“Final Crisis” by Greg Cox

“Final Crisis”
by Greg Cox
Multi-cast performance
Produced 2010, by GraphicAudio
Approx. 8 Hours

“Final Crisis” was a crossover storyline that appeared in DC comics published throughout 2008, primarily the seven-issue miniseries of the same name was written by Grant Morrison.  This was the last of the multiverse type series from DC and sort of closed up some gaps left in the previous titles; “Crisis on Infinite Earths”,  “Infinite Crisis”, “52″, and “Countdown.”  However I think this created more questions than answers and served no other purpose but to confuse the reader.  While having some great confrontations and interesting twists on science and gods the story just didn’t do it for me.  I was so glad I listened to the audio book format of this title.

As usual GraphicAudio delivers this audiobook with a punch, and I’m talking one of those full-graphic-with-exploding-colors-as-only-seen-in-comic-books punches.  When GraphicAudio promises a “Movie in your Mind” they aren’t exaggerating.  First off the voice actors are superb and voice each character with precision accuracy, Superman sounds like Superman, Batman sounds like Batman and so on.  There is no denying the excellence in the talent pool here.  The sound effects will blast you out of your seat.  With planets exploding or crumbling, a black hole sucking in the multiverse and even Green Lantern’s ring fizzling out, the sound effects are perfect. And the music, well pretty much all I can say here is “WOW!”  The music moves the story, mood and action perfectly.  All in all these GraphicAudio productions are perfect.  For me it was the only saving grace in this title.

The gist of this story is that one of the new gods, Orion, is murdered and another new god, Darkseid, sees this as his chance to take over Earth.  Also one of Earth’s multiverse monitors is stripped of his powers for letting Earth 51 be destroyed.  While some of my favorite heroes play major parts in this, The Flashes (yes 3 generations of The Flash) open a time portal allowing things to begin and end, and The Green Lantern Corps try to stop Darkseid, I think the story relied too heavily on Superman.

There was one saving grace for the story and that was the creation of a young Japanese group of superheroes.  Mixing superheroes with Japanese pop-culture, the characters are: Most Excellent Superbat, Big Atomic Lantern Boy, Shy Crazy Lolita Canary, Shiny Happy Aquazon and Well-Spoken Sonic Lightning Flash.  I first had some good laughs with their names but sheesh the way they interacted was fun.  At one point all the characters had revealed their powers, except one, and when asked what his was Most Excellent Superbat responded, “Mine is the best of all, I can buy anything.”

Throughout the story I was confused as to what caused what and with The Flashes and Superman doing a little time traveling that just made it even more hard to follow.  But thanks to GraphicAudio, I had a great time listening.

“DC Universe: Trail of Time” by Jeff Mariotte

“DC Universe: Trail of Time”
by Jeff Mariotte
Multicast performance
Produced by GraphicAudio
Approx 6 hours

Time travel, DC’s “lesser” heroes plus Superman, dual Earths, magic and Sorcery, demons, Apache, and King Arthur, could they fit any more into this story?  The answer is, probably, but holy cow what an adventure this book carries.  Even better is that GraphicAudio has taken this novel and worked their magic to create yet another “Movie in Your Mind.”

GraphicAudio always does wonders when producing audiobooks.  The excellent voice actors, surreal sound effects and perfect incidental music all combine to make what they promise to be that “Movie in Your Mind.”  The actors that carry out the tasks of voicing the villains and heroes not only capture the emotion of the character, but GraphicAudio’s actors seem to also be able to encapsulate the entire being of the history of the character.   In this novel, the actor voicing Clark Kent and Superman seems to be able to vocalize the square jaw, red and blue costume, complete hero.  And the sound effects, WOW!  How would you make the sound of a demon splitting the skin of a child, as in when a cicada sheds its shell?  Creepy yeah, but GraphicAudio can do it…and a whole lot more.

Anyway let’s talk about the story.  At first I thought I was going into yet another DC universe “Crisis” title, in which there are multiple universes and the heroes have to keep them from colliding or being destroyed, but, this is just a story of magic and only two Earths.  Yeah, right JUST magic and two Earths, hey it is an adventure but not on the “Crisis” level.   In fact Superman makes a reference to the “Crisis” books/storylines when told of the two Earths.  This story however is about how 3 sorcerers, Vandal Savage, Felix Faust, and Dark Lord Mordru have teamed up to create an alternate Earth which they will rule over.  This is big magic and starts back in the time of King Arthur and Camelot, but now the magic is coming to fruition and the new Earth (which has a red sun) is not a pleasant place.  Clark Kent is a resident of the new Earth, but since it has a red sun he does not have the super powers therefore Superman does not exist.   The citizens of the new Earth do not have any personal freedoms and as she is trying to expose the corrupt government Clark’s wife Lois Lane is killed.  In order to right this wrong Clark is recruited by The Phantom Savage and Jason Blood (who is the host for the demon, Etrigan).

