Speaks the Nightbird

By: Robert R. McCammon

Narrated by: Edoardo Ballerini

Length: 30 hrs and 42 mins

Publisher's summary

Audie Award Nominee, Fiction, 2013

Judgment of the Witch

The Carolinas, 1699: The citizens of Fount Royal believe a witch has cursed their town with inexplicable tragedies - and they demand that beautiful widow Rachel Howarth be tried and executed for witchcraft. Presiding over the trial is traveling magistrate Issac Woodward, aided by his astute young clerk, Matthew Corbett. Believing in Rachel's innocence, Matthew will soon confront the true evil at work in Fount Royal....

Evil Unveiled

After hearing damning testimony, magistrate Woodward sentences the accused witch to death by burning. Desperate to exonerate the woman he has come to love, Matthew begins his own investigation among the townspeople. Piecing together the truth, he has no choice but to vanquish a force more malevolent than witchcraft in order to save his beloved Rachel - and free Fount Royal from the menace claiming innocent lives.

©2002 Robert McCammon (P)2012 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

“Edoardo Ballerini performs this story of accusation and fear flawlessly. He effortlessly switches his pitch, accents, and timbre to suit the unfortunate Rachel Howarth, the endless curious Corbett, and the various determined characters, good and evil.” (AudioFile)

"a compelling story that should find a wide readership. Highly recommended for popular fiction collections." (Library Journal)

"An excellent story, full of tension and suspense.” (Stephen King)

Plods along

What did you like best about Speaks the Nightbird? What did you like least?

I was excited when I read all the 5 star reviews. I liked least that it did not meet my expectations. It is unrelentingly grim.

What do you think your next listen will be?

History. I'm listening to Into the Silence by Wade Davis, also The History of Rome by Titus Livy. Both are beyond excellent.

What three words best describe Edoardo Ballerini’s voice?

A bit annoying, and overdone, though he does do an excellent job with dialects and different characters.

Any additional comments?

I have tried repeatedly to resume listening to this book, hoping it will improve. So far, not.

Loved it!

What did you love best about Speaks the Nightbird?

As a fan of Robert McCammon, I was glad to see he has written some new material. I did not really keep up with his career after high school. This novel is just as good, if not better, than any of his previous work. My favorite has always been Wolf's Hour. The characters are well-defined, with distinct personalities. The plot keeps moving and does not allow the listener to become bored.

What about Edoardo Ballerini’s performance did you like?

This is an amazing narrator. He gives different voices to the different characters (which always makes a listen so much more enjoyable). His accents are wonderful. I could listen to him forever......

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

I felt stricken when the Maskers left, as the one character in particular was Matthew's best hope for getting Rachel released from prison.

overboard

The author went out of his way to be vulgar distracting from an otherwise a good story and an excellent narrator

Delightful to the last sentence

I have so often been thoroughly engrossed in the beginning of a novel, investing high hopes in its potential, only to be let down by the author who seemed to lose any idea of where he or she is going (Night Film comes to mind). I hoped that this book would not break my heart this way, as I really loved it from the start. I was so happy that this book was true to the story right up to the very end. In fact, the final sentence wrapped up the final loose thread of the novel, and everything made sense. I loved this book, and was transported to a time and place in a rare way. The narrator is a marvel...I often think when I listen to a new Audible book "...now this is the best narrator I have ever heard", and then someone like Edoardo Ballerini comes along to make me forget the rest. He is spectacular. I really did not want to read a series, but I finished this book last night and will buy the next book today. It was that good. Just a great book, folks.

Great Book!

Have you listened to any of Edoardo Ballerini’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I have not listened to other performances but it was great.

Any additional comments?

Long book, but I really loved every minute of it.

Awesome!

I don't think I have enjoyed a book as much in a very long time. I could not put it down. Narrator is impeccable. The story masterfully written. Characters all uniquely crafted. This is my first McCammon book, but not my last. A must read.

This book grips you!

I have just only discovered this author, and i find him wonderful. He writes in a clear and beautiful language, the story is dynamic, the characters come alive and you feel as if you know them. I could not put this book down :) Now i am planning to read all of his books!

Delicious Guilty Pleasure Tale of the First Order

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

N/A

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

Wonderful characters, wicked and heroic, sympathetic and pathetic; great setting--time/place, outlandishly detailed and delightfully grisly adventures, an against all odds kind of derring do that wins the day, and so on.

Which character – as performed by Edoardo Ballerini – was your favorite?

Well for pure over the top, hard to beat Exodus Jerusalem, the fire breathing evangelical charlatan, a character out of Dickens for pure disgust and villainy.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Certainly Corbett's scenes with his mentor and the woman he falls in love with and sets out to save from the massive injustice facing her.

Any additional comments?

I have read the whole series up to now. Books 2-4 are all good, but I do not know if I would have picked them up without reading the first one, which predated the author's success with this character. Many found the length of it not to their liking, but it was precisely the length and loving detail that for me makes this book far and away the best of the series (each new installment has been progressively shorter, and suffers as a result), a book that really does stand on its own, a great, long, rollicking delight of an adventure, whether or not the author would have pursued this character (HBO--this would be a natural for you guys) with new episodes in his life.

Excellent Story and Talented Narrater

Would you listen to Speaks the Nightbird again? Why?

I enjoyed listening to this story. It transports the listener to 1699 and describes in detail the brutal naive approach to incarceration, trials and evidence. The narrator has an uncanny talent for altering his voice to define each of the characters - even a 17th century Indian.

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

The story was suspenseful and enjoyable.

Have you listened to any of Edoardo Ballerini’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No but this listen promptly led me to get the other Matthew Corbett books.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Not a thing!

Missed a couple turn offs while enjoying this book

Thought the storyline was well developed and told. Reminded me of. Sherlock Holmes story set in the colonies.