New Reviews: Fantasy

In this prequel to the Tearling trilogy, narrator Mandy Williams takes on a dark fantasy story about magic set in the period leading up to the birth of the future Queen Kelsea. Williams tells a story of hard times in a harsh kingdom. Many people are starving, and some never get to leave their underground ghetto. Williams guides the listener through the trials of the main... Read More

Narrator Catherine Ho delivers a stellar performance of this layered urban fantasy set in contemporary Malaysia. Jess's college degree and secret girlfriend are not enough to keep her in the U.S. when her parents return to their homeland. She soon discovers that the gods and spirits are very real there: Her grandmother's ghost and the god Black Water Sister try to inhabit her... Read More

This irreverent fantasy is narrated superbly by author Christopher Buehlman. Along with his firsthand knowledge of the text and how he means it to be conveyed, Buehlman uses nuance, inflection, and a casual way of saying outrageous things to continually tickle the funny bone. The story follows a somewhat sardonic thief named Kinch as his guild sends him traveling on the heels... Read More

Narrator Soneela Nankani performs this fantasy about "bone magic." She portrays a group of five heroes who saved the world 25 years earlier and are needed again. Listeners are introduced to Kreya, the group's leader, who gives Nankani an opportunity to express an array of emotions that range from vulnerability as she explores forbidden magic to decisiveness as she commands the... Read More

Moira Quirk narrates an intricate fantasy with historical and political elements. When the Queen of Elira dies suddenly, it is up to Lysande Prior to step into the role of Councillor and choose the next monarch from the available candidates. Quirk perfectly captures the nerves and fear Lysande experiences in her new position, as well as the deep grief she feels at the loss of... Read More

Narrator Stina Nielsen builds a nuanced personality for Nesta, who is known to listeners of this series as the prickly and sometimes cruel older sister. Nesta is in a bad way and is ripe for an intervention by her family, who whisk her off and force her to begin physical training with Cassian and to work the remainder of each day shelving books in the library. She becomes... Read More

Narrator Kristin Atherton takes command of the seventh title in this fantasy-adventure series. Between tracking down rare books, maintaining a supernatural peace treaty, and training her new fae apprentice, librarian/spy Irene Winters has plenty to do. And then the assassination attempts begin. Each scheme Irene and her companions uncover leads them deeper into a tangle of new... Read More

Narrator Joe Jameson lends a brassy narrative style to this supernatural mystery. Jameson embodies the main character, Jed, with an English accent and clear enunciation. Because Jed has the ability to connect spiritually to the dead, his best friend asks Jed to help solve the murder of his brother. Jameson transitions between characters smoothly and captures their many... Read More

The pairing of George Guidall's narration with Helene Wecker's writing fully immerses listeners in this lushly detailed historical fantasy. Guidall's tone and style very much suit the era--the early years of the 1900s leading up to WWI--and the setting--mostly Manhattan's Lower East Side. This sequel to THE GOLEM AND THE JINNI follows the fortunes of Chava, a golem working as a... Read More

Emily Lawrence delivers an expert narration of Constance Sayers's second novel. In a fantasy filled with magic, love, and mystery, Lawrence portrays Lara, a contemporary descendant of a magical circus family. Lara's future husband goes missing on their wedding day. When his car is found abandoned in the same spot in which another mysterious disappearance took place, something... Read More

This is the first audiobook in a new series called Edinburgh Nights, set in a future post-apocalyptic world. Narrator Tinashe Warikandwa gives dimension to the featured character, Ropa, as she makes her way in a harsh environment. Warikandwa captures the spirit of a young teen who quit school to become a ghost stalker to support her gran, sister, and self. Warikandwa gives Ropa... Read More

Blending magic and Jewish folklore, this audiobook weaves a tangled yarn to which narrator Ana Clements adds her own flourishes. Three sisters, each with her own magical talents, are members of the magical Solomonar sect. This makes them vulnerable to all kinds of dangerous judgments that are developing in European society. As Clements recounts the sisters' conflicts, she does... Read More

Narrator Ann Marie Gideon shines in this "Sleeping Beauty" remix, which explains how Princess Aurora falls victim to a sleeping spell that leaves her sequestered in a tower of thorns. Of course, in this version of the tale, the villain who puts a curse on the princess also happens to be her true love. Gideon brings emotional depth to Alice, the villain, coaxing listeners to... Read More

Suehyla El-Attar narrates a fantasy-mystery set in Cairo, where djinns and humans live and work side by side. Agent Fatma el-Sha'arawi of the Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments, and Supernatural Entities must figure out what the supposed return of a mythical figure from Cairo's past means for its future. Fatma is one of only a handful of women members of the ministry, and... Read More

