-
Lirael
- Daughter of the Clayr
- Narrated by: Tim Curry
- Length: 14 hrs and 44 mins
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Buy for $18.00
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Listeners also enjoyed...
-
Sabriel
- By: Garth Nix
- Narrated by: Tim Curry
- Length: 10 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Ever since she was a tiny child, Sabriel has lived outside the walls of the Old Kingdom, away from the random power of Free Magic, and away from the Dead who won't stay dead. But now her father, the Mage Abhorsen, is missing, and to find him Sabriel must cross back into that world.
-
-
Enraptured
- By T. HICKS on 06-20-09
By: Garth Nix
-
Shade's Children
- By: Garth Nix
- Narrated by: Siho Ellsmore
- Length: 9 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In a futuristic urban wasteland, evil Overlords have decreed that no human shall live a day past their 14th birthday. On that Sad Birthday, the children of the Dorms are taken to the Meat Factory, where they will be made into creatures whose sole purpose is to kill. The mysterious Shade - once a man, but now more like the machines he fights - recruits the few teenagers who escape into a secret resistance force.
-
-
Narrator sucks
- By Anonymous User on 01-20-22
By: Garth Nix
-
Sir Hereward and Mister Fitz
- Stories of the Witch Knight and the Puppet Sorcerer
- By: Garth Nix
- Narrated by: David Linski
- Length: 8 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Sir Hereward: the only male child of an ancient society of witches. Knight, artillerist, swordsman. Mercenary for hire. Ill-starred lover. Mister Fitz: puppet, sorcerer, loremaster. Practitioner of arcane arts and wielder of sorcerous needles. Sir Hereward and Mister Fitz: godslayers. Agents of the Council of the Treaty for the Safety of the World, charged with the location and removal of listed extra-dimensional entities, more commonly known as gods. Together, they are relentless travelers in a treacherous world of magic, gunpowder, and adventure.
-
-
Enjoyed my time with this fascinating duo
- By Adam Berger on 08-26-23
By: Garth Nix
-
Frogkisser!
- By: Garth Nix
- Narrated by: Marisa Calin
- Length: 11 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Poor Princess Anya. Forced to live with her evil stepmother's new husband, her evil stepstepfather. Plagued with an unfortunate ability to break curses with a magic-assisted kiss. And forced to go on the run when her stepstepfather decides to make the kingdom entirely his own. Aided by a loyal talking dog, a boy thief trapped in the body of a newt, and some extraordinarily mischievous wizards, Anya sets off on a quest that, if she plays it right, will ultimately free her land - and teach her a thing or two.
-
-
Great Book!
- By Jessica on 05-29-17
By: Garth Nix
-
His Dark Materials: Once upon a Time in the North
- By: Philip Pullman
- Narrated by: David Harewood
- Length: 2 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this prequel episode from Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials universe, Lee Scoresby—Texan aeronaut and future friend to Lyra Belacqua—is just 24 years old, and he's recently won his hot-air balloon in a poker game. He finds himself floating North to the windswept Arctic island of Novy Odense, where he and his hare daemon Hester are quickly tangled in a deadly plot involving an oil magnate, a corrupt mayoral candidate, and Lee's longtime nemesis from the Dakota Country, a hired killer with at least twenty murders to his name.
By: Philip Pullman
-
Eragon
- Inheritance, Book 1
- By: Christopher Paolini
- Narrated by: Gerard Doyle
- Length: 16 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Fifteen-year-old Eragon believes he is merely a poor farm boy - until his destiny as a Dragon Rider is revealed. Gifted with only an ancient sword, a loyal dragon, and sage advice from an old storyteller, Eragon is soon swept into a dangerous tapestry of magic, glory, and power. Now, his choices could save - or destroy - the empire.
-
-
Utterly Awesome!
- By Sandra on 11-07-03
-
Sabriel
- By: Garth Nix
- Narrated by: Tim Curry
- Length: 10 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Ever since she was a tiny child, Sabriel has lived outside the walls of the Old Kingdom, away from the random power of Free Magic, and away from the Dead who won't stay dead. But now her father, the Mage Abhorsen, is missing, and to find him Sabriel must cross back into that world.
-
-
Enraptured
- By T. HICKS on 06-20-09
By: Garth Nix
-
Shade's Children
- By: Garth Nix
- Narrated by: Siho Ellsmore
- Length: 9 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In a futuristic urban wasteland, evil Overlords have decreed that no human shall live a day past their 14th birthday. On that Sad Birthday, the children of the Dorms are taken to the Meat Factory, where they will be made into creatures whose sole purpose is to kill. The mysterious Shade - once a man, but now more like the machines he fights - recruits the few teenagers who escape into a secret resistance force.
-
-
Narrator sucks
- By Anonymous User on 01-20-22
By: Garth Nix
-
Sir Hereward and Mister Fitz
- Stories of the Witch Knight and the Puppet Sorcerer
- By: Garth Nix
- Narrated by: David Linski
- Length: 8 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Sir Hereward: the only male child of an ancient society of witches. Knight, artillerist, swordsman. Mercenary for hire. Ill-starred lover. Mister Fitz: puppet, sorcerer, loremaster. Practitioner of arcane arts and wielder of sorcerous needles. Sir Hereward and Mister Fitz: godslayers. Agents of the Council of the Treaty for the Safety of the World, charged with the location and removal of listed extra-dimensional entities, more commonly known as gods. Together, they are relentless travelers in a treacherous world of magic, gunpowder, and adventure.
-
-
Enjoyed my time with this fascinating duo
- By Adam Berger on 08-26-23
By: Garth Nix
-
Frogkisser!
- By: Garth Nix
- Narrated by: Marisa Calin
- Length: 11 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Poor Princess Anya. Forced to live with her evil stepmother's new husband, her evil stepstepfather. Plagued with an unfortunate ability to break curses with a magic-assisted kiss. And forced to go on the run when her stepstepfather decides to make the kingdom entirely his own. Aided by a loyal talking dog, a boy thief trapped in the body of a newt, and some extraordinarily mischievous wizards, Anya sets off on a quest that, if she plays it right, will ultimately free her land - and teach her a thing or two.
-
-
Great Book!
- By Jessica on 05-29-17
By: Garth Nix
-
His Dark Materials: Once upon a Time in the North
- By: Philip Pullman
- Narrated by: David Harewood
- Length: 2 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this prequel episode from Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials universe, Lee Scoresby—Texan aeronaut and future friend to Lyra Belacqua—is just 24 years old, and he's recently won his hot-air balloon in a poker game. He finds himself floating North to the windswept Arctic island of Novy Odense, where he and his hare daemon Hester are quickly tangled in a deadly plot involving an oil magnate, a corrupt mayoral candidate, and Lee's longtime nemesis from the Dakota Country, a hired killer with at least twenty murders to his name.
