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The Child of Fire and Earth

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The Child of Fire and Earth

By: Barry Ryerson
Narrated by: L Spooner
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About this listen

Hew had always dreamt of being a knight. Take that, villain! Yes, princess, of course I'll rescue you. Thank you, your Majesty, yes I am great with a sword. Unfortunately, being a farmer's son made that dream impossible. Real life was more about cleaning animal mess and checking for weeds.

Until he met the dragon.

It opened up a hidden world of magic around him. Faeries. Hobgoblins. Monsters, shape changers, brownies; you name them, he met them.

But there was a problem.

A blight to the North was making magic fade from the Earth. If it disappeared completely, then everyone would freeze to death.

Yes, that included he's annoying little sister, but even she didn’t deserve to be frozen. He would have to be brave and defeat this blight. The question was...what could a nearly 11-year-old do?

©2021 Barry Ryerson (P)2021 Barry Ryerson
Fairy Tales, Folk Tales & Myths Fantasy Fiction Science Fiction & Fantasy
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What listeners say about The Child of Fire and Earth

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Listener received this title free

Must read whimsical fun fantasy!

Summary:

This book follows Hew, a young boy in the 15th century. He is the son of a farmer but he always dreamed of becoming a knight. One day he meets a dragon and he discovers all of the magical creatures that exist whilst on a grand adventure.

My thoughts:

So this is a book that I have been meaning to pick up forever. Barry is a great person and being someone who loves children's fantasy, I really wanted to check this book out. So what did I think?

Honestly, I was unexpectedly blown away whilst reading this. I started reading it on Kindle and then switched to the audiobook (Barry sent me a code and being someone with a chronic illness, audiobooks really help me). I have to say, the audiobook was brilliant! The production was amazing. The narrator did an excellent job at portraying a young boy, the different creatures, accents and sound effects! There was one chapter where the speed increased and some chapters the volume seemed different but this was easily fixed with a click so that's fine.

The writing itself was so magical and whimsical! I could honestly see this being a lovely family/fun heart-warming film that they show at Christmas! This would be a perfect book to read to a child, for a child to read or for an adult. It brought me so much joy. I actually laughed out loud numerous times, it was so fun! The world itself felt so real, like these creatures could exist and Barry subtly included history and geography so that it seems like these creatures actually made an impact in real life! (Maybe they did and Barry knows all their secrets, who knows?).

This was such a wonderful read and I would happily read any similar books that Barry writes (in fact according to his website, he is working on a book 2 omg!!!). I now want everyone to go pick this up, for anyone, read it and have fun! I know I did :)

Rating: 5/5 stars

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Immersive World and Delightful Characters

I'll be honest: this is only the second audiobook I have ever listened to. I'm not great with audio, as I can only keep up if I'm doing something physical and doesn't involve thinking, like washing the dishes or cleaning the house, so it's very hard for me to "binge" something and get all the way to the finish line while the fire's burning hot. Plus audiobooks are more pricier than I could afford, alas.

I had, however, been blessed with the opportunity to sample this wonderful book on audio, and it did not disappoint. Narrated by the wonderful L Spooner, I was quickly drawn into the magical world of Hew, Zelina and their friends (and not quite friends).

The Child of Fire and Earth is a children's book, but it doesn't feel like it in audio form. Maybe in print or digital it would've been clearer, with the simplicity and straightforwardness of the narrative, but listening to the audiobook almost felt like watching a fantasy movie suitable for all ages. There's a lot of action and adventure, there are many lovely characters, and the lore is a treat, easy to follow while still being unique. I've certainly never encountered the elements being used that way before! The setting is also fun, because while I had the initial impression that this was going to be a completely fantasy-warped medieval-esque Earth, we're eventually introduced to real enough places. Loch Ness, Glasgow, Iceland...

All in all, it's an engaging tale that I couldn't put down (or should I say press pause?), with delightful characters and an immersive world. I thoroughly enjoyed the adventure and would love more!

Recommended Listening: Lunar Silver Star Story Complete Soundtrack

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Wonderful magical world

A well paced story full of interesting and loveable characters and an excellent balance of drama and humour.

I loved this book as an adult but it is perfect for children and young adults. I listened to it with my 7 year old and he adored every moment.

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