Magic Bites | |||||
Ilona Andrews | |||||
Narrated by Renee Raudman, unabridged | |||||
Tantor, 9 hours | |||||
A review by Jennifer McCann
Kate has a biting sense of humor packaged with a crusaders heart. Her mysterious background is hinted at in
maddening opaqueness. Her skills at magic, as well as her fighting abilities, do not go unnoticed by the
Pack. The Pack, headed by Curran, is a fascinating mish mash of different shape shifters all working together
to stay alive and in control of Atlanta. After joining forces with Kate to destroy what they believe is the
perpetrator of the attacks on the shape shifters, Curran grudgingly gives Kate the respect she deserves while
developing a personal interest in her. The antagonistic relationship between Kate and the dangerously alluring
Curran bring a bit of fire to the mix. All while Kate stumbles into a budding relationship with a human of
questionable motive.
Magic Bites is a scenically dense story with a different take on the supernatural world. This husband
and wife writing team, Andrew Gordon, a former communications sergeant in the U.S. Army, and Ilona, a
native-born Russian, have joined forces to bring the world of a magic-filled Atlanta to life. The backdrop for
this story is fascinating and leaves the listener wanting more. Using "current" Atlanta landmarks in a
somewhat post-nuclear disarray, Andrews paints a rich, dark world for Kate to negotiate. The descriptions
of the magic waves, an unpredictable rise in the amount of magic in the world that keeps guns from firing
and cars from starting, adds a fun quirk that twists the action.
In other works of fiction, vampires are their own senescent beings; in Gordon and Ilona's vision vampires are
just a means to an end, a tool for the use of the necromancers. The descriptions of the other supernatural
beings that move in and out of the story are both fascinating and horrifying. The being who can change its
physical appearance to "study" human reactions to it for its own unknown agenda and the creature whose sole
purpose is to breed, having sex with animals to create halflings that act as its minions, are truly disturbing.
Renee Raudman, winner of the AudioFile Earphones Award and the Publishers Weekly Listen-Up Award
gives a seamless performance. For listeners, she becomes the main character, Kate Daniels. Mrs. Raudman's
reading lets Andrews' storytelling take the forefront and brings the denizens of Kate's Atlanta to life
or un-life -- depending on your perspective. This is an engaging, action packed story with many twists, turns
and red herrings that guarantee total enjoyment for the listener.
A belly dancing, dyslexic wife and mother who in her spare time works as a library clerk. A full and rich life is lead through the books she listens to and/or reads. Dyslexics Untie! |
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