CREWEL

Another dystopian fantasy with the requisite strong female lead, love triangle, and cruel government has hit the headphones. Adelice tries to hide her weaving ability; if it’s noticed, she will be sequestered for life as a Spinster, responsible for maintaining the literal "web of life." Amanda Dolan gives Adelice a persistently aggressive tone. Even her struggles to figure out whom to trust, whom to love, and how to best survive in a crumbling world order are delivered with a petulant sass that eventually wears on the ears. Dolan ably uses a broad range of regional and cultural accents to help the listener keep the cookie-cutter characters straight, but her vocal skills cannot patch the gaping holes in the logic of this story. M.M.O. © AudioFile 2012, Portland, Maine [Published: NOVEMBER 2012]