Breath and Bone

Lighthouse, Book 2

By: Carol Berg

Narrated by: Allen O'Reilly

Everyone in Navronne seems to be after Valen. There is the fanatical Harrower priestess, Sila Diaglou, who wants to raze the kingdom. The Bastard Prince Osriel, who steals dead men's eyes. And the Pureblood Registry, determined to keep every pureblood sorcerer in thrall. Even beings out of myth, the Danae guardians, whose dancing nurtures the Earth and whose attention could prove the most costly of all.

As Navronne sinks deeper into civil war and perilous winter, Valen finds himself a bargaining chip in a deadly standoff. Doomed to madness by his addiction to the doulon, and bound by oaths he refuses to abandon, the young sorcerer risks body and soul to rescue one child, seek justice for another, and bring the ailing land its righteous king. Yet no one is who they seem, and Valen's search for healing grace leads him from Harrower dungeons to the very heart of the world. In the twilight of a legend, he at last discovers the hard truth of the coming dark age and the glorious, terrible price of the land's redemption...and his own.

©2008 Carol Berg (P)2013 Audible, Inc.

Poor Production & Narration Dooms Story

I have never read a better book with a poorer delivery, Inappropriate pauses, mispronunciations, and wrong words made this far more difficult than it should have been. The only way that I could make sense of it was to play it at .7 speed. It is wrong to condemn a narrator when somebody was in charge of production, yet didn’t take the time to actually listen to the execution.

While the story was imaginative and frequently engaging, there were portions that plodded in the most prosaic fashion. The conclusion struck me as rushed and left loose ends that disappointed. It is easy to criticize, but there is much here to criticize.

One of my very favorite books, Workable narration

I avoided this book, as well as the first in the series, after hearing the preview and hearing other reviewer's cautions. I can't tell you how much I adore the books though, and always thought they'd do well on audio. I'm glad I took a chance. Though I don't recommend allowing these audiobooks to be your first experience, if you already love the books, the narrator is workable. The trick? Slow down the reading speed to .8x instead of 1x. He still mispronounces and stumbles sometimes, but at least you can absorb the prose and pacing. I even started to look past the imperfections and enjoy his voice. He's not a perfect narrator, but certainly workable with some adjustments, especially if you already adore the story.

Wonderful sequel, mediocre narration

This book, like its prequel Flesh and Spirit, is a superb piece of intricate and dark fantasy. Carol Berg delivers a multidimensional plot with intriguing characters that will leave you wanting more. I highly recommend this book and its prequel to all fans of fantasy.

However, the narration, as with the prequel, is not what I would have wished. The pacing seems, to me, a bit awkward. There are multiple mispronunciations of words and hesitations that make it seem as though the narrator doesn't understand the meaning of some of the words he is reading. This isn't really a glaring issue and many people may not even notice, but it did bother me. Having said that, I still wholeheartedly recommend this series on the strength of the story alone.

Great Story; Poor Narration

If you love Valen, don’t be put off from listening to this. But if you are not familiar with this series, please read it first. Carol Berg is a master, and Valen is one of my favorite characters. But the narrator is simply a reader, not a performer. As others have said, odd pauses, mispronunciations. These books were my introduction to this author of whose books I have read all. I just wish these could be re-recorded by a master performer as befits their content.

terrible narration

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

change the narrator

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Allen O'Reilly?

just about anyone

What character would you cut from Breath and Bone?

none

Any additional comments?

i loved the story, loved the writing, shouldn't have bothered with audio book, could not get through it