The Fall of the Kings

By: Ellen Kushner, Delia Sherman

Narrated by: Ellen Kushner, Nick Sullivan, Neil Gaiman, Simon Jones, Katherine Kellgren, Robert Fass, Richard Ferrone, Tim Jerome

Length: 18 hrs and 40 mins

Publisher's summary

Audie Award Finalist, Multi-Voiced Performance, 2014

Audie Award Finalist, Audio Drama, 2014

Award-winning author, narrator, and screenwriter Neil Gaiman personally selected this book, and, using the tools of the Audiobook Creation Exchange (ACX), produced this work for his audiobook label, Neil Gaiman Presents.

A few words from Neil on The Fall of the Kings: "In the Riverside chronology of events, The Fall of the Kings takes place a generation after Swordspoint. If you are new to the world of Riverside, I hope the richness of this book will surprise and delight you, with multi-voiced scenes set like jewels in the gold of Ellen Kushner's narration…."

In this stunning follow-up to Kushner's The Privilege of the Sword and the Audie-award winning Swordspoint, co-author Delia Sherman (The Freedom Maze) joins Ellen to return to that world of labyrinthine intrigue, where sharp swords and even sharper wits rule. This time, they explore the city's University, where a troubled young nobleman and his scholar lover find themselves playing out an ancient drama destined to explode their society's smug view of itself.

In a city grown decadent, myth and magic begin to seep through the ancient stones. Generations ago the last king fell. But the blood of kings runs deep in the land - and the key may be Theron Campion of Tremontaine, a louche beauty of questionable morals seeking to escape his family heritage in the University lecture halls. When he and renegade scholar Basil St. Cloud come together, they discover that the price of uncovering ancient history may be to be forced to repeat it....

Sue Zizza of SueMedia Productions creates some truly stunning sound elements, including a full score of original music by composer Nathanael Tronerud commissioned for this series... with a full supporting cast who bring to life the rich tapestry of passionate University scholars, noblemen in brothels and Riverside lowlifes, in the sophisticated urban setting that Kushner's many fans have come to love.

To hear more from Neil Gaiman on The Fall of the Kings, click here, or listen to the introduction at the beginning of the book itself.

Learn more about Neil Gaiman Presents and Audiobook Creation Exchange (ACX).

©2003 Ellen Kushner & Delia Sherman (P)2013 SueMedia Productions

Critic reviews

"The authors tap into fantasy's genuine source of drama, its ability to haunt, appall, transform. A powerful fantasy that rises above the crowd with a vivid setting, complex characters, and elegant prose." ( Locus) "[W]itty dialogue, prose as precise as a blow to the heart... magic with a true aura of numinous danger, thrilling fights, thrilling scholarly debates, old books, swashbuckling aunts, exquisite clothing, ancient rituals, hot chocolate, female pirates, erotic paintings.... [I]t leaves one with much to consider after the book is closed." (Rachel Manija Brown, Green Man Review) "A virtual treat for all the senses! For those who like their fantasy soaked in intrigue, history and romance . . . one of the bawdiest and most intellectually stimulating novels of the year!" (Gavin Grant, BookPage)