Nihala

By: Scott Burdick

Narrated by: Gabrielle de Cuir

Kayla Nighthawk, born crippled and orphaned in the theocratic realm of Potemia, defies her society's ban against reading the ancient books on sciencecraft. Her search for a cure for her deformities and for the meaning of existence itself becomes a matter of life or death for Kayla - as well as for all of humanity. This is the history of the next millennium of humankind. An epic tale of technology and the backlash against it. A journey of war, love, sex, revenge, and heartbreak - a philosophical adventure story.

©2016 Scott Burdick (P)2016 Skyboat Media, Inc.

Great Adventure

if you enjoy pondering the meaning of things, the meaning of life and what is moral you will enjoy this deep and very well thought out book. it starts with a fairly basic story and then evolves in so many directions with surprises, tensions and wonders. It wraps up very nicely on the end! Nihala is amazing!

Very engaging and thought provoking

If you could sum up Nihala in three words, what would they be?

Nihala was a really enjoyable story. Lots of good metaphor. Lots of good everything.
What a blast. Gabrielle did an amazing job narrating too.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Nihala?

The scene where Trickster Jack tricked the Monads. A very sad moment that echoed similar real world events from history.

Have you listened to any of Gabrielle de Cuir’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Nope. First time.

Any additional comments?

Can't wait for the next book by Scott!

Epic Tale

Would you listen to Nihala again? Why?

Yes, just to listen to the narrator's mercurial performance. She must have done 50 different characters. Jim Dale watch out!

What did you like best about this story?

I think it would have been best if it had been edited into several volumes. There was a lot of very interesting Alice-in-Wonderland type arguments but the main story was hard to follow sometimes. I wasn't always sure which world we were in; and where the flashbacks began and ended. That was a bit frustrating.

What does Gabrielle de Cuir bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

The accents!!! And more than that; the actual characters. She plays young girls and Indian Ganesha gods, and 8 legged Spiders ...

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

Noooo, too long.

WOW, not what I expected

I wasn't sure if I'd like this one, the summary doesn't give it nearly the depth it deserves. This story snatched my imagination immediately & held it all the way through. One of those books where you look at what chapter you're on hoping you're not near the end. When I did reach the end I was satisfied, rather than left wondering & let down. LOVED it.

Ableist and unoriginal

I don’t know where to start with how bad this entire thing is. But the narrator of the audiobook is the only reason I listened as long as I did. She’s talented. The book itself? Unimaginative, mediocre, ableist, dogmatic and dull. Don’t waste your time. There’s a load of gratuitous violence against any female character that doesn’t serve the plot in any way. And as for that plot, it’s exactly what would happen if you told a 7th grader to write a dramatization of the Salem witch trials and then swapped out every instance of “witchcraft” for “sciencecraft.” It’s boring and badly done.