Owlflight

As always, a good story by Mercedes Lackey! Narrator over emotes a bit, and you never quite forget you\’re listening to someone else read, and just get lost in the story. Also, the narrator didn\’t listen to any previous books based in Valdemar and pronounces names differently than other narrators do. Why does this even happen?? Why not get all readers on the same pronunciation page?

After looking forward to seeing this book in audio format for a long time, it finally comes out. Unfortunately the narrator does such a poor performance that it makes the book painful to listen to. Generally it is a good story, although better for a younger audience (I liked it a lot better when I was younger and it first came out in book form). The story is set in the Valdemar world, references are made to Heralds but there are not any in the book. There are Hawkbrothers though.

sold? at least the pronunciation could be corrected. it would be much easier to listen then

I had read this before in hard cover and didn’t reread it. (I usually read and reread this authors’ work. ). Listening to it on audible reminded me why. The protagonist, Darian, is a young orphaned teenager who has been apprenticed against his will to a local village mage. The villagers despise the mage who lost much of his magic as the result of a war wound. They despise Darian because his parents were different: they ventured into the Pelagir forest to trap game and collect due-making plants. He resents being told he should be grateful for what he has. So…he has grounds for being dissatisfied. BUT he spends most of the book whining and emoting and wallowing in misery/ self doubt and general teenage angst. I found it difficult to tolerate! It was as if the authors wanted to create another Vanyel (there are some distinct parallels) but skipped Vanyel’s charm. Darian has a mage gift, we are told, but he doesn’t see the point and won’t practice. Even when he can see some of the benefits of magic (mage lights) he still doesn’t make any effort. I got rather bored with him and only stayed listening in the hope that he, like Vanyel, would finally ‘get it’. (Plot spoiler: he does, kinda,but only in about the last 15 minutes!) Not worth the trudge to get there, in my opinion. I’m not even sure that YA audiences (if this was meant for them) would put up with this protagonist – but since I’m rather far removed from YA I may be doing the book an injustice if that IS the target audience. The narration was adequate.

I\’ve always enjoyed the Valdemar series and couldn\’t wait for this book to be added to Audible. What a letdown! The narrator sounds as though he is reading to primary school children. His pronunciation of the main character is the worst part of it. How does Darian get pronounced — Dairy-On (pause) –? I know it\’s probably too late, but I sure wish the rest of the series will get a new narrator.

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