The Sphere of Infinity: An Aladdin Retelling Novella

By: Day Leitao

Narrated by: Marlies Dubois

Length: 3 hrs and 16 mins

Publisher's summary

Be careful what you wish for.

Teenage thief Alana finds the opportunity of her lifetime in a mission to collect a precious object. The problem: it's in the Ghost Ship, an abandoned alien vessel from where nobody has come out alive.

Jasper is in a rural planet to oversee the government. His real goal? To find dragons - or at least the reason they vanished.

Destiny brings them together and thrusts the fate of the Human Universe in their hands.

The Sphere of Infinity is a standalone YA Aladdin retelling novella.

©2019 Day Leitao (P)2019 Day Leitao

A dark retelling of Aladdin

A dark retelling of Aladdin. I liked the space setting. I liked that there were dragons, although their role was a bit odd. I liked the "genie," that Aladdin became Alana. I did not like all the deaths in the story. They seemed unnecessary and abrupt and even a little callous. The backstory wasn't well developed, and although that is often the case in novellas, in this case, it made it hard to understand how all the pieces and all the people fit together. I like this author and I think she has some really cool ideas for her books. Unfortunately, this was not one of her best.

The narration was well done with a wide range of characterizations.

I received a free audiobook from the author and have reviewed it willingly.

Great retelling

The story go's for the most part how you would expect but that did not stop me from enjoying it! and am really hoping the there will be more story's set in this would and we get to learn more about the blue aliens!

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

A wonderful retelling of Aladdin.

Reviewer: Teresa Fallen Angel

Summary:
This was a fascinating retelling of Aladdin with a Sci-fi twist. Alana worked as a thief dreaming that one day she would take a job that would earn enough money to take care of her and her mother for the rest of their lives. Her chance came across taking her far away from home home into a situation that could end her life. Against all odds Alana finds a gold sphere that could change her life. If given the chance and given three wishes what would you ask for? Alana is determined to have her wishes come true, but rarely do things work out the way you want.

Alana met a handsome young man, Jasper, who seemed to be a fascinated by her as she was of him. Unfortunately, living in different social levels could make it questionable if they could be together. Don’t forget the three wishes and the individual who hired Alana who is determined to get the sphere form Alana at any costs.

Loved it

I love everything Aladdin, and this was good retelling. Loved every part of the story.

Interesting Sci-Fi take on Aladdin

A gender-swapped, science fiction take on the Aladdin story.

A very good novella. I completely forgot it's a retelling of Aladdin, because although there are many similarities, there are many new concepts and twists.

I wish there was an epilogue that happens a few years later that describes how the dragons and Janet are doing. But oh, well. A good story as it is.

I requested this audiobook from Audiobooks Unleashed and have voluntarily left this honest review.

Interesting Concept

This was a quick listen with an interesting concept (Aladdin in Space!), but ultimately not for me. The Narrator's pacing was off and I had a hard time following along.

Unique and Inspiring

*I was provided a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*
So what if Aladdin was a girl and she lived in Space? Not enough uniqueness for you? What if the Genie was alien-technology and there were dragons in need of rescuing?
The Sphere of Infinity is just that! A gender-bent space novella of Aladdin.

Our girl Alana is a professional thief trying to provide for herself and her mother. She gets hired to steal a golden orb off of a mysterious broken down alien ship hovering just outside her planet's atmosphere. The princess Jasmine is Jasper the son of a major government official working a side project to find the dragons supposedly hidden just outside of town.

There was minimal backstory and world-building, but that is typical of a Novella. The ending left me wanting more of their story. Alana is hilarious and snarky which are two of my favorite qualities in a protagonist. The antagonist was quite unexpected and a lot darker than in the well-known Disney version of the story. I feel like this would've done better as a full-length novel allowing for more culture and character building.

I listened to the audiobook and the narrator did well to show the emotions of Alana through her voice. However, there were several mistakes that were left into the final cut which can sometimes break the flow of the story.

quick

a quick listen of a retelling of aladdin that was a cute listen that is definitely geared toward middle school/young adults.

Excellent story, novice narrator

This was a great twist on an old favorite, but I had to take a star off for the narrator. The words were fumbled badly all the way through, and that really cuts into the flow of the tale and makes it less enjoyable to me. With a better reader, this would have earned five stars. I received a free review copy of this audio book in exchange for an honest review.

Magical

I recieved this audiobook free in exchange for an honest review. I loved this book so much. I was honestly sad when it ended. The story was fantastic and the author did such a great job.