Zaria Fierce and the Enchanted Drakeland Sword

De: Keira Gillett

Narrado por: Michele Carpenter

If Zaria Fierce had her say, being a princess would mean you'd never have to wait for news. In the eight months since Olaf tricked her, Zaria has felt a near constant mixture of restlessness, listlessness, and hopelessness. When the time comes to fix past mistakes, she is more than ready to climb aboard the ship sailing toward the giants. Summertime in Norway promises many more adventures but also many more perils - something sinister lurks beneath the surface, following her every move, haunting her, disturbing her dreams, and stealing her peace. Can Zaria figure out what it is and stop it before it's too late?

©2015 Keira Gillett (P)2015 Keira Gillett

Excellent sequel!

Any additional comments?

I really enjoyed the starting book of the trilogy, and this one does not disappoint. It does suffer from the usual "incompleteness" syndrome that is hereditary in the middle episodes of a series, but it does a good job of raising the stakes for the last book.

I find the tone charming throughout, the banter between Zaria and her friends is rather humorous, and the new setting and creatures keep things rolling. Now I guess I have to wait a few months for the final installment.

Audio-wise, I really like Michele Carpenter's voice, she keep the characters unique, and enunciates clearly even with some of the harder voices she does. And she sings well!

the story continues

Nice, gentle and magical story. You can read this separate, but I think it's really meant to be in the series.

There's a third book coming, so I will continue to follow the adventures of Zaria and her friends.

The books are a nice read also for grown ups who don't want (a lot) of blood and gore. The setting in Norway is great, it brings back childhood memories - my parents were in Norway for work, and we had a lot of going back holidays.

I was kindly given a free copy of this book by Keira.

Zaria continues to intrigue and enchant

Would you consider the audio edition of Zaria Fierce and the Enchanted Drakeland Sword to be better than the print version?

The audio edition of the book offers charms that aren't available in the print version, largely in the vocal performance of the narrator. She reprises her sweet and fitting voice for Zaria, the heroine, as well as the voices of the varied and numerous cast of characters that join her in this part of the adventure. The voices are, in fact, seamlessly continued from the previous book, an impressive feat with the number of accents and inflections already encountered, along with new ones added in this volume. Again, unfortunately, there are still no specifically Norwegian accents used (at least not to my semi-trained ear), but in most cases this is a good consequence of the continuity achieved for the main characters. The only things really missing from the audio version are the illustrations for each chapter, which are charming themselves and worth at least checking the book out from the library to see. (And if your library doesn't have the Zaria books - ask them to get a set!)

Who was your favorite character and why?

For me this is a toss-up between the main character, Zaria, and her champion (of sorts), Hector, another major character. (This probably has a lot to do with my being a father, and never having personally been an adolescent girl.) Hector is steadfast and wise, but Zaria is both vulnerable and strong, and very much a role model for my own daughters.

Have you listened to any of Michele Carpenter’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

As described above, I listened to the first book in the trilogy, and her performance is admirable in its consistency between the two books. She does a top-notch job with these books, and I'm sure that she'll be brought back to do the third installment - it would be jarring to hear Zaria speak in another voice, because she's nailed it so completely.

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

Yes, as with the first book in the trilogy, I listened to this one in almost every conceivable waking moment, including during a long run or two. Most of this time was spent driving, and the excitement of the books made the miles fly by, whether they were rolling along or pounding away under my own feet.

Any additional comments?

Once again, this is simply a really good story, one that consistently pulled me along. I wanted to know what would happen next, and while some of the trappings have the familiarity of the genre, I think there are a lot of unique points in Zaria's stories. Sure, I could see some of the general shapes of the road ahead, since I read a lot of works in this vein, but there were definitely some surprises and turns in the story that I wasn't quite expecting. As another "once again," I think that the story could be refined with another editorial pass, and it is only those mechanics that kept me from giving this its 5th star (I wish I could award 4-1/2). But all in all, this is a very good story on its own (perhaps unusual for the middle book of a trilogy), and it makes me look forward to the next book to follow - and hopefully very many more after that!

Great second book!

This takes place a few months after book 1. Zaria and her friends have to find a certain sword in order to rescue Hart. Along the way they face a multitude of magical creatures and Zaria is plagued by something very sinister. What is following her in the shadows?

I really enjoyed book 1 but have to say that Keira Gillett has upped her game with this installment. This is darker, scarier and more action packed than the previous one and I ended up listening to it in a day!

Once again, the authors characters are extremely well written and developed. They all evolve and grow throughout the story and you can't help but root for Zaria! Poor Zaria, though. She has a sense that something evil is following her and it's even invading her dreams. She's also being very hard on herself and shouldering the blame for being tricked in book 1.

The plot was fast paced, entertaining and engaging.There is never a dull moment when it comes to the wonderful word that the author has created. Richly detailed and totally captivating, this series has the potential to be great. I'm realy looking forward to more adventures from Zaria and her friends.

Michele Carpenter did a great job again. She has a load of different tones and voices for all the characters and it's easy to distinguish who's talking.

another amazing adventure!

I liked it even more than the first book! The characters evolve with every new step in this adventure. I loved all the realms they visited and the new beings they encounter. The specter is an interesting twist in the story and keeps you wondering until the end. I really enjoyed this book!