audiobook – Page 60

Review of The Sum of All Men by David Farland

SFFaudio Review

The Sum of All Men: Runelords, Book 1
By David Farland; Read by Ray Porter
17 CDs – 20.4 hours – [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Blackstone Audio
Published: 2008
Themes: / Fantasy / Epic Fantasy / Attributes / Magic / War /

I’ve read other works by this author, written under a different name, and I knew coming into this one that he was an excellent writer and storyteller. Indeed, I’ve heard him speak at conventions and workshops and have nothing but praise for him as a person and a writer.

That being said, I wasn’t sure what to expect from this book. Reading the dust cover is not always enough to know if you’ll end up satisfied at the end of the book or if you want to throw it across the room. (Okay, I’ve only thrown ONE book across the room. It was a paperback. I was so displeased with the denouement that I threw it away. I didn’t want to inflict that book upon anyone else.)

So, with a little trepidation I began to listen to the book. Could it live up to my high expectations? Would I be satisfied with the resolution? Would I want to read the next book? The answer was a resounding yes!

The book centers on Prince Gaborn Val Orden, son of Mendellas Draken Orden, king of Mystarria. He travels to Herredon to ask King Jas Laren Sylvarresta of Herredon for the hand of his daughter, Iome Sylvarresta. While en route he learns that Raj Ahten, king of Indhopal, who is also referred to as “The Wolf Lord” plans an attack on Castle Sylvarresta. Raj Ahten has taken over a number of minor kingdoms and is intent of conquering all of Rofehaven, taking endowments from as many people as he can so that he may become “The Sum of All Men,” a man who is invincible and immortal. As such, he wants to live forever and rule the world.

It is up to Gaborn, with the help and support of Iome, the Earth Warden Binnesman, Gaborn’s bodyguard Borenson and as many soldiers as he can gather, to stop Raj Ahten from achieving his goal.

Is the book good? Definitely. The characters are well developed. They have depth and personality. They are flawed. The world is rich in legends, heroes and chronicles of past events.

From time to time there will be an insert of a story from this history. It is a teaching moment, so the reader understands who the person is and why they are mentioned, or why an event is important, but it does so in a way that adds to the richness of the story. It builds on it, making the world live and breathe as much as the characters do.

The magic system is also impressive. Those who have the ability and training for magic can use the power of the elements to create magic. Runes are used to give endowments. A king or lord can take endowments from his subjects. Strength, stamina, wit, brawn, metabolism. In so doing they themselves have greater abilities, but the subject that gives an endowment must be cared for the rest of their life, or the life of their king. Such rulers are called “Runelords.” But the cost of such power is great and the reader gets a very real idea of what it costs the people who give such endowments.

There are few books that take the time to create a world that feels as real as this one does. Farland is so good at it that it feels effortless. He doesn’t beat you over the head with his world. Instead, it simply IS. You learn only what is necessary for the story, but you are left with the belief that there is so much more to the world if you had the time to explore it. He also uses herbs and herb lore to great effect. This is a world of magic, but it is also a world unique to itself.

I highly recommend this book. It’s a rich experience that will leave you both contented and wanting more. Which is a very good way to end the book. The book is not quite perfect, but on a scale of one to ten, I definitely give it a near-ten. Although I honestly don’t know if it could be improved upon.

Get the audiobook, get the book, and experience the magic of David Farland for yourself.

Posted by Charlene Harmon

The SFFaudio Podcast #183 – AUDIOBOOK/READALONG: Out Of The Storm by William Hope Hodgson

Podcast

The SFFaudio Podcast #183 – An unabridged reading of Out Of The Storm by William Hope Hodgson (10 minutes), read by Brian Murphy) followed by a discussion of it. Participants in the discussion include Jesse, Tamahome, and Brian Murphy.