By: Philip Pullman
-
Eragon
- Inheritance, Book 1
- By: Christopher Paolini
- Narrated by: Gerard Doyle
- Length: 16 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Fifteen-year-old Eragon believes he is merely a poor farm boy - until his destiny as a Dragon Rider is revealed. Gifted with only an ancient sword, a loyal dragon, and sage advice from an old storyteller, Eragon is soon swept into a dangerous tapestry of magic, glory, and power. Now, his choices could save - or destroy - the empire.
-
-
Utterly Awesome!
- By Sandra on 11-07-03
-
Alanna, The First Adventure
- Song of the Lioness, Book 1
- By: Tamora Pierce
- Narrated by: Trini Alvarado
- Length: 5 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Alanna of Trebond is no ordinary girl: her dream is to become a knight. So she disguises herself as a boy and begins training at the palace of King Roald. Alanna quickly finds out that the road to knighthood is not an easy one, but her skills and stubborness help her become friends with Prince Jonathan and his followers. At the same time, Alanna makes an enemy of the prince's uncle, the overly charming Duke Roger.
-
-
my favorite
- By Hallie on 08-19-04
By: Tamora Pierce
-
Angel Mage
- By: Garth Nix
- Narrated by: Kristin Atherton
- Length: 15 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
More than a century has passed since Liliath crept into the empty sarcophagus of Saint Marguerite, fleeing the Fall of Ystara. But she emerges from her magical sleep still beautiful, looking no more than 19, and once again renews her single-minded quest to be united with her lover, Palleniel, the archangel of Ystara. It's a seemingly impossible quest, but Liliath is one of the greatest practitioners of angelic magic to have ever lived, summoning angels and forcing them to do her bidding. Four young people hold her interest. But none of them know just how Liliath plans to use them....
-
-
God I hope this becomes a series
- By thisrogue on 10-17-19
By: Garth Nix
-
Fairy Tale
- By: Stephen King
- Narrated by: Seth Numrich, Stephen King
- Length: 24 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Charlie Reade looks like a regular high school kid, great at baseball and football, a decent student. But he carries a heavy load. His mom was killed in a hit-and-run accident when he was 10, and grief drove his dad to drink. Charlie learned how to take care of himself—and his dad. Then, when Charlie is 17, he meets a dog named Radar and his aging master, Howard Bowditch, a recluse in a big house at the top of a big hill, with a locked shed in the backyard. Sometimes strange sounds emerge from it.
-
-
A Boy and his Dog at the end of the World
- By Victor @ theAudiobookBlog dot com on 09-06-22
By: Stephen King
-
Magic's Pawn
- Valdemar: The Last Herald Mage, Book 1
- By: Mercedes Lackey
- Narrated by: Gregory St. John
- Length: 12 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Magic's Pawn, an ancient age in the history of Valdemar comes to life - an age when the kingdom was ravaged by the ungoverned fury of bandit warlords, ferocious ice dragons, and the wild magic of wizards. A new addition to Lackey's Valdemar kingdom - and her most powerful series to date!
-
-
It's not him, it's me
- By J.A. on 11-21-14
By: Mercedes Lackey
-
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, Book 1
- By: J.K. Rowling
- Narrated by: Jim Dale
- Length: 8 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Harry Potter has never even heard of Hogwarts when the letters start dropping on the doormat at number four, Privet Drive. Addressed in green ink on yellowish parchment with a purple seal, they are swiftly confiscated by his grisly aunt and uncle. Then, on Harry's eleventh birthday, a great beetle-eyed giant of a man called Rubeus Hagrid bursts in with some astonishing news: Harry Potter is a wizard, and he has a place at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. An incredible adventure is about to begin!
-
-
A great reading of the wrong book
- By P on 11-24-15
By: J.K. Rowling
-
Howl's Moving Castle
- By: Diana Wynne Jones
- Narrated by: Jenny Sterlin
- Length: 8 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor Book and ALA Notable and Best of the Year in Young Adult Fiction, Howl's Moving Castle is by acclaimed fantasy writer Diane Wynne Jones and was transformed into an Academy Award nominated animated motion picture by Hayao Miyazaki. On a rare venture out from her step-mother's hat shop, Sophie attracts the attention of a witch, who casts a terrible spell transforming the young girl into an old crone.
-
-
Howl's Moving Castle is Amazing!
- By Elisa on 10-23-09
-
Dealing with Dragons
- By: Patricia C. Wrede
- Narrated by: Words Take Wing Repertory Company of Syracuse, NY
- Length: 4 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Take one bored princess. Make her the seventh daughter in a very proper royal family. Have her run away. Add one powerful, fascinating, dangerous dragon. Princess Cimerone has never met anyone (or anything) like the dragon Kazul. But then, she's never met a witch, a jinn, a death-dealing talking bird or a stone prince either. Princess Cimerone ran away to find some excitement. She's found plenty.
-
-
Clever story, unspeakably awful performance
- By LA in Dallas on 02-15-14
-
The Amulet of Samarkand: The Bartimaeus Trilogy, Book 1
- By: Jonathan Stroud
- Narrated by: Simon Jones
- Length: 13 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Nathaniel is eleven-years-old and a magician's apprentice, learning the traditional art of magic. All is well until he has a life-changing encounter with Simon Lovelace, a magician of unrivaled ruthlessness and ambition. When Lovelace brutally humiliates Nathaniel in public, Nathaniel decides to speed up his education, teaching himself spells far beyond his years. With revenge on his mind, he masters one of the toughest spells of all and summons Bartimaeus, a five-thousand-year-old djinni, to assist him.
-
-
A real treat
- By Eric Shields on 02-08-08
By: Jonathan Stroud
-
The Traitor Baru Cormorant
- By: Seth Dickinson
- Narrated by: Christine Marshall
- Length: 14 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Seth Dickinson's highly anticipated debut The Traitor Baru Cormorant, a young woman from a conquered people tries to transform an empire in this richly imagined geopolitical fantasy. Baru Cormorant believes any price is worth paying to liberate her people - even her soul.
-
-
Read for detail explainations, skip otherwise
- By Nathan on 10-19-15
By: Seth Dickinson
-
A Court of Thorns and Roses
- By: Sarah J. Maas
- Narrated by: Jennifer Ikeda
- Length: 16 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When 19-year-old huntress Feyre kills a wolf in the woods, a beast-like creature arrives to demand retribution for it. Dragged to a treacherous magical land she only knows about from legends, Feyre discovers that her captor is not an animal, but Tamlin - one of the lethal, immortal faeries who once ruled their world.
