After somewhat of a drought of inspiring audiofiction, we are please to say: "We have a winner!" The The Prince of Hazel and Oak (TPHO) is what can only be dubbed the long-awaited sequel to the marvelous Shadowmagic [still number 9 on PB,com's ALL-Time Download list]. TPHO has all the wonder of the first installment. We would definitely classify this one as fantasy. Banshees, fairies, imps, wizards, and sentient trees make-up part of the cast who romp in a land of make-believe. Good battles evil, boy chases girl, all that type of thing. Very nice!
Here is the author's very brief teaser:
Podiobooks no. 1 voted podcast returns for another action and laugh packed sequel. Finally listeners can find out what happened to Conor on his return to the Real World from Tir na Nog. (He was arrested for his father’s murder.)
Join Conor (and a very confused Scranton cop) as they try to survive The Prince of Duir's chaotic return to The Land.
The Prince of Hazel and Oak is the second novel from real life magician and comedian - John Lenahan. John’s first novel, Shadowmagic, is available in paperback, epub and Kindle editions from HarperCollins UK. For more details go to www.shadowmagic.co.uk
NARRATION: John is a professional magician and comedian, and his comfort with vocal performance really shines though. The reading is relaxed, engaging, and character voices vary just enough and are never hammy. Yeoman's work is ever there were on PB.com. We will award the full 20 points here.
EDITING/TECHINICAL: John does all the narration himself and uses, as far as we can tell, no sound effects or incidental music. Though providing us with a simple product in this regard, there are no errors, mis-speaks, and only rarely can the ear pick-up an edit patch. In a universe where many authors dazzle us with audio-bling, we have no problem listening to this traditional presentation. We dole-out 18 point the John is this grouping.
ORIGINALITY OF STORY: TPHO is a very fresh and very entertaining tale, indeed. John draws from Arthurian-stock-and-trade in a general sense, and uses many conventional achetypes to construct his universe. He introduces some novel elements, which is very redeeming. The magical power of gold, natural-magic (shadow-magic), and trees with diverse personalities are nice additions. Telling a humorous fantasy is also a different angle, and the author carries this off masterfully. At the end of the day, he does borrow heavily from established concepts, so though this is not a bad thing, we will only dish-out 16 point to him here.
QUALITY OF WRITING: The topic at issue in the reviews we concern our self with is writing, first and foremost. As we have mentioned many times before, the writing prowess of PB.com contributors runs a very considerable gamut, from spell-binding to why-bother. With this as a prelude, we would rank John's writing abilities to be above average. We imagine he would not quibble over this assessment. He discloses at the end of his first book that he wrote the story as a gift to his child. Hence, it is a bed-time tale for a young listener - it is meant to be read aloud. TPHO excels in this regard. As a novel, as literary chops, again, it is above average, but not threatening to knock any of the giants off their perches. The characters are fairly simply constructed, the story reasonably predictable, and the dialog occasionally weak. The inspirational speeches before the big battle, for example, are lukewarm rather than riveting. We offer these examples, as always, not to nit-pick, but to validate our impeccable judgements [ ; ) ]. Because we are so partial to the Shadowmagic series, we will award 15 points.
WOW FACTOR: John does not go away empty-handed in this category - no way no how. This is a stunningly entertaining book. It delivers on all expectations of a quality sequel, and it is an unparalleled fairy tale. Though you most likely cannot hear it, we are still applauding in the background. The sparse music is joyful and contributory. The sass and spirit in John's voice is priceless. Plus, we cannot sign-off without giving kudos to one of John's greatest strengths. Recalling the PB.com is a serialized medium, John is the best serialize - period. Each episode ends just when you hope it doesn't, but never with an abrupt rushing or forced twist. Marvelous, simply marvelous! John gets a 20 - 20 - 20, full credit for sure!
EXTRA CREDIT: The extra credit here is awarded because Shadowmagic is Shadowmagic. It is among the first, it is among the best, and it is a simple pleasure to listen-to. TPHO get 5 big ones for being so dare cute and so darn Shadowmagic.
TOTAL: TPHO racks-up a big 94 overall rating! It is guilt-free fun and a total kick-in-the-pants. We cannot imagine any quality listener not loving this one. There is, in the end, only one thing to say: Get out there and give us Shadowmagic III, Mr. Lenahan!
The link to the podcast is: http://www.podiobooks.com/title/the-prince-of-hazel-and-oak/
John's personal website is: http://www.johnlenahan.com/
I have to admit to being a fan of these podcasts by John Lenahan, too and am looking forward to listening to Book 3, provided it is read by John himself.
ReplyDeleteYes, John's voice really makes the production special
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