The Crow

By: Alison Croggon

Narrated by: Colin Moody

Length: 18 hrs and 25 mins

Publisher's Summary

While Maerad journeys in the far north, her brother, Hem, is sent south to the golden city of Turbansk. There, he learns the ways of the Bards and discovers a hidden gift when he rescues a white crow. But when the forces of the Dark threaten, Hem flees with his protector, Saliman, and a young orphan girl named Zelika to join the Light’s resistance forces. Soon Hem discovers that he, too, has a crucial role to play in the quest to solve the Riddle of the Treesong.

Listen to another Pellinor title.

©2010 Alison Croggon (P)2011 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

Critic Reviews

“This penultimate epic... is emotionally astute and brimming with vivid detail.” ( Kirkus Reviews)

Great story grating narration...

From the pronunciation of names to the rubbish accents to the main characters sounding dim witted somehow, the narration for the crow was really disappointing for me. I felt that all the characters were dimmed by it. Still I was/am invested in the story and had purchased it so I listened to the whole thing. I have rarely if ever given an audio book a bad review and to be fair I feel that this narrator is not so much bad at narration but was just not right for this story. He strikes me as being someone I'd choose to read a book for much younger listeners.

The story is AWESOME. The narration is HORRID!!

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

Using the same narrator for all four books would have made this experience wonderful!! Eloise Oxer did such a fantastic job with the rest of the series. Colin Moody would have made a good computer voice, dull, monotone, dreary and therefore annoying. I couldn't even get through one chapter. I would adore hearing this story redone using Eloise. I regret downloading this version.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Hem and Crow were the characters I wanted to follow in this book.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

His voice was very Text to Speech. Monotone doesn't even begin to describe the awful sound. He has no inflection, no sense of using his voice to portray different characters, and no sense of timing or dramatic pauses. Please don't let him read any more of your books!!!

What character would you cut from The Crow?

none. Alison Croggon wrote a wonderful story that fits perfectly into the series.

Any additional comments?

Fire this narrator immediately.

Great Story, Worst Narrator

Would you try another book from Alison Croggon and/or Colin Moody?

The Books of Pellinor are one of my favorite series, and I'd be interested in reading anything else Alison Croggon creates. However, I will never purchase another audio book narrated by Colin Moody. His voice is bland, his accents are horrid and his dictation overall was very difficult to listen to. He mispronounced many words specific to this book, and I had to reimagine all of the dialogue in the book to match the tone and setting of the story as well as the personality of the character because I thought his impression did not make any sense at all. There was scant emotion or feeling put behind any of the words. He did a disservice to the Alison Croggon's beautifully created world and story.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Colin Moody?

I would have stayed with Eloise Oxer for all of the books. I don't think just because the book is in Hem's point of view that a male should narrate the book.

Terrible Narrator

Would you be willing to try another one of Colin Moody’s performances?

NO! This is the worst narrator I have listened to so far. I wish I could get a refund.

Narrator ruined the story

What didn’t you like about Colin Moody’s performance?

Moody's performance was stiff and uninteresting. He had little range in his voice, giving just about every character the same Eastern European-type accent. If this recording was the first one in the series, I wouldn't have listened to any of it. I pushed through it because I want to know how the series ends, but this was very, very disappointing.