Talked about on today’s show:
Stefan Rudnicki, Brian Murphy should peruse audiobook narration, Julie Hoverson (of 19 Nocturne Boulevard), The Frost Giant’s Daughter (aka Gods Of The North) by Robert E. Howard, William Hope Hodgson, the dragon, Gustav Dore, Leviathan, naturalistic vs. super-naturalistic, anthropomorphism, literal vs. metaphorical readings of the Bible, Thomas Hobbes, Behemoth, The Book Of Job, H.P. Lovecraft, The Statement Of Randolph Carter, wireless telegraphy, Supernatural Horror In Literature, Hodgson’s career in the merchant seaman, physical culture, photography, nautical phenomena, Edgar Allan Poe, like a nautical version of H.P. Lovecraft, Sargasso sea stories, is it merely madness?, a previously unreportable phenomenon, why doesn’t the scientist (John) respond?, an audio dramatization would be interesting, an extremely disturbing message, cosmic horror, the mother and the child, “like a foul beast”, contemplating the unimaginable, “God is not He, but It”, the universe is either cruel (Hodgson) or indifferent (Lovecraft), “her soul hideous with the breath of the thing”, spirit as breath, “this is the most horrific thing ever”, uncontrollable laughter, unstoppable, an undignified death in the face of an indifferent, the Titanic disaster, Schindler’s List, a greater good calculation, unconscionable selfishness, “to talk of foul things to a child”, the evil in itself and the evil of sharing the knowledge of that evil, Jaws, if this was a true account…, did Jaws cause Shark Week?, this guy is a little bit off, putting on a King James accent, skies the colour of mud, a sky monster?, aliens, Cthulhu, tentacles or waterspouts?, flotsam or an iceberg or a shark or just the waves themselves, “oh crap I’m nuts”, “tell her how it was”, is it like telling or not telling war stories?, clarity before death, so many ideas per square centimeter, Murf plays the Call Of Cthulhu RPG, sanity points, everybody loses, investigation vs. hack and slash, the Big Cypress Swamp, will acquaintance with Lovecraft’s stories harm or enhance your enjoyment of the game?, The Miskatonic University Podcast, “actual play” podcast, Skype of Cthulhu podcast, dice rolls on the honour system, Paranoia, Chaosium, The Horror On The Orient Express Kickstarter project, single player computer RPGs vs. pen and paper RPGs with real people, would Lovecraft play the Call Of Cthulhu RPG?, MMOs, World Of Warcraft, Dungeons & Dragons.

H.P. Lovecraft as Abdul Alhazred - Virgil Finlay illustration

Out Of The Storm by William Hope Hodgson - illustration by Percy E. Cowen

Posted by Jesse Willis

Review of The Twelve by Justin Cronin

SFFaudio Review

The Twelve
By Justin Cronin; Read by Scott Brick
CD or MP3 -[UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Random House Audio
Published: October 16, 2012
ISBN: 9780307702043/9780739366523
Themes: / Vampires / Post-apocalypse / Virus /

Publisher summary:

The end of the world was only the beginning.

In his internationally bestselling and critically acclaimed novel The Passage, Justin Cronin constructed an unforgettable world transformed by a government experiment gone horribly wrong. Now the scope widens and the intensity deepens as the epic story surges forward with . . .

THE TWELVE

In the present day, as the man-made apocalypse unfolds, three strangers navigate the chaos. Lila, a doctor and an expectant mother, is so shattered by the spread of violence and infection that she continues to plan for her child’s arrival even as society dissolves around her. Kittridge, known to the world as “Last Stand in Denver,” has been forced to flee his stronghold and is now on the road, dodging the infected, armed but alone and well aware that a tank of gas will get him only so far. April is a teenager fighting to guide her little brother safely through a landscape of death and ruin. These three will learn that they have not been fully abandoned—and that in connection lies hope, even on the darkest of nights.

One hundred years in the future, Amy and the others fight on for humankind’s salvation . . . unaware that the rules have changed. The enemy has evolved, and a dark new order has arisen with a vision of the future infinitely more horrifying than man’s extinction. If the Twelve are to fall, one of those united to vanquish them will have to pay the ultimate price.

I wasn’t going to read this book. I wasn’t! I felt like The Passage was a well-contained story and I didn’t understand where else it could go. I will let the author explain what he focuses on in The Twelve, because I find it too difficult to summarize. (This is from an older post from 2010 on io9.com.)

The next two books each go back to Year Zero at the outset, to reset the story, and to deal with something you didn’t see and didn’t know was as important as it was. It’s not a linear quest story, which I would find dull and plodding. With each book, you need to have the narrative terms reestablished with fresh elements. Also, if you didn’t see [a character] die, they’re not necessarily dead. There’s a big cast in the first book, and plenty of unresolved stuff. I will resolve it by the end. [Early vampire character] Anthony Carter? No, not abandoning him.

In [The Twelve], you go back to what happened in Denver after the outbreak took place. The story will resume in that location a few days after breakout. So you can see another angle on what occurred and certain elements will affect our band of heroes 100 years in the future. It will be called The Twelve – and it’s not who you think.

This means that the story starts with where Amy is, and follows up with an assortment of other characters. Just like in The Passage, storylines are dropped completely as others are followed. Since I was listening to the audio, it was a bit more difficult to keep track of, just because it was harder to flip back and get a refresher on names, etc.

