A Wind from the South

Raetian Tales, Book 1

By: Diane Duane

Narrated by: Jessica Almasy

A goddess in the making... or a demon reborn? In the remote mountain village where she was born, Mariarta dil Alicg lives the untroubled life of a peasant girl - until, soon after a mysterious stranger's arrival, she starts to hear voices in the wind. The voices whisper strange secrets in Mariarta's ears, promising her the power to command the stormwind, hinting at an unknown, magical heritage, and prophesying a fate marvelous past all of Mariarta's imaginings.

Then a curse falls on Mariarta's village, shattering the lives of her family and friends. Mariarta must set out across the mountain realm of Raetia in search of a way to break the curse - while also hunting for the truth about the beautiful and terrible being who Mariarta discovers is trying to possess her soul.

Mariarta's search will lead her into hidden domains of sorcery, both dreadful and wondrous, and will finally embroil the young woman in the growing rebellion against her land's cruel Austriac oppressors - but not before Mariarta comes face to face at last with the immortal Lady of the Storms and challenges her to one final battle for control of her life, her soul, and her destiny.

©2010 Diane Duane (P)2011 Audible, Inc.

Thoroughly enjoyed

I loved the complex mix of medieval setting, mystical Roman gods, Swiss alpine scenery, and independent female protagonist. You can almost see the glaciers - shiver!

It was wonderful. I love the blending of history, myth and legends.

I loved the story. It’s a great blending of a coming of age story with history, mythology, and legends. I now want to learn more about the history of this area.

This was a suprise!

Really did not have much of a clue, where this story would take me until it dawned on me that I actually have spent quite a bit of my adolescence in the region this story plays out in. This was a surprise. So, in that regard, I actually gained another dimension in that story. For all the fantasy lovers, it's worthwhile to listen to from the story's perspective, rooted in deep history of a Raetian Region of Switzerland. Loved it!

Slow start, worth it

Diane Duane's magical prose strikes again. I was transported deeper into visceral sensations connecting to the Earth as well as held aloft to powers and concepts of cosmic proportions.

Slightly slow beginning to an adventure that captivated me entirely before it was done.

Meh

Boring & a bit slow. I finished part 1, then kept listening to about the halfway mark. DNF. I still don't care about the MC. She is very childish. The story is hard to follow at times because all of the strange words. I'm used to unfamiliar character names but the author speaks about places like we, as readers, are familiar with the area. She does the same with animals & creatures. I am not familiarwith this stuff & most people won't be. There are some cool ideas here, but they are few & far between. The voice actor/reader is fine. Not great or terrible.

Couldn't finish this, too boring

What disappointed you about A Wind from the South?

I think it may be a nice book for some people that are into slow dramas but It was too slow for me. Maybe it was setting the ground work for future series but it didn't grab me.