"Immortalis - Part 2 of 3" Book 7 of "The Demon Wars Saga" by R.A. Salvatore

"Immortalis - Part 2 of 3"
Book 7 of "The Demon Wars Saga"
by R.A. Salvatore
Multicast performance
Produced by GraphicAudio
Approx 6 hours

The tension builds, the excitement mounts, the story continues and soon comes to a close. It is a bittersweet emotion I feel as I just finish listening to the second of three parts that make up the final audio book in "The Demon Wars Saga" by R.A. Salvatore. The adventures continue but I am saddened to know that there is only one more audio book left before the end of the saga. This series introduced the world to the Ranger Elbryan, who was trained by elves to protect the citizens of Honce-the-Bear, his wife Jilseponie who was trained by a renegade monk, soon become a Saint, who taught her how to use the magic gemstones. Bradwarden the Centaur, Bellimar Juraviel the elf who has trained rangers through the ages and many more heroes. Salvatore also introduced some great villains such as; Marcalo De'Unnero the were-tiger monk who seeks to rule the Abellican Church, Father Abbot Marquart who was possessed by the demon dactyl, Bestus Belzibar.

In this audiobook, the son of Elbryan and Jilseponie, Adryan, who has become king through a technicality seeks to conquer the world. Adryan was taken from Jilseponie's womb by Lady Dasselrond, the leader of the Tu'elafar, the elves of the north, and raised as a ranger in hopes that he would save their land. It turns out that not letting the child or the mother know of each other's existence has stained Adryan's view on life. Adryan left the elves and found the renegade monk De'Unnero and under his tutelage, sought and killed to gain the throne. Now he seeks to conquer the world. Those that don't bow to him will be destroyed.

Adryan has sent emissaries to Behren to conquer the southland. The land of Behren has just found out that their religious god head was a fake, and the country is in turmoil. Adryan hopes to take this confusion and use it to his advantage. The problem is that Brynn Dahrielle has just freed her people, the To-gai, from Behrenese slavery, and only sees Adryan, a former friend, as another slaver.

To exact his revenge Adryan first must destroy Lady Dasselrond and the elves. To do so he must find Anderblok Innerness, the land of the Tu'elafar. Dasselrond sacrifices herself to hide the land. It can now only be found once Adryan's blood has been spilled. The elves are homeless without a land and seek out Jilseponie to offer their assistance in defeating Adryan.

Jilseponie has gone to the north to aid Prince Midalis, brother to the king slain by Adryan. Juravial finds Jilseponie and Bradwarden and offers his magicks to tie all the forces together in that they may destroy the false King Adryan.

At the end of this audiobook the major battles begin, now I must get to the finale, but I don't want to rush it, I'll be saddened to reach the end of this epic saga. But the excitement awaits.

To make this audiobook even more exciting, it is produced by Graphic Audio. Graphic Audio promises "A Movie in your Mind," and boy do they ever deliver. Superb acting and characterization by the talented voices would normally be enough, but with the original music and Earth shattering sound effects, this audio book will engulf you in the story and excitement that is "The Demon Wars Saga."

"Immortalis - Part 1 of 3" Book 7 of "The Demon Wars Saga" by R.A. Salvatore

"Immortalis - Part 1 of 3"
Book 7 of "The Demon Wars Saga"
by R.A. Salvatore
Multi-cast performance
produced by GraphicAudio
Approx 7 hours

I knew it was coming, the beginning of the end, and here it is. This is the first of three parts of the final book in "The Demon Wars Saga" by R.A. Salvatore. This saga has been a great adventure in fantasy taking place in the land of Corona. The heroes have included wizards (of a sort), elves, dwarves, goblins, giants, a centaur that plays bagpipes, humans and a dragon. Everything one could ever want in a fantasy series. Salvatore not only created this fictional Land of Corona and populated with some great heroes and villains, but he also created several forms of government and religious doctrine.

One of the things that forms a great work of fiction is how in depth the characters and their adventures are explained. By creating brand new forms of politics and religion these characters have strict rules to go by and how or when they cross those lines create the great stories. Salvatore has done just that by at first in the saga creating a demon that threatens the land and how these governments and religions react. Even more to the point the excitement occurs when heroes are the ones acting and the government and religion stand by idly.

Throughout the adventures I have grown quite fond of he central characters. Jilseponie (Pony) who as a child was left alone to die after goblins raided her town. She grew up to become a soldier in the king's army, a weilder of magic and then Queen of Honce-the-Bear. Now she is no longer queen because her son, who was thought to have died at birth, has usurped the crown and has left her in her own exile. But she will not go quietly, she is now out to find why Lady Dasselrond, the leader of the elves took her baby and released his evil on the land.

Bellimar Juraviel, the elf that trained rangers so they may protect the humans of the Land of Corona, is now in love with one of his lost kinsfolk. Juraviel is of the Touel'alfar elves and centuries ago the Touel'alfar had split in ideals from the Doc'alfar. The Doc'alfar left the lands and were never heard from again. Juravial was escorting the most recently trained ranger Brynn Dharielle to the lands of To-gai to free her people from slavery when they discovered the Doc'alfar. Juraviel fell in love with one of the Doc'alfar and now will be having a child with her. Juravial brings the King of the Doc'alfar back to Lady Dasselrond in hopes of reuniting the elven folk, but learns that King Adryan may be a threat to the elves.

King Adryan killed King Ursal to gain the crown and a few others and as he decides to conquer the Behren and To-gai lands of the south his murderous past starts to haunt him. He awakes from dreams where those slain have come back. His reign not only includes conquering the lands to the south but with the aid of his mentor, the evil, Marcalo De'unnero, Adryan also plans on reforming the Abellican church.

All this is where part one leaves off. Now on to part 2 so I can get more of this excitement. The nice thing about listening to these audio book productions from GraphicAudio is that they split them up in six or seven hour installments. For me this provides convenience of enjoying the events in the saga and enjoying the breaks between the excitement and turmoil created by R. A. Salvatore. This same excitement and turmoil is made more exciting through the superb production from GraphicAudio. They use excellent voice actors that not only express the emotion and action of the characters at the moment but also seem to be able to express the character's history that led to this moment in time. The music and sound effects also move you along through the saga leaving you on the edge of your seat for the entire run.

So strap in and enjoy this beginning of the end of the saga.

"Transcendence Part 3 of 3" Book 6 of "The Demon Wars Saga" by R.A. Salvatore

"Transcendence Part 3 of 3"
Book 6 of "The Demon Wars Saga"
by R.A. Salvatore
Multicast performance
Produced by GraphicAudio
Approx 6 hours



Sad to say, but my adventures in the Land of Corona are coming to a close. With the finishing of this final part of book 6, I realize there's only one more book left and the story seems to be ready for a huge finale. This last trilogy builds up the new leaders in the land of Behren and Honce-the-Bear. This book in particular covers the land of Behren and how the Behrenese have conquered the To-Gai and the ranger that is out to set the To-Gai people free, Brynn Dharielle.

In the previous five books the land of Behren has been mention, but only in passing. This time around R.A. Salvatore explores the government and religions of the southernmost lands. The main outline of the land seems to derive from an equivalent of our Middle East and Asian countries. The Behrenese are closely related in many senses to the Muslims where the To-Gai seem to be loosely based on Mongolians of Asia, then you have the Jhesta Tu Mystics that could resemble the Shao lin Monks of China.

This final installment of "Transcendence" builds to two great battles, one for the leadership of Behren and one for the final stand of the To Gai.

