The Gates of Sleep

Elemental Masters

De: Mercedes Lackey

Narrado por: Kayla Fell

In the tradition of her acclaimed fairy-tale-inspired novel, The Serpent's Shadow, best-selling author Mercedes Lackey re-imagines Sleeping Beauty-as a dark and enchanting Edwardian fantasy. Marina is the cherished daughter of the wealthy Roeswood family, practioners of Elemental Magic. But evil portents have warned her parents that Marina will be killed before her 18th birthday-by the hand of her own aunt.©2003 Mercedes Lackey (P)2009 Audible, Inc.

another elemental masters story from our queen!

I adore this series, even more than most from Mercedes Lackey, as it combines historical fiction with magical world building and human heart wonderfully.

Great fairytale story!

Great fairytale story, beautifully read! Good vs evil, love vs hate, strong heroine, likable hero. All the elements of a great story.

Good Book

Any additional comments?

Good story. Not as great as Serpent's Shadow, but still worthwhile. Some of the historical details were very thorough, which I loved. I wished a few parts of the plot had been more detailed. Overall, I'd recommend it and am happy to have it in my audio library.

Good story, *but*

I love this series, and won't let a slightly dissappointing read of this one keep me from buying the rest, since each seems to have a different person reading them. And I can't say this reader was terrible. Just inexperienced, perhaps? Or not well directed? Her voice is quite lovely. But her pacing and pronunciation need work, both of which can throw you out of the story. (hearing the name 'Dickon' pronounced 'die conn' made me cringe)

loved it

excellent!! Mercedes Lackey never disappoints! Her words transform you into a time and place like no other! I having been reading her works for years and not once have i regretted the time spent! Amazed more than a few times but never any regrets!

Enjoyable Read/Listen

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

It was easy to listen to while driving or doing other things. A break in the listening did not dampen the books story.

Any additional comments?

Enjoyable.

Delightful and impossible to put down

This was the audio equivalent of the book you keeping reading until 2 in the morning. I would sit, continuing to listen long after I usually would stop. The story had interesting characters, who were smart and didn't do the dumb acts that more formulaic stories would use. The Victorian setting provided a historical example of industrial poisoning to contrast with the Elemental Masters' care of the natural world. This audio book was a delight.

Great story but not the best choice for voice

I love the whole Elemental Masters series with the merge of magic and fairy tales but the voice actor just missed the mark for me.

Fantastic and compelling!

What did you love best about The Gates of Sleep?

The narrator was amazing, really made all the characters come to life. The voice for Madame was perfect! Exactly how I imagined it would be when I read the book. And Marina is a great character, very realistic with her love of the fine clothing and dreams of "society".

What did you like best about this story?

I love a good Fairy Tale parody! Sleeping Beauty didn't let me down.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Absolutely! As it was, I drove slower than usual since I only let myself listen to it in the car .

Wish the performance was better

While emotionally gripping, this book doesn't give me the same overall satisfaction as its predecessors in the series. There are a few too many little deus ex machina in the book (in my opinion). There are actions done by the protagonist and supporting characters that simply do not make sense. I also have to keep reminding myself of the protagonist's age.

The awkwardness in the book is even made more stark by the performance of the particular reader chosen for this audiobook. I wish another performer had been chosen. At points, she read as if it was a chore, or as if she was about to laugh at the sentence she was reading. Accents and dialects were given to random characters at random times with no distinction of who's saying what, or what action was being done while something was said (for example, "she said, laughing," would be read in a very deadpan manner). It didn't quite make listening to the audiobook unbearable, but almost. If another version was published with a much better performer, I would happily get that one.