The Darkling Thrush

By: Josh Lanyon

Narrated by: Max Miller

Length: 5 hrs and 32 mins

Publisher's summary

Fed up with his desk duty in the Imperial Arcane Library, book hunter Colin Bliss accepts a private commission to find The Sword's Shadow, a legendary and dangerous witches' grimoire. But to find the book, Colin must travel to the remote Western Isles and solve a centuries' old murder.

Please note: This book contains gay erotic content.

©2012 Josh Lanyon (P)2012 Josh Lanyon

Great Story, Max Miller is Wonderful

What an intriguing story! I love the blend of magic and treasure hunting, and the whole thing comes off with an old-timey feeling. So enjoyable.

Also, 5 stars to Max Miller. He's always wonderful, but his Scottish accents were flawless and incredibly creative. Definitely go with the audiobook if you're a fan!

Loved it!

Loved Colin and eventually loved Setimus. Their romance grew on me. The plot was a bit strange but loved how they came together. It was indded a romance filled with suspense.

Enjoyed it & wanted more

I really enjoyed this book - even more than I thought I would. It's quite a departure from the contemporary and non-paranormal historical Josh Lanyon I've always read, but still as good. I could totally have seen Septimus and Colin solving arcane book mysteries for years to come, and while I know Josh never made a series out of this, (and likely never will), I would totally read it.
It was atmospheric, very suspenseful, and only very slightly predictable, (plenty of red herrings to make me feel less smug about my skill in guessing what would happen next). I enjoyed how the reader is thrown into this world, this alternate magical world, and given information along the way, so as to gradually understand how things worked differently than in real history/life. Much like main characters in many paranormal books, Colin is new in the area where the book is set, (though not new to all magic), so we learn about what he already knew through his periodic reflections and learn what is new to him as his story goes along.
I would really have liked to have been given more details about the love interest, Septimus. There's SO much hidden and mysterious about him. It seemed that there was more to learn about Colin as well, which Colin himself might not have understood about himself. The book could've gone on longer with more time to develop their relationship and get to know their inner workings as people. I would've liked to know more about how they were to have gone on with their lives. That's my only caveat, making this a 4-star rather than a 5-star. I enjoyed what I got, but wanted more.
The narration was different - I don't think I've listened to much by this narrator. If I have, it's been a very long time. It took me a teeny bit to get used to - he speaks rather slowly and I can imagine some people would want to speed up their setting. (I can't do that - it always just makes it sound artificially weird to me.) But once I did get used to his style, I did enjoy it quite a bit and would not shy away from him as a narrator in the future.

Terrible headache inducing narration.

What disappointed you about The Darkling Thrush?

I tried to read the book once and didn't find it very engaging, so I thought I'd manage better with it being reading to me. No such luck. I couldn't get over the first five minutes of the recording. I wish I listened to sample before buying.

Good writing, but...

What disappointed you about The Darkling Thrush?

The story is disappointing for me. The characters were good, the main character especially. And I loved the love interest but I just didn't care about the mystery. I did not know why I should care. I would have liked more with the relationship brewing between the main characters or if they were in it together maybe. The use of other worldly terms made language into a foreign language. there are so many uncommon names running around that I just started blocking them out. There was just a lot of talk of reading one book after another but to be fair, this is a book about a book hunter.

Overall, the writing was great, and the audiblebook was well read. I think my reaction to this book has only to do with the fact that it just wasn't for me. I think if you like a good mystery peppered in with magic then you should give this book a try. However, I like a story which moves at a brisker pace.

What about Max Miller’s performance did you like?

The man had great range. His voices were distinct. He was just very polished. Great job.

What character would you cut from The Darkling Thrush?

Cut? I'd cut the main characters of the mystery, which is a bad sign.

Any additional comments?

I am not sure where this author is from. but I'd just like to say that the ONLY time Americans say "what the devil?" is when we're making fun of the British. A few "what the hell"s might have been better.

The writing was good for this book. Dialogue was real and well done. The narrator was TOP NOTCH. the love scenes were sweet. With those factors in mind, it's best to try it for yourself.

As for me, I did not enjoy the book. I forced myself to listen to it till the end, but that's alright because the narrator was good. I felt that it was slow and I couldn't get into the mystery and to be honest, with all the fancy words and fancy names out there, I was a bit surprised to hear the words 'the end of the world spell'. Thought for sure that spell could have a cooler name. I will try this author out again though.