At long last, Wilbur Smith's follow-up to his bestselling epic about ancient Egypt, RIVER GOD, has been released on audio. Thankfully, Dick Hill is back to narrate. Taita, the eunuch slave/inventor/engineer/architect/philosopher, and advisor to the pharaoh, is also back as the central character. He's now mentor to the heir apparent to the throne, Nefer, who has been dispossessed by two conniving warlords. This "soap opera" has almost everything--action, treachery, love, loyalty, courage, brutality, and lots of gore. Hill is called upon to do almost everything--and he does it all so well. Whether lisping an incantation or leading a battle charge, Hill keeps the listener spellbound. He's at his best when Nefer's quest to retake the throne leads him to become a Reb Robe Warrior. As Nefer desperately battles his way through five life-threatening sequences of combat, Hill projects enough excitement to carry the listener back three thousand years.
Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2001
Duration: 22 hrs
Publisher: Brilliance Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Intricate, textured weirdness rewards listeners throughout this sprawling, gloriously strange epic.
Colin Mace and Emma Spurgin Hussey narrate a generations-spanning tale of grief, conspiracy, and horror that takes its haunting premise deadly seriously. Hussey voices Maur, desolate after her son's mysterious death and desperate for answers, with a restrained intimacy, tracking her slide from mourning into obsession through shifts in pace and breath. Mace brings weathered gravel to Allerdyce, a veteran undeterred by the grim, often gross underbelly of those answers, letting long silences land before revelations. The author's interjections add an eerie texture. Both narrators keep the dense, allusive prose clear across a century of violence, building dread without tipping into melodrama.
Intricate, textured weirdness rewards listeners throughout this sprawling, gloriously strange epic.Pub Date: Sept. 15, 2026
Duration: 40 hrs, 43 mins
DD ISBN: 9798217020959
Publisher: Random House Audio
Review Posted Online: Oct. 27, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2026
Maarleveld’s smooth, dark narration makes this murder mystery hard to pause.
Saskia Maarleveld narrates this dark academia audiobook about five mage healers whose final test is interrupted by the death of their classmate. Ysabel was a talented healer, and despite what others conclude, her cohort is certain she didn’t take her own life—she was murdered. As the healers are put to the test during the five-day exam, they come together despite their differences to solve Ysabel’s murder. Maarleveld masterfully differentiates among the main cast, crafting distinct personalities. Banter between characters shifts as the cohort combats their prejudices, warms up to each other, and even enters into romances. Maarleveld pronounces French names and terminology with a refined air that elevates the setting.
Maarleveld’s smooth, dark narration makes this murder mystery hard to pause.Pub Date: Sept. 15, 2026
Duration: 14 hrs, 18 mins
DD ISBN: 9781250472182
Publisher: Macmillan Audio
Review Posted Online: today
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2027
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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