Shannon Hale – SFFaudio

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

Recent Arrivals from Full Cast Audio

SFFaudio Recent Arrivals

If you like audiobooks and haven’t heard a Full Cast Audio production, then you are missing something special. Full Cast Audio produces unique, high quality full cast unabridged audiobooks that demand a listen. This is how full cast is done, folks.

Into the Land of the Unicorns
By Bruce Coville; Read by Bruce Coville and the Full Cast Family
4 CDs – 3 hours 45 minutes – [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Full Cast Audio
Published: 2009
ISBN: 9781934180839

Book 1 of The Unicorn Chronicles.

On a snowy night Cara and her grandmother are pursued into St. Christopher’s church by an unknown man. Clutching her grandmother’s mysterious amulet, and following the old woman’s instructions, Cara escapes their pursuer and falls into Luster, the world of the unicorns. Attacked by a monstrous little creature called a “delver”, Cara is rescued by a shambling, manlike beast called “the Dimblethum.” Soon Cara has also met a rebellious young unicorn named Lightfoot, and a ridiculous little creature known as “the Squijum.” With their help, Cara embarks on a journey across Luster to deliver a message from her grandmother to the queen of the unicorns. But to survive the trip, Cara must come face to face with her greatest hope, and her greatest fear.

River Secrets
By Shannon Hale; Read by Mark Allen Holt and the Full Cast Family
8 CDs – 7 hours 30 minutes – [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Full Cast Audio
Published: 2009
ISBN: 9781934180211

Volume 3 of The Books of Bayern.

The war with Tira is over, and Tira has lost. But simmering anger remains, and hostilities could erupt at any moment In a desperate attempt to maintain the peace, King Geric sends an ambassador to the Tiran capitol. Razo—short, impish, and not at all skilled at combat—is astounded when he is selected to be part of the delegation’s military guard, and even more astounded when he discovers the real reason for his inclusion.

All too soon Razo is up to his eyeballs in a simmering mix of danger and intrigue—not to mention an unexpected romance. But as the gruesome deaths mount everyone is a suspect—even the girl who has stolen Razo’s heart.

Posted by Scott D. Danielson

The SFFaudio Podcast #008

Podcast

The SFFaudio Podcast #008 – here there be podcasts – we’ve adorned ourselves in too much gold, now we can’t move! So join us on our 8th show, where we’re always etymologically correct.

Scott: Oh ya right. I just forgot something man. Uh, before we dock, I think we ought to discuss the bonus situation.

Jesse: Right.

Scott: We think… we think we deserve full shares.

Jesse: Right.

Scott: Pass the cornbread.

Topics discussed include:
42Blips.com, METAtropolis, Jay Lake, John Scalzi, Elizabeth Bear, Tobias Buckell, Karl Schroeder, Mr. Spaceship, Philip K. Dick, Stefan Rudnicki, Wonder Audio, Anne McCaffrey, The Ship Who Sang, Michael Hogan, Battlestar Galactica, 18th Century Spain, Cascadia (Oregon, Washington, British Columbia, and sometimes Idaho), Detroit, “Turking”, The Turk (the chess playing automaton), alternative economy, Kandyse McClure, infodump, shared world, Brandon Sanderson, hard fantasy, Elantris, Larry Niven, The Magic Goes Away, manna, unicorns, dragons, Dungeons & Dragons, Mistborn, Robert Jordan, The Wheel Of Time, Writing Excuses Podcast, Howard Tayler, SchlockMercenary.com, Dan Wells, The Dark Knight, Aural Noir, The New Adventures Of Mike Hammer, Stacy Keach, Mike Hammer, Full Cast Audio, Red Planet, Robert A. Heinlein, Bruce Coville, Mars, Heinlein’s Future History sequence, the Red Planet TV miniseries, Princess Academy, Shannon Hale, Blackstone Audio, The Collected Stories Of Philip K. Dick Volume 1, and Volume 2, Inferno by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle, David Farland, Runelords, Collected Public Domain Works Of H.P. Lovecraft, LibriVox.org, October, Ray Bradbury, “Autumn ennui”, AUTHOR PAGES, LEIGH BRACKETT, FREDERIC BROWN, JAMES PATRICK KELLY, BBC7, RadioArchive.cc, Beam Me Up Podcast, MACK REYNOLDS, Robert Sheckley, Religulous, Constantine’s Sword, The Ultimate Encyclopedia Of Science Fiction: The Definitive illustrated Guide edited by David Pringle, space opera, planetary romance, Julie D., Forgotten Classics podcast, The Wonder Stick, time travel, alien intrusions, metal powers, Slan, The Demolished Man, comedic SF, aliens, artificial intelligence, “cosmic collisions”, Deep Impact, cyborgs, dinosaurs, the dying Earth, Gene Wolfe, elixir of life, immortality, Roger Zelazny, Robert Silverberg, genetic engineering, nuclear war, overpopulation, parallel worlds, robots, androids, Joanna Russ, Ben Bova, space travel, suspended animation, teleportation, transcendence = the Singularity ?, Childhood’s End, Arthur C. Clarke, religion, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Monica Hughes, Crisis On Conshelf Ten, Hard SF, cyberpunk, psychology, New Wave, lost races, military SF, science fantasy, shared worlds, steampunk.

Posted by Jesse Willis

Review of Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale

SFFaudio Review

Book of a Thousand Days
By Shannon Hale; Read by Chelsea Mixon and the Full Cast Family
6 CDs – 7.5 hours – [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Full Cast Audio
Published: 2008
ISBN: 9781934180228
Themes: / Fantasy / Fairy Tale / YA /

Listen to a sample: HERE.

Book of a Thousand Days is a reimagining of a little-known fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm. I will admit, I did not remember it from my childhood, and I read all the fairy tales by the Brothers Grimm.

