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The Bear and the Nightingale
- A Novel
- Narrated by: Kathleen Gati
- Length: 11 hrs and 48 mins
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Publisher's summary
Katherine Arden’s best-selling debut novel spins an irresistible spell as it announces the arrival of a singular talent with a gorgeous voice.
“A beautiful deep-winter story, full of magic and monsters and the sharp edges of growing up.” (Naomi Novik, best-selling author of Uprooted)
Winter lasts most of the year at the edge of the Russian wilderness, and in the long nights, Vasilisa and her siblings love to gather by the fire to listen to their nurse’s fairy tales. Above all, Vasya loves the story of Frost, the blue-eyed winter demon. Wise Russians fear him, for he claims unwary souls, and they honor the spirits that protect their homes from evil.
Then Vasya’s widowed father brings home a new wife from Moscow. Fiercely devout, Vasya’s stepmother forbids her family from honoring their household spirits, but Vasya fears what this may bring. And indeed, misfortune begins to stalk the village.
But Vasya’s stepmother only grows harsher, determined to remake the village to her liking and to groom her rebellious stepdaughter for marriage or a convent. As the village’s defenses weaken and evil from the forest creeps nearer, Vasilisa must call upon dangerous gifts she has long concealed - to protect her family from a threat sprung to life from her nurse’s most frightening tales.
Praise for The Bear and the Nightingale
“Arden’s debut novel has the cadence of a beautiful fairy tale but is darker and more lyrical.” (The Washington Post)
“Vasya [is] a clever, stalwart girl determined to forge her own path in a time when women had few choices.” (The Christian Science Monitor)
“Stunning...will enchant readers from the first page....with an irresistible heroine who wants only to be free of the bonds placed on her gender and claim her own fate.” (Publishers Weekly [starred review])
“Utterly bewitching...a lush narrative...an immersive, earthy story of folk magic, faith, and hubris, peopled with vivid, dynamic characters, particularly clever, brave Vasya, who outsmarts men and demons alike to save her family.” (Booklist [starred review])
“An extraordinary retelling of a very old tale... The Bear and the Nightingale is a wonderfully layered novel of family and the harsh wonders of deep winter magic.” (Robin Hobb)
Critic reviews
"Arden's supple, sumptuous first novel transports the reader to a version of medieval Russia where history and myth coexist." (Kirkus Reviews)
Featured Article: 10 Wondrous Women Sci-Fi & Fantasy Authors for You to Explore
A guy’s genre? Get real! Led by grand dame Octavia E. Butler, women rock at writing epic science fiction and thrilling fantasy. Fantasy and science fiction have historically been dominated by men, perpetuating the myth that they are male genres with predominantly male writers and listeners. Nothing could be further from the truth, as these famous female fantasy and science fiction authors prove. Speculative genres are for everyone.
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- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Uncertain of the past, Aerin-sol, daughter of King Arlbeth, decides to forge her own future by challenging the lashing tongues of the dragon’s fire. Aerin’s proficiency as "the Dragon-slayer" sets her on a quest for the stolen Crown of Damar, believed to be in the hands of rebellious northerners who threaten to destroy the Damarian people and their home forever.
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Second only to Blue Sword
- By mkc on 01-18-13
By: Robin McKinley
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Macbeth: A Novel
- By: A. J. Hartley, David Hewson
- Narrated by: Alan Cumming
- Length: 9 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Macbeth: A Novel brings the intricacy and grit of the historical thriller to Shakespeare’s tale of political intrigue, treachery, and murder. In this full-length novel written exclusively for audio, authors A. J. Hartley and David Hewson rethink literature’s most infamous married couple, grounding them in a medieval Scotland whose military and political upheavals are as stark and dramatic as the landscape in which they are played.
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Narrator choice inspired
- By Beverly on 07-10-11
By: A. J. Hartley, and others
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Witch's Boy
- By: Kelly Barnhill
- Narrated by: Ralph Lister
- Length: 9 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
When Ned and his identical twin brother tumble from their raft into a raging, bewitched river, only Ned survives. Villagers are convinced the wrong boy lived. Sure enough, Ned grows up weak and slow, and stays as much as possible within the safe boundaries of his family's cottage and yard. But when a Bandit King comes to steal the magic that Ned's mother, a witch, is meant to protect, it's Ned who safeguards the magic and summons the strength to protect his family and community.