The Behrenese are ruled by holy clerics known as Yatols, and the leader of the Yatols is the Chezru Chieftain. The latest Chezru Chieftain is Yakim Douan, and it is time for his transcendence, a period where his body dies but the next chieftan is born into the body of an infant, much like the idea behind the Dali Lama. But in this case Yakim Douan has been cheating the system by using the soulstone, one of the magical gems of the Abellican monks from the northlands. The Behrenese religion forbids the use of magic gemstones, but Yakim Douan has been using the soulstone to possess the bodies of unborn infants to be reborn for many centuries. He is now getting old and is ready to invade his next body, but with the problems in Honce-the-bear and the rebellious To-Gai, he has to put this off.

Brynn Dharielle was taken by the Touel'alfar, the elves, and trained as a Ranger so she can return to free the To-Gai. Her campaign has been successful in that she has been constantly making dents in the Behrenese armies, not enough to conquer but enough to ruin the day of the Chezru Chieftan. She has been called the Dragon of To-Gai, because at her side she has a dangerous ally, Agradelus the dragon. Agradelus has been underground for many years and the taste of battle keeps him hard to control.

Brynn is assisted also by a Jhesta Tu Mystic Pagonel. Pagonel discovers the secret to Transcendence and returns to the Behren capital city of Jacintha to uncover the truth and ridicule the Chezru Chieftain. This could turn the land into a land of turmoil knowing their ruling party and religion has been deceiving them all these years.

Once again through the magic of GraphicAudio's superb production this saga continues with some of the most exciting audio books ever produced. GraphicAudio uses great voice talent, sound effects and incidental music that leaves you feeling as though you need to wash the sands off from the desert battles and checking yourself for arrow wounds. Their production is magical.

"Transcendence - Part 2 of 3" Book 6 of "The Demon Wars Saga" by R.A. Salvatore

"Transcendence - Part 2 of 3"
Book 6 of "The Demon Wars Saga"
by R.A. Salvatore
Mult-cast performance
Produced by GraphicAudio
Approx 6 hours


I'm rolling through "The Demon Wars Saga" by R.A. Salvatore and I keep thinking, I should slow down, after all, the series only has 7 books and this latest one is book 6 and I'm two-thirds of the way through it. But as much as I would love to let these drag out and savor each one, the story is just too exciting to stop. I'm already opening part 3 and will start listening to it after this review.

The saga is one of the best pieces of fantasy fiction I've read/heard since "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien. (Interesting that the good fantasy writers use initials instead of first names.) What makes this saga so good is that in the writing Salvatore is consistent with the characters and includes all the favorites through the entire saga. Some heroes die but they are not forgotten. The heroes that do live on while staying consistent with their central character, Salvatore knows how to write in the room for growth.

Even more exciting about this series is that I'm listening to the audiobooks produced by GraphicAudio. GraphicAudio turns these books into great auditory theatrical events. They achieve the "Movie in your Mind" reality by using excellent voice actors, superb sound effects and incidental music that pushes the excitement to even higher levels. Many times during great battles in the saga I found myself getting closer and closer to the edge of my seat and only able to relax once the music fades out. The special effects are achieved through some great sound effects, when the elves let an arrow fly you hear every detail from the moment the arrow is notched, through its flight and the sound of the arrow hitting the target, whether it is into flesh or stone. It's really amazing the effects that are achieved by GraphicAudio.

This installment continues with the adventures of Touel'alfar trained ranger, Brynn Dharielle. Brynn was trained by the elves to become a hero of her people the To-Gai who are being enslaved by the Behrenese. Brynn is trained and sent to Behren with the aid of her main trainer, Belli'mar Juraviel, elven trainer of the ranger, Elbryan (Nightbird) Wyndon. Along the way Juraviel & Brynn come across the Doc'alfar, the dark elves of legend. The elves send one of their own to accompany them under the mountains into Brynn's land. The party of 3 come across the lair of a dragon and are separated. Brynn escapes and goes on to her land to find a small revolution led by a prideful warrior. This warrior falls to his pride.

During the campaigns Brynn meets up with a Jhesta Tu mystic by the name of Pagonel. Pagonel rescues Brynn from death by the Behrenese army. Pagonel is one of the few mystics that has achieved the highest state of enlightenment. The mystics are able to perform magicks without the use of the magical gemstones like the Abellican Monks. Pagonel falls in love with Brynn and she with him. Pagonel begins teaching her the enlightenment of the Jhesta Tu.

In the meantime Juraviel and the female Doc'alfar also begin to fall in love while being held by captive by Agradeleas, the dragon. Agradeleas soon learns that Juraviel is duty and honor bound to escape and find Brynn. Agradeleas decides to accompany the 2 elves to find Brynn.

The Behrenese soldiers seek out Pagonel because he murdered one of their higher ranked soldiers. This brings war to the Jhesta Tu. The Jhesta Tu are at first winning the battle but more soldiers arrive, surrounding the mystics.

I will leave you hanging there until the next installment, enjoy.

"Transcendence Part 1 of 3" Book 6 of "The Demon Wars" Saga by R. A. Salvatore

"Transcendence Part 1 of 3"
Book 6 of "The Demon Wars" Saga
by R. A. Salvatore
Multicast Performance
Produced by GraphicAudio
Approx 6 hours.

Here I go starting on book six of the seven volumes that make up "The Demon Wars Saga" by R. A. Salvatore. This book is called "Transcendence," and tells the story of the second Ranger trained at the same time as Adryan Wyndon, who became King of Honce the Bear in the last book. Brynn Dharielle, was rescued by the elves of Touel'alfar after her parents were murdered by the Behrenese. The Behrenese have been enslaving Brynn's race, the To-Gai, and her purpose as a Ranger is to free her people and start a revolution.

This book begins as Brynn and Belli'mar Juraviel, elven trainer of the rangers, begin their journey south from Andur'Blough Inninness, the elves' home, to the lands of Behren. Along the way they must cross the mountains called The Belt and Buckle. Traveling through the mountains Belli'mar and Brynn are attacked by zombies. The zombies are found to be under the control of the legendary Doc'alfar, the Dark elves. The Doc'alfar are amazed to see Belli'mar, or any member of the Touel'alfar, the split between the two occurred hundreds of years in the past and the each elven branch believed the other perished. Belli'mar convinces the king of the Doc'alfar that Brynn is not a typical human and that they both should be allowed to live.

The Doc'elfar know of a secret passage under the mountains and send a guide with Belli'mar and Brynn. The passage is not safe as is found to be true by the scattering of bones, abandoned villages of powries (dwarves) and a Dragon. This is when the this book really gets exciting as Belli'mar, Brynn and their Doc'elfar guide must battle for their lives as the dragon attacks. Brynn finds the remains of the last To-Gai ranger trained by the elves, and realizes she will be the first to survive, if she can survive. Taking the sword of the dead ranger and a few shield like armaments Brynn does manage to survive and arrives in a To-Gai village run by the Behrenese. As for the elves, it is not known.

GraphicAudio delivers this story with the excellent production they use in all their releases. The acting is simply the best. The voice actors not only portray the different characters but implement various accents and vocal qualities that allow the listener to listen to this "Movie in Your Mind." The sound effects and incidental music create the perfect auditory cinematic experience, creating the best experience you may ever have in audio books.

"Ascendance - Part 2 of 2" Book 5 of "The Demon Wars Saga" by R. A. Salvatore

"Ascendance - Part 2 of 2"
Book 5 of "The Demon Wars Saga"
by R. A. Salvatore
Multicast Performance
Produced by GraphicAudio
approx 6 hours.


