Seventeen year old Chastity Blake knows the Sandman is just a silly children’s story parents tell their children to get them to sleep. At least she thought it was, until the day a mysterious, light golden sand appeared in her hands during a high school prank that went horribly wrong. A sand that has the power to send anyone it touches into a deep, sound sleep.
Fearing she had lost her mind, Chastity soon discovers the shocking truth of her heritage — she is a Dream Caster. Chastity was never supposed to be raised on the Domain, or what humans call Earth and she is forced to return to her true birth place, Revera — the world of Dreams.
However, in Revera there is no balance between good, the Light Casters, and darkness, the Shadow Casters, and Chastity is caught square in the middle. She soon learns that there is no place for anyone containing both the light and the darkness within them, and the shocking truth that if anyone in Revera ever discovered her shadow self, Chastity would be thrown into the Oblivion — the world of Nightmares.
Dreams are always more than they seem, and this time Chastity is going to discover just how different they can be.
This world has magical beings called Dream Casters. They have their own fairyland called Revera and Oblivion, which is apart from the mundane world which they call Domain. If so, don't they also have other magic users? Angels and demons? Vampires and witches, in it? Just wondering...
For some reason, I feel that Chastity, that's our heroine, has this emotional disconnect from events in the story. Like she is acting like she is suppose to respond in the situation but she isn't feeling it... hmmmm, I wonder why that is...
What this story is... Chastity kind of fell into a hole (like the "rabbit hole" in Alice In Wonderland) and ended up in Rivendell. Except they don't call it Rivendell, they call it Dombeya. And then onto Hogwarts. And then "Peter Pan in a The Lost Boys bonfire" got thrown in there too... Huh!? Somebody's been reading too many fantasy/fairytale books... Anyway... it is a typical battle between good versus evil and the good guys won, but... there is book 2, so the bad guys are not down yet. Knocked out but not down, and round two is published already.
Empirical Evaluation:
Story telling quality = 4
Character development = 3.5
Story itself = 3.5
Writing Style = 4
Ending = 3
World building = 4.5
Cover art = 3.5
Pace = (9 hrs & 37 mins listening time)
Plot = 2.5
Narration = 4.5
Adrienne Woods is a USA Today Bestselling author.
She published her first novel, Firebolt, in 2013, followed by Thunderlight, Frostbite, Moonbreeze and Starlight.
Her second series Dream Casters followed and Millue, the third and final part is scheduled to be released early 2019.
She is currently working very hard in getting the Dragonian Series translated into many languages and hope to reach new goals on the long run.
New York Times and Publishers Weekly Best Selling Young Adult Series. Book Three by international writing phenomenon David Weber. Two young settlers on a pioneer planet seeks to stop a war and to save the intelligent alien treecats from exploitation by unscrupulous humans.
The fires are out, but the trouble’s just beginning for the treecats
On pioneer planet Sphinx, ruined lands and the approach of winter force the now Landless Clan to seek new territory. They have one big problem — there’s nowhere to go. Worse, their efforts to find a new home awaken the enmity of the closest treecat clan — a stronger group who’s not giving up a single branch without a fight
Stephanie Harrington, the treecats’ greatest advocate, is off to Manticore for extensive training — and up to her ears in challenges there. That leaves only Stephanie’s best friends, Jessica and Anders, to save the treecats from themselves. And now a group of xenoanthropologists is once again after the great secret of the treecats — that they are intelligent, empathic telepaths — and their agenda will lead to nothing less that treecat exploitation.
Finally, Jessica and Anders face problems of their own, including their growing attraction to one another. It is an attraction that seems a betrayal of Stephanie Harrington, the best friend either of them have ever had.
For some reason this little meerkat munchkin reminds me strongly of Survivor and this meerkat society of the Skinny Cat Clan, including two pups play fighting and another two little ones sleeping in a pile. They're very cute! If I had a photoshop software, I would give this little guy six legs, a more feline face and otter hands, and he will be Survivor!
