Menagerie

By: Rachel Vincent

Narrated by: Gabra Zackman

Length: 10 hrs and 57 mins

Publisher's summary

When Delilah Marlow visits a famous traveling carnival, Metzger's Menagerie, she is an ordinary woman in a not-quite-ordinary world. But under the macabre circus black-top, she discovers a fierce, sharp-clawed creature lurking just beneath her human veneer. Captured and put on exhibition, Delilah is stripped of her worldly possessions, including her own name, as she's forced to "perform" in town after town. But there is breathtaking beauty behind the seamy and grotesque reality of the carnival.

Gallagher, her handler, is as kind as he is cryptic and strong. The other "attractions" - mermaids, minotaurs, gryphons, and kelpies - are strange, yes, but they share a bond forged by the brutal realities of captivity. And as Delilah struggles for her freedom, and for her fellow menagerie, she'll discover a strength and a purpose she never knew existed.

©2015 Rachel Vincent (P)2015 Recorded Books

great original story

I normally don't write reviews but I truly enjoyed this story. It does not really read like a fantasy but definitely has fantasy elements. I did not want the story to end.

Loved it!

Far and beyond my favorite audiobook listen ever. Haunting and beautiful, this book kept me wanting to listen more - I am listening to it a second time and want to find something similar (at least until the next in this series comes out). Great story read by a great narrator.

??? The end???

Do they eventually get to Mexico? What did the Sultan say and do about Metzger? Was the menagerie a success? Too many questions left way unanswered but I did enjoy it up until the very end -I just wanted more. Oh and what the heck is a surrogate in detail?

One of the best read books I've listened to so far

Would you consider the audio edition of Menagerie to be better than the print version?

I do. I think Gabra Zackman did an excellent job bringing the characters to life! All of the different accents and nuances she gave the characters were terrific.

Fantastic fiction, loved!

Best book of the last dozen read at least. Great narration and original story line. Hoping there is a sequel!

This book had it al!

Good solid writing, something different and yet kept with the trends , exciting situations that made it almost impossible to turn off. Well fleshed out characters , whether that were human or not. But the best part was you not only suffered for the characters and their situation but you felt like you were in their shoes and it got very uncomfortable at times. I love a book where I disappear into another place and this author takes you by the hand and doesn't let you go until the last line. Lastly, and this might be where people disagree , the author jumps right in and doesn't try to explain where you are or why.....it doesn't matter...you have to just let it go. It's the emotional ride that's incredible ......love, honor, cruelty, revenge, betrayal, chivalry , kindness.....the whole gamut. I can't wait for book 2 and 3.

great story. abrupt ending

amazing story! I loved every bit of it. really unsatisfactory ending however. overall well worth the read

Good, but will never re-read and do not recommend

3.75 Stars rounded up. I am not going to really review this book in detail since there are many reviews already. I mostly want to remind myself and maybe any like minded folks why a book I rated fairly highly doesn't merit a re-read. While I feel like this is a well plotted tale with some engaging characters and good world-building, it won't go on my favorites list and I will not read it again because this book exceeded my sadism quotient. Since I read a lot of speculative fiction, I am often reading about people in peril, those suffering undeserved cruelty, and less than wholesome characters. But I draw the line pretty low when authors indulge (and it is an indulgence IMO) in high level of sadistic behavior/characters. My stomach is especially queasy when sadistic behavior is inflicted on children or animals and in Menagerie it's both! It is one thing to cause pain, it is another totally repulsive thing to derive pleasure from it. Authors that go frequently to that well are, as I see it, a little lazy because it is just too easy to hate that type of behavior/character so the story is not very nuanced - good guys wear white hats/bad guy wear black hats and no shades of grey exist. Having read the reviews of the 2nd book in this series, it sounds like the sadism level is ratcheted UP so I won't continue with this one. Gabra Zackman did a great job with the narration.

Great book, poor narrator

Any additional comments?

Well, Rachel Vincent has done it again. What an imaginative and complicated world we get to know in Menagerie. The premise is the Cryptids have no status in society and are sold off as livestock essentially. They are kept in a circus, or in a personal collection, and are feared by everyone due to the catastrophe in 1986.

Delilah lives her life as a regular human, until the one day she visits this traveling Menagerie, and her inner beast comes out when one of the exhibits is tortured by a handler. She had no idea she wasn't normal, but is immediately stripped of all she owns, including her name, and is sold into the Menagerie as an exhibit. But she won't lie down and accept her fate - no this woman is as fierce as she is honorable and will not stand for this injustice. And she talks back.

I loved Delilah in all her refusal to deal with captivity and her talking back to the carnival workers. Also, the creepy beastie she becomes when her inner monster is released sounds quite a sight to behold. I tried to find some art representing her, but Google didn't come through. But Delilah is also very naive and thinks she is bigger than she is, or more capable of helping others than she really has the power to do, and so she mucks things up quite a bit. I mean, what great heroine doesn't mess up from time to time right?

Then there's Gallagher, her handler. He is mysterious and kind, and definitely hiding something. I love how the book keeps secrets from us but reveals them in interesting ways. I loved Gallagher by the end of the book, where I was suspicious of him at the beginning. He repeats this quote a lot through the book, and it isn't until the reveal near the end where we find out why.

This is an excellent start to a series, and I'm curious to see where it will go next. It did wrap up nicely with a satisfying ending and leaves you with an interest in what is to come. No cliffys here, so you know that's a win in my book. Also, all the critters are fascinating and I really enjoyed the descriptions of them and their personalities. I'm definitely looking forward to the next book.

Audio review: I really struggled with this narrator. She does what is one of my HUGE peeves - WHISPERS throughout the narration. I CAN'T HEAR YOU! I have to turn my speakers up to MAX and still I can barely hear the dialogue, and now I hear static. GAH. I had listened to her once before, and I really didn't care for that particular book, until I realized it had to be the narrator because the author said that particular book was the most emotional in the series. GAH. I missed out due to a monotone whisperer. And I looked her up on Audible, and she narrates a crapton of books. Seriously what is with publishers picking horrible narrators? And why is it that others seem to like this narrator?

Had so much potential

Any additional comments?

This book had so much potential. I kept waiting and waiting for the story to build up, but there never really was a climax. There also wasn't really an ending. The author did a great job building up the characters (even though I hated how dense the main character was), then the book just ended. All that potential was just left sitting out in the open doing nothing. Wish there was a follow up book that put some closure to this.
The ending was also hodgepodge. Nothing is really happening, then all the sudden a bunch of people show up for no reason, stuff happens just to happen, then it's over. I think that was supposed to be the story's climax but there was no rhyme or reason behind it. It just didn't match up with the story.