R.A. Salvatore's epic tale of the Land of Corona just keeps getting more and more exciting, and GraphicAudio's productions keep these books exciting with the superb audiobook productions. "Ascendance" is book five of the series and tells the tale of Aydrian Wyndon, the lost son of Elbryan the Ranger and Jilseponie the warrior. When Jilseponie was battling with the demon possessed Father Abbot Dalebert Markwart, the supreme leader of the Abellican Church, she thought through his magic Markwart killed her unborn son. The truth is that Lady Dasselrond, leader of the Touel'alfar, the elves, rescued the baby from Jilseponie's womb, and raised him as a Ranger among the elves.

In Part one of this book Aydrian escaped the land of the elves and set out to make a name for himself. As fate would have it Aydrian crosses paths with Marcalo De'Unnero, the former Bishop of Palmaris, who has been possessed by the were-tiger spirit, and is the man that murdered Aydrian's father. De'Unnero begins plotting against Jilseponie, who is now Queen of Honce-the-Bear, in the land of Corona. De'Unnero's plan is to put Aydrian on the throne, topple the church and put himself back in power. Aydrian, powerful with the magic gemstones used by the church and an equally powerful Ranger, goes along with these plans and even develops a few of his own.

To further the cause, De'Unnero places himself among the nobles in the kingdom and running the long con gets the Duke Callis to hold a series of contests as a show for the King's 50th birthday. Bringing to mind scenes from the classic tale of Robin Hood and the movie "A Knight's Tale," nobles and peasants alike compete in melee battles, jousts and sword fights to prove who is worthy of the King's Pennant. Aydrian defeats the strongest man in the Kingdom Duke Callis by killing him on the field. But before he does this the Duke says he battles for the King and in a show of rebellion Aydrian says he battles not for the king but for Queen Jilseponie.

Salvatore has a great skill of weaving this tale that includes many subplots that come together to produce a extremely exciting climax to the story. GraphicAudio combines their cast of talented actors with realistic sound effects (especially during the jousts and sword fights) and music that seems to build to a climax along with the story to the very end. I found myself on the edge of my seat while listening to all the battles and then at the end I felt as though I were going through those battles and was experiencing an adrenaline high from the excitement fueled by GraphicAudio's superb production.

Super exciting fantasy novel, not sure how Salvatore and GraphicAudio can top this, but the next book, "Transcendance," is sitting by my side as I write this ready to continue the adventure.

"Ascendance - Part 1 of 2" book 5 of "The Demon Wars Saga" by R. A. Salvatore

"Ascendance - Part 1 of 2"
book 5 of "The Demon Wars Saga"
by R. A. Salvatore
Multicast performance
Produced by GraphicAudio
approx 7 hours


Being a big fan of science-fiction, fantasy and supernatural stories, I jumped at the chance to begin reading the "Demon Wars Saga" by R. A. Salvatore. I first looked at this series and saw there were seven books in the series and knew it would be a fun adventure. I then found out they were available as audiobooks from GraphicAudio and knew that was a convenient way to get into the saga. When GraphicAudio first produced these I was so enthralled by the story that they couldn't release them fast enough. I then thought well, just go read the books. That didn't work because GraphicAudio had me addicted to their superb production quality and presentation that I just HAD to hear these masterpieces of audiobook production.

You see, GraphicAudio has a slogan, "A Movie in Your Mind," and they take it pretty seriously. It shows from the first words spoken in these audiobooks. The full cinematic feel of these stories is pushed along with superb voice acting and sound effects that come exploding out of whatever sound-system you hear these productions on. They really know how to suck you into the story. The storytelling prowess of R. A. Salvatore is enhanced a thousandfold through GraphicAudio's production quality. The nice thing is that GraphicAudio separates the books into 2 or 3 parts keeping each edition to about 6 or 7 hours in length. This is nice in that the books can be absorbed in chunks and then give you time to recover from the experience before continuing.

So let's talk about this book. This is book 5 of the 7 book saga that is "The Demon Wars," years have passed since the "Miracle of Avelyn" occurred on Mount Aida healing the country of the Rosie Plague. The Abellican Church is well on its way to canonizing Avelyn, even though he was once called a heretic.

Jilseponie after losing her husband, the Ranger, Elbryan (Nightbird) Wyndon, has settled in to becoming Baroness of Palmaris and serving the people. The Abellican church, who realize that with her talent of magic using the holy gemstones would better serve the Church and the folk of Palmaris by becoming a Bishop of Palmaris. The Bishop being a representative of both secular and church interests. At this same time King Danube Brock Ursal, king of Honce-the-bear wishes for her to become his wife and Queen. The King is actually in love with Jilseponie, but the church seems to have a hidden agenda.

The elves of Touel'alfar took Jilseponie's unborn son (also son of Elbryan) and raised him to become a ranger even greater than his father and to, hopefully, be the salvation of the elves. The plans of the Touel'alfar go awry due to Aydrian's own arrogance, cultivated by a dark force he encounters at Oracle.

The focus of this book is on the development of Adryan and what could possibly be a dark future for all the residents of the land of Corona, elves and humans alike, and GraphicAudio delivers this story with a punch.

Brisingr (Inheritance, Book 3) by Christopher Paolini

Brisingr (Inheritance, Book 3)
by Christopher Paolini
read by Gerard Doyle
Produced by Listening Library, 2008


Well I thought I was finishing the last of the Christopher Paolini "Inheritance" series featuring, Eragon Shadeslayer and Saphira Bjartskular (Brightscales), but no, there seems to be another in the works. This is completely fine by me, because reading or listening to this series has been a lot of fun. I still find it amazing that Paolini started writing this series while in his teens. The language used in these books is every bit as much an equivalent to any of Tolkien's works, or any other fantasy novel. In fact just like many fantasy writers Paolini, took the time to create a couple of languages to make the Dwarves and Elves speak in an more realistic manner.

The "Inheritance" series follows the life of Eragon, a dragon rider, and Saphira, his dragon, as they grow together learning what it means to be a dragon rider, while at the same time fighting the evil King Galbatorix, who wants to be the only rider and ruler of the world. In this book especially Eragon and Saphira learn what it means to be loyal, and to keep your promises. In fact, the subtitle of this book was going to be, "The Seven Promises of Eragon Shadeslayer and Saphira Bjartskular."

The reader, Gerard Doyle, does a superb job reading this book and letting the listener know the difference between different characters talking or thinking as well as voicing the dragons. I have to admit that I felt sorry for the abuse to Doyle's throat when he voiced the dragons but I sure he can recover in time for the next book. Doyle also provides the interesting pronunciation for the Elvish and Dwarvish language. So if you read the book and wondered just how you could pronounce some of those words, get the audio book.

Brisingr focuses on the story of Eragon and his dragon Saphira as they continue their quest to overthrow the corrupt ruler of the Empire, Galbatorix. Eragon is one of the last remaining Dragon Riders, a group that governed and protected the land of Alagaësia. Brisingr begins just 4 days after the preceding novel "Eldest" concludes, finding Eragon, newly reunited with his cousin, Roran, just outside of Helgrind, the sanctuary of the Ra'zac. There they rescue Roran's fiance, Katrina, who was being held prisoner, and kill one of the Ra'zac. Saphira, Roran, and Katrina return to the Varden, while Eragon stays behind to kill the remaining Ra'zac and to deal with Katrina's traitorous father. Once he returns to the Varden, Eragon discovers that Katrina is pregnant with Roran's child and a wedding is arranged, which Eragon is to conduct. Just before it begins, a small force of enchanted troops, that feel no pain, attack alongside Murtagh and his dragon, Thorn. Elven spell-casters aid Eragon and Saphira and cause Murtagh and Thorn to flee, winning the battle. After the fight, Roran marries Katrina. The leader of the Varden, Nasuada, then orders Eragon to attend the election of the new dwarf king in the Beor Mountains. Once among the dwarves, Eragon is the target of a failed assassination, found to be the work of the dwarf clan Az Sweldn rak Anhûin, whom the dwarf Orik then forces into exile. Having earned the sympathies of the dwarves, Orik is elected the new king.