The journey to the real Earth first begins with a trip through Hell.  Clark is powerless at first but as he comes closer to the Earth with the yellow sun his memories of being Superman as well as his powers come back, or merge or something like that (it’s hard to keep up w/ alternate realities, sometimes).  Once back on the real Earth the three heroes begin traveling through time to find the time when the sorcerers are finalizing the last magic to finish the long term spell.  The only clue they have to go on is that the spell requires ritual sacrifice on a holocaust level.  The revisit all times in Earth’s history in which millions of people were killed, from the plague to the days of the Mongol hordes invading lands and beyond.   Some of the times they arrive in they find a trap laid by the sorcerers, meaning they are drawing nearer.

In what seems to be a side story, from back in the old west of America, Jonah Hex, El Diablo, Johnny Thunder, Bat Lash and Scalphunter seem to be drawn together for some reason.  After a bar Brawl, Jonah is thrown into jail.  The others bust him out and realize they have been brought together for some reason and set out to find that reason.  When they arrive at a canyon guarded by illusions and magicks, they realize that the reason must be pretty big.  About this time Superman, Phantom Stranger and Jason Blood arrive on the scene.  Inside the canyon are thousands of Apache held hostage for the sacrifice the Sorcerers need.   All combining forces the heroes begin to wear down all the defenses and try to stop the new Earth from being formed.

Heroes, the old west, time travel and evil villains, all this combines to make one tasty story from the DC comics universe, and thanks to GraphicAudio this book comes to life in audiobook form.

“Immortalis – Part 3 of 3″ Book 7(of 7) of “The Demon Wars Saga” by R.A. Salvatore

“Immortalis – Part 3 of 3″
Book 7(of 7) of “The Demon Wars Saga”
by R.A. Salvatore
Multicast Performance
Produced by GraphicAudio
Approx 6 hours.

It is a bittersweet thing to come to an end of any good saga; When I finished the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien I was happy to come to an ending of an adventure but saddened that I was no longer hanging out with my hobbit friends.  When Jim Butcher finished his “Codex Alera” series It was cool to see how it all ended but again, sad that I was no longer hanging out with the fury masters.  The same goes for “The Demon Wars Saga,” by R.A. Salvatore.  Through seven books in the series, the adventures in the land of Corona, between the countries of Honce-the-Bear and Behren and all the surrounding areas, The Demon Dactyl, Bestesbulzibar, awoke, tainted the land of the elves, was destroyed, possessed the leader of the Abellican church, was defeated, and then possessed the body of a baby that became king.  It took 7 books to get through the adventure but was it ever worth it.

I was introduced to this adventure through the excellent production of audiobooks from GraphicAudio.  GraphicAudio’s slogan is “A Movie in Your Mind” and do they ever deliver.  Every audiobook I’ve heard from GraphicAudio is phenomenal with excellent voice acting, super realistic sound effects and incidental music that moves you through the story while reflecting the emotion or action of the moment.

The cast of actors not only bring the story to life through their craft of acting, but when an interesting accent is needed they deliver.  For example, what accent would you use for an Alpinadoran mountain man?  an elf from the Touel’alfar or  Doc’alfar? an Abellican Monk were-tiger?  There’s not really any manual for this but the cast in GraphicAudio’s production of this series may have created one.

The special effects also push this story along with superb fluency.  The effects are just as difficult to create here, after all what is the sound of an elven arrow piercing the eye of a giant? what does a centaur sound like while running.  None of the effects were stock, or at least were produced to be original to the story.  Once again the movie in your mind is a reality through all these production elements.  When it comes to audiobooks GraphicAudio will put you in the story and you’ll never want to leave.

One final aspect of the GraphicAudio production of this saga, is that they split up the seven books  to where they averaged three 6 hour parts per book.  This made the saga easier to digest in smaller lumps, although I’m looking at purchasing the entire series as a boxed set package for a gift for a friend

Here’s how the final book plays out:

Self-proclaimed King of Honce-the-Bear, Adryan, son of Elbryan the Ranger and Jilseponie the warrior/ranger/former Queen, has been sweeping the land conquering those that oppose his rule.  Adryan’s expertise at the magick of the gemstones of the Abellican church also puts him on to the path to destroying the church and placing the evil Marcalo De’Unnaro as leader of the church.  De’Unnaro is the one responsible for killing Adryan’s father.

To the South of Honce-the-Bear, in the land of Behren, another Ranger has just won freedom for her people, the To’gai from years of slavery by the Behrenese.  The Behrenese church was destroyed in the process.  Adryan decides to use that turmoil to conquer Behren.  When his plans include conquering To’Gai, the ranger Brin Dahryelle, decides to join the battle defeating Adryan.

So now the peoples up against Adryan include, his mother, another expert of the gemstone magicks, Brin and her Dragon, Agradeleus, the elves of the Touel’alfar and Doc’alfar, the mountain men of Alpinador and their ranger, and Prince Midalis, the rightful heir to the throne of Honce-the-Bear and his army.

