Bacchanal

By: Veronica G. Henry

Narrated by: Robin Miles

Evil lives in a traveling carnival roaming the Depression-era South. But the carnival’s newest act, a peculiar young woman with latent magical powers, may hold the key to defeating it. Her time has come.

Abandoned by her family, alone on the wrong side of the color line with little to call her own, Eliza Meeks is coming to terms with what she does have. It’s a gift for communicating with animals. To some, she’s a magical tender. To others, a she-devil. To a talent prospector, she’s a crowd-drawing oddity. And the Bacchanal Carnival is Eliza’s ticket out of the swamp trap of Baton Rouge.

Among fortune-tellers, carnies, barkers, and folks even stranger than herself, Eliza finds a new home. But the Bacchanal is no ordinary carnival. An ancient demon has a home there too. She hides behind an iridescent disguise. She feeds on innocent souls. And she’s met her match in Eliza, who’s only beginning to understand the purpose of her own burgeoning powers.

Only then can Eliza save her friends, find her family, and fight the sway of a primordial demon preying upon the human world. Rolling across a consuming dust bowl landscape, Eliza may have found her destiny.

©2021 by Veronica Henry. (P)2021 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Critic reviews

“In Henry’s debut novel it is Depression-era Baton Rouge, Louisiana where Eliza Meeks' abandonment by her family sets her on a journey in the GB Bacchanal Carnival, where she develops her special gift to communicate with animals.... Miles complements the enigmatic ambiance of the prose and calls upon an array of accents for the peculiar personalities that come to enrich the dynamics of the traveling carnival. She instinctively pulls the story together making it more cerebral and thoroughly engaging in audio.” (Booklist)

“[Robin] Miles imbues each character with a subtle accent and vocal personality. Her patient narration draws listeners into a historical fantasy populated by larger-than-life characters. Miles's performance is the perfect vehicle for this powerful story of a young woman's search for her destiny.” (AudioFile Magazine, Earphones Award winner)

“Bacchanal takes circus fantasy into the menacing gothic environment of the Depression-era South, and narrator Robin Miles once again demonstrates her mastery by making every moment of this wildly outlandish world seem immediate and real.” (The Seattle Times)

Ehh

The story had moments that made me interested and at other moments I was completely lost. The narrator did her best but the accents made it difficult to follow the story thus staying engaged was hard. I don’t think I’d listen again

Just ok

This book, while it has an interesting story line, could have used better editing. Of course I can’t remember many examples, but it just had awkward wording and tortured descriptions. Twice the author referred to a shirt that was “faded white”. Huh? What color does white fade to? And the action in many scenes was hard to follow. So, it was an ok idea, but not very good writing.

I really enjoyed this!

This was a very interesting read. I would love to read about each character. Get a back story on Hope and Bombardier, Autumn, Clay, Jamey, etc.

Riveting and immersive

I found this story mesmerizing, partially by the incredibly unique and well written narrative and partially due to the narrator’s immeasurable skills. The visually based descriptions come alive in your mind’s eye. The sum is greater than the parts. I finished it in two days, not doing much else - I just couldn’t stop listening. I suspect remnants of Bacchanal will drift across my mind long after I’ve moved on.

Herstory , African mysticism, and US race culture

Don't pass this literary gumbo by, dig into the pot and savor the flavor and rich texture of genius authorship.

Gripping

Thoroughly enjoyed both the book and audio version. Audio worked well so I did chores.

Henry and Miles Offer an Obsessive Listening Experience

Henry has written an engrossing story with multi-faceted, literally, characters that Miles brings to life with her award-winning narration. The mix of folklore, Motherland magic and mysticism paints a believable landscape of entertainment that is buoyed by Miles’ command and versatility of accents. I felt as if I’d lost kin at the end of the story.

Interesting and Enjoyable Story

I'm not sure how this book fell into my path, but I thoroughly enjoyed the characters, storyline, and the several references to people I've researched and places I've visited or called home.

Well...I finished it!

I sure struggled to finish it. The narrator did a nice job, but I wonder if she couldn't wait for it to finish, too? The author tried, so I will never grade lower than a 3, effort counts. I struggled to find a character I liked, hard to read and listen when I'm not interested. Thought the epilogue would pull it together....another disappointment! I'm just out 2 bucks for the audio; book was a Prime freebie! Hope you have better luck with it. 😕

good story excellent reader

i found this book easy to listen to and entertaining. The story was intriguing and developed well. While initially a littlw difficult to keep track of who was who, it all fell together well.