Caycee's Cave: An Irish Tale

By: Holly K. Szurpicki

Narrated by: Benjamin Fife

Length: 1 hr and 59 mins

Publisher's Summary

This tale is about a boy named Yipson Minor who ends up on the island of Evolone Hills with his father, mother, and sister. He doesn't originate from there but was given a push by a divine king for a divine purpose. 

As a child, Yipson was under the oppression of a wicked kingdom. But once on the island, he uncovers a secret dictionary from an odd professor that leads him on a chain of events of discovery. Is it Yipson’s wild imagination, or have some things unreal become real? 

In the meantime, his sister, Caycee, makes her own discovery of a secret cave and a golden dragon named Frolick. But little do they realize that her life is in danger, and nothing but a miracle can save her.

©2017 Holly K. Szurpicki (P)2018 Holly K. Szurpicki

In a genre of its own

This book was not like any other I've ever read. It is a fascinating blend of whimsy, gentle humor, and occasional adventure that feels almost incidental to the book's true purpose.

Its narrator describes other characters' personalities and actions with the same straightforward simplicity as he uses to describe strange creatures and odd customs. As a listener I really didn't know what to expect next from this story. It is truly unique and extremely creative.

The author is obviously Christian, and the book comes across as a morality tale, demonstrating how a faith-filled life view allows the book's narrator to pass through and overcome a variety of difficult circumstances.

Benjamin Fife delivers a performance that complements the author's unique storytelling voice. His ability to affect an Irish accent with consistency is great, and the songs were a nice touch. A very enjoyable listen!

An Irish Narrator for an Irish Tale.

Caycee's Cave: An Irish Tale, is just that. a very Irish Tale.

While the overall book is connected by the same characters and setting, the overall plot is loose. This is very much a fantasy slice of life story recounting various adventures in a young boy's life. His life contains dragons, guardian cats, angels, and a professor with a very unique dictionary.

Each chapter felt like a stand alone story, though a loose plot does run through the narrative giving it a sense of continuity.

As for the narrator, Benjamin Fife does a fantastic job. I do not know if the Irish accent is his own or if he is manifesting one for the production, but it adds a great sense of atmosphere and character to this first person narrative.

*I was given a copy of this story for review purposes. The opinions listed above are my own honest evaluation.*

A tale full of Irish wit, a dragon, and an angel

This book has a great tale, and even some good stories! Listen to it if you want to know the difference ;)

I loved the many irishisms that got defined and how it all came together, it is a short story, but not one minute of the audio is wasted. I love the tale of a brother, a sister, a dog, and a dragon who dislikes the narrator and adores the sister. A tale of faith and magic both in spades.

A Cute Book

This is a story where you have the main character telling the story in the first person. He talks of bad kings, dragons, and many fantastic stories that supposedly happened to him or his family. The storyline is well developed and the characters are believable. The Narrator Benjamin Fife does a good job with the accents. You will want to stay with this book as it reals you in to a fun book. I personally love Fantasy books. Enjoy!

delightful Tales of dragons and faith

This is a wonderful story to share with your little ones at bedtime. it teaches having faith and hope as well as believing in a bit of Irish magic

Story Time!

Feels like your Irish uncle telling you a story, really enjoyed that. Story was simple, short and child friendly. Very much enjoyed it.

Great Performance

This was a fun story. The narrator really did awesome! I think he made the story come to life.

Nice story

This is the first book I have read/listened to by this author. I did not find the underlying Christian perspective overwhelming nor preachy. There is a nice bit of Irish folklore and fantasy. There is a disconnect to the story and yet a unity at the same time. I did find I lost focus a few times while listening.

This is the ninth book I have listened to by this narrator ( Benjamin Fife). I enjoyed this narration, as I have his others. He uses an accent to narrate this story and for the character voices.
For some reason, this book has a tinny, ringing noise in the background. I had to switch devices so it was not too distracting. There usually is static /white noise in the background of his books, but this was the worst yet.
UPDATE: Mr. Fife has notified me that this was his first book and he has updated his equipment and studio several times since recording this book. That would explain why I’ve not experienced this degree of background noise with his other books. That also likely explains why there is varying degrees of noise in his books. Not knowing the order in which he recorded the books I’ve listened to means I can’t comment fully, but I do know there has been an improvement.

There are no explicit sex scenes, excessive violence or swearing.

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and voluntarily left this unbiased review.
Please feel free to comment on whether you found my review helpful.

Story 3/5
Narration 4/5
Recording quality 3/5

Imagination at work

wow!!! what an amazing imagination this author has to really bring the characters to life. a must read.

Good story

This was a fun, whimsical story with a strong Irish flavor. Given that it is an Irish fantasy, I was disappointed by the extreme Christian teachings in it. From that perspective, it reminded me a lot of C.S. Lewis' Lion, Witch, and Wardrobe stories that I loved reading as a kid until someone pointed out the religious references. I don't like preachy stories. That being said, the narrator was great and if you can get past the religious stuff (it is couched in the story, not overt) or don't care if your story is trying to preach to you, it is very good. Most of the religious stuff is good morals and having faith. Good fantasy novel.