-
-
Bad ending and Immaturity
- By The Story Adict on 09-13-17
By: Sarah J. Maas
-
The Magicians
- A Novel
- By: Lev Grossman
- Narrated by: Mark Bramhall
- Length: 17 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Quentin Coldwater is brilliant but miserable. A senior in high school, he's still secretly preoccupied with a series of fantasy novels he read as a child, set in a magical land called Fillory. Imagine his surprise when he finds himself unexpectedly admitted to a very secret, very exclusive college of magic in upstate New York, where he receives a thorough and rigorous education in the craft of modern sorcery.
-
-
Not an average book
- By Kyle on 04-30-11
By: Lev Grossman
-
The Nix
- A Novel
- By: Nathan Hill
- Narrated by: Ari Fliakos
- Length: 21 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It’s 2011, and Samuel Andresen-Anderson—college professor, stalled writer—has a Nix of his own: his mother, Faye. He hasn’t seen her in decades, not since she abandoned the family when he was a boy. Now she’s re-appeared, having committed an absurd crime that electrifies the nightly news, beguiles the internet, and inflames a politically divided country. The media paints Faye as a radical hippie with a sordid past, but as far as Samuel knows, his mother was an ordinary girl who married her high-school sweetheart.
-
-
Is There An Editor In The House??
- By Sara on 11-03-16
By: Nathan Hill
Publisher's summary
Nonetheless, it is Lirael in whose hands the fate of the Old Kingdom lies. She must undertake a desperate mission under the growing shadow of an ancient evil, one that opposes the Royal Family, blocks the Sight of the Clayr, and threatens to break the very boundary between Life and Death itself. With only her faithful companion, the Disreputable Dog to help her, Lirael must find the courage to seek her own hidden destiny.
Critic reviews
"A must-listen for fans of the first book, Lirael will also fascinate listeners new to the series." (School Library Journal)
Featured Article: The Best Dark Fantasy Audiobooks
If your favorite genres are fantasy and horror, and you can't get enough of terrifying scenarios with high-stakes action, then you need to explore the winding world of dark fantasy. When the mystic, magic, and incredible world-building of fantasy are combined with elements of grim horror and the supernatural, the result is something truly pause-resistant. But with such a rich variety of titles to choose from, it can be impossible to know where to begin. We've rounded up the best dark fantasy listens that explore chilling settings, morally grey characters, and twisting plots alongside dark magic.
More from the same
Related to this topic
-
Sabriel
- By: Garth Nix
- Narrated by: Tim Curry
- Length: 10 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Ever since she was a tiny child, Sabriel has lived outside the walls of the Old Kingdom, away from the random power of Free Magic, and away from the Dead who won't stay dead. But now her father, the Mage Abhorsen, is missing, and to find him Sabriel must cross back into that world.
-
-
Enraptured
- By T. HICKS on 06-20-09
By: Garth Nix
-
Bloodleaf
- By: Crystal Smith
- Narrated by: Nicola Barber
- Length: 10 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Princess Aurelia is a prisoner to her crown and the heir that nobody wants. Surrounded by spirits and banned from using her blood-magic, Aurelia flees her country after a devastating assassination attempt. To escape her fate, Aurelia disguises herself as a commoner in a new land and discovers a happiness her crown has never allowed. As she forges new bonds and perfects her magic, she begins to fall for a man who is forbidden to rule beside her.
-
-
Not Understanding All the Praise
- By GPChlorine on 08-23-19
By: Crystal Smith
-
The Ninth Rain
- The Winnowing Flame Trilogy, Book 1
- By: Jen Williams
- Narrated by: Jot Davies
- Length: 20 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Jen Williams, acclaimed author of The Copper Cat trilogy, featuring The Copper Promise, The Iron Ghost and The Silver Tide, returns with the first in a blistering new trilogy. The great city of Ebora once glittered with gold. Now its streets are stalked by wolves. Tormalin the Oathless has no taste for sitting around waiting to die while the realm of his storied ancestors falls to pieces - talk about a guilt trip. Better to be amongst the living, where there are taverns full of women and wine.
-
-
Couldn’t put it down!
- By Renae on 09-09-22
By: Jen Williams
-
Water Keep
- Farworld, Volume 1
- By: J. Scott Savage
- Narrated by: Mark Wright
- Length: 11 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Even though thirteen-year-old Marcus Kanenas is confined to a wheelchair, he sees himself as a survivor and a dreamer. In fact, his favorite dream is of a world far away, a world where magic is as common as air, where animals tell jokes, and where trees beg people to pick their fruit. He even has a name for this place - Farworld. When Marcus magically travels to Farworld, he meets Kyja, a girl without magic in a world where spells, charms, and potions are everywhere, and Master Therapass, a master wizard who has kept a secret hidden for 13 years, a secret that could change the fate of two worlds.
-
-
I have been looking for a fix since Brandon Mull
- By james on 12-16-15
By: J. Scott Savage
-
Spellwright
- By: Blake Charlton
- Narrated by: Kevin T. Collins
- Length: 17 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Nicodemus is a young, gifted wizard with a problem. Magic in his world requires the caster to create spells by writing out the text...but he has always been dyslexic and thus has trouble casting even the simplest of spells. And his misspells could prove dangerous, even deadly, should he make a mistake in an important incantation. Yet he has always felt that he is destined to be something more than a failed wizard.
-
-
it was a good book
- By Grant on 02-13-16
By: Blake Charlton
-
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, Book 1
- By: J.K. Rowling
- Narrated by: Jim Dale
- Length: 8 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Harry Potter has never even heard of Hogwarts when the letters start dropping on the doormat at number four, Privet Drive. Addressed in green ink on yellowish parchment with a purple seal, they are swiftly confiscated by his grisly aunt and uncle. Then, on Harry's eleventh birthday, a great beetle-eyed giant of a man called Rubeus Hagrid bursts in with some astonishing news: Harry Potter is a wizard, and he has a place at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. An incredible adventure is about to begin!
-
-
A great reading of the wrong book
- By P on 11-24-15
By: J.K. Rowling
-
Sabriel
- By: Garth Nix
- Narrated by: Tim Curry
- Length: 10 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Ever since she was a tiny child, Sabriel has lived outside the walls of the Old Kingdom, away from the random power of Free Magic, and away from the Dead who won't stay dead. But now her father, the Mage Abhorsen, is missing, and to find him Sabriel must cross back into that world.
