robert Stanek.

Another good one!

Having listened to and loved "The Kingdoms and the Elves of the Reaches" books by this author, we got "Magic Lands". What a fun and incredibly imaginative story! Highly recommended.

Kids in my classes love this book!

Very original, thoughtful and just a great story. It's a really enjoyable book. The narration is just perfect, you feel like the author is telling Ray's fascinating story right to you, the narrator captured the character very well. Highly recommended!

Fun, Fast-Paced book

Some books are more suitable than others for the audio format. This one made a long drive with the kids go much faster and we enjoyed it a lot! The narrator is excellent, which makes a big difference.

The book has lots of action, a fun adventure and not too deep so it is an easy listen! Very interesting all in all.

Pure Excitement

Robert Stanek's best (and best known) books undoutedly are his Kingdoms and the Elves of the Reaches. My teen loves them. When I saw this book was for younger readers, I just had to get it. The best thing about Magic Lands is the sense of excitement given to the book by the main character, Ray, and brought to life by this gifted author. My eight year old twins sat wide eyed through our entire reading. So I was delighted to find this on audio and have no doubt it will become their favorite story to listen to. I highly recommend it was 7 to 12 year olds and think older may enjoy it as well. I certainly enjoyed it.

Great Fun!

I got this for my son and daughter (8 and 11). Before they got home from school I meant to just listen to the first chapter (so I could talk about the story with them before they started) but I got so caught up in the story I listened to the whole thing myself.

Ray and Kerry are wonderful additions to my list of favorite literary characters. The story is a fun list, full of wit and depth, especially when Ray starts to question his reality and grow from his experiences. Stanek has created an incredibly fantastic world. It seems so real.

I bit of caution as this is very different from Stanek's other works. Stanek's The Kingdoms and the Elves of the Reaches novels are sweeping fantasies with extended casts of characters and wholly imagined world. In those books you get much more immersion and extended storylines.

Magic Lands, on the other hand, is mostly the story of Ray, a boy who sets off from his village to prove himself a man. Ray's journey is a rite of passage for his people. Ray is the character you come to know and love.

Very highly recommended.

A magical journey of self-discovery!

Magic Lands is mostly about Ray, a young man from a small village who must undertake a journey and discover the world around him. His story is the story of his people, and the right of passage he undertakes is very real and personal even though it takes place in an imaginery world far away from our own. It's a different kind of story from what I usually read, but I very much enjoyed it.