After Orik's coronation, Eragon and Saphira return to the elven capital Ellesméra to train. There, the elf Oromis and his dragon Glaedr reveal that Eragon's deceased mentor, Brom, is Eragon's father. Glaedr also reveals the source of Galbatorix's power: Eldunarí, or heart of hearts. While not a dragon's actual heart, an Eldunarí allows the holder to communicate with or draw energy from the dragon it belongs to, even if the dragon is deceased. Galbatorix spent years collecting Eldunarya, and forcing the deceased dragons to channel their energy to him through their Eldunarí thus the reason Galbatorix is so powerful. After training, Eragon visits an Elven blacksmith, Rhunön, who helps Eragon forge a Rider sword. Before Eragon and Saphira depart to the Varden, Oromis says that the time has come for him and Glaedr to openly oppose the Empire in combat alongside the queen of the elves, Islanzadí. Thus, Glaedr gives his Eldunarí to Eragon and Saphira before they part.

Meanwhile, Roran is sent on various missions as part of the military force of the Varden. One of the targets is a convoy of supply wagons guarded by enchanted soldiers. The unit suffers extreme casualties, and the commander is replaced after losing his hand. During a mission to take back a Surdan city, plans made by the new commander almost cause the operation to fail, but Roran gives new orders. Despite saving the mission, Roran is charged with insubordination and is flogged as a punishment. After the public whipping, Nasuada promotes Roran to commander and sends his unit on a mission. He leaves in command of a group of both men and Urgals to enforce the idea of men and Urgals working together. When his squad returns to the Varden, they join the siege of Feinster, a city in the Empire.

The battle ensues and as I said in the beginning what I thought was the final book is not, and Paolini leaves the final battle between the Varden and the Empire, and, of course, between Galbatorix and Eragon for the next book.

In this audio book is a bonus interview between Paolini and his editor, in which he reveals that this book was originally planned as the final but that the adventures just could not all be told in one volume. Hopefully we'll have the next book soon.

"Mortalis - Part 3" The Demon Wars Saga Book 4 by R.A. Salvatore

"Mortalis - Part 3"
The Demon Wars Saga Book 4
by R.A. Salvatore
Multicast performance
Produced by GraphicAudio

The Demon Wars Saga consists of two trilogies and this book, Mortalis, which bridges the two trilogies. The first trilogy tells of Elbryan the Ranger, Pony the warrior, Bradwarden the Centaur, Avelyn the monk, and Juraviel the elf as they battle the demon dactyl, Bestesbulzibar and protect the land of Corona from his evils. Mortalis covers mainly the life of Pony after the war, and develops some new characters.

Once again, GraphicAudio continues to produce this saga in audiobook form with their "Movie in your Mind" concept. R.A. Salvatore provided the great story, but GraphicAudio brings it to life with outstanding acting, super sound effects and subtle, yet effective incidental music.

The Rosey Plague is wreaking havoc in the land of Corona, especially in the kingdom of Honce-the-Bear. The Abellican Church has ordered all its abbeys to be shut and the monks to stay within the walls, so no monk will catch the plague. This is ordered despite the suffering of the common folk outside the walls of the abbeys. King Ursul has ordered the same for all baroneys. The common folk soon lose faith in the church and in their King.

Brother De'Unnero after being turned down once again to be a father abbot, turns against the church and creates a cult following of Brothers Repentant. This following is going throughout the land preaching that the plague is brought on as the wrath of God because the church has lost it's way and the people are sinful. He begins killing those that do not denounce their faith for his religion.

In the meantime Jilseponie (formerly, Poney) is trying to find a cure for the plague, using all her magicks. During a spirit-walk Lady Dasselrond of the Touel'Alfar gives her an ancient scroll where a relief, not a cure, is written to help ease the suffering. Then a vision from the martyred Brother Avelyn may give her the cure, but is it too late?

This exciting conclusion takes the listener back to Mount Aida, to where the demon dactyl, Bestus Bulzibar was destroyed and throughout all the baroneys of the land. Once again the adventure is only made better by the outstanding production from GraphicAudio.

"Mortalis - Part 2" book 4 of "The Demon Wars Saga" by R. A. Salvatore

"Mortalis - Part 2"
book 4 of "The Demon Wars Saga"
by R. A. Salvatore
Multi-cast performance
Produced by GraphicAudio
Approx 6 hours




The Demon Wars Saga continues with book 4 "Mortalis." Actually, "Mortalis" is the book that bridges the 2 trilogies in the saga. Mortalis sums the happenings of what has happened just after the demon dactyl, Bestis Belzibar has been destroyed, even his spirit which possessed the body of the head of the Abellican Church.

The Demon Wars Saga is a series of books that cover the fantasy realm of the the land of Corona. Where the elves raise rangers to protect the woodlands and humans, Magic is performed by monks through gemstones, and centaurs protect the woodland creatures and play bagpipes. R. A. Salvatore created the series that has taken a life of its own even into a fantasy roleplaying game. GraphicAudio is producing the audio books and releasing them in 6 hour segments thus dividing each book into three parts. This makes the listening easier than having to get lost in the huge series all at once. For the first book and part of the second I was just rolling one right after another, but during the listening of the second book I had to wait for each release and the time in between allowed for me to absorb the story during my downtime.

GraphicAudio does a superb job in producing these audio books. They produce them with their slogan "A Movie in Your Mind" close to heart. These productions are full of great voice actors, sound effects and incidental music that keeps the story rolling and keeps the listener fully submerged in the world created by R.A. Salvatore.

In this edition of the series, Honce-the-bear, a country/state in the land of Corona has just had their Abellican Church fall to the evil of the demon dactyl, and a war with giants, goblins and dwarves. During the reconstruction period the Church, under the orders of the king, is getting their house back in order, but the Rosy Plague has entered the land. This plague is untreatable even by the magic gemstones of the church.

Rogue Abbot/Bishop Marcalo De'Unnaro is sent to St. Gwendoly abbey to find out if the rumors of the plague are true. What he finds is the townsfolk and monks from the abbey mostly dead from the plague. He begins his evil plans to build the church to his own doctrine, but when the new Father Abbot tries to remove him from the Church, he forms a band of Brothers Repentant, seeking to cleanse the land of all its sins. This plan also includes genocide.

Jilseponie, Poney to her friends, has returned to her home to grieve over the grave of Elbryan, the ranger and her husband who was killed in the final battle against the demon spirit. She learns her friend is dying from the plague and brings her to the abbey only to be turned away because all abbeys and the castles have closed their doors to keep out the plague. She is sent out with a handful of the gemstones to see if she can find a cure.

Juravial of the Touel'alfar, the elves, has retrieved a horse for one of the two new rangers that are being trained, one of which the son of Poney and Elbryan. Juravial learns of the plague and returns to the home of the elves where they are also shut off from fear of the plague.

The adventures seem grim but the story is compelling and with the attention to detail production in these audio books you will be wanting for more.

"First Lord's Fury" Book six of the Codex Alera by Jim Butcher

"First Lord's Fury"
Book six of the Codex Alera
by Jim Butcher
Published November 2009 by ACE


Shakespeare said,"there is no new thing under the sun." and The Bible says the same, (Ecclesiastes 1:9-14 NIV) "What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun." So I've often wondered if writers will ever run out of material to write about. After some pondering I've somewhat come to agree with Billy S. and the Bible, but I think it's all a matter of how you tell it. The reason I bring this up is that while reading this final book in the "Codex Alera," by Jim Butcher, I found myself comparing the events in this book (and series as a whole) to some of my other favorites in fiction. While the uneducated would call it stealing, I definitely don't see it that way and accepted the fact that Jim Butcher is a master story teller and if he borrows ideas, or just simply comes up with ideas that have been used by others, the bully for him. In fact the real genius in these books is that Butcher takes several different elements in fiction and rolls them up to create a gooey sticky delicious fantasy adventure that should be on everyone's reading list.