-
-
Enraptured
- By T. HICKS on 06-20-09
By: Garth Nix
-
Bloodleaf
- By: Crystal Smith
- Narrated by: Nicola Barber
- Length: 10 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Princess Aurelia is a prisoner to her crown and the heir that nobody wants. Surrounded by spirits and banned from using her blood-magic, Aurelia flees her country after a devastating assassination attempt. To escape her fate, Aurelia disguises herself as a commoner in a new land and discovers a happiness her crown has never allowed. As she forges new bonds and perfects her magic, she begins to fall for a man who is forbidden to rule beside her.
-
-
Not Understanding All the Praise
- By GPChlorine on 08-23-19
By: Crystal Smith
-
The Ninth Rain
- The Winnowing Flame Trilogy, Book 1
- By: Jen Williams
- Narrated by: Jot Davies
- Length: 20 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Jen Williams, acclaimed author of The Copper Cat trilogy, featuring The Copper Promise, The Iron Ghost and The Silver Tide, returns with the first in a blistering new trilogy. The great city of Ebora once glittered with gold. Now its streets are stalked by wolves. Tormalin the Oathless has no taste for sitting around waiting to die while the realm of his storied ancestors falls to pieces - talk about a guilt trip. Better to be amongst the living, where there are taverns full of women and wine.
-
-
Couldn’t put it down!
- By Renae on 09-09-22
By: Jen Williams
-
Water Keep
- Farworld, Volume 1
- By: J. Scott Savage
- Narrated by: Mark Wright
- Length: 11 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Even though thirteen-year-old Marcus Kanenas is confined to a wheelchair, he sees himself as a survivor and a dreamer. In fact, his favorite dream is of a world far away, a world where magic is as common as air, where animals tell jokes, and where trees beg people to pick their fruit. He even has a name for this place - Farworld. When Marcus magically travels to Farworld, he meets Kyja, a girl without magic in a world where spells, charms, and potions are everywhere, and Master Therapass, a master wizard who has kept a secret hidden for 13 years, a secret that could change the fate of two worlds.
-
-
I have been looking for a fix since Brandon Mull
- By james on 12-16-15
By: J. Scott Savage
-
Spellwright
- By: Blake Charlton
- Narrated by: Kevin T. Collins
- Length: 17 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Nicodemus is a young, gifted wizard with a problem. Magic in his world requires the caster to create spells by writing out the text...but he has always been dyslexic and thus has trouble casting even the simplest of spells. And his misspells could prove dangerous, even deadly, should he make a mistake in an important incantation. Yet he has always felt that he is destined to be something more than a failed wizard.
-
-
it was a good book
- By Grant on 02-13-16
By: Blake Charlton
-
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, Book 1
- By: J.K. Rowling
- Narrated by: Jim Dale
- Length: 8 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Harry Potter has never even heard of Hogwarts when the letters start dropping on the doormat at number four, Privet Drive. Addressed in green ink on yellowish parchment with a purple seal, they are swiftly confiscated by his grisly aunt and uncle. Then, on Harry's eleventh birthday, a great beetle-eyed giant of a man called Rubeus Hagrid bursts in with some astonishing news: Harry Potter is a wizard, and he has a place at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. An incredible adventure is about to begin!
-
-
A great reading of the wrong book
- By P on 11-24-15
By: J.K. Rowling
-
A Shadow on the Glass
- The View From the Mirror Quartet, Book 1
- By: Ian Irvine
- Narrated by: Grant Cartwright
- Length: 21 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Once there were three worlds, each with their own human species. Then, fleeing out of the void came a fourth species, the Charon. Desperate, on the edge of extinction, they changed the balance between the worlds forever. Karan, a sensitive with a troubled heritage, is forced to steal an ancient relic in repayment of a debt. It turns out to be the Mirror of Aachan, a twisted, deceitful thing that remembers everything it has ever seen.
-
-
Not quite good enough.
- By Scott S. on 03-13-12
By: Ian Irvine
-
Moonburner
- By: Claire Luana
- Narrated by: Emma Lysy
- Length: 9 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When 17-year-old Kai is exposed as a female sorceress, a moonburner, she knows the punishment is death. Despite the odds against her, Kai escapes her fate and undertakes a harrowing journey to a land where moonburners are revered and trained as warriors. But the moonburner citadel is not the place of refuge and learning that Kai imagined.
-
-
Excellent!!
- By Natalie @ ABookLoversLife on 11-07-16
By: Claire Luana
-
The Book of Magic
- By: Gardner Dozois - editor, Scott Lynch, Elizabeth Bear, and others
- Narrated by: Karissa Vacker, Sile Bermingham, Maxwell Caulfield, and others
- Length: 24 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Hot on the heels of Gardner Dozois's acclaimed anthology The Book of Swords comes this companion volume devoted to magic. How could it be otherwise? For every Frodo, there is a Gandalf... and a Saruman. For every Dorothy, a Glinda... and a Wicked Witch of the West. What would Harry Potter be without Albus Dumbledore... and Severus Snape? Figures of wisdom and power, possessing arcane, often forbidden knowledge, wizards and sorcerers are shaped - or misshaped - by the potent magic they seek to wield.
-
-
Very Good, With One Objection
- By Kindle Customer on 05-05-20
By: Gardner Dozois - editor, and others
-
Autumn Castle
- By: Kim Wilkins
- Narrated by: Richard Aspel
- Length: 19 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Berlin in autumn: Christine Starlight lives in an artists' colony with her lover Jude, whose patience and beauty have eased her battle with chronic pain. But Christine begins to be haunted by childhood recollections of a little girl's disappearance and the flapping of a blackbird's wings. Then her world is rocked by the return of a childhood friend... Mayfridh rules over a land where a wolf is the queen's counsellor, fate turns on the fall of an autumn leaf and mortals feel no pain.
-
-
Great Story, Horrible Narration
- By KathyDB on 03-24-15
By: Kim Wilkins
-
Rhapsody
- Child of Blood
- By: Elizabeth Haydon
- Narrated by: Kevin T. Collins
- Length: 30 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Rhapsody is a woman, a singer of some talent who is swept up into events of world-shattering import. On the run from an old romantic interest who won't take no for an answer, Rhapsody literally bumps into a couple of shady characters: half breeds who come to her rescue in the nick of time. Only the rescue turns into an abduction, and Rhapsody soon finds herself dragged along on an epic voyage--one that spans centuries and ranges across a wonder-filled fantasy world.
-
-
Good story! Terrible narration.
- By CharmY2K on 04-30-15
By: Elizabeth Haydon
-
The Oversight
- By: Charlie Fletcher
- Narrated by: Simon Prebble
- Length: 14 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Once there were hundreds of members of the Oversight, the brave souls who guard the borders between the mundane and the magic. Now there are only five. When a vagabond brings a screaming girl to the Oversight's London headquarters, she could answer their hopes for new recruit, or she could be the instrument of their downfall.