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Not as good as expected
- By ladybug on 03-19-17
By: Kelly Barnhill
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The Wood's Edge
- By: Lori Benton
- Narrated by: Liz Pearce
- Length: 14 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
The 1757 New York frontier is home to the Oneida tribe and to British colonists, yet their feet rarely walk the same paths. On the day Fort William Henry falls, Major Reginald Aubrey is beside himself with grief. His son, born that day, has died in the arms of his sleeping wife.
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Awesome
- By WeRLoved on 04-25-18
By: Lori Benton
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Daughter of the Forest
- Sevenwaters, Book 1
- By: Juliet Marillier
- Narrated by: Terry Donnelly
- Length: 26 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Story
Lovely Sorcha is the seventh child and only daughter of Lord Colum of Sevenwaters. Bereft of a mother, she is comforted by her six brothers who love and protect her. Sorcha is the light in their lives and they are determined that she know only contentment. But Sorcha's joy is shattered when her father is bewitched by his new wife, an evil enchantress who binds her brothers with a terrible spell, a spell which only Sorcha can lift - by staying silent.
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Compelling story--but only at 1.5x
- By barefoot rabbit on 09-09-13
By: Juliet Marillier
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Hunted
- By: Meagan Spooner
- Narrated by: Saskia Maarleveld, Will Damron
- Length: 9 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Story
Beauty knows the Beast's forest in her bones - and in her blood. After all, her father is the only hunter who's ever come close to discovering its secrets. So when her father loses his fortune and moves Yeva and her sisters out of their comfortable home among the aristocracy and back to the outskirts of town, Yeva is secretly relieved. Out in the wilderness, there's no pressure to make idle chatter with vapid baronessas or to submit to marrying a wealthy gentleman.
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Slow but imaginative, a little unsatisfying
- By Emily on 07-31-20
By: Meagan Spooner
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The Dreaming Tree
- By: C. J. Cherryh
- Narrated by: Gabra Zackman
- Length: 17 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Story
It was that transitional time of the world when man first brought the clang of iron and the reek of smoke to the lands which before had echoed only with fairy voices. In that dawn of man and death of magic, there yet remained one last untouched place - the small forest of Ealdwood - which kept the magic intact and protected the old ways. And there was one who dwelt there, Arafel the Sidhe, who had more pride and love of the world as it used to be than any of her kind.
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mysterious, authentic, beautiful
- By B. Mertz on 12-09-18
By: C. J. Cherryh
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Deerskin
- By: Robin McKinley
- Narrated by: Xe Sands
- Length: 11 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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Story
The only daughter of a beloved king and queen, Princess Lissar has grown up in the shadow of her parents' infinite adoration for each other - an infatuation so great that it could only be broken by the queen's unexpected passing. As Lissar reaches womanhood, it becomes clear to everyone in the kingdom that she has inherited her late mother's breathtaking beauty. But on the eve of her seventeenth birthday, Lissar's exquisite looks become a curse. Betrayed and abused, Lissar is forced to flee her home to escape her father's madness.
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Poor Narrator choice :/
- By Elizabeth on 05-29-18
By: Robin McKinley
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Katherine
- A Novel
- By: Anya Seton
- Narrated by: Lorna Bennett
- Length: 29 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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Set in the vibrant fourteenth century of Chaucer and the Black Death, the story features knights fighting in battle, serfs struggling in poverty, and the magnificent Plantagenets—Edward III, the Black Prince, and Richard II—who rule despotically over a court rotten with intrigue. Within this era of danger and romance, John of Gaunt, the king’s son, falls passionately in love with the already-married Katherine. Their affair persists through decades of war, adultery, murder, loneliness, and redemption.
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my favorite novel brought to life
- By Heather on 10-04-23
By: Anya Seton
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Shapechangers
- Chronicles of the Cheysuli, Book 1
- By: Jennifer Roberson
- Narrated by: Bronson Pinchot
- Length: 10 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Shapechangers. They were the Cheysuli, a race of magical warriors gifted with the ability to assume animal shape at will. For centuries they had been allies to the King of Homana, treasured champions of the realm. Until a king’s daughter ran away with a Cheysuli liege man and caused a war of annihilation against the Cheysuli race. Twenty-five years later the Cheysuli were hunted exiles in their own land, feared for their sorcery, their shapechanging.