Unlike the previous books, this one has a more layered plot this time. The authors threw in a couple of unexpected twists, which is great! So the character development and the world building has long been established a long time ago with the previous books. And also like the previous books, this one is also a very good read! This being the third installment in a trilogy, I was kinda hoping for a great grand finale to the Stephanie Harrington series... but it wasn't... it was just kind of another book in the series with lots of room for more to come. But this book having been published in 2013, I don't think there will be another installment in this series, like six years later, which is the greatest downer with Treecat Wars. Of course, there is always a hope that the authors will someday pick it up again and write another installment... hopefully.... As usual, the narration is fabulous! Can't complain with Khristine Hvam at all!
Empirical Evaluation:
Story telling quality = 4.5
Character development = 4.5
Story itself = 4.5
Writing Style = 5
Ending = 4
World building = 4.5
Cover art = 5
Pace = 4.5
Plot = 4.5
Narration = 5
David Mark Weber is an American science fiction and fantasy author. He was born in Cleveland, Ohio in 1952.
Many of his stories have military, particularly naval, themes, and fit into the military science fiction genre. He frequently places female leading characters in what have been traditionally male roles.
One of his most popular and enduring characters is Honor Harrington whose alliterated name is an homage to C. S. Forester's character Horatio Hornblower and her last name from a fleet doctor in Patrick O'Brian's Master and Commander. Her story, together with the "Honorverse" she inhabits, has been developed through 16 novels and six shared-universe anthologies, as of spring 2013 (other works are in production). In 2008, he donated his archive to the department of Rare Books and Special Collections at Northern Illinois University.
Many of his books are available online, either in their entirety as part of the Baen Free Library or, in the case of more recent books, in the form of sample chapters (typically the first 25-33% of the work).
Jane Lindskold is the author of more than twenty published novels, including the six volume Firekeeper Saga (beginning with Through Wolf’s Eyes), Child of a Rainless Year (a contemporary fantasy set in Las Vegas, New Mexico), and The Buried Pyramid (an archeological adventure fantasy set in 1880's Egypt).
Lindskold is also the author of the “Breaking the Wall” series, which begins with Thirteen Orphans, then continues in Nine Gates and Five Odd Honors. Her most recent series begins with Artemis Awakening, released in May of 2014. Lindskold has also had published over sixty short stories and numerous works of non-fiction, including a critical biography of Roger Zelazny, and articles on Yeats and Synge.
She has collaborated with several other SF/F writers, including Roger Zelazny, for whom, at his request, she posthumously finished his novels Donnerjack and Lord Demon. She has also collaborated with David Weber, writing several novellas and two YA novels set in his popular ”Honorverse.” She wrote the short story “Servant of Death” with Fred Saberhagen.
Charles de Lint, reviewing Changer, praised "Lindskold's ability to tell a fast-paced, contemporary story that still carries the weight and style of old mythological story cycles."[1] Terri Windling called Brother to Dragons, Companion to Owls "a complex, utterly original work of speculative fiction." DeLint has also stated that “Jane Lindskold is one of those hidden treasures of American letters; a true gem of a writer who simply gets better with each book.”
Lindskold was born in 1962 at the Columbia Hospital for Women, the first of four siblings and grew up in Washington, D.C. and Chesapeake Bay. Lindskold's father was head of the Land and Natural Resources Division, Western Division of the United States Justice Department and her mother was also an attorney. She studied at Fordham, where she received a Ph. D. in English, concentrating on Medieval, Renaissance, and Modern British Literature; she successfully defended her Ph.D. on her 26th birthday.
Lindskold lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico with her husband, archaeologist Jim Moore.
Khristine Hvam is an award winning audiobook narrator, director, and voice over actress. Having studied acting for the theater and film, she soon discovered a love of voice over. You will hear her in TV/Radio commercials, video games, animated series, and most notably in over 200 audio book titles. Khristine has been honored with several Audio Publishers Association Audie Award nominations and in the summer of 2012 earned her first Audie Award in the fantasy category for her performance of Lani Taylor’s “Daughter of Smoke and Bone” and a second for “Astray” by Emma Donoghue. Khristine has also received five AudioFile Magazine’s Earphone Awards for her performances. Most recently she has begun directing audiobooks, a journey she never imagined taking, but one she is thrilled to be exploring. Khristine is a proud member of SAG/AFTRA.
