Narrator Julia Whelan's skills as a narrator beautifully serve Jay's romantic and inspired riff on the fairy tale. She capably creates and maintains highly differentiated voices for half a dozen characters--two of whom have major narrative roles as well as dialogue between them. A princess named Isra is condemned by local politics to sacrifice her life for the perpetuation of her city's closed ecosystem. Gem, a desert-living mutant, becomes first her captive, then friend, then beloved. Eventually, the pair become the salvation of both their cultures. Between the author's imaginative blending of ideology and romance, and Whelan's evocation of true humanity in both Isra and Gem, this should reel in young idealists and cynics alike.
(Fantasy/science fiction. 14 & up)Pub Date: July 14, 2015
Duration: 10 hrs, 15 mins
Publisher: Tantor Media
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Listeners follow Merry, the longbow girl, one of the best archers in her town. When she finds a magical portal in the forest that takes her back to sixteenth-century Wales, she must use her skills to win an archery contest in order to help her ancestors keep their land. While narrator Emily Wilden brings protagonist Merry to life with a rich Welsh accent, her narration seems uneven at times. All the period characters have accents that reflect the setting of the story and transport listeners to Wales. Listeners who enjoy historical fiction and a bit of fantasy will be charmed by this tale of determination, hope, and family.
Young AdultPub Date: N/A
Duration: 11 hrs
DD ISBN: 9781501916793
Publisher: Recorded Books Inc.
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Tyo’s energetic narration adds fuel to this romp of an SF retelling.
“Call me Ishara,” begins this interstellar Moby-Dick retelling, expertly performed by Shannon Tyo. After her previous spaceship is destroyed by a mega-ship called the Ballena, Ishara Ming finds herself the captain of a whaler with a crew of four. Despite the gaps in her memory and other people who doubt what little of the past she can remember, Ishara is determined to find and destroy the Ballena. When ship mech Augustus comes on board, Ishara’s memories start to resurface, and taking on the white whale becomes increasingly risky. Ishara must confront her past if she’s going to survive the future, and Tyo captures this tension fully. Listeners will surely relish Chan’s fast-paced space-opera take on a literary classic.
Tyo’s energetic narration adds fuel to this romp of an SF retelling. (Science fiction. 13-18)Pub Date: March 31, 2026
Duration: 10 hrs, 37 mins
DD ISBN: 9798217280797
Publisher: Listening Library
Review Posted Online: April 1, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2026
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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