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Victims of R-assult/kidnapping BEWARE
- By A. on 06-26-21
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Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow
- By: Jessica Day George
- Narrated by: Jessica Roland
- Length: 7 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Blessed (or cursed) with an ability to understand animals, the Lass has always been an oddball. And when an isbjorn (polar bear) seeks her out, and promises that her family will become rich if only the Lass will accompany him to his castle, she doesn't hesitate. But the bear is not what he seems, nor is his castle, which is made of ice and inhabited by a silent staff of servants.
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Fairytale
- By Hawaii Tesla Detailing on 05-30-12
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The Wretched of Muirwood
- Legends of Muirwood, Book 1
- By: Jeff Wheeler
- Narrated by: Kate Rudd
- Length: 8 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
In the ancient and mystical land of Muirwood, Lia has known only a life of servitude. Labeled a “wretched”, an outcast unwanted and unworthy of respect, Lia is forbidden to realize her dream to read or write. All but doomed, her days are spent toiling away as a kitchen slave under the charge of the Aldermaston, the Abbey’s watchful overseer. But when an injured squire named Colvin is abandoned at the kitchen’s doorstep, an opportunity arises.
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Faith-based fantasy series
- By Skipper on 11-16-16
By: Jeff Wheeler
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Untamed
- Medieval Trilogy, Book 1
- By: Elizabeth Lowell
- Narrated by: Anne Flosnik
- Length: 11 hrs
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
A hero of the crusades, Dominic le Sabre has returned in glory and in triumph to claim his reward: the beautiful Saxon bride awarded to him by the conqueror king. But Lady Margaret of the Blackthorne cannot yield to the bold Norman invader.
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Perfect!
- By Diana on 06-29-08
By: Elizabeth Lowell
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No Man of Woman Born
- Rewoven Tales
- By: Ana Mardoll
- Narrated by: Cori Samuel
- Length: 6 hrs
- Unabridged
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Overall
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From the author of the Earthside series and the Rewoven Tales novels, No Man of Woman Born is a collection of seven fantasy stories in which transgender and nonbinary characters subvert and fulfill gendered prophecies. These prophecies recognize and acknowledge each character's gender, even when others do not.
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Not What I expected
- By Customer on 07-27-18
By: Ana Mardoll
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What listeners say about The Bear and the Nightingale
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Jan
- 01-28-17
Culture-Rich, Unusual, Captivating
This novel of Russian Folklore is beautifully written with smooth narration. Arden paints a great mental landscape with rich descriptions Russia and it's culture. If this is a fairy tale, it is an adult fairy tale.
The atmosphere is similar to Marillier's "Blackthorn and Grim," Joyce's "Some Kind of Fairy Tale," and "The Snow Child."
I love books that grab my attention from page one and maintain it until I hear "Audible hopes you have enjoyed this program." The Bear and the Nightingale did that for me.
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111 people found this helpful
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- Jeremy
- 04-07-17
An Impoverished Fantasy
What makes good scifi / fantasy is its resonance. You can have dragons, aliens, mermaids, wizards, magic, but all of those fantastical elements should call to our world in some way. Monsters are real. This is why Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, Song of Ice & Fire all work is because we recognize the truth underneath the magical. The Bear and the Nightingale lacks resonance because there doesn't seem to be anything real within the story. The monster is ill defined, the hero lacks cohesion, all characters seem to lack motivation.
What is so frustrating is that there is a really great book in here somewhere. I want to read about Russian folklore. I want to read about what life was like for a village in Northern Russia during winter.
I really wanted to like this book, I'm only about one hour from finishing, and I'm not sure I'll actually take the time.
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91 people found this helpful
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- Crystal Midkiff
- 02-04-17
I was swept away
This was such a wonderful story that I honestly got lost in it and it was unlike any book I have read. It was also familiar, in a way, and reminded me of stories my own grandmother used to tell me when I was little. This is a story with a strong protagonist, rich characters and an enchanting story that proves you are never too old for fairy tales. I would recommend it to anyone, but especially someone who loves folktales and especially on a cold night with warm tea handy!
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- T. Winter
- 05-12-17
Blah.
I found this book quite boring and ordinary. I loved Novik's Uprooted, so I jumped at this one after hearing the comparisons. My family was part of the old Russian nobility, so I grew up hearing anecdotes about the way of life back then and tend to like stories with those parallels. Also, I love Russian fairy tales. I expected to absolutely adore this book.