-
-
Fantastic start to a fantasy series
- By jessica on 06-01-14
By: Charlie Fletcher
-
The Adventurers Guild
- The Adventurers Guild Trilogy, Book 1
- By: Zack Loran Clark, Nick Eliopulos
- Narrated by: Johnny Heller
- Length: 6 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In one of the last cities standing after the world fell to monsters, best friends Zed Kagari and Brock Dunderfel have high hopes for the future. Zed desperately wishes to join the ranks of the Mages Guild, where his status as Freestone's only half-elf might finally be an asset. Brock, the roguishly handsome son of merchants, is confident he'll be welcomed into the ranks of the Merchants Guild. But just as it seems the boys' dreams have come true, their lives take a startling turn...and they find themselves members of the perilous Adventurers Guild.
-
-
Well written and well read.
- By Reviewer on 05-22-19
By: Zack Loran Clark, and others
-
The Infernal City
- Elder Scrolls Series #1
- By: Greg Keyes
- Narrated by: Michael Page
- Length: 8 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Four decades after the Oblivion Crisis, Tamriel is threatened anew by an ancient and all-consuming evil. It is Umbriel, a floating city that casts a terrifying shadow-for wherever it falls, people die and rise again. And it is in Umbriel's shadow that a great adventure begins and a group of unlikely heroes meet. A legendary prince with a secret. A spy on the trail of a vast conspiracy. A mage obsessed with his desire for revenge. And Annaïg, a young girl in whose hands the fate of Tamriel may rest.
-
-
Umbriel is coming
- By Brenden Zapp on 02-01-13
By: Greg Keyes
-
The Fate's Forsaken Omnibus
- Books 1-2 and Prequel Novella
- By: Shae Ford
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 37 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Books 1, 2, and the prequel novella of the Fate's Forsaken series. The series follows the adventures of Kael: a young man who is thrust from his home in the Unforgivable Mountains and onto a hero's path. The journey is long, the battles are fierce - nearly all of his companions are outlaws. And Kael's rotten bad luck seems to make everything worse. This is his story.
-
-
Fantasy with light romance
- By Skipper on 09-23-15
By: Shae Ford
-
The Thickety
- A Path Begins
- By: J. A. White
- Narrated by: Susan Duerden
- Length: 8 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Kara Westfall was six years old, her mother was convicted of the worst of all crimes: Witchcraft. Years later, Kara and her little brother, Taff, are still shunned by the people of their village, who believe that nothing is more evil than magic…except, perhaps, the mysterious forest that covers nearly the entire island. It has many names, this place. Sometimes it is called the Dark Wood, or Sordyr's Realm. But mostly it's called the Thickety.
-
-
Anti-witch cult
- By Leanna on 05-07-15
By: J. A. White
-
The Oremere Chronicles Omnibus
- The Complete Series
- By: Helen Scheuerer
- Narrated by: Angele Masters
- Length: 52 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
At 16, Bleak lost the only person she cared for when her mentor died at sea. Now 19, she still misses him terribly. She needs him more than ever. That’s why Bleak drinks. But the haze of the mead and wine has hidden something from her. Her powers have grown more than she knows. Others have noticed. When the king sends his top commander to take her, Bleak is too hungover to resist. But he isn’t the only one who needs her for their plans. What does he want?
-
-
“Whut?”
- By Anonymous User on 02-08-23
By: Helen Scheuerer
-
The Deathless
- The Deathless Trilogy, Book 1
- By: Peter Newman
- Narrated by: Emma Newman
- Length: 14 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the endless forests of the Wild, humanity scratches a living by the side of the great Godroads, paths of crystal that provide safe passage and hold back the infernal tide. Creatures lurk within the trees, watching, and plucking those who stray too far from safety. In crystal castles held aloft on magical currents, seven timeless royal families reign, protecting humanity from the spread of the Wild and its demons. Born and reborn into flawless bodies, the Deathless are as immortal as the precious stones from which they take their names. For generations a fragile balance has held.
-
-
Not my thing but not bad for what it is
- By Nora on 10-26-20
By: Peter Newman
People who viewed this also viewed...
-
Sabriel
- By: Garth Nix
- Narrated by: Tim Curry
- Length: 10 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Ever since she was a tiny child, Sabriel has lived outside the walls of the Old Kingdom, away from the random power of Free Magic, and away from the Dead who won't stay dead. But now her father, the Mage Abhorsen, is missing, and to find him Sabriel must cross back into that world.
-
-
Enraptured
- By T. HICKS on 06-20-09
By: Garth Nix
-
Shade's Children
- By: Garth Nix
- Narrated by: Siho Ellsmore
- Length: 9 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In a futuristic urban wasteland, evil Overlords have decreed that no human shall live a day past their 14th birthday. On that Sad Birthday, the children of the Dorms are taken to the Meat Factory, where they will be made into creatures whose sole purpose is to kill. The mysterious Shade - once a man, but now more like the machines he fights - recruits the few teenagers who escape into a secret resistance force.
-
-
Narrator sucks
- By Anonymous User on 01-20-22
By: Garth Nix
-
Angel Mage
- By: Garth Nix
- Narrated by: Kristin Atherton
- Length: 15 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
More than a century has passed since Liliath crept into the empty sarcophagus of Saint Marguerite, fleeing the Fall of Ystara. But she emerges from her magical sleep still beautiful, looking no more than 19, and once again renews her single-minded quest to be united with her lover, Palleniel, the archangel of Ystara. It's a seemingly impossible quest, but Liliath is one of the greatest practitioners of angelic magic to have ever lived, summoning angels and forcing them to do her bidding. Four young people hold her interest. But none of them know just how Liliath plans to use them....
-
-
God I hope this becomes a series
- By thisrogue on 10-17-19
By: Garth Nix
-
Sir Hereward and Mister Fitz
- Stories of the Witch Knight and the Puppet Sorcerer
- By: Garth Nix
- Narrated by: David Linski
- Length: 8 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Sir Hereward: the only male child of an ancient society of witches. Knight, artillerist, swordsman. Mercenary for hire. Ill-starred lover. Mister Fitz: puppet, sorcerer, loremaster. Practitioner of arcane arts and wielder of sorcerous needles. Sir Hereward and Mister Fitz: godslayers. Agents of the Council of the Treaty for the Safety of the World, charged with the location and removal of listed extra-dimensional entities, more commonly known as gods. Together, they are relentless travelers in a treacherous world of magic, gunpowder, and adventure.