Let me first give you my comparisons. First we have the major enemy of the land of Alera, the Vord. The Vord is an unrelenting hive-mind enemy led by a single queen. They assimilate those they conquer (as well as creating bug like creatures) and their goal is total destruction until there is nothing but Vord. I found myself comparing the Vord to a combination of The Borg, from the Star Trek Series' and the bugs from Starship Troopers. They did share qualities but Jim Butcher created the ultimat destructive force when he created the Vord.

The series of books follows the life of Tavi, later Gaius Octavian. A young man that could not control the magic of "furies." The furies are representations of the elements, earth, water, fire, air, steel and those that control them usually specialize in a particular fury element and have powers related to those furies. For example, those that control air furies can fly, steel and earth furies have extreme strength and so on. As the series progress it is learned that Tavi had the power of fury-crafting somewhat hidden by his mother so he would be safe. Also as the series progressed Tavi not only learned fury-crafting but became better at it than any other Aleran. This aspect reminded me of the progression of the powers and secrets behind J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series.

During the telling of the tale of Tavi, and as he grows stronger, he must travel to other lands and recruit help from many forces and races to bring a war to the evil that is the Vord. He recruits the Murat a fighting race that take on the resemblance of the different animals they "bond" with. He recruits the Canim, a wolf like race that, as it turns out, was run out of their lands by the Vord. this aspect reminds me of the entire "Lord of the Rings" trilogy.

Once again I have to say, yes they have similarities, but Jim Butcher finds a way to meld these ideas into an entertaining series. So while there may be nothing new, Jim Butcher has found a way to make it seem new in this wonderful tale. Therefore, it's all in the storytelling.

Now to talk about this book. Basically there are three fronts for the final battle between the Alerans ( now including the Canim and the Murat); The hive itself where the Vord Queen has taken Tavi's mother hostage, and directs her swarm of Vord alongside Lady Invidia, a traitor to her kind. The northland and into the city of Reva with Tavi and his forces of Aleran Legions and Canim warriors. This one is constantly moving to what will be the final battle in the third and final front in the war Calderon. This is the safest place in all Alera and the battles from the fortified city are some of the best in the series.

As the three fronts merge into one final battle site the characters all grow stronger and as the reader I became completely immersed in their lives and at times kept wanting to put the book down, only because I did not want it to end. After all this is the final book in the series. Tavi learns Kitai is pregnant, traitors are exposed and dealt with and assassination attempts are thwarted.

So with all the melding of great ideas and the super storytelling ability of Jim Butcher, the Codex Alera comes to an end with one of the greatest battles ever and leaving the reader wanting more.

Thank you Jim Butcher.

"Mortalis" Part 1 book 4 of the "Demon Wars Saga" by R. A. Salvatore

"Mortalis" Part 1
book 4 of the "Demon Wars Saga"
by R. A. Salvatore
Multicast performance
Produced by GraphicAudio
Approx. 6 hours.

The "Demon Wars Saga" by R.A. Salvatore consists of two trilogies and this book, "Mortalis," to bridge between the two trilogies. The first trilogy tells of Elbryan the Ranger, Pony the warrior, Bradwarden the Centaur, Avelyn the monk, and Juraviel the elf as they battle the demon dactyl, Bestesbulzibar and protect the land of Corona from his evils. "Mortalis" covers mainly the life of Pony after the war, and develops some new characters.

Once again GraphicAudio continue to produce this saga in audio book form with their "Movie in your Mind" concept. R.A. Salvatore provided the great story but GraphicAudio brings it to life with outstanding acting, super sound effects and subtle, yet effective incidental music.

In part one of Mortalis we learn the Touel'alfar, the elves in the land of Corona, have taken Elbryan and Pony's son and have begun his training as a ranger to replace Nightbird (Elbryan). TheTouel'alfar have also begun the training of another ranger, Brynn Dharielle, a To-Gai girl whose family was killed during the war. The To-Gai are proficient horsemen, and Juraviel returns to find Bradwarden and have him find her a strong horse for her training.

During this time after the defeat of the demon dactyl the Abellican church and the King of Honce-the-bear are at odds. With the fall of Father Abbot Marquart and the evils he brought on the King wants to take away the church's powers. Many monks within the church seek a restructuring and look to rebuilding the church on the premises taught by Avelyn Desbris, in that the church should help the population not rule over them.

It is also discovered that the plague has been brought to the lands of Honce-the-bear. Rose colored circles with a white ring appear on the skin of those afflicted and the church has no power against the plague and wants to cover up the affect of the disease upon the land. While one monk believes more should be done.

In the meantime King Ursul is looking for an heir to the throne and if Pony turns down the church to become Mother Abbess, he may seek her out to be queen. However the Kings concubine has other plans and starts to show jealousy toward the way the King "eyes" Jilesponie (Pony). Pony in the meantime is still grieving over the death of her husband Elbryan and returns to Dundalis, their hometown.

With the excellent production quality from GraphicAudio and the attention grabbing story by R. A. Salvatore the separation of the book into 3 parts feels like one of the old movie serials, I can't wait for the next episode.

"The Demon Apostle (Part 3 of 3)" The Demon Wars Saga Book 3 by R. A. Salvatore

"The Demon Apostle (Part 3 of 3)"
The Demon Wars Saga Book 3
by R. A. Salvatore
Multicast performance
produced by GraphicAudio (2009)
approx 5 hours.

R.A. Salvatore created a world of fantasy in which the magicks rested in gemstones, the elves trained one ranger in each generation to protect the forests and people of the outlying areas of the kingdom of Honce-the-Bear, and the Abellican church seeks power over the the state. In this magical Land of Corona, wherein lies Honce-the-Bear, there are many mythical and magical creatures; elves, centaurs, dwarves, giants, and goblins, but the enemy of man turns out to be none of these. Instead man's worst enemy is himself, especially in the form of Religion and Politics.

GraphicAudio has produced the first three books in Salvatore's "Demon Wars Saga" and this audio book brings to a close the third book in the first trilogy of the Demon Wars. Each book in the trilogy has been divided into three parts making it, in my opinion, easier to consume the "Movie In Your Mind" production. While each segment leaves you ready to dive into the next installment, with the superb sound effects, music and acting, the mind needs the intermission. If only enough time to grab more popcorn and begin the next.

In this final section of the final book of the first trilogy of "The Demon Wars Saga," Elbryan the Ranger, Bradwarden the centaur and Roger Lockless have escorted 5 Abellican monks to Mount Aida on a quest to view the place where the renegade Abellican monk-named-heretic, Avelyn Desbris died defeating the demon dactyl Bestesbulzibar. This battle, while defeating the physical form of the demon, released the demon's spirit so it could possess the father of the Abellican Church Father Abbott Markwart. Markwart has, under possession of the demon, has turned the church in a direction away from God and the young monks wish to turn the Church back by possibly canonizing Avelyn. Markwart will do all he can to stop this.