The seven dragon tribes have been at war for generations, locked in an endless battle over an ancient, lost treasure. A secret movement called the Talons of Peace is determined to bring an end to the fighting, with the help of a prophecy -- a foretelling that calls for great sacrifice.
Five dragonets are collected to fulfill the prophecy, raised in a hidden cave and enlisted, against their will, to end the terrible war.
But not every dragonet wants a destiny. And when the select five escape their underground captors to look for their original homes, what has been unleashed on the dragon world may be far more than the revolutionary planners intended . . .
This is my first Shannon McManus audiobook listen and I like the way she reads. The words are clear and distinct. Her voice is not aggravating to the ears. All in all, I would listen to this narrator again.
This book introduces us to the five dragonets and the world of Pyrrhia. I couldn't decide whether this book is YA (young adult) or middle grade (MG). Maybe something in between. So, what do you call that age gap between YA and MG? ...I don't know either. So let's call it the YA-MG Gap (YAMGG). This world is peopled mainly by dragons with humans as edible endangered species. And our heroes and heroines are "old" 6-year-old dragonets. "Old" 6-year-olds, is the key word here. They already have a strong sense of right and wrong. They have a firm grasp of their purpose in life. Me, ...I didn't get to develop that until I was in college!... Anyway, this is a nice little story about dragons. And it ends in a cliffhanger. Of course it did. But I already have a strong suspicion that it would do that seeing that this is the first book in the series. Having said that, I really enjoyed this book and that is why halfway through this book, I already ordered my copy of the next book. I know that the audiobook says that this book is 8 hours long, but it feels like only an hour or so... So this book is a nice, quick read.
Empirical Evaluation:
Story telling quality = 4
Character development = 4.5
Story itself = 4.5
Writing Style = 4.5
Ending = 3
World building = 5
Cover art = 4.5
Pace = (8 hrs and 32 mins )
Plot = 3.5
Narration = 5
Fire in the forest — and a cry for help from a trapped and desperate alien mother! Unfortunately, this is one cry no human can hear. Stephanie Harrington, precocious fourteen-year-old Provisional Forest Ranger on the planet Sphinx, knows something is wrong from the uneasy emotion that is flooding into her from her treecat friend, Climbs Quickly. But though Stephanie’s alien comrade shares a tight bond with his two-legs, whom he knows as Death Fang’s Bane, he cannot communicate directly to her the anguished call from one of his people.
Still, their strong and direct bond of feeling may be enough. Stephanie and fellow ranger Karl Zivonik respond to Climbs Quickly’s rising waves of distress. Fire season on the pioneer world of Sphinx has begun. But there are those who want to use the natural cycle of the planet for personal gain — and to get rid of the one obstacle that stands in the way of acquiring even greater land and power on Sphinx: the native treecats.
Now it’s up to Stephanie, Climbs Quickly along with their friends, family, and allies to prevent disaster and injustice from befalling a treecat clan. But in the process Stephanie must be certain to preserve the greatest secret all. It is the knowledge that the treecats of Sphinx are not merely pets or servants, but are highly intelligent in their own right — that they are a species fully deserving of rights, respect, and freedom. And keeping the secret that will allow the treecats time to develop a mutually beneficial relationship with humankind.
It all begins with the friendship of a girl and her treecat.
I'm not sure why this second book in the Stephanie Harrington series got an additional author in it, but there you go. However, it doesn't seem to make any difference to the quality of the book. It is still the same very good read! The world building and the character development has been established in book one already and continued on in this book. And maybe I've just gotten used to the voice of the author or gotten more immersed in this world, that this book seems to go faster than the last one. Or maybe, this book is just more fast-paced than the first one. Either way, this book was a quick read. I still love the narration and gives it 5 out of 5! The only down side to this book is the cliffhanger ending, even though it did end the plot in the book. I just do not like cliffhangers! Other than that, this book is a wonderful follow-up to A Beautiful Friendship.