-
-
Enjoyed my time with this fascinating duo
- By Adam Berger on 08-26-23
By: Garth Nix
-
The Music of the Spheres
- By: Elizabeth Redfern
- Narrated by: Tim Curry
- Length: 7 hrs and 12 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
With The Music of the Spheres, Elizabeth Redfern emerges as an evocative and elegant writer of startling power, her gifts for characterization, atmosphere, narrative, and rich moral drama marking her as a new star in her own right.
-
-
The little know world of emigre London, circa 1795
- By Marilee on 06-19-03
-
The Island of the Day Before
- By: Umberto Eco, William Weaver - translator
- Narrated by: Tim Curry
- Length: 6 hrs and 5 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 1643, in the still un-chartered waters of the South Seas, Roberto della Griva survives the wreck of his ship, the Amaryllis, only to find himself a castaway on another ship, the mysteriously deserted Daphne. Why is she deserted? Or is someone still on board? Get ready for a romance of navigation and science in the mid-17th century as told by the internationally acclaimed Umberto Eco.
-
-
Puzzling and entrancing
- By Gary on 01-03-04
By: Umberto Eco, and others
-
Sabriel
- By: Garth Nix
- Narrated by: Tim Curry
- Length: 10 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Ever since she was a tiny child, Sabriel has lived outside the walls of the Old Kingdom, away from the random power of Free Magic, and away from the Dead who won't stay dead. But now her father, the Mage Abhorsen, is missing, and to find him Sabriel must cross back into that world.
-
-
Enraptured
- By T. HICKS on 06-20-09
By: Garth Nix
-
Shade's Children
- By: Garth Nix
- Narrated by: Siho Ellsmore
- Length: 9 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In a futuristic urban wasteland, evil Overlords have decreed that no human shall live a day past their 14th birthday. On that Sad Birthday, the children of the Dorms are taken to the Meat Factory, where they will be made into creatures whose sole purpose is to kill. The mysterious Shade - once a man, but now more like the machines he fights - recruits the few teenagers who escape into a secret resistance force.
-
-
Narrator sucks
- By Anonymous User on 01-20-22
By: Garth Nix
-
Angel Mage
- By: Garth Nix
- Narrated by: Kristin Atherton
- Length: 15 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
More than a century has passed since Liliath crept into the empty sarcophagus of Saint Marguerite, fleeing the Fall of Ystara. But she emerges from her magical sleep still beautiful, looking no more than 19, and once again renews her single-minded quest to be united with her lover, Palleniel, the archangel of Ystara. It's a seemingly impossible quest, but Liliath is one of the greatest practitioners of angelic magic to have ever lived, summoning angels and forcing them to do her bidding. Four young people hold her interest. But none of them know just how Liliath plans to use them....
-
-
God I hope this becomes a series
- By thisrogue on 10-17-19
By: Garth Nix
-
Sir Hereward and Mister Fitz
- Stories of the Witch Knight and the Puppet Sorcerer
- By: Garth Nix
- Narrated by: David Linski
- Length: 8 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Sir Hereward: the only male child of an ancient society of witches. Knight, artillerist, swordsman. Mercenary for hire. Ill-starred lover. Mister Fitz: puppet, sorcerer, loremaster. Practitioner of arcane arts and wielder of sorcerous needles. Sir Hereward and Mister Fitz: godslayers. Agents of the Council of the Treaty for the Safety of the World, charged with the location and removal of listed extra-dimensional entities, more commonly known as gods. Together, they are relentless travelers in a treacherous world of magic, gunpowder, and adventure.
-
-
Enjoyed my time with this fascinating duo
- By Adam Berger on 08-26-23
By: Garth Nix
-
The Music of the Spheres
- By: Elizabeth Redfern
- Narrated by: Tim Curry
- Length: 7 hrs and 12 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
With The Music of the Spheres, Elizabeth Redfern emerges as an evocative and elegant writer of startling power, her gifts for characterization, atmosphere, narrative, and rich moral drama marking her as a new star in her own right.
-
-
The little know world of emigre London, circa 1795
- By Marilee on 06-19-03
-
The Island of the Day Before
- By: Umberto Eco, William Weaver - translator
- Narrated by: Tim Curry
- Length: 6 hrs and 5 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 1643, in the still un-chartered waters of the South Seas, Roberto della Griva survives the wreck of his ship, the Amaryllis, only to find himself a castaway on another ship, the mysteriously deserted Daphne. Why is she deserted? Or is someone still on board? Get ready for a romance of navigation and science in the mid-17th century as told by the internationally acclaimed Umberto Eco.
-
-
Puzzling and entrancing
- By Gary on 01-03-04
By: Umberto Eco, and others
-
You Should See Me in a Crown
- By: Leah Johnson
- Narrated by: Alaska Jackson
- Length: 7 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Liz Lighty has always believed she’s too black, too poor, too awkward to shine in her small Midwestern town. But it’s okay - Liz has a plan that will get her out of Campbell, Indiana: attend the uber-elite Pennington College, play in their world-famous orchestra, and become a doctor. But when the financial aid she was counting on unexpectedly falls through, Liz’s plans come crashing down...until she’s reminded of her school’s scholarship for prom king and queen.
-
-
Here - just take my money!
- By Valkyrie on 06-18-20
By: Leah Johnson
-
Have Sword, Will Travel
- By: Garth Nix, Sean Williams
- Narrated by: Marisa Calin
- Length: 7 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It is strange enough that Odo and Eleanor have stumbled upon a sword in a dried-up river outside their village. It is even stranger that Odo is able to remove it from where it's buried. And it's remarkably strange when the sword starts to talk. Odo and Eleanor have unearthed Biter, a famous fighter from earlier times. By finding Biter, Odo instantly becomes a knight - a role he is exquisitely unsuited for. Eleanor, however, would make a perfect knight - but she's not the one with the sword.
-
-
Another solid title
- By Anonymous User on 08-24-18
By: Garth Nix, and others
-
Journey to the Center of the Earth: A Signature Performance by Tim Curry
- By: Jules Verne
- Narrated by: Tim Curry
- Length: 8 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A Signature Performance: Tim Curry, the source of our inspiration, returns – this time, he captures the quirky enthusiasm of this goofily visionary adventure.
-
-
Feels like Jules Verne
- By Ramon on 03-10-11
By: Jules Verne
-
The Sharing Knife, Volume 1
- Beguilement
- By: Lois McMaster Bujold
- Narrated by: Bernadette Dunne
- Length: 11 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Young, pregnant Fawn Bluefield has just fled her family's farm to the city of Glassforge, where she encounters a patrol of the enigmatic soldier-sorcerers known as Lakewalkers. Fawn has heard stories about the Lakewalkers, who are wandering necromancers with no permanent homes and no possessions except the clothes they wear and the mysterious knives they carry. What she does not know is that the Lakewalkers are engaged in a perilous campaign against inhuman and immortal magical entities known as "malices".