Back in Palmaris, one of the major cities of Honce-the-Bear, Elbryan's wife and disciple of Avelyn (she can battle with the best and use the magic of the gemstones), Pony, is pregnant with Elbryan's child and in hiding. When Father Abbott Markwart pays a political visit to Palmaris, Pony tries to exact revenge on the man who killed her adopted parents by attempting to assassinate Markwart throught he magic of the gemstones. Her plot seems to have succeed by sending a lodestone through Markwart's skull, but to the amazement of the monks the father abbot survives. He now seeks revenge on Pony. In a battle between the spirits of Pony and Markwart, Markwart removes the baby from Pony. Pony believes the baby to be killed but the elves Belli'mar Juraviel and queen of the elves, Lady Dasselrond, take the baby back to the elven lands.

These events all come to their apex in a battle between the powerful Markwart and the spirit of the demon within and Elbryan and Pony. With superb sound effects in this production you will easily lose yourself in the land of Corona and the magical battles within.

Eragon (Inheritance, Book 1) by Christopher Paolini

Eragon (Inheritance, Book 1)
by Christopher Paolini
published by Knopf Books for Young Readers 2003

I've always been fascinated that young readers have some of the best literature written for them. The authors that cater to these youth seem to have an inside feel toward what will keep a generation of youth entertained and interested. J.K. Rowling did well with her Harry Potter books, Lemony Snicket (Daniel Handler) did well with his "Series of Unfortunate Events" and Stephenie Meyer (although I didn't like those books) kept the teens entranced with the "Twilight" series. The fascinating thing is that adults, myself included, can read these books and be entertained as well. But these are all adults writing for a younger audience, so they know how to include the adults as well. But with the "Inheritance" series featuring the new dragon rider Eragon the books have a little extra to offer. These books are written by a member of the audience he is aiming for. Christopher Paolini wrote this first book when he was only 15 years old. In "Eragon," Paolini not only created some fun fiction for youth but as with most good fiction it branches out to all ages. I found this first book very enjoyable and wondered why I hadn't read the book sooner.

The story begins with a young farm boy, Eragon, out hunting for food for his family and just as he is about to down a buck there is an explosion that frightens the deer away and scorches a part of the forest. Eragon goes to find the source and instead finds a a blue and white streaked stone. The stone has to be man made so with the unsuccessful hunting trip he decides to take the stone into his hometown of Carvahal and trade it. After learning the local butcher wants nothing to do with the stone the local blacksmith comes to his aid and purchase the food for Eragon to take back to his family. He also tells Eragon to hide the stone.

Soon a traveling band of merchants come to Eragon's hometown and Eragon and his uncle decide to try to sell the stone. One merchant is known to deal with rarities but even he has never seen such a stone. During the celebration, of sorts, that surrounds the travelling merchants, Brom is introduced as an old story teller. Brom tells the audience, which Eragon is part of, a tale of the Dragon Riders of Alagaësia and how King Galbatorix wanted all the power and killed all dragons and kept the eggs to himself.

After a few days the stone soon reveals its true nature when a dragon hatches from the egg. When Eragon touches the newly hatched dragon he becomes marked with what is later learned to be the Gedwëy Ignasia, or "shining palm", a white/silvery oval of skin located on the hand with which the Rider touches a hatchling.

Two of King Galbatorix's servants, the Ra'zac, come to Carvahall looking for the egg. Eragon and Saphira manage to escape by hiding in the forest, but Eragon's uncle is fatally wounded and the house and farm are burned down by the Ra'zac. Once Garrow dies, Eragon is left with no reason to stay in Carvahall, so he goes after the Ra'zac, seeking vengeance for the destruction of his home and his uncle's death. He is accompanied by Brom, who insists on helping him and Saphira.

Eragon learns how to be Dragon Rider through his bond with Saphira and the training with Brom. On the journey, Brom teaches Eragon sword fighting, magic. Their travels bring them to Teirm, where they are able to track the Ra'zac to the southern city of Dras-Leona. Although they manage to infiltrate the city, Eragon encounters the Ra'zac in a cathedral and he and Brom are forced to make their escape. Later that night, their camp is ambushed by the Ra'zac. A stranger named Murtagh rescues them, but Brom is gravely injured. Knowing that he is about to die, Brom tells Eragon that he used to be a Dragon Rider. His dragon's name was also Saphira, but an evil Dragon Rider named Morzan killed her. Brom then avenged Saphira's death and killed Morzan. After telling Eragon this, Brom dies.

Murtagh becomes Eragon's new companion. They travel to the city Gil'ead to find information on how to find the Varden, a group of rebels who want to see the downfall of Galbatorix. While stopping near Gil'ead, Eragon is captured and imprisoned in the same jail that holds a woman he later discovers is an elf and has been receiving dreams about. Murtagh and Saphira stage a rescue, and Eragon escapes with the unconscious Elf. During the escape, Eragon and Murtagh battle with a Shade – a sorcerer possessed by evil spirits – named Durza. Murtagh shoots Durza between the eyes with an arrow, and the Shade disappears.

After escaping, Eragon contacts the unconscious Elf telepathically, and discovers that her name is Arya. She tells them that she was poisoned while in captivity and that only a potion in the Varden's possession can cure her. Arya is able to give directions to the exact location of the Varden: a city called Tronjheim, which sits in the mountain Farthen Dûr. The group go in search of the Varden, both to save Arya's life and to escape Galbatorix's wrath. When they arrive in Farthen Dûr, Eragon is led to the leader of the Varden, Ajihad. Ajihad imprisons Murtagh after finding out that he is the son of Morzan. Ajihad tells Eragon that Durza was not destroyed by Murtagh's well placed arrow, because the only way to kill a Shade is with a stab to the heart.

Eragon is able to get a short rest, but a new invasion is imminent. As the battle begins, the Varden and the Dwarves are pitted against an enormous army of Urgals, deployed by Durza and Galbatorix. During the battle, Eragon faces Durza again. Durza, having gravely wounded Eragon's back, is about to capture him but is distracted by Saphira and Arya. Durza's attention is diverted long enough for Eragon to stab him in the heart. After Durza's death, the Urgals are released from a spell which had been placed on them, and begin to fight among themselves. The Varden take advantage of this opportunity to make a counter-attack. While Eragon is unconscious, a stranger contacts him telepathically and tells Eragon to come to him for training in the land of the elves.

Some great excitement in this introductory novel. Now I HAVE to read the other books.

"The Dame" by R. A. Salvatore

"The Dame"
by R. A. Salvatore
read by Erik Singer
produced by MacMillan Audio
Approx 12 hours

After becoming a fan of R.A. Salvatore's writing through "The Demon Wars Saga," I became curious about some of his other works, I'm constantly hearing about his famous anti-hero, Drizzzt, but have yet to tackle that side of Salvatore's worlds. I decided to stay within the realm of Corona with this audio book, "The Dame." I rarely ever read the middle of a saga but this time I started with the last of the 3 books in "The First King Saga." During the first section I had to listen very closely this was when the characters were pretty much introduced, but having a past history in previous books there was some information that was assumed to be known so it took a bit of deciphering, once the story evolved the enjoyment of the adventure moved along so that the listening was easier and made for a nice fantasy novel.

The reader, Erik Singer, had his work cut out for him with numerous characters and several different races and different types of regions from where they came. The nice thing about fantasy is that the accents are the reader's choice. The choices made by singer were a hit. With one of the bands of characters involved they were a combination of what could be construed as Turkish assassins and Ninjas. Singers accent for these characters were a perfect combination of the two, making these characters really come alive.