The author provides a lot more information about what happened to various people at the very beginning, explaining how some of the communities were formed, the horrific actions of the USA government (including events like “The Field”), and other parts of the novel jump around up to 97 years from when the virus originally took hold. This kind of information is usually my favorite part of post-apocalyptic stories – the rebuilding. What kind of societies form? How do they work? Who has control? I think Justin Cronin shows a lot of creativity and variety in these situations, since it isn’t just one story, but multiple. Many of the characters, locations, and situations overlap throughout the story, and I had this sense of the author as a puppeteer, drawing strings of stories around each other. Kudos to him that they never seem to tangle in disaster.

Scott Brick is the narrator for the audiobook of The Twelve, and does a fantastic job. He doesn’t bother doing a lot of voices, but his inflection is perfect. He has this ability to get out of the way of the story that I really appreciate when I’m listening. It just comes to life and I’m not constantly thinking of HIM, but of the story.

And The Twelve requires a lot of thinking and paying attention. The multiple story lines, the jumping around in time and history, and the sprinkling of quotations that Cronin throws in kept my attention. He started with a Mark Strand poem, almost as if I needed something to clinch whether or not I’d read this book.

I won’t have that dilemma for the final book. While this story has a satisfying climax, I was left with far more questions this time around. I’m not sure I know which side everyone is on. I’m not sure I even know what sides there are, anymore. What I am sure about is that this book is hard to put down.

Posted by Jenny Colvin

Review of In the Tall Grass by Stephen King and Joe Hill

SFFaudio Review

In the Tall Grass
By Stephen King and Joe Hill; Read by Stephen Lang
Approx. 90 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Simon and Schuster Audio
Published: 2012
Themes: / Horror / Separation / Supernatural /

Cal and Becky are brother and sister, born 18 months apart, and inseparable. It’s said that there was never a cross word between them. They stop by the side of the road one day after hearing a cry for help from a field full of tall grass. They go into the field to help, but the moment they do they are supernaturally unable to find each other. They can’t find the person that cried for help either, but they are not alone in the grass.

Some stories stay with you. This is one of those. By creating main characters that were so emotionally close, Stephen King and Joe Hill delivered an experience of the horror of separation to their readers. This story would be tough to watch if it were a film – it’s grisly, gory, and this is a terrifying situation.

Stephen Lang narrated admirably. He had my attention to the very last sentence.

Posted by Scott D. Danielson

Review of The Ladies of Grace Adieu and Other Stories by Susanna Clarke

SFFaudio Review

The Ladies of Grace Adieu and Other Stories
By Susanna Clarke; Read by Simon Prebble and Lavina Porter
7 Hours [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Macmillan Audio
Published: 2006
Themes: / Fantasy / Magic / England /

This is a collection of eight short stories that return readers to the world of Clarke’s novel, Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell. As I enjoyed Simon Prebble’s narration of Strange & Norrell, I returned to that format to hear these stories. Prebble shares narration duty with Davina Porter whose undeniable skill I enjoyed even more than Mr. Prebble’s and that is saying quite a lot.

Since all but one of these stories were previously published elsewhere, they vary from mere fragments (The Duke of Wellington Misplaces His Horse) to retold fairy tales (Lickerish Hill). These are almost like some of the longer footnotes from Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, which often meander away to tell fully imagined stories before returning to the main narrative.

The one constant is Clarke’s skill at conveying readers to a magical England in the style of well known 19th-century writers such as Jane Austen and Charles Dickens. Clarke has a dry wit which enlivens many of the tales and a good imagination for weaving attention holding yarns. I enjoyed all these stories quite a lot. If you are wondering whether to take the plunge into Strange & Norrell, these stories might be a good test of the waters.

Posted by Julie D.

Review of River Secrets by Shannon Hale

SFFaudio Review

River Secrets
By Shannon Hale; Read by Mark Allen Holt and the Full Cast Family
10 Hours – [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Full Cast Audio
Published: 2009
Themes: / Fantasy / War / Kingdoms /

This is the third book in the Bayern series by Shannon Hale. I fell in love with the series when the first book, “The Goose Girl” came out. Each book stands alone, but each also continues the story of the characters in the other books.

This book features Isi and Enna’s friend, Razo. He is selected to join Enna, Finn and a company of Bayern’s Own to travel with the Bayern Ambassador to ensure that the Tiran Assembly votes for peace and not to start another war.

Razo has no idea why he was included, but when he finds a burned body, he knows it is up to him to find out what is going on while keeping the deaths a secret from Tira.

The story is engrossing, entertaining and enchanting. The ending leaves you satisfied and ready to look for the next book. I love Hale’s writing style, her way with words, and I love Full Cast Audio, where every book is unabridged, family-friendly and, as the name states, full cast.

Although this book can be read without the others, I highly recommend starting with “The Goose Girl.” Then read “Enna Burning.” After you finish “River Secrets,” get “Forest born.” All are well worth your time and money. On a scale of one to ten, I give this a nine.

Posted by Charlene Harmon