-
-
Not really my thing
- By Eric C. Zawadzki on 08-27-09
-
Dracula [Audible Edition]
- By: Bram Stoker
- Narrated by: Alan Cumming, Tim Curry, Simon Vance, and others
- Length: 15 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The modern audience hasn't had a chance to truly appreciate the unknowing dread that readers would have felt when reading Bram Stoker's original 1897 manuscript. Most modern productions employ campiness or sound effects to try to bring back that gothic tension, but we've tried something different. By returning to Stoker's original storytelling structure - a series of letters and journal entries voiced by Jonathan Harker, Dr. Van Helsing, and other characters - with an all-star cast of narrators, we've sought to recapture its originally intended horror and power.
-
-
IS THAT NOT SO?
- By Jim "The Impatient" on 11-05-15
By: Bram Stoker
-
Master of Sorrows
- The Silent Gods, Book 1
- By: Justin Travis Call
- Narrated by: Peter Kenny
- Length: 19 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Academy of Chaenbalu has stood against magic for centuries. Hidden from the world, acting from the shadows, it trains its students to detect and retrieve magic artifacts, which it jealously guards from the misuse of others. Because magic is dangerous: Something that heals can also harm, and a power that aids one person may destroy another. Of the academy’s many students, only the most skilled can become Avatars - warrior thieves, capable of infiltrating the most heavily guarded vaults - and only the most determined can be trusted to resist the lure of magic.
-
-
Something about a call to "Arms"
- By Rocky Davies on 03-05-20
-
Wild Magic
- The Immortals, Book 1
- By: Tamora Pierce
- Narrated by: Tamora Pierce
- Length: 7 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Daine comes down from the mountains, she carries with her two things: a dark secret about her own past, and a strangely powerful magic that even she doesn't understand.
-
-
Doesn't do the book justice.
- By S. L. Garner on 04-07-05
By: Tamora Pierce
-
Falling Free
- Miles Vorsokigan, Book 4
- By: Lois McMaster Bujold
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 8 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Leo Graf was just your average highly efficient engineer: mind your own business, fix what's wrong, and move on to the next job. But all that changed on his assignment to the Cay Habitat, where a group of humanoids had been secretly, commercially bioengineered for working in free fall. Could he just stand there and allow the exploitation of hundreds of helpless children merely to enhance the bottom line of a heartless mega-corporation?
-
-
Don't read this one first
- By Carol on 02-20-13
-
Firekeeper's Daughter
- By: Angeline Boulley
- Narrated by: Isabella Star LaBlanc
- Length: 14 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Eighteen-year-old Daunis Fontaine has never quite fit in, both in her hometown and on the nearby Ojibwe reservation. She dreams of a fresh start at college, but when family tragedy strikes, Daunis puts her future on hold to look after her fragile mother. The only bright spot is meeting Jamie, the charming new recruit on her brother Levi’s hockey team. Yet even as Daunis falls for Jamie, she senses the dashing hockey star is hiding something. Everything comes to light when Daunis witnesses a shocking murder, thrusting her into an FBI investigation of a lethal new drug.
-
-
Che Meegwetch
- By Nix on 03-18-21
By: Angeline Boulley
-
Drive
- An Expanse Short Story
- By: James S. A. Corey
- Narrated by: Jefferson Mays
- Length: 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A short story set in the universe of James S. A. Corey's NYT best-selling Expanse series. Now a Prime Original series. This story will be available in the complete Expanse story collection, Memory’s Legion.
-
-
Fun little short story
- By Carson on 12-28-21
-
David Copperfield
- By: Charles Dickens
- Narrated by: Richard Armitage
- Length: 36 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Between his work on the 2014 Audible Audiobook of the Year, Hamlet, Prince of Denmark: A Novel, and his performance of Classic Love Poems, narrator Richard Armitage ( The Hobbit, Hannibal) has quickly become a listener favorite. Now, in this defining performance of Charles Dickens' classic David Copperfield, Armitage lends his unique voice and interpretation, truly inhabiting each character and bringing real energy to the life of one of Dickens' most famous characters.
-
-
A PERFECT narration of an English classic!
- By Wayne on 09-03-17
By: Charles Dickens
-
The Graveyard Book
- By: Neil Gaiman
- Narrated by: Neil Gaiman
- Length: 7 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Nobody Owens is an unusual boy who inhabits an unusual place - he's the only living resident of a graveyard. Raised from infancy by the ghosts, werewolves, and other cemetery denizens, Bod has learned the antiquated customs of his guardians' time as well as their ghostly teachings - such as the ability to Fade so mere mortals cannot see him.
-
-
Masterful Fantasy for the Jaded Heart
- By Guillermo on 10-12-09
By: Neil Gaiman
What listeners say about Lirael
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Jefferson
- 04-18-13
Charter Knows, a Library Can Be a Dangerous Place
In Garth Nix' Lirael: Daughter of the Clayr (2001), the second novel in his Abhorsen trilogy, Touchstone and Sabriel are now the King and Abhorsen (anti-necromancer) of the Old Kingdom lying north of the Wall that separates their land of magic and pesky undead from the world of machines and countries in conflict (reminiscent of our early 20th century world). And things are not well in their Old Kingdom. An unknown "Enemy" is manipulating Necromancers into attacking villages with bands of undead "Hands" and "Shadowhands," while at Red Lake something ominous is happening that even the clairvoyant women of the Clayr are unable to see.
All fourteen-year-old Lirael wants is to gain the Sight like the other girls and women of the Clayr. Her black hair and brown eyes already mark her as too different the others, while her father is unknown and her mother abandoned her when she was a little girl. And each year on her birthday Lirael has grown older without gaining the Sight while increasingly younger girls have come into their own. Luckily, she is given a job as Third-Assistant Librarian in the nautilus shell-like ancient library of the Clayr, which suits the increasingly anti-social and magically curious girl. But poor Sameth, the teenage son of Touchstone and Sabriel, is pulled out of his elite boarding school south of the Wall and returned to the Palace at Bellisaere, where everyone expects him to train to succeed Sabriel as Abhorsen, when he is physically and mentally unable to even touch the Book of the Dead. Instead, he prefers fabricating magical "toys," like a nifty flying, mosquito-eating frog. Both young people are good young adult fantasy Ugly Ducklings: they believe that they are flawed and cannot fit in and yet are really gifted in ways destined to become appreciated.
