The Merlin Conspiracy cover art

The Merlin Conspiracy

Trick or Treason

Preview

£0.00 for first 30 days

Try for £0.00
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

The Merlin Conspiracy

By: Diana Wynne Jones
Narrated by: Emilia Fox, David Tennant
Try for £0.00

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £12.99

Buy Now for £12.99

Confirm Purchase
Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.
Cancel

About this listen

A glorious fantasy novel from the award-winning author of the Chrestomanci series.

The story is narrated by two very different teenagers, who each inhabit two extraordinarily different worlds.

Arianrhod Hyde's world (or Roddy, as she prefers to be called) is very much the world of magic, pageantry and ritual. Not unlike Britain in King Arthur's Day, Roddy is daughter of two Court Wizards and therefore part of the King's Progress, travelling round the Islands of Blest and ready to take part in whatever ritual or ceremony is required, as it occurs. Presiding over all, the most important person is the Merlin, who is entrusted with the magical health of the Isles of Blest.

Nick Mallory's world is much more familiar – at least, it starts off being our own. But it soon transpires that Nick's not quite the ordinary 15 year old he seems, as he slips sideways into something he thinks is a dream – but in fact is another world entirely. Now, Nick's been on other worlds before (although never alone) but he's a confident type. Maybe a bit too confident…

In Roddy's world, the current Merlin expires and a new one takes his place. Yet something is wrong – the rituals have been upset and nothing is going the way it should. Roddy needs help, and certain powers indicate that Nick is to be the one to help her. And Nick is cool about helping her – in theory… but it's a bit worrying that she seems to mistake him for a magic-user.

Their stories unfold, side-by-side, each part leading into the next, and the Merlin Conspiracy thickens as the tales swirl around each other – twining, meeting and affecting each other, yet never completely combining until the very end chapters when all is finally revealed.

Compelling, howlingly funny in places, mind-boggling – this story will wow Diana Wynne Jones fans all around the world (and probably in other universes too).

©2012 Diane Wynne Jones (P)2012 Harper Collins Publishers Limited
Education & Learning Humorous Fiction Science Fiction & Fantasy Fiction Arthurian Fantasy Funny King Magic Users
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

Listeners also enjoyed...

Oz Reimagined cover art
The Spin cover art
Kid Normal cover art
What The Cat Dragged In cover art
The Old Jest cover art
We Are Legion (We Are Bob) cover art
Snap cover art
The Lost Witch cover art
Thursday’s Child cover art
Doomsday Book cover art
The Colour of Magic cover art
The Time Twister cover art
The Colour of Magic cover art
The City of Ember cover art
The Shapeshifter: Finding the Fox cover art
White Silence cover art

What listeners say about The Merlin Conspiracy

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    51
  • 4 Stars
    15
  • 3 Stars
    13
  • 2 Stars
    2
  • 1 Stars
    2
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    52
  • 4 Stars
    15
  • 3 Stars
    3
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    46
  • 4 Stars
    12
  • 3 Stars
    8
  • 2 Stars
    3
  • 1 Stars
    1

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Awful narration from Emilia Fox

The story, as with other DWJ books, is really engaging and funny. Forshadowing is used brilliantly here and my daughter couldn't wait to hear what happened next. We listened to it on a car journey and the whole family loved it. David Tennant's narration is perfect as usual. However, Emilia Fox is required to do two Welsh characters in this story and her accent is so offensively bad it's unlistenable. Cannot understand why an actor who can't do a Welsh accent at all was chosen for such a substantial Welsh part. Ruins every part of the story with those characters in. If the female narration was Kristin Atherton this audiobook would be perfect. Such a shame.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

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

Tennant great, story somewhat aimless

Possibly due to abridgement, the story felt slightly haphazard. I haven't read the print book so I'm not sure what was removed. Tennant's voice acting is awesome though, really enjoyable. Emilia Fox was less good in my view, but overall it was a fun middle grade fantasy with interesting world building.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Always loved the story, narrators great but..

The main issue with this, is the fact that it is abridged. There's just a fair amount missing that leaves parts clunky and left me waiting for the parts I remember. I enjoyed the performances but I felt the parts missing. I just wished there was a full version.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great story.

A fantastic story, highly recommend for older children, young adults and adults alike!
Some of the accents/caracter voices were questionable at points, but still endearing.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

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

Isn't this recording is Abridged NOT unabridged?

For someone who likes to listen to (and has read) the whole thing, to find out that this is an abridged recording NOT unabridged as listed above has been most disappointing (have a look at the HarperCollins site which clearly states this as an abridged version). This is most misleading of audible/amazon - I wouldn't have purchased it if the details were correct.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

20 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Worst incidental music ever

A good book, but impossible to go to sleep to due to terrible surprise music popping up halfway through a chapter, with dings and synthetic cymbal clashing and fake horns blaring.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A great Diana Wynne Jones + wonderful narration

Exciting and magical. This is one of my favourite Diana Wynne Jones books and the narrators, David Tennant and Emilia Fox narrate brilliantly. Tennant 's voice for the plummy Scottish lady elephant is so funny and endearing. The incidental music fits so well too. I could listen to it over and over again.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Unlistenable

Despite the excellent narration, I just could not listen to this after several attempts. Something about the clunky writing style just brings me out in a rash, and the story did not seem to be going anywhere or to contain anyone interesting.

Some reviewers seem to love it though. Maybe this is just a personal reaction! I recommend a careful listen to the audio sample before you decide to buy.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

great story well read , too much music throughout

loved the story as I love this author , the voices reading were great too . The only thing that let this down was the music , there was music at the end of every chapter this spoilt it for me :(

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!