Shadow Box

By: Catherine Cruzan

Narrated by: Andrea Emmes

Length: 47 mins

Publisher's summary

A young boy's courage is tested when an alien warrior comes to his village to steal his soul.

©2015 Catherine Cruzan (P)2015 Catherine Cruzan

An Absolute Terrific Short Story by Cruzan & Emmes

I absolutely love the pairing of Catherine Cruzan and Andrea Emmes. This is always a winning combination.

Catherine Cruzan writes great stories with excellent world-building and terrific characters. She's the author that's gotten me more interested in fantasy. I liked the characters Tikka and Luwil. For this being a short story, it's very well-rounded and I would love to see if she continues with this story. Either way, she has a nice collection of stories that are worth re-listening to at any time.

Andrea Emmes never ceases to amaze me with her vocal magic. She has a wonderful range and I've enjoyed listening to her read. She's an exceptionally talented narrator who doesn't just read the characters but becomes them. She did an outstanding job and I would definitely recommend listening to this one.

Audiobook gifted in exchange for an honest review.

Plenty of meat in this short story!

Tika and Noal are two kids playing in the snow, having a little snowball fight, and trading light insults. Then they notice something strange near the tree line. Their little village has a few strangers a year stop by, but they are always of interest to the locals. This one may find a few of those locals interesting as well.

There was a lot of meat to this short story. Tika and Noal are obviously great friends, as you can tell by their banter. Then the point of view shifts to the mysterious stranger, Flint. He has a wolf companion, Ki, and both of them make the adults of the village uncomfortable. Flint is something of a warrior and is much more than he first appears. He’s on the hunt for something and a few angry, armed villagers won’t stop him.

The point of view shifts back to Tika later in the story as he goes snooping. Of course, he ends up with more than he expected and his life may be forfeit. I really enjoyed all the mystery surrounding the stranger Flint and his quest. His purpose sounds grim and unjust to begin with but then, when I learned more, I wasn’t so sure. There’s definitely something more going on here that either the villagers are truly unaware of or the adults are turning a blind eye to.

There’s only a few female characters in this story and only 1 gets any lines. As usual, I would like things to be a bit more balanced. Other than that quibble, this was an excellent short read. I would definitely recommend it to any fantasy genre fans. I’m hoping the author revisits this world she created and builds upon this story.

I received a copy of this audiobook at no cost from the narrator (via the Audiobook Blast Facebook Group) in exchange for an honest review.

The Narration: Andrea Emmes did a great job. Her little kid voices were perfect for Tika and Noal. I also liked her grim voice for Flint. She had a great way of capturing the ambiance of each scene – playful for the snowball fight, stolid determination for the bar room scene, etc.

EXCELLENT SHORT STORY

If you could sum up Shadow Box in three words, what would they be?

Excellent short story! :)

Who was your favorite character and why?

Tikka and Lewel...

Which character – as performed by Andrea Emmes – was your favorite?

Tikka

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

to short for a movie...but excellent!

Any additional comments?

** I was given a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review**

Tikka and his bestie are playing in the snow and run into some trouble...in a magical little world and it almost ends with Tikka losing his power and Lewel losing his life...I would be curious to hear more about this world...Andrea narrated this little short perfectly...and it was a quick and fun listen!

I want to hear more about this world...

This was an interesting little story, coming in somewhere between short story and novella in length, but containing a lot of world building. As the story progresses, we are introduced gradually to a world of mystical warriors and magic, and introduced to a young boy fighting to keep his own soul safe. I would like to say the descriptions of places and people and things were flowery, but that would be the wrong word to use in this world of ice and snow, hard people and sharp tongues and brittle spirit. I look forward to finding out more of this world, and of the characters in this story.

The narration was excellently provided. There is something to be said for perfect pronunciation, and Andrea Emmes does just that, pacing the story and words perfectly. Her change in tone for each character was spot on, too, allowing me to differentiate between them even when it was a conversation between two boys. This made for a very enjoyable listen.