Narrator Andrew Wincott delivers on all accounts as he performs this satire of contemporary America and the UK. Set in an alternative world some 50 years after a variety of mammals (and a couple of insects) underwent a "spontaneous anthropomorphizing event," this audiobook is a clever and astute look at racial prejudice, fear of immigrants, and the effects of a bullying national leadership. Wincott's spot-on characterizations are full of personality. Two contrasting examples are Peter Knox, a human who has risen from unquestioning civil servant to unlikely civil rights advocate, and the fear-mongering Senior Group Leader, Mr. Ffoxe, a sentient orange fox who looks for legal loopholes and demands loyalty. An absurd premise and an abundance of humor provide relief from darker truths.
Pub Date: Sept. 29, 2020
Duration: 12 hrs, 30 mins
DD ISBN: 9780593340295
Publisher: Penguin Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
It all makes for absorbing listening.
Narrator Ciaran Saward brings excitement and heart to this compelling fantasy. In a world where powerful entities move castles from one location to another like they’re playing a giant game of chess, it’s the everyday people who suffer the consequences. After 15-year-old Burr’s father is executed by the lord of one of the castles, Burr and two of his sisters, along with a ragtag group of villagers, find themselves inside the castle as it's relocating. Can they claim the castle as their own, and can they survive as rebels? With a variety of mostly British accents, Saward keeps the many characters, both children and adults, distinct, always taking care to make the emotional threads between them clear.
It all makes for absorbing listening. (Fantasy. 13-adult)Pub Date: Sept. 8, 2026
Duration: 13 hrs, 16 mins
DD ISBN: 9798898840914
Publisher: Recorded Books Inc.
Review Posted Online: Oct. 20, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2026
This highly satisfying quest brims with humor and friendship courtesy of Church.
During a magical adventure set in a traveling bookshop, narrator Imogen Church ensures that each conversation is a dramatic experience. Listeners meet failed book witch Louella Twig, whose strident tones mask her loneliness. She encounters former thief Everett Sharp who, intrigued, parries Louella's defenses with his deep, rolling voice. When Louella's former mentor, Feralorn, asks for her help finding pages from his grimoire, Louella accepts the quest. Church's voice for Feralorn is that of a creaky trumpet—highly distinctive, occasionally overwhelming. Church gives each character their own voice and mannerisms, including gnomes and a European wizard. Pacing, phrasing, and inflection are deployed skillfully to denote emotion, especially between Louella and Everett.
This highly satisfying quest brims with humor and friendship courtesy of Church.Pub Date: Sept. 8, 2026
Duration: 12 hrs, 30 mins
DD ISBN: 9798898856663
Publisher: Recorded Books Inc.
Review Posted Online: Sept. 22, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: today
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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