The battles all lead to the Abellican Church at the center of it all St. Mere Abell.  The battle ensues and Adryan ressurects his father to join with him against his mother.  The dragon, Agradeleus, recognizes the Demon Dactyl possessing Adryan’s body and alerts the others.  This could either mean the way to defeat Adryan or the hopelesness of the battle.  How the warriors look at it will change the outcome.

The final battle and the epilogue to the story bring about a great close to the series with a bit of an opening in which R.A. Salvatore could write some more stories with some of the main characters.  A great adventure comes to a close but in a way that leaves the reader/listener wanting more yet happy if that is the end.

“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.

“Countdown” by Greg Cox

“Countdown”
by Greg Cox
Multi-cast Performance
Produced by GraphicAudio, 2010
Approx 6 hours

DC comics had/has a great configuration of crossover comics with their multi-verse “Crisis” series.
Crisis on Infinite Earths
Countdown to Infinite Crisis
Infinite Crisis
52
Countdown to Final Crisis (novel form titled “Countdown,” this book)
Final Crisis
The series told a tale of 52 alternate realities otherwise known as multiverses.  The problem consisting of multiple realities coming together could destroy all realities.  In this  book, “Countdown,” The aftermath of “Infinite Crisis” led to the series “52″ which consisted of the Primary Earth dealing with the aftermath.  This book, as the title suggests, is a countdown to events that lead to yet another multiverse crisis which will be the “Final Crisis.”  The original “Countdown to Final Crisis” comics were published in 51 issues, Greg Cox has created the novelization of the series into this book.

So once again the comic books are converted to a novel.  What happened to the awesome graphics that make a comic so much of an experience?  Well,  Greg Cox uses words to convey the images and any fan of good fiction would appreciate this.  But what happens if the comic fan wants those images?  I suggest picking up the audio book created by GraphicAudio.  GraphicAudio has a slogan, “A Movie in your Mind,” and let me tell you, they deliver.  From the moment I heard my first GraphicAudio audiobook, I’ve been hooked.  They use a cast of very talented voice actors that can creat every subtlety of a superhero through voice only.  For Example, when you hear someone acting the role of Batman in a GraphicAudio audiobook, you hear Bruce Wayne’s loss of his parents, his calculating the next 30 moves in defeating a foe, and more, just through superb voice acting.

The acting is not the only thing that keeps these audiobooks interesting there is also incidental music that rises and falls with and enhances all the emotions and action in the story.  And even more fun are the sound effects.  So how do you give sound to the Green Lantern’s ring creating a boxing glove and punching his foe?  You can’t just simply punch something and record it, because the power behind the ring is what is creating the glove.  GraphicAudio create some superb effects that you can see in the mind’s eye all aspects of just such an action.  These guys really know what they are doing.

So with all that said let’s talk about this audiobook.  The excitement abounds, the story twists and turns and ultimate good is pitted up against ultimate evil.  Exactly what you’d expect from a comic book, but in this series all this takes place without the big name superheroes.  The Justice League members do make their appearance near the end to help wrap up the final battle and outcome, but for the most part what were normally minor characters now take the lead.

First off we’ve got Superman’s pal, Jimmy Olsen, suddenly endowed with superpowers.  Not sure where they come from, Jimmy’s not one to ask, being the epitomical good guy, Jimmy immediately takes on the guise of Action Man and tries to right wrongs.  The problem with these newfound powers is that they only occur when his life is threatened.  But when his life is threatened the powers are doozies.  Powers such as, porcupine like quills suddenly erupting from his skin and shooting at foes, his body turning to ooze and more weirdness.  Even not being able to control his powers Jimmy tries to fight crime.

Next we have Mary Marvel.  After the events in 52, Mary is now just simply Mary Batson, sister to Billy Batson (Captain Marvel/Shazam).  Her powers were mysteriously taken away and she awakens in a hospital scared and powerless.  To find her brother and eventually her powers Mary seeks out Madame Xanadu,  warns Mary not to go to Gotham City.  Ignoring her, Mary is chased by thugs through the Gotham subway, and finds the former Kahndaqi Embassy, where Black Adam has been hiding. Adam appears, saves Mary, and transfers his powers to Mary.  Mary acquires the powers of Black Adam, Isis, and Osiris as a result.  These dark powers change Mary’s psyche and she seems to be one of the bad guys.

Holly Robinson, former Catwoman (the good Catwoman not the criminal one) meets up with Harley Quinn (Joker’s former girlfriend) at a women’s shelter in Metropolis where a woman claiming to be Athena is recruiting Amazons to go to Paradise Island, which was vacated by the real Amazons (Wonder Woman’s family).

Jason Todd (former Robin that should have died), and Donna Troy (former Wonder Girl, who also should have died) meet up with a Monitor who recruits them to find The Atom. It seems The Atom, Ray Palmer, is the key to fighting the New Gods who are waging war against each other and could destroy the Universe.

“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.