New Reviews: Fantasy

Narrator Mary Jane Wells's outstanding performance transports listeners to 1911 Vienna. When Gustav Klimt spies a nude woman floating in the Danube, he can't resist sketching her. But it turns out that she's alive, and he takes her to his studio. With a little help from Freud and Jung, she recovers her memory. She realizes that she's more than 100 years old and the involuntary... Read More

The named cards in a tarot pack, the Major Arcana, come to life in this romantasy, deftly narrated by Anna Burnett. The illegal power to ink magical tarot cards lands Clara Graysword in a desolate prison cell. But when Prince Kaelis, the man Clara thinks killed her mother and disappeared her sister, shows up, Clara's life sentence turns into admission to the famed Arcana... Read More

A full cast of experienced narrators breathe life into this thrilling supernatural tale filled with magic, mystery, and a hunt for objects with enormous power. Marissa Clay portrays kindhearted, self-assured private investigator Nevada Baylor, whose power is instantly recognizing lies. She teams up with Connor "Mad" Rogan, portrayed by Henry Kramer, a ruthless killer who has a... Read More

Actor Cynthia Erivo narrates this WICKED prequel about future witch Elphaba's childhood. In the land of Oz, Erivo introduces listeners to precocious Elphie and her missionary family as they travel across the swamps and marshes of Quadling country. Elphie's complex relationship with her disabled sister, Nessarose, and curiosity about the world at large are at the center of this... Read More

Sean Patrick Hopkins and Adenrele Ojo narrate a compelling addition to the world created by Stephen King in THE STAND. The anthology collects stories set during, after, and long after the events of the iconic novel. Hopkins's steady, engaging narration captures the essence of each story. With his clear enunciation and varied pacing, the different characters and harrowing... Read More

Nathaniel Priestly ushers listeners into the mind and heart of Sydney Carton, who listeners may remember is the unfortunate protagonist of Charles Dickens's TALE OF TWO CITIES. Author Parry has given Carton a backstory that explains both his uncanny resemblance to Charles Darnay and his dissolution: He was stolen as a toddler by fairies and raised in their Realm. Now Carton is... Read More

Dion Graham's lilting West African accent for Boubacar, the down-on-his-luck, trouble-always-finds-him detective in this dark story of broken dreams and third-world intrigue, is nothing short of mesmerizing. Graham's noir-style tone invites the listener into the back alleys, political corruption, and heart-pounding violence of this audiobook's surreal postcolonial dystopia.... Read More

Jennifer Pickens narrates this darkly unique retelling of "Snow White." Anja is an expert on poisons who regularly drinks small doses of them in her quest to find cures. The king is desperate to prevent his daughter, Snow, from dying, and summons Anja to prevent it. Pickens adjusts her approach appropriately for several characters: Anja is depicted with straightforward... Read More

Sophie Amoss's narration elevates an uneven story into a more engaging experience. Struggling graduate student Dorothe Bartleby must pass her final exam in the Magic program, but when she's required to combine digital technology with spells, disaster results. Amoss's performance brings clarity and rhythm to the text, grounding its twee and meandering tone with precise pacing... Read More

Lead narrator Colleen Delany takes on the lion's share of this full-cast dramatization of the second half of Book 3 of the Crescent City series. Plucky, talented Bryce Quinlan, portrayed by Kit Swann, wields a sword and a long knife against evil yet agile foes, including the godlike Asteri, who have conquered her world. Bryce and her warrior husband, Hunt Athalar, voiced by... Read More

Alma Cuervo's polished narration is perfect for this unconventional, dreamlike tale blending folklore and fantasy, seamlessly translated from Spanish. Listeners are drawn into the final day of Bernadeta's life, which takes place in a remote farmhouse in the rugged Guilleries mountains of Catalonia in northeastern Spain. As she lies dying, the voices of her female ancestors,... Read More

Morag Sims and Will Watt provide fittingly erudite performances of this layered audiobook. Cambridge is home to a top-tier academic Magick program. When an esteemed professor is killed, star graduate students Alice and Peter embark on a quest to rescue him from hell. How else to get that coveted recommendation? The underworld is soon revealed to be a university campus of its... Read More

Cecily Bednar Schmidt delivers a captivating performance as listeners are drawn into the isolated village of Mistaken. Warding stones keep its residents inside its borders and the ravenous creatures beyond it, called the Bright-Eyed, at bay. Greer Mackenzie, daughter of a town leader, has always been viewed as "different" by her neighbors. When tragedy strikes, followed by the... Read More

