Graceling

Graceling Realm, Book 1

By: Kristin Cashore

Narrated by: Xanthe Elbrick

Discover the Graceling Realm in this unforgettable, award-winning novel from bestselling author Kristin Cashore.

A New York Times bestseller * ALA Best Book for Young Adults * Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Children's Literature Winner * Publishers Weekly, School Library Journal, Booklist, and BCCB Best Book of the Year

“Rageful, exhilarating, wistful in turns" (New York Times Book Review) with “a knee weakening romance” (Los Angeles Times). Graceling is a thrilling, action-packed fantasy adventure that will resonate deeply with anyone trying to find their way in the world.

Graceling tells the story of the vulnerable-yet-strong Katsa, who is smart and beautiful and lives in the Seven Kingdoms where selected people are born with a Grace, a special talent that can be anything at all. Katsa’s Grace is killing.

As the king’s niece, she is forced to use her extreme skills as his brutal enforcer. Until the day she meets Prince Po, who is Graced with combat skills, and Katsa’s life begins to change. She never expects to become Po’s friend. She never expects to learn a new truth about her own Grace—or about a terrible secret that lies hidden far away . . . a secret that could destroy all seven kingdoms with words alone.

And don’t miss the sequel, Fire, and companion, Bitterblue, both award-winning New York Times bestsellers featuring Kristin Cashore’s elegant, evocative prose and unforgettable characters.

• ALA Best Book for Young Adults
• Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Children's Literature Winner
• Publishers Weekly, School Library Journal, Booklist, and BCCB Best Book of the Year

©2023 Kristin Cashore (P)2023 HarperCollins Publishers

I miss Poes voice :/ Even Leck

This time around it's a woman impersonating men instead of a man joining the audio. Leck does not feel evil and dark, he used to give me goosebumps in his parts.. He feels kind of less intimidating with the womans-faking-a-deep-voice thing. Poe doesn't have that same charm that made me fall in love with the book initially. I wish they could make good audiobook choices. Graceling - Katsas voice was awful and shrieky, then at some point they made her Irish... like the 3rd book lol. Now they've cut out the male voice. Disappointed.

Loved it!

Loved the story from beginning to end and am so glad it’s a series. Going to download the next one now.

Excellent on all fronts

Different in a good way. Definitely had me hooked from the very beginning. Narrator was absolutely spot on. Would definitely read other books by this author.

LOVED IT

I'm so happy they re-record this book! Much better performance to match an amazing book.

Overall, Not Bad

In the past, any and all novels that I've tried that had been associated with the dreaded words "New York Times Best Selling" have always been horrific trainwrecks and I was certain that the people of The Times must live in a different world than I. However, this novel was at least very enjoyable and I can see how the majority of people, especially women, would like it. While I thought that some of the book was tragically contrived and I was also not a fan of the turn the story made around the halfway point, it still turned out to be a satisfying story and I'm glad I listened to it. I do get the sense, however, that any more books in this series would be aggravating for me to listen to so I think my aversion to anything recommend by the Times will stand for now.

Satisfying story, excellent performance

I was captivated by the characters, the storyline, and the graces. I thoroughly enjoyed the listen. If you like a bit of fantasy and romance, I recommend you give it a try.

Love it so much

I loved this story so much, the relationship between po and katsa warmed my heart alot especially in the epilouge. :)

Beautiful meditation on power

And the abuse of it. Great female lead, and this is from someone who doesn’t do much YA.

Because of Katsa and her cadre of royal friends there’s hope for the seven kingdoms.

Good world building. The seven kingdoms were distinct and interesting. Great protagonists who give the reader hope for a better world through understanding and acceptance. Enjoyed the love story! Katsa is a wonderful heroine who grows throughout the tale to use her grace for good.

“Mercy was more frightening than murder”

Eighteen-year-old (or so) Katsa is a Graceling, possessed of a special gift (Grace) like a superpower in X-men or Heroes, in her case, a preternatural ability for killing. She is far less subject to fatigue, pain, hunger, thirst, cold, sickness, injury, and so on than normal (Graceless?) people and far quicker and stronger and more dexterous, resourceful, and creative etc. in fighting, hunting, swimming, etc. Not having any parents, she has been exploited for several years by her uncle King Randa as his attack dog-thug, being sent on missions to intimidate and physically punish any lord or commoner who dares cheat or diss the King. But lately she’s started chafing at that service, refusing to harm basically innocent people for Randa and starting the Council, a secret society spreading throughout the Seven Kingdoms to protect powerless people from the powerful. And such is the virtue of her cause that she has brought into the Council King Randa’s own spy master Oll, his own son Prince Raffin (a cool possibly gay guy into science, medicines, and his assistant Bann), and one of his most important young lords Gidden.

When the first novel in Kristin Cashore’s Graceling Realm series, Graceling (2008), begins, Katsa is on a Council mission (unknown to King Randa) to rescue this Lienid grandfather prince from the dungeon of the King Murgon, so we get a good glimpse of her formidable fighting skills as she easily knocks out several dungeon guards and a dozen or so castle guards—until she almost meets her match in the person of Greening Grandemalion (call him Po), a handsome, be-ringed young Leinid prince not much older than she and apparently Graced with fighting ability (because he sure knows where each of her lightning-fast blows is going to land and act accordingly to avoid them…)

The novel will develop the relationship between Katsa and Po in rather convincing, interesting, and moving ways as the plot (full of concise world building, exciting action, surprising reveals, complex romance, grueling adventure, and a boss villain with a scary Grace) puts them through the wringer and challenges Katsa’s understanding of herself, her Grace, and her lover.

Interestingly, although the novel was published in 2008, the audio book version didn’t get made til 2022, so it is another example of a book that was first published before audio books were so popular and that has benefited from the popularity of audiobooks. Reader Xanthe Elbrick really enhances the story.

The novel recalls Robin Hobb’s earlier Assassin’s Apprentice. A young highly trained, skilled, and effective killer for a king; the conflict between doing the dirty work for a demanding master and wanting to be free to live your life; the ethics of killing; etc. But of course Katsa is a she, and everyone knows what she is and what she can do, which is part of why they shun her, while in Fitz's case it's because they know he's a bastard without having any idea he's a highly trained spy assassin. And Fitz doesn't start his own "Council," but stays more a tool of the Farseers.

It also reminds me a bit of The Murderbot Diaries, because although Katsa refers to herself as a monster, she’s really a human survivor-savior.

Cashore’s novel indulges in a bit of YA Special Princess Heroine Overkill, in that Katsa is a beautiful orphan, she complains of having no friends but really has several good ones, she has a really cool love interest, she’s basically not one princess but two, she’s a great fighter (the best in her kingdom), and (so far) her unique Grace is countless Graces rolled into one.

Because there is (so far) no explanation for the Grace system, where the abilities come from, how they actually work, who gets one, why it manifests as it does in a person, why Graced people have one eye one color and one eye another (apart from being cool), and so on. This permits Cashore to come up with any kind of Grace with any kind of rules needed to suit her plot. And the climax is over a little too quickly and easily.

However, I had such a great time listening to the audiobook, which was funny, exciting, suspenseful, moving, surprising, and so on, so that I really had to kind of flog myself to find flaws because I just wanted to enjoy the ride to the end.

I also appreciate that apparently each Graceling book can stand by itself. Will I go on to listen to other books in the series? Hmmm……