Demon in the Wood

A Shadow and Bone Graphic Novel

By: Leigh Bardugo

Narrated by: Ben Barnes, Benjamin Valic, Cassandra Morris, Eason Rytter, James Fouhey, Mary McCartney, Matt Leisy, Salli Saffioti, Sean Gormley, Tom Bromhead

Length: 1 hr and 3 mins

Publisher's summary

A 2023 Audie Award winner!

A 2023 Odyssey Honors title!

“This is no ordinary audiobook, but rather a graphic novel for the ears. Readers will be delighted by the auditory magic of this book.”—Booklist

"A full cast of talented narrators taps into the darkly magical atmosphere of Bardugo's graphic novel prequel to the Shadow and Bone trilogy. Primary narrator Ben Barnes depicts the villainous Darkling when he was known as Eryk, a young teen who hungered for companionship and stability. An evocative soundscape, incorporating everything from the clip-clopping of horses' hooves to the sounds of the night, further enhances this spellbinding audio."—AudioFile Magazine (Earphones Award Winner)

See the Grishaverse come to life on screen with the Netflix series, Shadow and Bone—Season 2 premiering March 16, 2023! Discover the origin story of the Darkling in this first-ever Grishaverse graphic novel.

Discover the origin story of the Darkling in this full-cast, first-ever Grishaverse graphic audiobook.

Before he led Ravka’s Second Army, before he created the Fold, and long before he became the Darkling, he was just a lonely boy burdened by an extraordinary power.

Eryk and his mother, Lena, have spent their lives on the run. But they will never find a safe haven. They are not only Grisha—they are the deadliest and rarest of their kind. Feared by those who wish to destroy them and hunted by those who would exploit their gifts, they must hide their true abilities wherever they go. But sometimes deadly secrets have a way of revealing themselves.

A Macmillan Audio production.

©2015 Leigh Bardugo (P)2022 Macmillan Audio

Excellent Reading Actors

As you listen to this story it is easy to be playing it like a movie in your imagination. The readers not only read but there are added sounds like climbing or horses running that fits what is happening in the story. I will be listening to this more than once as it was very insightful into the development of the Darkling from the Greisha universe.

Amazing!

Absolutely love Ben Barnes. This was well done! I would read anything she put out!

Well, that was unexpected

Who knew you could feel sorry for the Darkling? I never thought I would . . . But this sure tugged at my heartstrings for him a little bit.

4 stars

I wish it was longer!!

LOVED this story. I’ve never listened to an audiobook so immersive. Multiple readers helped deliver an incredible performance, and having Ben Barnes’ Darkling narrate was AMAZING.
I wish I had just bought it instead of using an audible credit, 1 hour was too short. Hopefully there is another prequel of other Darkling stories narrated by the same cast that is longer!

A small glimpse into the darkling's history

I always love new content for the Grishaverse! The story was well told and gave a small glimpse into the darkling's history. I really wish it was longer to provide time for more character development and adventure.

Super fun!

This was a very creative little drama that I throughly enjoyed (though I wish it was longer). I’m not sure it would be worth the price but I do think it’s worth a credit if you have a membership. Ben Barns kills it!

Great audiobook!

Love that they used Multiple narrators. This a great audiobook of this novel.

10/10 would recommend

Just what I needed!

Demon in the Wood, by Leigh Bardugo, is a graphic novel in the Grisha series and is considered book 0.5 of the Shadow and Bone trilogy. The story itself is only 1:03 hours long but it is something that I’m sure all Shadow and Bone fans were wanting. In this full-cast narrated story we get to hear more about our favorite villain The Darkling, better known as Eryk. Leigh Bardugo gives her fans the origin story of The Darkling and his mother Lena. We learn that Lena and Eryk both have extraordinarily deadly Grisha powers and that they have had to stay on the run from Grisha and non-Grisha alike to avoid what Lena knows will happen.

While the story is very short, the full-cast narration was excellent! The cast and the sound effects drew me into the story and caused a rush of emotions as I listened. If you are thinking of buying this audiobook, stop thinking and buy it! I bought it for cash vs. using a credit since it was so short but it was worth every penny and then some.

Beautiful Performance

Who knew that a graphic novel could make such a lovely audiobook! This was excellent, this author always surprises me!

Read/Listen to Before Reading Shadow and Bone

A brief but nice glimpse into the past of Eric, also known as either The Black Heretic or Aleksander Morozova, the General in Shadow and Bone. I wish it delved a bit deeper, but no negative anything from me! 😄👍🏽