Book of a Thousand Days

By: Shannon Hale

Narrated by: Chelsea Mixon

Length: 7 hrs and 26 mins

Publisher's Summary

When Lady Saren defies her father’s command to marry the vicious Lord Khasar, she is sealed in a tower with only her serving maid, Dashti, for company. In their cramped, dark space Dashti pours her thoughts into a daily journal while pitiless solitude engulfs them.

At first the girl is optimistic: they have food aplenty, candles for light, and even a visit from Lady Saren’s true love, Khan Tegus - though he can only call to them from outside their walls. But Saren is ill of mind, the outside world is changing, and their circumstances soon grow desperate. And even if they do escape, they must still face the eerie malice of Lord Khasar. To survive, Dashti and Saren forge a bond of devotion and deception that will test them to their limits.

Once again, Shannon Hale, author of the Newbery Honor Book Princess Academy, weaves an enchanting and original fantasy that will catch and hold listeners breathless in its spell.

©2007 Shannon Hale (P)2008 Full Cast Audio and AudioGO

Critic Reviews

"In this retelling of a brothers Grimm fairy tale, Chelsea Mixon ideally portrays Dashti, a servant bound to rebellious Lady Saren, whose role is read by Rozlyn Jakes-Johnson. The tale is told through Dashti’s journal entries, in which she recounts her imprisonment in a sealed tower with Lady Saren, who defied her father’s command to marry. Dashti’s communication with Khan Tegus (Saren’s true love), vanquishing of an evil tyrant, and eventual escape are among the plot developments. The story is perfect for a full-cast reading. All of the actors add layers of meaning, enlivening even the minor characters. Saren transforms from addled to self-assured, Khan Tegus (played by Conor Nolan) from romantic to ruler, and Dashti from subservient to self-confident. Mixon proves especially effective when singing melodic renditions of "healing songs." An enchanting listening experience. ( Booklist)

I can't stop from playing it over and over again

If you could sum up Book of a Thousand Days in three words, what would they be?

Exotic original fantasy

What other book might you compare Book of a Thousand Days to and why?

I don't really have a specific book in mind, but I have a type of book. I read a lot, and once of the things I hate most about books is predictability. There's a point where you've read so much that each book is too predictable to be interesting. I may read them anyway, but I find it a bit boring. Something I've come to appreciate is unusual or original characters and story lines. Dashti, the main character of this book, is not a princess. She doesn't have magical powers. She doesn't have overly amazing powers of deduction that allow her to solve all problems in two seconds. I love Dashti because she is actually like a normal person and is, therefore, relatable. There are books I've read before with characters like that, but another fatal flaw for writers is that they rush a plot too quickly and end up ruining the characterization that would make those characters more likable. Shannon Hale did a perfect job with the pacing of the story, and the narrator, Chelsea Mixon, did will in keeping that rhythm in her narration.

What does Chelsea Mixon bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

I actually read this book many years ago, long before I knew there was an audiobook version or if I would even like to listen to audiobooks. Chelsea actually does a fantastic job portraying Dashti, narrating just like how I imagined Dashti to speak, the rhythm, the tone. All of it is well done. Because of that, Chelsea Mixon brings a new life to Dashti that isn't found by just reading the book.

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

I actually received the audible badge for listening to a book straight through, so...yes. Haha.

Any additional comments?

This book is more of a young adult novel, but it is appropriate for all ages, I think. There is a darker understanding of the truth of the situation there for adults to pick up, but everything in the book is just mild enough that nothing would scare children too badly or be inappropriate for children to listen to. I highly recommend it.

7 of 7 people found this review helpful

I charming little book.

As A 75-year-old man I am embarrassed to admit how it delighted me. Congratulations to both the author and the narrator.

5 of 5 people found this review helpful

Enchanting!

This was the first time that I had heard a Full Cast Audio production, and I was a bit hesitant. I'm so used to the more traditional style. However, Book of a Thousand Days did not disappoint! I actually found the full cast part to be really engaging and not at all distracting as I had feared.

The story is another Shannon Hale twist on an old fairy tale, but it's my absolute favorite of the bunch. I love the heroine, Dashti, with her courage, kindness, and imperfections. I like that she can be moody and make mistakes, but she is still completely likable and worth rooting for.

The format of the book is that it's her journal, and that part is well done in terms of writing. I'm always frustrated with journal-like books that don't make sense as journals, but here you can see even her silly thoughts and daily problems. The audiobook does lose a bit though as it doesn't (obviously) contain Dashti's illustrations, which are in the hard copy version.

All in all, classic (and wonderful) retelling of a fairy tale with a very engaging full cast production. I highly recommend it.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

Very enjoyable for family car trip

What made the experience of listening to Book of a Thousand Days the most enjoyable?

Excellent production, engaging story and overall Shannon Hale loveliness made this a great choice for the family roadtrip.

Who was your favorite character and why?

The heroism of Dashti was heartwarming

Any additional comments?

Thanks for the fine work of Full Cast Productions!

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Highly Recommended

After having listened to Audible's complete collection of Shannon Hale (this being the last one on my list) I have to say I loved it! It was fun to hear some familiar voices from other books.

This one has SUCH a great story. The performances were great, although the musical interludes were not always my favorite. This one is interesting because there are a lot of songs sung by the actors. I wish that the singing was a little less operatic and sounded more like a young girl. It wasn't too distracting though.

As a huge Shannon Hale and Audible fan, I have to give my whole-hearted recommendation for Book of a Thousand Days.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

What's next?

I kept waiting for the book to get better but it never did. Maybe a different narrator would have changed everything. I was disappointed because I've really enjoyed the author's other books.

Amazingly captivating

I read this book when I was ten, but I was always ahead in reading, and I would say this would be a good book for many ages. I will certainly be rereading it in the future. Anyway, I went into it thinking it would be bad just reading it because I had some time on my hands and it was there. Twenty minutes in I was hooked, and stayed up half the night to finish it. What I liked most was that it was different, and the plot was not obvious, and like I said, though it's probably meant for younger readers, I think a large range of people would like this. Oh yeah, and the full cast narration was the best, as usual.

Narrator Almost Ruined

Narrators should bve forbidden from sporadically bursting into song during a reading. I love Shannon Hale books but was very disappointed with the overdramatic narrator.

I like this writer

For one thing, she's Mormon, like me, the story just isn't the best... I don't know... you can't explain the story, and I only gave it one star, but don't take my word for it, you'll only know it you like it unless you try it, so try it, if you want. Give it a try.

Terrible Singing by Narrator

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

No singing by Narrator and faster pace.

Would you recommend Book of a Thousand Days to your friends? Why or why not?

No

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from Book of a Thousand Days?

I would have read the words to the songs instead of having the narrator try to sing them

Any additional comments?

Slow paced book. A little too much time spent on rats.

Lovely

Really lovely story. Even though the main character is locked in a tower, there's plenty of action with a traditional happy ever after ending.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful