Fablehaven, Book 1

By: Brandon Mull

Narrated by: E. B. Stevens

Length: 9 hrs and 13 mins

Publisher's summary

For centuries, mystical creatures of all description were gathered to a hidden refuge called Fablehaven to prevent their extinction. The sanctuary survives today as one of the last strongholds of true magic in a cynical world. Enchanting? Absolutely. Exciting? You bet. Safe? Well, actually, quite the opposite...

Kendra and her brother Seth have no idea their grandfather is the current caretaker of Fablehaven. Inside the gated woods, ancient laws give relative order among greedy trolls, mischievous satyrs, plotting witches, spiteful imps, and jealous fairies. However, when the rules get broken, an arcane evil is unleashed, forcing Kendra and Seth to face the greatest challenge of their lives. To save her family, Fablehaven, and perhaps the world, Kendra must find the courage to do what she fears most.

©2006 Brandon Mull (P)2006 Shadow Mountain

Critic reviews

"The dialogue snaps and sizzles... Like Harry Potter, Fablehaven can be read aloud in a family with as much pleasure for grownups as for children... Do yourself a favor, and don't miss the first novel by a writer who is clearly going to be a major figure in popular fantasy." (Orson Scott Card, New York Times Bestselling Author)

"Imagination runs wild in Fablehaven. It is a lucky book that can hold this kind of story." (Obert Skye, Author of Leven Thumps and the Gateway to Foo)

Fantastic Story!! Great Imagination!!

Great Story! Interesting view on mythical characters! Fantastic option for young readers to begin their love for reading or continuing their book lovers journey! Will definitely read again myself and to my children!

Amazing story!!!!!!!!!!!

I loved this book! I am 10 years old and am listening to the series for the third time!! Read this book! I loved going into this amazing world!

Get A Better Narrator!

The story was great but I was disappointed with the narrator. The voices were annoying and cringeworthy.

Ahh love this Book!

Oh its so good to read this series. Even now there's so much wonder that I got to experience

Explaination For 3 Starred Performance Rating

I love this series and I am so glad that Audible has it on file. However, I believe that the narration by the voice actor was lilting to the point of baby-talk. He did a great job with the character voices, aside from distinguishing between each of the grandparents, but the narration had so much enthusiasm that you would think he was being sarcastic for most of it. I know, I know, it's YA fiction, but even when I was young enough to engorge my mind with such books, my own mother read these books to my siblings and I. She read them clearly, concisely, with emphasis and enthusiasm WITHOUT sounding like she was cooing a three-year-old. I would excpect Audible to understand that YA novels are not, by any means, enthralling because they are "just for kids." If I were younger and the only exposure to the book had been listening to this reading, I would never have bothered reading it myself nor continuing on with the series. I would have felt belittled, confused about the action sequences and as if someone was pandering to who they THOUGHT I was, as the listener. Young Adults just want a good story and so does this grown-ass adult.

Great Book

Once you get past the first 2 chapters you won't want to put it down!!

Great story, so-so reading

My children love the story and recognized the choices and consequences. It was great to share with them. The reading was not ideal. My daughter commented that it sounds as though there was an exclamation point at the end of every sentence. I enjoyed it though and so did they. They always wanted to listen to more.

Solid middle grade fantasy but irritating narrator

What made the experience of listening to Fablehaven, Book 1 the most enjoyable?

I'm a children's librarian so I know how popular the Fablehaven series is. A young patron challenged me to read book 1. It's a solid entertaining fantasy but occasionally predictable.

What did you like best about this story?

I liked the balance of tension, fear, and mischief that holds the reader's interest without it getting too graphically gross. The balance was good for a middle grade book (ages 8-12).

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of E. B. Stevens?

Well, Jim Dale would be fantastic. Don't know if he's still performing/recording. The narrator, EB Stevens was terrible. In fact, I logged on here to Audible to see what other people were saying about the narrator. Glad I'm not the only one who found him annoying. Every word is uttered with breathless amazement as though trying to talk a 3-year-old into eating brussel sprouts. I could never get past the narrator's voice to be lost in the story.

Wonderful

I was immediately hooked, it's a great read and an amazing start to the fabke haven't series.

magical!

loved it! can't wait to start the next book in the series! vivid and narration brought it to life.