Empirical Evaluation:
Story telling quality = 4.5
Character development = 4.5
Story itself = 4.5
Writing Style = 5
Ending = 4
World building = 4.5
Cover art = 5
Pace = 5
Plot = 4.5
Narration = 5
David Mark Weber is an American science fiction and fantasy author. He was born in Cleveland, Ohio in 1952.
Many of his stories have military, particularly naval, themes, and fit into the military science fiction genre. He frequently places female leading characters in what have been traditionally male roles.
One of his most popular and enduring characters is Honor Harrington whose alliterated name is an homage to C. S. Forester's character Horatio Hornblower and her last name from a fleet doctor in Patrick O'Brian's Master and Commander. Her story, together with the "Honorverse" she inhabits, has been developed through 16 novels and six shared-universe anthologies, as of spring 2013 (other works are in production). In 2008, he donated his archive to the department of Rare Books and Special Collections at Northern Illinois University.
Many of his books are available online, either in their entirety as part of the Baen Free Library or, in the case of more recent books, in the form of sample chapters (typically the first 25-33% of the work).
Jane Lindskold is the author of more than twenty published novels, including the six volume Firekeeper Saga (beginning with Through Wolf’s Eyes), Child of a Rainless Year (a contemporary fantasy set in Las Vegas, New Mexico), and The Buried Pyramid (an archeological adventure fantasy set in 1880's Egypt).
Lindskold is also the author of the “Breaking the Wall” series, which begins with Thirteen Orphans, then continues in Nine Gates and Five Odd Honors. Her most recent series begins with Artemis Awakening, released in May of 2014. Lindskold has also had published over sixty short stories and numerous works of non-fiction, including a critical biography of Roger Zelazny, and articles on Yeats and Synge.
She has collaborated with several other SF/F writers, including Roger Zelazny, for whom, at his request, she posthumously finished his novels Donnerjack and Lord Demon. She has also collaborated with David Weber, writing several novellas and two YA novels set in his popular ”Honorverse.” She wrote the short story “Servant of Death” with Fred Saberhagen.
Charles de Lint, reviewing Changer, praised "Lindskold's ability to tell a fast-paced, contemporary story that still carries the weight and style of old mythological story cycles."[1] Terri Windling called Brother to Dragons, Companion to Owls "a complex, utterly original work of speculative fiction." DeLint has also stated that “Jane Lindskold is one of those hidden treasures of American letters; a true gem of a writer who simply gets better with each book.”
Lindskold was born in 1962 at the Columbia Hospital for Women, the first of four siblings and grew up in Washington, D.C. and Chesapeake Bay. Lindskold's father was head of the Land and Natural Resources Division, Western Division of the United States Justice Department and her mother was also an attorney. She studied at Fordham, where she received a Ph. D. in English, concentrating on Medieval, Renaissance, and Modern British Literature; she successfully defended her Ph.D. on her 26th birthday.
Lindskold lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico with her husband, archaeologist Jim Moore.
Khristine Hvam is an award winning audiobook narrator, director, and voice over actress. Having studied acting for the theater and film, she soon discovered a love of voice over. You will hear her in TV/Radio commercials, video games, animated series, and most notably in over 200 audio book titles. Khristine has been honored with several Audio Publishers Association Audie Award nominations and in the summer of 2012 earned her first Audie Award in the fantasy category for her performance of Lani Taylor’s “Daughter of Smoke and Bone” and a second for “Astray” by Emma Donoghue. Khristine has also received five AudioFile Magazine’s Earphone Awards for her performances. Most recently she has begun directing audiobooks, a journey she never imagined taking, but one she is thrilled to be exploring. Khristine is a proud member of SAG/AFTRA.
