Half Wild

The Half Bad Trilogy, Book 2

By: Sally Green

Narrated by: Carl Prekopp

Length: 9 hrs and 20 mins

Publisher's summary

Penguin presents the unabridged, downloadable audiobook edition of Half Wild, the stunning sequel to Half Bad by Sally Green, read by Carl Prekopp.

After finally meeting his elusive father, Marcus, and receiving the three gifts that confirm him as a full adult witch, Nathan is still on the run. He needs to find his friend, Gabriel, and rescue Annalise, now a prisoner of the powerful Black witch Mercury. Most of all he needs to learn how to control his Gift - a strange, wild new power that threatens to overwhelm him.

Meanwhile Soul O'Brien has seized control of the Council of White Witches and is expanding his war against Black witches into Europe. In response an unprecedented alliance has formed between Black and White witches determined to resist him. Drawn into the rebellion by the enigmatic Black witch Van Dal, Nathan finds himself fighting alongside both old friends and old enemies. But can all the rebels be trusted, or is Nathan walking into a trap?

©2015 Sally Green (P)2015 Penguin Audio

Good adventure

What really makes this story is the story teller. Carl Prekopp is an outstanding narrator. He doesn’t just read the lines , he becomes the characters. I will listen to all that he has narrated.

Surprise ending

I won’t give anything away! The power of positive thinking and humor pulls us through some of the darker moments at the beginning. The story unfolds beautifully. The ending takes us to a new place where we must read on in the next book.

amazing

can't wait to start the next book it's beyond amazing how the story develops s

Great

I loved the book, and I couldn't imagine it any better. Carl Prekopp seems to have completely accepted the role of the characters.

Captivating

The narrator does justice to voicing the different characters and adding just enough dramatization to really pull the reader in, but not so much that it looses the feel of "reading."

Yes!

I felt like I was playing a tv show on the whole time dang! The story teller makes this a chefs kiss from me.

Breaking and Dying!!!

This book really builds on the hype of the previous one. I can't get over it's climactic ending.

It takes us back to the detrimental world of Nathan, our chosen one, per se. We can really see Nathan evolve as a boy in a very unfortunate circumstance. And it all really culminates to Nathan's choices. Can love be but questioned for it's reality? Do the people you believe you love really feel the same and as strongly as you love? Hearts and families are put to the test. Nathan is making his own future now. Does he stand with his family and loved ones. Or do his loved ones really just fall around him, breaking and dying.

Entertaining, but not as strong as first book

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

Mostly likely! I only listened to the first and second book, didn't read, but Carl Prekopp's performance deserves serious praise and recognition. I've checked out some reviews of the print version of these books, where readers often complain of a lack of action, and flatness of characters. Prekopp breathes life into the story in a way that took my breath away when I first started 'Half-Bad' and kept me hooked even when the story kind of dragged.

It usually really bothers me when male narrators use affected tones for female character dialogue, or over the top accents-- but Carl Prekopp does a great job with it! His accents are subtle and nuanced, and he really makes each primary character's voice recognizable through tone and annunciation. Very impressed!

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

I was torn with this book. The first book grabbed me in the beginning, kept me curious and intrigued and hungry for more info about this world of black and white witches. Whenever the plot started to lag in the first book, Green would write in a little tidbit to keep my mind from wandering, like the Story of Saba, for instance (a small taste of the origin of white and black witches retold as a legend.)

I felt this book focused a little too much on Nathan's interior monologues and also his romantic relationships, so when action DID happen, it kind of felt like I was dropped into the scene all of a sudden with no warning or context.

I appreciate that Green wrote a bi-curious character in a way that normalized Nathan's sexual identity rather than getting preachy about it or making it the protagonist's main internal struggle. But I wanted to hear more about the history that created this culture of dichotomy that Nathan is stuck in the middle of!

I wanted more world-building, and I less introduction of new characters. After a while, most of the new characters started to bleed together in my mind, I found it hard to remember who they were and why they were important, whereas all the characters from the first book had really strong presence but very little further development (Annalise and Marcus being the primary exceptions). I would gladly have listened to a book that was twice as long if Green had filled those pages with details on character and world history.

The middle really dragged for me, and I lost focus, but the last 2 hours pulled me back in, in a BIG way, making me think I'll have to listen to the 3rd book despite my reservations. I wish the story had focused on Marcus more, because his role towards the end of the book is the most interesting and intriguing part of the whole story!

Which character – as performed by Carl Prekopp – was your favorite?

It's a toss-up! Love Gabriel and Marcus both. The first book also has some AWESOME character enactments that sadly are not part of the 2nd book due to untimely deaths, etc, but I won't say who so as not to spoil it for potential readers!

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No, but I wanted to! It has an inertia that makes it hard to find a stopping point, and I mean that in a good way. Prekopp's narration is so great that I didn't mind rewinding and re-listening to the parts where I lost concentration and zoned out.

Any additional comments?

I know it's overdone, but I would LOVE to see this series brought to the screen! I feel like this story, this fantasy world, merits the level of explanation that JK rowling brought to the Harry Potter series, but for whatever reason, the author chose brevity over character and detail development. Usually its the other way around, but I think the characters might become a bit more 3dimensional on film than they were on the page!

Great story and reader

The wonderful narration makes a fast paced and gripping story all the richer. Would recommend to anyone who likes a good magical story about young people.

Fully Loved

This was as good if not better than the first book. I have this series in the physical hardcover version. But love the story and characters so much I decided to get the audio version as well and I was not disappointed. The narrator is what makes this story come to life. The little inflections in his voice and commitment he gives is pure perfection.
I was however confused by the differences in the terms in this audio compared to not only the physical books but the audio for Half Bad as well. Then I noticed the Netflix symbol and went looking. I'm not completely happy about the changes for the show but a few I loved. Changing the names of the two prime groups of witches was nice. I like that they have more thought-out names.
I highly recommend this series, specifically the audio for Carl's performance. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️