However, I just didn't find it remotely interesting. I tried for a long time to stick with it due to the reviews, but it was a huge chore. As far as I'm concerned, the only thing it had in common with Uprooted was the similar geography and the narrator's accent (that part was nice, I admit). This book was obviously meant to read like a fairy tale, but if it did it was an extremely tedious one. The characters were boring and unsympathetic. In certain parts of the book, time passed so quickly you couldn't really get to know anyone or become attached, yet you were still supposed to feel something when their minor interests were somehow threatened.
If I had to pin it down, I would say a common theme was that the author *told* you why you should love her characters or care what they did, i.e., "she was a beautiful, bright child" (when of course everything that came out of her mouth was ridiculous), or "he wanted to join the brotherhood more than anything else in the world" (and then forgetting about it for five chapters before bringing it up again), instead of *showing* you. Sorry, but it's not that easy. And it shouldn't be.
There was more wrong with it than that, but in general the problem was that it was simply boring. I can't for the life of me understand the reviews. Suffice it to say, I just didn't fall for it or see it the same way others seemed to. Too bad. I would have liked a good fairy tale.
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- Ella
- 07-28-17
A thrilling historical fantasy
Any additional comments?
The Bear and the Nightingale swept me off my feet. Everything about it drew me in and kept me from putting the book down - I finished it in just a week, reading several hours a night. Katherine Arden is a remarkably gifted world-builder and her prose style is gorgeous; the book comes to life before your eyes. I felt like I was in medieval Russia with the vivid, yet not overwhelming, description. That's a balance that seems to elude most modern-day authors, but when on the rare occasion one finds it as Arden did, everyone wins.
I know almost nothing of Russian history or folklore beyond the context of this book, so my commentary on the cultural and historical aspects of the story is useless. Regardless, I found the mythological aspects thrilling. Without any pre-existing understanding, it took me a while to figure out what some of the creatures were and their significance. I wasn't sure if they were malevolent or misunderstood. It's difficult to explain exactly what they are - personifications and guardian spirits, or perhaps both. I was reminded of Miyazaki's Spirited Away in this sense, which I thought was pretty interesting given the very different and separate contexts. Strangely enough, I think this comparison actually helped me get the concept of the Russian spirits better than I might have otherwise.
I really enjoyed the characters in this book - Vasya, especially, but also Dunya and even Ana (only as a character, not a person). To expand on that - Ana had a lot of dynamicism and I went through a whole cycle of emotions towards her throughout the story (although none of those emotions was fondness).
The relationship between Dunya and Marina and then Dunya and Vasya was... just beautiful. Vasya herself was so easy to love - it sounds like a simple thing, but writing a character the reader is meant to love can go so terribly wrong, and there is no worse fate for a character than to become a Mary Sue. Vasya managed to be noble, courageous, persevering, and full of strength and fortitude without ever dipping a toe into those deadly waters. I loved her character and getting the reader to love Vasya was such a critical accomplishment. No matter how beautiful the prose and elaborate the world-building, The Bear and the Nightingale is Vasya's story - for it to work, the reader has to love Vasya; there is no other option. Arden accomplished this brilliantly.
I found the religious conflict in the story to be interesting, although there were points that I wasn't comfortable with. I really enjoyed the way Arden portrayed the merging of traditional Russian spiritual beliefs with newly-imparted Christianity in Pyotr's lands. Being that Pyotr and his family did not live in the central kingdom of Moscow (where, it appears, due to the strong influence of the king, other religious customs were no longer tolerated), it made sense that, having less pressure on them to fully devote themselves to Christianity, the transition would have been less of a conversion than an incorporation of new and old belief systems. This has been the case in innumerable cultures worldwide as varying religions spread.
However, the character of Konstantin was an issue for me. In the beginning, Konstantin is an excellent and devoted priest and when he discovers that Pyotr and his people are still honoring old spiritual customs, it concerns him. This makes sense, as his role is to lead the people in the religion adopted by the king in Moscow, which is Catholicism. However, my real issue was that the only two really negatively-portrayed characters in the book are Konstantin and Ana, who are, simultaneously, the only two characters with a strong devotion to Christianity. Yes, all the characters are Christian - but many, such as Dunya, also remember the time before the adoption of Christianity, and therefore have a strong respect for the old beliefs themselves, and so do their children. Konstantin also later becomes unwittingly corrupted by the evil of the Bear and completely loses sight of his old self and begins to struggle immensely with temptations, and his motivations with regard to "leading his flock" so to speak, lose their initial good intention. My issue wasn't so much the character of a fallen or corrupted priest but that there was a strong dichotomy between the two predominantly Christian characters and everyone else. It did give me a vibe of anti-Christian sentiment, which was unfortunate.