It is the story of Dashti, a mucker who becomes a lady’s maid and swears to serve Lady Saren, even when Lady Saren is bricked into a watchtower for seven years as punishment for refusing to marry the man her father chose for her.

Dashti starts writing in a journal when they are bricked up in the watchtower with a well of fresh water and enough dried food to last the seven years. She writes to record the events of their imprisonment (in case they don’t come out alive) and to keep herself sane.

Rats infest their food supply and Lady Saren is visited by two suitors. One is the man she has corresponded with for years, the other the man her father wants her to marry. A man she fears and despises. When food supplies spoil or are devoured by rats, all seems lost. It is then that both Dashti and Lady Saren must use all their wits and strength to survive what lies ahead.

Full Cast Audio does a great job of voicing the story and the way Dashti relates events are a lot of fun.

You don’t need to be familiar with the fairy tale to enjoy the book. Shannon Hale has a way of telling a tale that keeps your attention. I will admit that time passed much quicker than I expected while I was listening to this book.

I highly recommend Book of a Thousand Days.

Posted by Charlene C. Harmon

Review of Enna Burning by Shannon Hale

SFFaudio Review

Enna Burning
By Shannon Hale; Read by Cynthia Bishop and the Full Cast Family
8 CDs – 8.5 Hours [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Full Cast Audio
Published: 2007
ISBN: 9781934180198
Themes: / Fantasy / YA / Magic / Fairy Tale /

First, I have to say that I LOVE Full Cast Audio. They always do family-friendly books and they are always unabridged. They do an excellent job.

Enna Burning is the sequel to Goose Girl, Shannon Hale’s novelization of the classic fairy tale (also on audiobook by Full Cast Audio). However, you do not need to read/listen to Goose Girl to enjoy Enna Burning”. Hale does an excellent job of giving just enough background to ensure that the reader knows what is going on.

The story is well paced and full of action. The cast of actors does a great job of keeping the feel of the book and keeping the listener’s attention.

Izzy, the “goose girl”, is now princess and her friend, Enna, has gone home to the forest to take care of her dying mother. Enna’s mother dies before the book starts, but she is still in the forest, taking care of her older brother, Leifer. Leifer finds a long-hidden piece of vellum that teaches him to magically work fire. He struggles to control this power as it slowly consumes him. Finally, he uses his power to save their country of Bayern from the invading country to the South, but the fire destroys him.

Enna’s curiosity gets the better of her, and she, too, reads the vellum, telling herself she won’t ever follow the path her brother chose. But her need to help Izzy and save Bayern from being destroyed soon cause her to take a path not of her choosing.

The story is well paced and entertaining. It is written for the Middle Grade/Young Adult market, but is a great story for all ages. I highly recommend both the book and the audiobook.

Posted by Charlene C. Harmon

Recent Arrivals from Full Cast Audio

SFFaudio Recent Arrivals

Check out these excellent titles, recently in from Full Cast Audio! If you haven’t heard a Full Cast Audio title, I urge you to give one a try. You won’t be disappointed!

Book of a Thousand Days
By Shannon Hale; Read by Chelsea Mixon and the Full Cast Family
6 CDs – 7.5 hours – [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Full Cast Audio
Published: 2008
ISBN: 9781934180228

When Lady Saren defies her father’s command to marry the vicious Lord Khasar, she is sealed in a tower with only her serving maid, Dashti, for company. In their cramped, dark space, Dahti pours her thoughts into a daily journal while pitiless solitude engulfs them.

At first, Dashti is optimistic. They have food aplenty, candles for light, and even a visit from Lady Saren’s true love, Khan Tegus – though he can only call to them from outside their walls. But Saren is ill of mind, the outside world is changing, and their circumstances soon grow desperate. And even if they do escape, they must still face the eerie malice of Lord Khasar. To survive, Dashti and Saren forge a bond of devotion and deception that will test them to their limits.

Enna Burning
By Shannon Hale; Read by Cynthia Bishop and the Full Cast Family
8 CDs – 8.5 hours – [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Full Cast Audio
Published: 2007
ISBN: 9781934180198

This spine tingling companion to The Goose Girl is as wildly imaginative as its predecessor. Romantic, wise, unexpectedly dark in places, it has already developed a passionate following among Shannon Hale’s fans.

Click here for our review of The Goose Girl.

Skybreaker
By Kenneth Oppel; Read by David Kelly and the Full Cast Family
10 CDs – 11.5 hours – [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Full Cast Audio
Published: 2008
ISBN: 9781934180150

High in the sky, far above the normal lanes of travel, drifts a ghost ship carrying unbelievable treasure. Matt Cruise, hero of the wildly popular Airborn (an SFFaudio Essential, find the review here), is on the trail of that treasure, with the help of his charming society friend Kate de Vries and a mysterious gypsy girl named Nadira. With them flies Hal Slater, roguish captain of a boldly designed Skybreaker aircraft that can reach heights previously undreamed of.

But between Matt and his destination stand ruthless pirates, and an even more ruthless businessman. And what Matt’s crew will find when they finally do reach the Hyperion is far more valuable, far more exciting, and far more dangerous than they ever imagined.

Wolf-Speaker: The Immortals Book II
By Tamora Pierce; Read by Tamora Pierce and the Full Cast Family
8 CDs – 8 hours – [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Full Cast Audio
Published: 2008
ISBN: 9781934180365

The second novel in Tammy’s beloved Immortals Quartet pulls Daine into new adventures, and reveals more about the special nature of her magic. Great characters, piles of magic, and breath-taking adventure. You’re gonna love it!

Click here for our review of Book I, Wild Magic

Posted by Scott D. Danielson