It’s... fine

An imaginative world and a good narrator - some dodgy accents aside - but this story just didn’t grip me. I’d find myself tuning out and tune back in to discover I hadn’t really missed much. Underneath a wealth of decently written detail, the story is actually quite thin and doesn’t really build the way it should. I cared enough to reach the end, but don’t think I care enough to continue with the series.

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If you like Anne Bishop you might want to try this

There is nothing I didn't like about this audio book and found it hard to put the story down. I bought this after reading a review on Amazon where the writer said that three generations of her family enjoyed this novel, which for me is the test of a really good book.

Cast in Shadows mixes magic, humans and mythical creatures in a very strong plot line of changing politics and treacherous situations. Kaylin, the heroine, is young and naive despite a difficult past. One of the things I enjoyed about the story is that the listener gets to hear her slowly start to grow up, as the story unfolds around her, rather than simply have the fully fledged lead appear without context. As the story progressed and Katlin is forced to face her past, I found myself completely immersed.

Khristine Hvam, the narrator, does a great job acting out the different parts, she has a pleasing voice and acts both male and female, human and mythical creature well. I'm extremely picky about narrators so when if find one I rate this highly, I would argue that the Audio version is better than print alone.

If you are a fan of Anne Bishop's Written in Red, I would expect you to love this book. Although the settings are different the sense of a world where it is normal to walk among mythical creatures and deal with the quicksand of politics and humanoid relations this creates, is present in both.

Cast of Shadows is part of a trilogy, I have already purchased the next one and will come back to listen to this again.

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9 people found this helpful

Excellent fantasy series

Would you consider the audio edition of Cast in Shadow to be better than the print version?

No - both are good.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Cast in Shadow?

***********************************

Have you listened to any of Khristine Hvam’s other performances? How does this one compare?

Khristine Hvam is an excellent narrator,and I always enjoy her performances.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Well,the moment that might have moved me was the end.Unfortunately it was ruined by the fact that the producers had seen fit to add music .Come on - this is an audioBOOK.it isn't a movie - it a reading of a book.The adding of music does not enhance the reading - it destroys the mood by saying loud and clear 'Hey,this is a performance! Say goodbye to being caught up in the story!'
Yes - it does really annoy me.:)

Any additional comments?

Highly recommended but sadly yet another series where Audible UK listeners are not able to listen to all the books.If you can cope with listening only to the beginning and end of a series then go for it,if not buy the books instead!

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1 person found this helpful

really enjoyable book very well performed.

i found the story compelling and agreat start ti a series i will be reading or listening ro the rest of this series.

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A Dark, Tedious Read

Firstly, I picked this book because of the narrator, and Khristine Hvam never disappoints in bringing a book to life and getting the emotions right throughout her narration of the book. The book itself made for an interesting read, interesting enough for me to get to the end. The descriptions of the world and places in which the story was set, were elaborative and somewhat believable but, there were too many different, creepy beings with exhausting, tedious descriptions of their character/nature that added no real value to the story. The author leaves the reader in deep contemplation and continued speculation as there are so many things that "are" but "are not" - I found paying too much attention led to more confusion. The exhausting and continuous narrative of the heroine's thoughts, feelings and failure in education, left me irritable on several occasions. I think the resulting lack of real appreciation for the characters lay in the insufficient information of their past and the workings of their world...Honestly, I'm not compelled to seek out the sequels to this book.

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2 people found this helpful