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Bacchanal cover art

Bacchanal

By: Veronica G. Henry
Narrated by: Robin Miles
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Summary

Evil lives in a traveling carnival roaming the Depression-era South. But the carnival’s newest act, a peculiar young woman with latent magical powers, may hold the key to defeating it. Her time has come.

Abandoned by her family, alone on the wrong side of the color line with little to call her own, Eliza Meeks is coming to terms with what she does have. It’s a gift for communicating with animals. To some, she’s a magical tender. To others, a she-devil. To a talent prospector, she’s a crowd-drawing oddity. And the Bacchanal Carnival is Eliza’s ticket out of the swamp trap of Baton Rouge.

Among fortune-tellers, carnies, barkers, and folks even stranger than herself, Eliza finds a new home. But the Bacchanal is no ordinary carnival. An ancient demon has a home there too. She hides behind an iridescent disguise. She feeds on innocent souls. And she’s met her match in Eliza, who’s only beginning to understand the purpose of her own burgeoning powers.

Only then can Eliza save her friends, find her family, and fight the sway of a primordial demon preying upon the human world. Rolling across a consuming dust bowl landscape, Eliza may have found her destiny.

©2021 by Veronica Henry. (P)2021 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Critic reviews

“In Henry’s debut novel it is Depression-era Baton Rouge, Louisiana where Eliza Meeks' abandonment by her family sets her on a journey in the GB Bacchanal Carnival, where she develops her special gift to communicate with animals.... Miles complements the enigmatic ambiance of the prose and calls upon an array of accents for the peculiar personalities that come to enrich the dynamics of the traveling carnival. She instinctively pulls the story together making it more cerebral and thoroughly engaging in audio.” (Booklist)

“[Robin] Miles imbues each character with a subtle accent and vocal personality. Her patient narration draws listeners into a historical fantasy populated by larger-than-life characters. Miles's performance is the perfect vehicle for this powerful story of a young woman's search for her destiny.” (AudioFile Magazine, Earphones Award winner) 

Bacchanal takes circus fantasy into the menacing gothic environment of the Depression-era South, and narrator Robin Miles once again demonstrates her mastery by making every moment of this wildly outlandish world seem immediate and real.” (The Seattle Times

What listeners say about Bacchanal

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Real potential, but struggled to build tension.

The premise of this story is extremely appealing. Evil using the cover of a traveling carnival, abused voodoo magic and a coming of age tale. It unfortunately didn't build enough tension or hold on to it for long enough. Too many sides drawing away from the main course.

Slightly disappointed, but a read (or listen) that still has just about enough merit to consider.

3/5

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars
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bought in error

bought this title as I thought it was Veronica Henry whom I love to read. Tried to listen to it but didn't enjoy this book and was not allowed to return! very disappointed 😞

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Good in parts

I assume this is the authors first book. The story at times is absorbing and the characters are well written, it is let down by the lack of development of the evil characters. Obviously in an effort to not his anything away the author has concentrated on one half of the characters to the detriment of the other half. This leaves the whole as unbalanced. Also the end is so anticlimactic. It's like James Bond meets the villain and the villain says "good evening Mr Bond", then Bond shoots him in the head. The end. Needed a bigger climax. The narrator is quote good.

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