Aside from these criticisms, I thought this was a wonderful read. I didn't realize it is to be part of a series, so I am looking forward to reading the next installment!
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- Chad
- 11-13-17
Standard Fantasy Fare
Standard fantasy trope of someone being born with special powers that no one else possesses. Thankfully, she wasn't destined to save the world (just her village).
I confess that I had difficulty keeping track of some of the characters because of their Russian names. I think this difficulty was particular to the audiobook format and would have been easier on the written page. Despite this, the narrator did a wonderful job with them and her performance added a lot of authenticity to the tale.
The story took awhile to get started. This is a two-book series, and much like a Marvel movie, it had a couple of tangents that had nothing to do with the main story, which I suspect will be taken up in the next book. For example, the book introduces a brother who wants to become a monk early in the book. That decision is made and is never again relevant to the story. I don't like stories told in this way (just wait until these danging plots become relevant with future book purchases).
I also didn't care for what has become a standard trope in modern story-telling, which is to make Christian priests the bad guys. The church is bad. The priest is the real evil-doer. Did I just blow your mind? I suspect not. I've seen it a thousand times before and it's tedious and at odds with reality.
The bad guy seems to gain strength because of the people's unbelief in the old ways, or fear, or something. It's not clear. And it's not clear how our heroine's actions at the end were sufficient to beat back the rising unbelief or fear, or whatever. The resolution wasn't related to the cause. So, it wasn't very satisfying.
In all, it had some interesting concepts. The heroine was sympathetic and interesting, but the story seemed a little jumbled and cluttered with some storytelling elements that detracted from the tale. I'd pass.
AUDIBLE 20 REVIEW SWEEPSTAKES ENTRY
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- Kindle Customer
- 02-08-17
Similar in feel to "Uprooted", I loved it
Reading other reviews, I was pleased to see several mentions of Naomi Novik's "Uprooted" in comparison to this fantasy. The language is lovely, not stilted, and the descriptions sit in a satisfactory way in the mouth. The narrator of the audiobook version did a wonderful Russian accent, not too heavy in the vowels, not hard to follow. I thoroughly enjoyed the story.
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- laura
- 06-20-19
Ok folktale, with 20 hours Russian winter to get through.
The overall story was an interesting folktale. The issue is there are hours and hours and HOURS of characters and details that have zero to do with this storyline. Hours! I actually loved the description and detail of winter, local foods, dress etc. however 10 winters later I was over hearing how the sun makes the snow sparkle and the forest is spooky. However, in all that time the one story she did not manage to tell were the details behind THIS folktale. The ending didn’t make any sense compared to the focus on this one girl. I see there are further books, but I have Russian story fatigue and can’t bring myself to do it.
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- ShirleyC
- 03-04-17
I have missed reading enough book reviews.
How ELSE can I explain having missed this author & this title until now? I am certain that reviewers have been as favorable (or moreso!) about her perfect accent - American OR Russian - as well as her ability to add more than a soupçon of interest to narration .
Absolutely fresh and refreshing, learning about Russian fables....made all the more delightful by the narrator, Kathleen Gati. She injects a certain Eastern focus by explaining, for example, the lore surrounding "Frost", which is most interestingly and definitely different the "Jack Frost" tales we have here in the USA.
Last, but far and away from "least" for the author, Katherine Arden, a huge "BRAVA" for her ability to bring Russian tales to light and sprinkling them them throughout to honestly picture the difference between East and West -- even to the "tales" we honor by passing them on the next generation. AND to presenting us with memorable insight to what makes our fairy tales so very entertaining, in this case, the "Eastern" focus and it's impact on both the story, the characters and the reader. Again, "BRAVA!" -- and "Thank You!"
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- Lady of the Lake
- 03-03-17
I would give this six stars if I could
She is a fantastic story teller I loved every bit of this book
I cannot put it down.
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