The Ballad of Perilous Graves

De: Alex Jennings

Narrado por: Gralen Bryant Banks

"Funny, wild, witty, and profound.”―Victor LaValle

"A wild and wonderful debut, teeming with music, family and art."—New York Times

"Magical, lyrical, gritty, otherworldly…hype like Bayou Classic in the 90s."—P. Djèlí Clark

New York Times Best Science Fiction and Fantasy Book of 2022! Oprah Daily Top 25 Fantasy Book of 2022! Apple Best Audiobook of 2022!

A fun and fantastical love letter to New Orleans unfolds when a battle for the city's soul brews between two young mages, a vengeful wraith, and one powerful song in this wildly imaginative debut.

Nola is a city full of wonders. A place of sky trolleys and dead cabs, where haints dance the night away and Wise Women help keep the order. To those from Away, Nola might seem strange. To Perilous Graves, it’s simply home.

Perry knows Nola’s rhythm as intimately as his own heartbeat. So when the city’s Great Magician starts appearing in odd places and essential songs are forgotten, Perry knows trouble is afoot.

Nine songs of power have escaped from the piano that maintains the city’s beat, and without them, Nola will fail. Unwilling to watch his home be destroyed, Perry will sacrifice everything to save it. But a storm is brewing, and the Haint of All Haints is awake. Nola’s time might be coming to an end.

Audiobook features an Original score written and performed by Andrew McGowan

Reseñas de la Crítica

"A hallucinatory wonder of a debut with hints of dark humor and the intellectual challenge of Samuel Delaney. Brimming with language and music, this phantasmagoric novel taps the deep root of multi-cultural, multi-racial life in, and beyond, New Orleans. It’s an electrifying trip with zombie cabbies, sentient blues songs, parading graffiti tags, and the child mages Perilous “Perry” Graves, his sister Brendy and their best friend Peaches who must outwit, outstomp, and outplay to save NOLA’s, their city’s, our city’s, soul."—Walter Mosley, New York Times bestselling author

“Alex Jennings did not come here to play. He came to swing, stride, and make prose sing. This novel is funny, wild, witty, and profound. The Ballad of Perilous Graves is the debut of a cosmic storm of talent.” —Victor LaValle, author of The Changeling

"A spectacularly original re-imagining of the myths and legends of New Orleans brought vividly to life through Jennings' wondrous prose. The Ballad of Perilous Graves is not only an engrossing adventure but a potent homage to the beating heart of one of the world's most magical cities." —Ladee Hubbard, author of The Talented Ribkins

"Alex Jennings has composed a beautiful song full of magic and rhythm, darkness and delight. A profoundly gorgeous debut." —Christina Henry, author of Near the Bone and Horseman

“The Ballad of Perilous Graves takes readers on a glorious, gorgeously sinister, and phantasmagorical journey through New Orleans, in the company of an unforgettable hero and a cast of magical characters so real I ached to live in their world. A stunning debut that is sure to become a classic."—Elizabeth Hand, author of Generation Loss and Hokuloa Road

"An enchanting, energetic, wild ride of a story set to a staccato melody. The electric prose leaps off the page in a riot of colors and sounds. An astounding debut that will leave readers hungry for more.”—Leslye Penelope, author of The Monsters We Defy

"Brimming with heart and imagination, The Ballad of Perilous Graves is a wild, dark and joyful love song to New Orleans, the power of stories, and hope in the face of destruction. A spectacular debut."—H. G. Parry, author of A Declaration of the Rights of Magicians

"I enjoyed The Ballad of Perilous Graves tremendously. Jennings writes with an energy and a profusion of imagination and vividness that carries you off to a secret New Orleans where music is magic. Brilliant!”—Katherine Addison, author of The Goblin Emperor

"Jennings’s post-Katrina haunted NOLA breathes fresh energy into modern Fantasy. His lyrical prose dances to a rhythm all its own."—Stina Leicht, author of Persephone Station

A delicious and rollicking listen

Lovingly dedicated to New Orleans and its inhabitants, an urban fantasy with a highly developed world-building sensibility. Certainly helps if you know some of the New Orleans musicians, singers and celebrities, I personally found it difficult to follow all the ins and outs, but it was a pleasure to just relax and float on the waves of words as it came rolled to its spirited and satisfying conclusion.

Excellent performance, music and story!

Very unique audio experience. Love the jazz score. Give it a try! Super impressive for a new author.

A wonderful exploration of people

I can’t imagine what a better performance of the myriad characters could be. A brilliant performance that enhanced beautiful, deft, and familiar handling of the east to get wrong dialects and cultures.

Incredible

Fantastical storytelling that wonderfully honors to the amazing and magical place that is Nola. And perfectly narrated!

Powerfull and Unique

This is my 1st September read of 2024 and I got to say it was so intriguing and unique I couldn't put it down. I literally read the paperback and listened when I couldn't read it. The characters are so real and veautifully developed, the story is magestic and fantastic. The little side stories, histories, mithologies were so interesting that I could read a wholenother book just about those. If you love Jazz, Art, Magic and the fantastical I totally recommend this book.

Perfectly Trippy

This story meandered beautifully between two worlds. I loved hearing all the things I love about New Orleans put into this magical realm.

Fantastic Read

This amazing book is only enhanced By the wonderful narration of the sweeter. A fantastical adventure in the city of New Orleans.

Most enjoyable book I've read in a long, long time

Thank you, Alex Jennings, for manifesting this beautiful world and extraordinary characters so we all could enjoy spending time with them.

It’s been a long time since I was this happy to be confused!

I enjoyed this story immensely, and the musician score definitely adds to the experience! It reminded me of “Lincoln in the Bardo” by George Saunders and “Peaces” by Helen Oyeyemi, but is still absolutely in a class of it’s own.

Magic and Music

Unlikely heroes bring this tale of magickallll New Orleans to life. Gralen's (may I call you Gralen?) narration brought me along on this journey like I was his favorite cousin and he couldn't wait to tell me about his adventures. Delightful world building and characters you root for. Even the villains are elegant in their desire to win. A relatable trans character whose gender identity wasn't the reason they were in the story. Refreshing to have an LGBTQ+ character normalized as an integral part of the story. I recommend this urban fantasy tale by an author of color. #blackexcellence