An audiobook story of bad-ass mercenaries protecting Indigenous peoples from a corporation threatening to colonize their planet and swallow them up provides a lot of opportunity for conflict. The core characters are all female, including the villains, leaving the males in peripheral roles. Narrator Maria Liatis adopts a light, perky tone for this quasi-Western in a semi-lawless... Read More

Narrator Danielle Cohen reunites audiobook listeners with Fridgyth, an herb-wife who lives at a monastery governed by Abbess Hild in seventh-century Whitby, Yorkshire. Cohen's performance will have listeners cringing as a body is pulled out of a tanning vat. The murder takes a back seat in Whitby when royalty comes to visit and people begin receiving death threats on pagan rune... Read More

Felicia Day narrates a sidesplitting literary RPG (role-playing game) told from the perspective of the story's monsters. Raze is a gearblin--a mix of goblin and gremlin--in a game in which the players carry out quests. Using a special code, Raze casts aside her chains and gathers other monsters to face down the game's so-called heroes. Day is perfection as the strong-willed,... Read More

In this GraphicAudio paranormal romance, Rylee Adamson is on the hunt for a child stolen by supernatural beings. Discovering what happened to her may be the key to finding Rylee's own missing sister. The audiobook is fast paced, cheeky, and lighthearted despite the darker subject matter. It also contains a couple of fun supernatural elements. Lead narrator Nora Achrati grounds... Read More

Rylee Adamson, intrepid tracker, who is voiced by narrator Nora Achrati, is decidedly self-assured. But she's hip-deep in trouble in her fourth adventure as she searches for her friend, Liam O'Shea, across Europe while trying to escape the Beast of Bodmin Moor. Achrati fills Rylee's voice with courage as she and her friends encounter a witch, a harpy, a werewolf, and a dragon... Read More

Ken Jackson takes the lead in narrating the fourth installment of this saga in which war rages in Eretheria. Tyvian Reldama, the ruler of the land, voiced by Bradley Smith, is supposedly dead--but he's not. Instead, he is trapped in an unwinnable war with the vicious-sounding Banric Sahband, portrayed by deep-voiced Michael Glenn. The full cast use a variety of accents--ranging... Read More

This fantasy audiobook benefits from the storytelling talents of narrator Korey Jackson. He takes listeners on a magic-infused journey with a compelling cast of characters as they challenge the status quo in an ancient city called Bassa, which is reminiscent of early cultures in West Africa. Danso, an academic, has a thirst for knowledge that leads him beyond Bassa's borders,... Read More

Narrator Robin Miles delivers the profound conclusion to The Kingston Cycle. Miles portrays Robin Thorpe, who has always been aware of the injustice and inequality that surrounds her and the other citizens of Aeland. Until now, she has mostly worked in subtle ways to fight it. But after her friend and mentor is assassinated, all that changes. As Thorpe becomes more confident in... Read More

Narrator Elizabeth Knowleden returns to this magical series as brash Elsie, with Noel Arthur joining in as reserved Bacchus. Lyrical accents and evocative descriptions ground listeners in Holmberg's fantasy world as Elsie and Bacchus attempt to halt a murderous rampage through nineteenth-century England. While the pair pretend to be married and work to secure Elsie's license as... Read More

In this debut fantasy audiobook, magic has a price, and two young women make a contract that will cost each of them more than they know. Tamsin, portrayed by narrator Andrea Emmes, was banished as a young witch while trying to save her twin sister. Now Wren goes to her, seeking a cure for her father, who has fallen victim to a plague. Wren's innocent view of life is unfolded by... Read More

Narrator Paul Giamatti's emphatic growl is well matched to the wry, lyrical verses in Michael Mullin's compilation of folktales. Stories feature unlikely heroes and bizarre figures, with unusual imagery and intriguing characterizations. Giamatti's delivery is gruff and confiding, evocative, slightly gruesome, and suited to twists. Whether he's voicing an unseen eighth dwarf,... Read More

Shiromi Arserio narrates the second book in the Dauntless Path series. Rae is content to spend her days on her family's horse farm, but when her best friend's sister is snatched, she travels to the royal court in search of answers and assistance. Arserio skillfully shows Rae coming into her own at court as she matures from a country girl into a young woman skilled at intrigue... Read More

Rasha Zamamiri narrates a unique epic fantasy inspired by the region of North Africa. Touraine was abducted as a child and forced to become the ideal soldier. Her loyalty to the empire is tested when she's sent back to her homeland to quash a budding rebellion. Zamamiri nails accents and from time to time even sounds like a different narrator as she gives this story a... Read More