Despite his young protagonists' morose moods, Nix writes his novel with humor and imagination. He has carefully constructed his magical world, in which most of the Free Magic that randomly pulses everywhere is ordered by the Charter, a seemingly infinite set of marks a bit like Chinese characters which adepts write on paper or in the air to make magic. Necromancers bypass the Charter to tap into Free Magic to do unnatural things like transform dead people into cannon fodder minions, while Charter Mages access it to protect the Kingdom, and the sole Abhorsen walks into Death (leaving his or her frosty body behind in the world) and then rings any of a set of seven bells to force the undead back down through the gates set in the river of Death till they reach their proper state.
Nix has great fun with that setting, imagining various nearly sentient magical books, constructs, sendings, spells, and artifacts. The most enjoyable such magical things in the novel are a pair of droll and mysterious talking "pets," the hungry, spunky, and loving Disreputable Dog, and the sarcastic, cynical, and sleepy white feline Mogget, both of whom are much more than they appear to be. The great thing about it all is that Nix often describes the magic with magical prose, vivid, sensual, and sublime, to evoke a sense of wonder, beauty, and terror (which are nearly absent from YA magical fantasy like the Harry Potter series).
Take, for example, the time Lirael loses control of a spell and "She tried to scream, but no sound came out, only Charter marks that leapt from her mouth towards the golden radiance. Charter marks continued to fly from her fingers, too, and swam in her eyes, spilling down inside her tears, which turned to steam as they fell." Even when nothing magical is happening, Nix may summon magic, as when Lirael is exploring the Library and finds herself in "a vast chamber, bigger even than the Great Hall. Charter marks as bright as the sun shone in the distant ceiling, hundreds of feet above. A huge oak tree filled the center of the room, in full summer leaf, its spreading branches shading a serpentine pool. And everywhere, throughout the cavern, there were flowers. Red flowers. Lirael bent down and picked one, uncertain if it was some sort of illusion. But it was real enough. She felt no magic, just the crisp stalk under her fingers. A red daisy, in full bloom."
And at his best, Nix writes suspenseful scenes that develop his world and characters and excite the reader, as when Lirael meets a stilken (a woman-shaped Free Magic entity with silver eyes and arms as long as her legs ending in the claws of a mantis), or when his heroes sail beneath a mile-wide bridge-city and are targeted by a crossbow bolt shooting assassin and a fiery Free Magic and swine-flesh construct masquerading as human.
When I read Lirael several years ago, I found it overlong and burdened by mopey characters, but I thoroughly enjoyed every bit of the audiobook version, largely thanks to the virtuoso reading of Tim Curry. He deftly balances on the Edge of Too Much, reading with infectious relish lines by foul necromancers gloating over how they're about to kill you or Disreputable mongrels getting ready to sink their teeth into your calf to snap you out of your funk or snarky magical cats asking for fish after just failing to help save your skin. And isn't there a hint of Dr. Frank N. Furter in his Mogget?
Sabriel is a fresher and more self-contained book, whereas Lirael really makes part one of a duology completed by the third volume in the "trilogy," Abhorsen. But fans of imaginative and dark young adult magical fantasy and of Tim Curry should enjoy this book.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
15 people found this helpful
-
Overall
- Cher R. Eaves
- 10-07-07
Stands alone
This thread of the story is close enough to Sabriel to be an old friend, but far enough to be new and interesting. Excellent as sequels go, Lireal doesn't burden the returning reader with reruns of Sabriel. It's a great stand-alone story, too. Tim Curry is the kind of narrator who could enthrall by reading a cereal box.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
12 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Arwen
- 07-01-12
Artfully crafted coming-of-age fantasy
It was delightful to revisit the series that my twelve-year-old self counted as my absolute favorite of all time. I cannot think of a more talented or appropriate narrator for this book than Tim Curry. Between the excellent prose and Curry's performance, this familiar coming-of-age tale took on a new level of greatness. What I love most about Lireal is Nix's ability to portray a strong, but fallible human being who goes through the same insecurities that we all face while taking on impossible odds. The world of fantasy constructed by Nix is further explored and illuminated in this novel, and if anything, this sequel is better than its predecessor, Sabriel, which is also excellent. I would recommend it to readers of all ages because this book, and series, is one of the most artfully crafted, enthralling, and lingering fantasies I've ever encountered.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
5 people found this helpful
-
Overall
- Doane
- 04-06-07
Good story -- narrative drags in places
Although I enjoyed the story -- a little disappointing that it wasn't a direct follow-on to the first story, but interesting none the less -- it almost seems like the author was feeling depressed, even despairing, while writing this book. A bit too much wallowing in self pity by the main characters for my taste. I've bought the next book, since I'm interested in the story, but I'm hoping there will be less slogging through morasses of "how horrible it all is! whatever will I do?" from the protagonists. I wanted to tell them to "snap out of it!" and to tell the narrator to just skip a few dozen paragraphs and get on with it. The first time I've wished for an abridged version of anything!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
4 people found this helpful
-
Overall
- Alison
- 09-08-07
Read Sabriel first!
Lirael takes too long to grow the character into adulthood. But its a necessary read betwewen Sabriel and Abhorsen. Listen and move on - Abhorssen is better - moves faster and all the plot lines started here resolve.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
3 people found this helpful
-
Overall
- Nathan
- 11-29-06
As good as the first!
If you read or listened to Sabriel (the first of this series), I would heartily reccomend that you listen to this book as well. The story is not as fast paced as the first, but the characters come alive during the course of the story. Sam and Lirael are both flawed, but that is what makes them interesting and real.
The ending will certainly leave you wanted more, but luckily the next book in line is waiting for you to download. Ah...The information age when everything you want can be instantly granted for you. Happy Listening.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
3 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Kate M.
- 10-16-19
Flawless narration, mediocre story.
This was nowhere near as good as Sabriel. The characters aren't nearly as compelling, although I liked some more than others.
My favorite portions were the explorations by Lirael and the Disreputable Dog.
It may be awhile before I continue with this series...
3 stars.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Christopher
- 12-10-12
Dissapointment
What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?
If it where good? The story was boring the character I did not care about. I just couldn't get into this series. I have over 300 audio books and heard good things about Garth Nix but this series is just not good.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
- Katelyn
- 05-16-09
Captivating
I loved every minute of this book. The characters were just jumping out at me and as crazy as it sounds even 'Dog' was believable, but I guess that is just one of Garth Nix's gifts. He has an amazing way of making magical things seem absolutely lifelike. If you liked the first book 'Sabriel', I urge you to continue with the trilogy and give this one a shot.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
- Tanya
- 12-21-06
A Great Sequel
If you liked "Sabriel" then "Lireal" is an absolute must. And you may as well download the series finale "Abhorsen" while you're at it because you won't be able to walk away.
Garth Nix delivers another winner and, while I normally don't like it when a man narrates a female point-of-view, I barely notice when it's the remarkable Tim Curry!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
2 people found this helpful