The Shadow of Witchland

By: David S. Brooks

Narrated by: Alexander Blake

Length: 12 hrs and 3 mins

Publisher's summary

A quirky new young-adult horror fantasy novel from the author of James Rhyder and the Cave of Dreams.

Sixteen-year-old Chase Addams just had the worst birthday of his entire life. He was terrorized at school by a death god, spent the evening in a haunted house, and even faced off with an urban legend in the flesh. If this wasn’t enough to ruin the average person’s day, it ended with his best friend and girlfriend, Asra Saitou, being dragged off into the abyss by a mysterious arm wreathed in flames. Chase soon discovers this kidnapping is part of a hidden war between the land of the living and the lands of the dead. What’s even worse for the self-described uncoordinated, sarcastic, smartass is everyone thinks he’s something called a guardian—one of the heroic spirits who are summoned to not only fight in the war, but keep the conflict from spilling out into the different realms of existence. Now, Chase must come to terms with what it means to be a hero, avoid the terrors prowling in the lands of the dead, maneuver the politics of an interplanar war, and, of course, try to find Asra. All of this before a lurking darkness consumes both worlds.

However, in this cosmic conflict nothing is quite what it seems.

©2021 Brooks Ziegler (P)2022 Brooks Ziegler

A whole new world

I know this book is geared toward adults, and while I like to think I'm still young at heart, as a forty-one-year-old female, I don't think this was the right book for me. I didn't bother reading the blurb, just saw the cover and thought it looked interesting. It wasn't boring or anything.

The world the author created was unique and caught my attention, and there were funny scenes, which I'm all for and it was a fast listen-to. But there was just something that didn't pull me in as much as other stories. I can't put my finger on it though.

Random note: This will probably come across as sounding strange but I felt there were way too many adverbs used, usually when they weren't needed/didn't add anything to the sentence because the rest of the sentence was saying the same thing.

Overall the narrator did a great job. His voice for the uni-brow guardian (Nazar?) was so annoying, though. I can understand a character talking slowly, but come on! I was so curious to see how his dialogue was written because I would bet that the narrator added his own take to it. Whenever that character came into a scene, after attempting to listen to him in the first scene for however many days ;), I just skipped ahead.

One of the funniest horror stories I've heard.

So I am already a fan of this author. He doesn't have a huge catalog of books, but the ones he does have are like those perfect hidden gems that you will never forget. I had high expectations going into this book, however, the voice acting literally has me in stitches. I don't think there could be a more perfect pairing for an author and narrator because they both manifested Chase's character perfectly.

As for the story, it follows the main character, Chase, as he tries to rescue his girlfriend after she got sucked into a void. He is one of those unlikely and confused heros who you wouldn't trust to open a can of tuna, let alone save a person. As you can imagine the events that ensue are ridiculously entertaining, and I loved every single minute of it. I also enjoyed the fact that it is clean and there is no swearing or anything inappropriate and I could listen to it with my nine-year-old son.

So overall a really fun story and one of the best voice performances I have ever heard. It seriously deserves a chef's kiss.

Fun and great narration

I loved the narrator. I struggled to get immersed in this book, though. The MC is fun and relatable. I preferred James Ryder, but this is a good book overall. I recommend it!