Consumia's Spiritual Emporium

The Omnist, Book One

By: Rob Weldon

Narrated by: Caeri Bertrand

Length: 15 hrs and 59 mins

Publisher's summary

Listen to whichever Omnist book you like. The order is not important.

Connie, the owner of Consumia's Spiritual Emporium, believes all the “magic” she sells is invented as a marketing device.

This includes their app, the Omnist, which seems to know more about its users than it should.

And when a heavily tattooed Consumerian dies in the Dark Arts room, with all the tattoos on his body missing, the neighborhood is convinced the Emporium is a hub for evil.

©2022 Rob Weldon (P)2023 Rob Weldon

An imaginative journey, unique characters, with touches of magic!

The characters were described in the most fascinating and creative detail. I felt as though I knew them intimately, and they were real, as though I were one of the customers in the Emporium. Rob Weldon’s perspective and perceptions were spot on in his creation of each character and the relationships they had with one another. The story was intriguing; it had twists and turns that I never saw coming, and I was hooked early on! Caeri Bertrand gave a remarkably talented narration to the audio I listened to. It was more of a subtle theatrical performance. She gave each character a distinctly perfect and clear voice that matched their personality…she and Rob Weldon’s writing made them come alive!

Characters You Either Love...or Hate

To be perfectly honest, I have never listened to an audiobook, as I love the tactile and intimate feeling you get with a real book. (Plus, I was never read to as a child!) But a friend gifted me this one and I instantly fell in love with it. I can attribute most of this headiness to the perfection of the narrator and her animation of each character, all vividly expressed in individual voices, in all of their eccentricities. I was mesmerized by her voice alone, in addition to the interpretation of the distinct individuality of each freakish character depicted in tone, pitch and phonation.
Speaking of eccentric people, the character building is so well done that I felt I closely knew each character and could visualize each one, with all their piercings, tatoos, funky clothing choices and unique mannerisms. Without giving too much away, I will say that I would likely not friend many of them, or hang out at Consumia's Emporium, as I feel the neurosis would be exhausting and spiritualism delivered via an algorithm is not for me. But I guess I am old fashioned!
Regardless of being an old world Spiritualist, I really enjoyed the story once I got past the character development and appreciated the twists and turns. I didn't read about the book beforehand so I was happily surprised to come across a mystery in the works.
This is the first of Rob's books that I've 'read', and I can easily say I'm a fan! Hearing that he's a fellow Detroiter, I would really love to hang with him and am curious about the mind of such an Author to create such an otherworldly, but realistic realm. I will be purchasing the actual book and others in the series, and especially curious to read "Mostly Human, Mostly Cat" next!

I would shop at Consumeria’s Spiritual Emporium!

I enjoyed listening to Consumia's Spiritual Emporium. The characters were interesting and they were aptly named. That became more apparent as the story unfolded. What started as a business, Connie's store evolved from a catchy consumer magnet for those seeking spiritual enlightenment merchandise, to a phenomenon in itself. I especially liked the Motes which made me wonder what kind of subliminal messages I receive from where I shop! Caeri’s narration brought the quirky characters alive!!

Brilliant story with incredible narration!

Beautifully written and exquisitely narrated! This story is amazing and insightful. It hooked me instantly! Caeri Bertrand's narration is simply beautiful. It is done in a way where I feel like I am right there observing the fascinating characters in real time. I highly recommend this to everyone.

I'll be listening to this one again!

Totally addictive listen! I love this wild story and all of the characters, it's one of those ensemble cast stories where you have favorites and get lost in their stories. The narration was excellent, I love her voice and she did a good job acting as each character. I have to get the next book in this series! I can totally see this as a Netflix series, I hope they make one.

Well Written and Well Read!

A cool mix of metaphysics meets capitalism and then some. Awesome and interesting characters whose lives intertwine in a unique setting. Its that shop around the corner that you've been meaning to check out, but also think might be just a little too weird for you . . . then one day you do and . . . wow! Surprising twists and turns, that cause one to both shudder and laugh, wish for the best and wonder whats next! Read at just the right pace, with just the right amount of animation and perfect inflection.

Intriguing and Mysterious!

The Consumia’s Spiritual Emporium is a shop that sells unique and magical objects. The salespeople and owner are unique as well as the person they find dead in their Dark Arts room! One must decide if the Emporium is evil or simply a targeted victim.

The author, Rob Weldon, weaves a compelling magical story that blends mystery, beliefs, and action. The characters in the story are varied leaving the reader to question their “humanness” versus their spirituality. For example, the owner believes magical items are tools specifically for marketing for financial gain and nothing more or less. Others feel the magical items have a greater purpose. This contrast is interesting and thought-provoking. The struggle to identify the Emporium's essence – good versus evil is also intriguing. The dialogue guided the storyline smoothly and authentically. Each character was well-developed and instrumental to the storyline.

The narrator, Caeri Bertrand, told the story through a well-paced delivery and utilized the pauses masterfully. She captured and projected the essence of each character vividly moving from character to character smoothly.

This book was entertaining and thought-provoking; I recommend it to anyone who enjoys the supernatural.

There were no issues with the quality or production of this audiobook.