"The Dame" follows the continuing adventures of Bransen Garibond, The Highwayman, and the land of Honce's continuous battle over who would be king of all Honce. Bransen wants no part of the fight that is continuing between the Lairds of Honce. Bransen only wants peace for his family.
However a recent occurrence not only puts Bransen in the sights of one of the Lairds who now calls himself King, because one of the Lairds, Delaval, is assassinated by a group of mystic warriors whose abilities could only be the Jhest warriors. The Jhest warriors use a type of blade that is curved and has intricate carvings along the blade, Bransen's mother was Jhest and he uses her blade. One of the warriors blades is broken during the assassination and the blade found is wrongly identified as that of The Highwayman. More intriguing to Bransen is the chance to connect with his mother's people and to delve more deeply into the abilities that he has developed and possibly even to find a Jhest teacher that might free him from his dependence on the gemstones.

Bransen Garibond was once known as The Stork, due to his clumsiness. A brother of Mere Abell gave Bransen a soulstone so he may become more in control of himself and led to Bransen to become the legend known as the Highwayman.

Speaking of the Mere Abell church, the monks of the church are caught in the middle in the battle for King of Honce. The church has been a neutral party to the war and have healed and housed soldiers from all sides of the war. Now the new king wants all that opposed to him to be put to death at the hands of the monks. They rebel, and establish their own sovereignty, creating St. Mere Abell as a power to be dealt with in the land of Honce.

If you have read any of "The Demon Wars Saga," books then this one will give you a nice background on how the world of Corona developed.

"The Demon Apostle - Part 2" Book 3 of "The Demon Wars Saga" By R.A. Salvatore

"The Demon Apostle - Part 2"
Book 3 of "The Demon Wars Saga"
By R.A. Salvatore
Multicast Performance
Produced by GraphicAudio
Approx. 6 Hours


GraphicAudio continues with their "Movie in Your Mind" production of R.A. Salvatore's "Demon Wars Saga" with book 3 of the 7 book saga. I haven't decided yet If I'm fond of the cutting the book into three parts. On one hand this makes the books in smaller digestible audio book chunks, but on the other hand GraphicAudio really knows where to divide the books and create massive cliffhangers between the sections, and this one ends with the listener craving to know what happens next.

This anxiety is felt even more so in that this third book is the end of the first trilogy of the series and the end of the first epoch in the world of Corona.

Here we find Pony and Elbryan separated for the first time since their youth. Elbryan is in the north helping to rebuild while Pony has moved south to Palmaris to try to find the whereabouts of Roger Lockless, to find the latest movements of the Abellican Church, and to hopefully ensure the safety of hers and Elbryan's unborn child.

It seems as though Roger Lockless has found his way back to Elbryan. He has been given the task of leading 5 monks who are not liking the way the church is headed and seek to find the friends of Avelyn Desbris, the monk labeled as a heretic but in actuality the one that destroyed the physical form of the demon dactyl. Brother Francis the right hand man to Father Abbot Markwart is starting to have doubts about the church and that is why he asked Roger to escort the monks to Elbryan.

The newly appointed Bishop of Palmaris, Bishop De'Unnero, is becoming quickly unpopular with the common folks and merchants. First he's repossessing all the magic gemstones, even the ones purchased directly from the church, and creating a police state. Some of the people not wanting to give up the stones are being tortured and one is even executed in public. Markwart sees this as a possible bad image for the new direction for the church and sends De'Unnero to hunt down Elbryan. De' Unnero, it should be noted is a trained assassin and proficient with the tiger's paw gemstone, a gemstone that gives the user the power of a tiger and even transforms the arm of the user into that of the big cat. De'Unnero becomes so proficient that he can turn his entire self into a tiger.

In the bishop's absence, Markwart sends Brother Francis, now Master Francis, to serve as interim bishop and ease up on the hardships created by De'Unnero and to prepare for Markwart's and the King of Honce the Bear's visit to Palmaris .

Elbryan, Roger Lockless, Bradwarden the centaur, and two elves set out to escort the 5 monks to the grave of Avelyn for a pilgrimage to find hope for the future of the world of Corona. The rest of the elves are dispatched to Palmaris for a possible meeting with the king but more so to watch out for Pony and the unborn son of Elbryan the ranger.

With all this excitement and intrigue GraphicAudio continues to create the perfect production for these audio books to help you to get lost in the world of R.A. Salvatore's "Demon Wars Saga."

"The Demon Apostle - Part 1" Book 3 of the "Demon Wars Saga" by R. A. Salvatore

"The Demon Apostle - Part 1"
Book 3 of the "Demon Wars Saga"
by R. A. Salvatore
multi-cast Performance
Produced by GraphicAudio


Continuing on with book three of the seven book series of R.A. Salvatore's "Demon Wars Saga," GraphicAudio,and their magical production skills, transport you back into the world of Corona. With superb sound effects, awesome acting and mind-blowing music you will experience what GraphicAudio calls "A Movie in Your Mind." So far, they have broken up each book into three parts keeping them at five or six hours per section. This formula seems to work well, but I can say I get anxious to jump into the next part as soon as I hear the last word of each segment.

Elbryan Wyndon, the Nightbird, travels north to take back the Timberlands with the help of Bradwarden the Centaur and Belli'mar Juraviel the elf, while Pony moves south to the city of Palmaris for a few of reasons one to find what has happened to Roger Lockless and the other to find out the state of affairs in the crucial city of Palmaris and also to seek revenge on the church that killed her adopted family.

A civil war between Church and State in Honce-the-Bear seems imminent. The Abellican Church, and her Father Abbot's desire to take back the magic gemstones dog the steps of the heroes, especially those of Jilseponie, who has possession of hte magic gemstones and has just recently learned of her pregnancy.

In the church itself, the Father Abbot Markwart seems to actually be showing signs of his demon posession. He has shaved his head and his ears are starting to become pointy. To many who view this, including his right hand man Brother Francis, the change is startling. Markwart has also discovered some new uses of the magical stones and soon begins using them with far more ease than any monk before, but his uses are starting to lean into the dark forces.

Brother Francis is conflicted about where the church and Markwart are heading and even begins questioning his own faith. The biggest guilt on his concious is that Master Jojonah forgave him as he was executed. This weighs heavy on Francis' soul.

In the North Elbryan and company are still fighting goblins, dwarves and giants and in the South the church is creating discontent among the secular rulers, and the excitement never stops in this installment of "The Demon Wars Saga."

"The Demon Spirit - Part 2" The Demon Wars Saga by R.A. Salvatore

"The Demon Spirit - Part 2"
The Demon Wars Saga
by R.A. Salvatore
Multicast production
Produced by GraphicAudio
Approx. 5 hours

R.A. Salvatore created a phenom in the Demon Wars Saga, spanning seven books and a role playing game. This saga of high fantasy in the Land of Corona is one of action and adventure equal to that of the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy by Tolkien. In the first book, which Graphic Audio produced in audio form in three parts, the listener was introduced to the Heroes; Elbryan the Ranger, Jilesponie the warrior and wizard in training, Avelyn Desbris the Wizard Monk, Bradwarden the Centaur and Juravial the elf. The all went to battle the Demon Dactyl which had awakened and sent it's armies of dwarves/powries, goblins and giants into the Land of Corona to clear the way for the Demon to take command. Avelyn and Bradwarden and many humans lost their lives in destroying the Demon Dactyl and Elbryan and Pony returned to the humans in hopes the evil was gone.

"The Demon Spirit - part 2" continues with Elbryan, Pony and the elf, Juraviel trying their best to rid the land of Corona of Fomorian Giants, Bloody-Cap powrie dwarves and goblins. This time they run into the generals of the powries and giants and decide to destroy those higher ranking officials in hopes that without leaders the powries and giants will leave the lands and the goblins will soon follow suit. The battles ensue and when it looks like a major victory for the humans a problem arises. This problem is from one of its own. A thief turned hero by the name of Roger Lockless is Jealous of Elbryan, otherwise known as the ranger Nightbird.