Saskia Maarleveld narrates this first installment of a new fantasy trilogy called Kingdom of Oak and Steel. Holt Hawley, an outcast soldier, is sent on a mission to find the last member of the Vigilant order, Enelda Drake. In addition, a boy has been kidnapped from a locked room, and if he's not recovered, a war will ensue. Hawley and Enelda confront corrupt soldiers and... Read More

Magical creatures abound in this audiobook. Tiny flying dragons, a giant golem who gardens, and two young humans--Nyssa, a librarian, and Roan, a wandering adventurer--try to bring the Misty Mountain Library back to life before the Tales and Tomes Festival begins. Narrator Jess Moran portrays Nyssa as a bright, bubbly young woman who is in love with books and the characters... Read More

Narrators Sena Bryer, Lisa Flanagan, and Marisa Calin enliven the characters of Jamie, a young witch, and her mother, Serena, along with the text in a mysterious 300-year-old book that weaves through this queer fantasy audiobook. In the present, Jamie, a New England graduate school student who is studying literature and is secretly a witch, has a lot on her plate. She's also... Read More

Edoardo Ballerini narrates this tale of two kingdoms that were set to enforce an arranged marriage in order to save the princess's kingdom. But right before the wedding, the princess fell in love with a lowly scribe. Anatole, once a prestigious magician, was ordered to create a potion to make the princess acquiesce to the arrogant prince. But Anatole felt fatherly towards the... Read More

Channie Waites delivers a committed narration of this queer fantastical thriller about memory and legacy. Key, one of the most celebrated memory hunters of her time, is able to dive back into history to pull out relevant stories for the Museum of Human Memory. Vale serves as Key's guardian, protecting her from black market hunters. When Key dives too far back, she uncovers a... Read More

Eric Mok returns to narrate this sequel to WITCH KING, bringing back all of his wonderfully varied British accents for the large cast. The narrative jumps back and forth between two timelines: In the past, immortal demon Kaiisteron and Prince-heir Bishasha advance against the powerful, subjugating Heirarchs; years later in the present day, long after the war is over, Kai and... Read More

Grace Gray narrates this WWII historical fantasy from the perspectives of three characters: Lydia Polk, a British woman who recently graduated from the Royal Academy of Witches; Rebecca Gagne, a Jewish resistance fighter in France; and Henry Boudreaux, a Haitian American art historian with a little magic of his own. Lydia must enlist the help of Rebecca and Henry to obtain a... Read More

Dive into Celtic mythology with an excellent narration by Siobhan Waring. An acclaimed voice actor, she brings her considerable skills to this captivating story, told from the point of view of Quinn, a selkie whose hide is hidden by a controlling and abusive man. Waring's accents and vocal range are exemplary, with appropriate emotions and pitches to suit each character and... Read More

Book 10 of the Rivers of London series delivers an audiobook mix of mystery, magic, and adventure. The plot is rich and layered, unfolding at a pace that lets Aaronovitch's intricate world-building shine. Kobna Holdbrook-Smith expertly portrays Peter Grant's trademark wit and dry humor, while Shvorne Marks brings Abigail Kamara to life with warmth and intelligence. Their... Read More

Narrator Ella Lynch demonstrates her expansive gifts throughout this novel, giving unique and distinct voices to all its characters. Her scintillating delivery reflects Celia and her magical world. Of particular note are Lynch's smooth transitions from female to male voices, each completely natural and believable. After Celia curses her beloved brother, Argent, Lynch uses tone,... Read More

This paranormal thriller proves to be a formidable audiobook production. The second volume of Roth's Curse Bearer duology requires the highly skilled quartet of narrators to present concepts based on Slavic folklore, often while speaking in Polish accents and employing foreign terms. Happily, the four narrators clear those hurdles, making for a smooth listening experience. The... Read More

In this clear, conversational, and often humorous retelling of Greek myths, Elizabeth Klett delivers Hera's chapters and Christian Black delivers those of Heracles. Together, they accentuate the intrigue, backstabbing, and good old-fashioned sex and violence in the stories. Hera, wife of Zeus, was one of the most powerful and ill-tempered gods on Mount Olympus. With her... Read More

In this first installment of a duology, Ella Lynch's British-accented narration introduces listeners to an epic fantasy filled with political intrigue. Humble deputy courier Elen is tasked with leading an arrogant prince and his entourage on a secret footpath through a land infested with poisonous spores. Elen is keeping many secrets. One is that a spore-eating viper lives... Read More

Snuggle up with this cozy magical performance by Samara MacLaren. Sera is a shadow of her former self. Once one of the most powerful witches in Britain, she now runs an inn with her great-aunt, whom she resurrected from death, and a snarky fox who was once human. Still bitter from having been cast out of the Guild, Sera is trying to deal with eccentric inn patrons and to regain... Read More