Magic Slays (Dramatized Adaptation)

Kate Daniels, Book 5

By: Ilona Andrews

Narrated by: full cast, Chris Davenport, Ken Jackson, Ryan Haugen, Nora Sofyan, Michael Glenn, Emlyn McFarland, Kelly Baskin, Robb Moreira, Triya Leong, Anthony Palmini, Karen Novack

Length: 10 hrs and 35 mins

Publisher's summary

Kate Daniels may have quit the Order of Knights of Merciful Aid, but she’s still knee-deep in paranormal problems. Or she would be if she could get someone to hire her. Starting her own business has been more challenging than she thought it would be—now that the Order is disparaging her good name. Plus, many potential clients are afraid of getting on the bad side of the Beast Lord, who just happens to be Kate’s mate.

So when Atlanta’s premier Master of the Dead calls to ask for help with a vampire on the loose, Kate leaps at the chance of some paying work. But it turns out that this is not an isolated incident, and Kate needs to get to the bottom of it—fast, or the city and everyone dear to her may pay the ultimate price...

This dramatized audiobook also includes 1 short story: Magic Tests.

Performed by Nora Sofyan, Michael Glenn, Emlyn McFarland, Kelly Baskin, Robb Moreira, Triya Leong, Anthony Palmini, Karen Novack, Chris Davenport, Ken Jackson, Ryan Haugen, Christopher Walker, Rayner Gabriel, Jeri J. Marshall, Troy Allan, Alejandro Ruiz, Tony Penny, Amanda Forstrom, KenYatta Rogers, David Cui Cui, Marni Penning, Yasmin Tuazon, Eric Messner, Elena Anderson, K'lai Rivera, Bradley Foster Smith, Wayne LeGette, Mike Ciporkin, Taylor Coan, Christopher Williams, Sam Intrater, Andrew James Spooner, Mike Carnes, Michael John Casey, Stephon Walker, Jon Vertullo, Wyn Delano, Nhea Durousseau, Dawn Ursula, James Konicek, Richard Rohan, and Matthew Pauli.

©2011 Ilona Andrews (P)2024 Graphic Audio LLC

Slow burn and kind of depressing until last 2 hrs

Given the huge cast, I like the graphic audio version better than the traditional, single narrator version. The graphic audio cuts 4 hours in length, another plus. The only little issue I had was in the way several of the narrators pronounced ‘volve’ as if it was ‘wolv’ which was hard to separate from ‘wolf’…and for a series with wolves and werewolves, the addition of volves got very confusing.

“Yup, Atlanta was burning. again.”
Prior to this book, we got to know Kate, the Pack, and the Vampire Navigators. Book 5 exponentially expands the Kate Daniels world. It adds several new groups, chief among them the witches and volves. We also delve into some of the were-groups, like the rats and the baudas (more Aunt Bea and the introduction of Ascanio). Finally, we get more backstory about Kate’s past, which gets darker in ways that made me ache for her. This world building meant the story tended to drag a bit, detouring often into series spanning plot or character development, or downer topics like Andrea’s break with the Order or Kate’s family betrayals. Boo.

The book’s main story is about an anti-magic conspiracy threat. The plot riffs on modern day themes of fanaticism and terrorism. Here too, the plot is a downer, where many innocents suffer and we see the horrible things humans do to each other out of sheer stupidity.

As much as I enjoy the interplay of familiar characters, all that groundwork and darkness numbed me.
I was relieved when the pieces came together and The Conclave joined forces to face down Armageddon. The Base attack, and the contributions of each group’s special fighting skills, were thrilling. The climactic battle was phenomenal. This book is also an important one for the series arc, so even though it wasn’t as fast paced or fun as I prefer, it was still a solid story.
And it has one of my all time favorite lines: “This … is the hand that slapped Aunt Bea!”

Story, Performance! Everything ❤️

I have read this series countless times and I absolutely adore it! The graphic audio version is simply amazing. I love the voices and the narration by Nora Sofyan. Michael Glenn as Curran is perfect in his role. I can't wait for the rest of the series to be released soon!⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Amazing!!

The story is great. The narration is great. This audiobook is amazing! This book has fantastic world building, character development, and plot. There is action, romance, and lots of witty dialogue.

This story is a continuation of the Kate Daniels series. So no major spoilers- you should read the whole series! Actually you should read everything written by Ilona Andrews because they have a gift for creating characters I want to know and worlds that I want to live in.
Kate and Curran continue to navigate being a couple, plus all of the challenges they face because of who each is individually. I was happy to see favorite old side characters and meet new ones.

The narration is fantastic! I am somewhat obsessed with the Graphic Audio productions. But the narrators themselves are so talented! The only downside to multicast narration is that have to work harder to figure out the names of the narrators so I can find other audiobooks they have narrated.

Highly recommend!!

Great version, no chapters

I love the Graphic Audio performances of the Kate Daniels series but this one doesn't have chapters available on Audible, which makes it difficult to navigate. The other books in the series have it so I'm thinking it's a technical error.
Otherwise I'm super happy with this book and the format of a full cast with sound effects and music has ruined me for traditional audiobooks. Plus I love this series.