To Roger it seems as though Nightbird is stealing his thunder and his possibility of being the leader of the rag-tag band of humans wanting to get their towns back from the leftover armies of the destroyed demon dactyl. Nightbird is constantly making plans for skirmishes and for routes the band should take to which Roger thinks Nightbird wants to take control. Roger must be taught the big lesson of humility, if he wants all his townfolk to remain safe, and realize his own pride is getting in the way. Juraviel, Pony and Nightbird are just the teachers for that lesson.

On the other side of the land the Abellican Church led by Father Abbot Markwart have found and are torturing the Centaur Bradwarden. Yes Bradwarden lives! Markwart is out to make the hero Avelin Desbris, who gave his life destroying the demon dactyl, seem as though he joined the dactyl and died deceiving the humans. Master Jojonah knows different and begins to see that the Church is turning into a very dark force. Pony's adopted parents are held captive by Father Markwart in hopes to find the stolen magic stones of Pimaninicut which Avelin had "stolen."

Pony's Ex-Husband, the nobleman Conner Bildeborough, learns of this and seeks out Pony, known to him as Jilly, to warn her of the danger.

Once again GraphicAudio continues the "Movie in your mind" tale in the audio book with great acting and production. This time around I found myself fascinated by the sound effects of the horses. All sound effects of the horses in this production are perfectly placed. When they need to run they run when they stop they stop. During one battle it sounds as though they recorded an actual horse stomping in the skull of an actual giant. Very realistic. Giants don't really exist do they?

"The Demon Awakens - Part 3" The Demon Wars Saga book 1 by R. A. Salvatore

"The Demon Awakens - Part 3"
The Demon Wars Saga book 1
by R. A. Salvatore
Multicast production
Produced by Graphic Audio

The beginning of a new era comes to a close in part three of the high fantasy saga, The Demon Wars, by R. A. Salvatore. The demon Dactyl has awakened and has put together an army to destroy the land of Corona. The army is invading the towns and villages of Corona and the humans are slowly overcoming their denial and under the tutelage of Elbryan, Pony, Avelyn and Bradwarden and beginning to fight back. R.A. Salvatore has created a story that runs through seven books and is the basis of the role-playing game, Demon Wars. Now teamed up with Graphic Audio, these books come to life as an audio adaptation. In order to do justice to the books, Graphic Audio is producing each title of the series in multiple parts. This is the third of three parts which make up the first title, The Demon Awakens.

Once the villagers and townsfolk experience for themselves the devastation brought on by armies of goblins, powries and giants they realize the warnings have been true. Elbryan the Ranger, Pony the warrior and wizard in training, Avelyn (the Mad Monk) the Wizard and Bradwarden the centaur have trained some of the remaining humans in how to fight back against these foes. Once the humans are able to somewhat fend for themselves, the trainers must take on their own quest and leave for the Demon Dactyl's lair in Mount Aida to defeat Bestesbulzibar, the Dactyl himself.

This audio book is filled with numerous battle scenes and skirmishes and once again Graphic Audio has produced the "Movie in your Mind" with such talent and ambiance that the actual battles become more than real in this listening experience. Not to give anything away but when the heroes arrive at Mount Aida the volcano in the mountain and all the creatures defending the Demon Dactyl's throne come alive and the listener easily becomes lost in this epic battle. Graphic Audio not only provides great voice talent but the sound effects and ambient music are a bit of wizardry in themselves.

This audio book should be on any an well respected fantasy fan, and should be added to those who love great adventure. R. A. Salvatore has taken the fantasy realm and added some nice bonuses. The wizards in this realm are monks that use a variety of gems, crystals and stones to perform their magic. Each stone has its own power and Salvatore has made the magic within seem almost obvious and yet still maintain the creativity within their use.

Bradwarden the centaur has to be my favorite character, not only is he strong, smart and musically inclined with the bagpipes, but he also has a wit that creates a perfect fit within the group of heroes attempting to defeat the evil invading their land. Oh yeah, and he sometimes eats his victims.

“The Demon Awakens - part 2” The Demon Wars Saga By R. A. Salvatore

“The Demon Awakens - part 2”
The Demon Wars Saga
By R. A. Salvatore
Multi-cast production
Produced by Graphic Audio
Approx. 6 hours



The beginning of a new era continues in part two of the high fantasy saga, The Demon Wars, by R. A. Salvatore. The demon Dactyl has awakened and has put together an army to destroy the land of Corona. R.A. Salvatore has created a story that runs through seven books and is the basis of the role-playing game, Demon Wars. Now teamed up with Graphic Audio, these books come to life as an audio adaptation. In order to do justice to the books, Graphic Audio is producing each title of the series in multiple parts. This is the second of three parts which make up the first title, The Demon Awakens.

Once again Graphic Audio delivers, with a punch, another "Movie in your Mind," with great production. Using a well cast multi-cast performance and incidental music the story is told superbly. Another feature of all Graphic Audio productions continues in this production and that is the very realistic sound effects.

In part one of this series the listener was introduced to Elbryan, Jilsesponie (Pony) and Avelyn Desbris. Elbryan and Jilsesponie are the only survivors of the goblin raid on their village of Dundalis. and Avelyn Desbris is a monk that has lost faith, not in God, but in religion.

Elbryan was taken in by the elves and trained to become a ranger and set out to guard the region from dangers. During this training Elbryan learned to fight and how to find his spirit guide. After years of conditioning his body and mind the elves tell him it is time to leave them. He finds himself protecting the region even if the locals don't feel they need protection. Elbryan also finds himself back in his hometown of Dundalis. This is not the Dundalis of Elbryan's youth but one that has been built upon the ruins of Elbryan's Dundalis. Elbryan is befriended by a bag-pipe playing, wise-cracking, Centaur who helps Elbryan find a horse and continues his training.

Pony has had the hard life thrust upon her mainly due to her not remembering who she was or where she came from. She finds herself married to a noble man but on their wedding night she attacks him out of fear and the marriage is annulled. At this time she remembers her name is Jilsesponie and becomes a soldier set to guard the region. Her fellow soldiers continuously shun their duties for drink and the company of women (Pony is the only woman in the fort). Pony soon becomes the only one aware of an attack by vicious dwarves known as Red Caps (they get their nickname because of their ritual of dipping their caps into the blood of their slain enemies). Pony escapes the attack after destroying the Red Cap Ship and her life then intersects with Avelyn Desbris.

Avelyn has lost faith in the Abellican Church after returning from gathering magic stones. Gems and stones hold power in the land of Corona and the abby is the only one able to gather the stones dropped from heaven. When the monks return from the gathering of the stones the abbey orders the destruction of the sailors and the ship that took the monks to the island. Avelyn witnesses this senseless murder, takes the stones gathered and leaves the Abellican Church forever. However, before he leaves he kills one of the monks in charge and is now a fugitive. A bounty hunter , of sorts, is trained to hunt down and kill Avelyn and sent out to find him.

Avelyn, through a vision, discovers the Dactyl has awakened and will soon destroy the land of Corona. He then takes it as his mission to warn all the villages he can by going to village pubs and preaching the end of the world. This turns out to always end in a bar brawl which Avelyn always loses. These brawls are what Avelyn calls "readiness training," because the villagers all learn to fight. After being thrown out of the pub which serviced Pony's fort and soldiers, Pony befriends the wayward monk. Pony meets up with Avelyn being thrown out again after she escapes from sure death in the Red Cap raid.

Avelyn and Pony develop a friendship and Avelyn takes it upon himself to return Pony to her homeland so she can deal with her demons and heal. Upon returning to Dundalis many things happen to the trio as this book winds up in preparation for the final installment in Graphic Audio's production of "The Demon Awakens."

This production has it all danger, excitement, battles and fun.