I had a sister, once…
In a world ruled by fierce warrior queens, a grand empire was built upon the backs of Phoenix Riders—legendary heroes who soared through the sky on wings of fire—until a war between two sisters ripped it all apart.
I promised her the throne would not come between us.
Sixteen years later, Veronyka is a war orphan who dreams of becoming a Phoenix Rider from the stories of old. After a shocking betrayal from her controlling sister, Veronyka strikes out alone to find the Riders—even if that means disguising herself as a boy to join their ranks.
But it is a fact of life that one must kill or be killed. Rule or be ruled.
Just as Veronyka finally feels like she belongs, her sister turns up and reveals a tangled web of lies between them that will change everything. And meanwhile, the new empire has learned of the Riders’ return and intends to destroy them once and for all.
Sometimes the title of queen is given. Sometimes it must be taken.
Crown of Feathers is an epic fantasy about love’s incredible power to save—or to destroy. Interspersed throughout is the story of Avalkyra Ashfire, the last Rider queen, who would rather see her empire burn than fall into her sister’s hands.
Read by Cassandra Campbell, Samantha Desz, Gibson Frazier, Joy Osmanski, and Jacques Roy
Unabridged Length: 17.4 Hours
Listened at 2x Speed
Unabridged Length: 17.4 Hours
Listened at 2x Speed
When I saw the cover for the 3rd book's audiobook contained more than one narrator, I immediately jumped to get ahold of the previous audios for my re-read. I LOVE full-cast audiobooks, and short of that, I love when audiobook productions go out of their way to cast multiple people for split narration. Not only does it give an extra boost of authenticity to the readers, but it always just makes the listening experience that much better. Admittedly, I was a little bummed that the audiobook didn't say who voiced each POV character, but after a quick search I was able to piece together some of the casting:
Joy Osmanski as VeronykaBesides the varied voices that covered the various narration switches, there isn't much else that sets this audio apart from the pack. Everyone was passable at providing whatever voices came up during their chapters, but they didn't really carry over from one narrator to the other, as you would expect in a true full-cast audio. I think an effort was made to have, for example, Commander Cassian sound similar through all three narrations (Tristan, Veronyka & Sev), but obviously he wasn't the same voice throughout.
Jacques Roy as Sev
Gibson Frazier as Tristan (through process of elimination)
Samantha Desz & Cassandra Campbell fill the roles of Avalkyra & Pheronia (not sure who voices whom) as well as reading various letters and historical documents between chapters
I did also notice that the speed of narration/speaking differed in Sev's (Jacques Roy's) chapters. Probably not a huge deal if you're listening at normal speed, or are following along with the text. But for those who like a sped-up playback while doing other things, you may want to have the speed controls handy for his chapters, as he does talk at a faster clip than the others.
Overall, a solid production, but not as spectacular as I might have liked. I did appreciate being able to hear the terms Xe Xie and the slightly different pronunciation of Avalkyra than I had, but there wasn't much else in the fantasy category that had me puzzled. I also noticed a couple places where the text had "community" in place of "tribe" in the audio, so I assume those were edited later, but they were the only minor differences I caught. In short, this may be a fun change of pace for those who are used to only one narrator per book, but lands pretty standard for those of us who've experienced more complex productions.
You are a daughter of queens.
The world is balanced on the edge of a knife, and war is almost certain between the empire and the Phoenix Riders.
Like Nefyra before you, your life will be a trial by fire.
Veronyka finally got her wish to join the Riders, but while she’s supposed to be in training, all she really wants to do is fly out to defend the villages of Pyra from the advancing empire. Tristan has been promoted to Master Rider, but he has very different ideas about the best way to protect their people than his father, the commander. Sev has been sent to spy on the empire, but maintaining his cover may force him to fight on the wrong side of the war. And Veronyka’s sister, Val, is determined to regain the empire she lost—even if it means inciting the war herself.
Such is your inheritance. A name. A legacy. An empire in ruin.
As tensions reach a boiling point, the characters all find themselves drawn together into a fight that will shape the course of the empire—and determine the future of the Phoenix Riders. Each must decide how far they’re willing to go—and what they’re willing to lose in the process.
I pray you are able to pass through the flames.
Original Review
Read by Cassandra Campbell, Michael Crouch, Samantha Desz, Gibson Frazier, Joy Osmanski, Timothy Andrés Pabon, and Jacques Roy
Unabridged Length: 23.3 Hours
Listened at 2x Speed
Unabridged Length: 23.3 Hours
Listened at 2x Speed
I honestly don't know if the narration got better, or if there was just more action and emotion in the story to elevate the actors' performances, but I was much more invested in the characters this time around. I also loved the Pheronia readings as well as the various documents, which were given their own narrator this time around (though I have a sneaking suspicion also served as Kade's narrator, who only had one chapter) whose accent I absolutely adored. However, that same reader did struggle with character voices, especially the women, but since it was only 1 chapter of 60, I didn't mind that much.
Once again, I would have liked if there'd been a curtain call of sorts. I really, really would love to know which name to put to which voice, since there's actually a good chunk of us audiophiles who like to follow narrators through their work. I mean, if they can include the full glossary and timeline and such from the back of the book, it's not like they were lacking on time to give a simple, "Joy Osmanski as Veronyka," instead of just listing them all alphabetically. But maybe the 3rd book will finally put names to roles?
With that full reading of the glossary at the back, I was slightly confused as to why they skipped reading one of the end-of-chapter documents. I'll grant you, reading a family tree isn't the easiest task, what with the different branches each dipping through multiple generations, but surely something could have been done to translate this into audio? Other than that, I really didn't notice any other changes from book to audio.
Overall, I'd say this was a marked improvement over the first book. Again, I'm not sure if this is due in part to the improved emotions and storybeats of the narrative, or solely because of the narrators themselves, but regardless I definitely enjoyed this one more. I think the cast were better settled in this time around, both with the world and their characters, so the production as a whole benefited from that familiarity. I'm not fully sure why the production team decided to include 10 full pages of timeline and glossary at the end of the book, as I hardly think they benefit an audio as much as a text, and since many of the people and terms are described in the story as they are relevant, but I guess it wasn't detrimental to the whole. So, ultimately this production did what it needed to: transport me through its story and get me pumped up for the final entry.
No comments :
Post a Comment
Let me hear you howl!