Dreamer's Pool

Blackthorn & Grim, Book 1

By: Juliet Marillier

Narrated by: Scott Aiello, Natalie Gold, Nick Sullivan

Award-winning author Juliet Marillier "weaves magic, mythology, and folklore into every sentence on the page" (The Book Smugglers). Now she begins an all-new and enchanting series that will transport readers to a magical vision of ancient Ireland...

In exchange for help escaping her long and wrongful imprisonment, embittered magical healer Blackthorn has vowed to set aside her bid for vengeance against the man who destroyed all that she once held dear. Followed by a former prison mate, a silent hulk of a man named Grim, she travels north to Dalriada. There she'll live on the fringe of a mysterious forest, duty bound for seven years to assist anyone who asks for her help. Oran, crown prince of Dalriada, has waited anxiously for the arrival of his future bride, Lady Flidais. He knows her only from a portrait and sweetly poetic correspondence that have convinced him Flidais is his destined true love. But Oran discovers letters can lie. For although his intended exactly resembles her portrait, her brutality upon arrival proves she is nothing like the sensitive woman of the letters.

With the strategic marriage imminent, Oran sees no way out of his dilemma. Word has spread that Blackthorn possesses a remarkable gift for solving knotty problems, so the prince asks her for help. To save Oran from his treacherous nuptials, Blackthorn and Grim will need all their resources: courage, ingenuity, leaps of deduction, and more than a little magic.

©2014 Juliet Marillier (P)2014 Audible Inc.

Critic reviews

"Narrators Scott Aiello, Natalie Gold, and Nick Sullivan deliver this Blackthorn & Grim series opener in alternating chapters.... Together, the narrators weave a compelling tale." ( AudioFile)

So inconsistent

Almost quit about 10 min in--male narrators terrible; female ok. Pushed through & it got interesting about ch 20. Jumped the shark with a very irritating plot twist at ch 33. I almost deleted it but pushed on instead. The book recovered, but barely. I finished it.

Great New Series

This is a story with so much heart. The relationship between the primary characters, Blackthorn and Grim, is founded in shared pain and hardship. The opposite of loquacious, the two characters are also highly introverted. This shift from the typical extroverted characterization of most story-telling allows for a layered and nuanced focus on how characters -- who've experienced great injustice -- engage with a culture that bred such evil. While some reviewers have noted the transparency of the plot, Dreamer's Pool is an introduction to the backstory of complex characters Blackthorn and Grim. If the story has any flaw, it is that the conflicts are paced out a bit too far, which takes away from the urgency of the story somewhat. Overall, however, it's a great first book in a series. One other note, while the narration was okay, it would be nice to have a single narrator. The sifts between the narrators was always disconcerting.

Entertaining fairy tale

What does the narrators bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

The voice for Grimm did not seem right...it was more like a newscaster in delivery than the solemn giant of the story. Perhaps not the best casting there. The female did a much better job of Grimm than the male, oddly enough. Some of the secondary voicing....such as the prince's manservant...seemed a bit too comical or ridiculous but it wasnt distracting enough to ruin the story.

Any additional comments?

While I enjoyed the story and the performances, at times it felt a bit too much like a children's fairy tale with some adult bits thrown in. Still, I was drawn in and listened avidly, so I think that means it is a success...even if it did feel a bit like fluff.

Scarlett Johansson, Movie Announcer, and Will Farr

Is there anything you would change about this book?

I get the feeling that this could have been a much better experience with a talented Irish cast. As it is, I felt like Scarlett Johansson, Movie Announcer Guy, and Will Farrell were reading this book to me. I quickly got used to the girl, and actually liked her performance, overall. Movie Announcer Guy took longer to get used to as Grimm. I found it hard to follow for the first few segments because it's such an in-your-face, coming soon to a theater near you delivery. It grew on me though. I never got used to pseudo-Will Farrell though. His voice isn't bad when his character is speaking, but when he reads the character's "inner voice", he over-enunciates in a grating fashion. Think Will Farrell playing Mugatu in Zoolander, or the main character in Elf.

The storyline was okay. The main "mystery" became painfully, painfully obvious after a little while, but the characters still had miles of agonizing to do before they could draw the same conclusions.

The prince and the way his kingdom operates strikes me as anachronistic. They have way too many high minded, modern day legal concepts and considerations for the supposed setting. They basically conduct an entire trial inside the book (rehashing the events that were just read in detail the chapters prior). I'm not saying that justice concepts shouldn't exist in ancient Dalriada, but they were so obviously modern as to be unrealistic and out of place... unless the Prince turns out to be a time traveler in a later book.

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

The ending was pretty satisfactory. I'll admit, I'm probably going to continue with the series, despite my complaints.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of the narrators?

An Irish cast would have been fantastic. I think that really would have grounded the story in its setting. Honestly, I would have been happy with Natalie Gold reading the whole thing instead of just the part of Blackthorn. She does have a nice voice (just not Irish).

Any additional comments?

This book was mostly pleasant. Not too dark or sad. A nice change of pace from what I have been reading. I'd give Lord of the Rings five stars, books I thoroughly enjoyed four stars, and this one gets three, mainly due to one of the narrators and some pacing issues. I might give the next one a try.

Easy to Like

I am never certain when there are multiple readers. My experience has been more towards the negative than the positive. This was definitely positive. The different narrations tell the 3 main character's view points yet every time you switch the story still progresses and does step on its toes or rehash the same scene/situation. The story was always forward moving. I liked the 3 characters and how they interacted and crossed each others path to enter each other's lives.

Blackthorn is a strong woman who is understandably flawed. You get her back story yet she doesn't overly dwell on it...enough to be human.

Grim seems like he would be a big ole bonehead of a guy but he is not . He grows on you and balances out other characters with his calm demeanor.

The prince seems like he could be annoying but he too is a kind and sincere man trying to do the best he can and trys to be true yet please his people and be fair.

The plot is basic in a good way the pacing is nice and even, which makes it easy to follow and get emersed into the world, situations and character's lives. I listen to most books a little faster passed than normal and it fit the story well.