Cast in Shadow

Chronicles of Elantra, Book 1

By: Michelle Sagara

Narrated by: Khristine Hvam

Length: 14 hrs and 25 mins

Publisher's summary

Seven years ago, Kaylin fled the crime-riddled streets of Nightshade, knowing that something was after her. Children were being murdered— and all had the same odd markings that mysteriously appeared on her own skin….

Since then, she's learned to read, she's learned to fight and she's become one of the vaunted Hawks who patrol and police the City of Elantra. Alongside the winged Aerians and the immortal Barrani, she's made a place for herself, far from the mean streets of her birth.

But children are once again dying, and a dark and familiar pattern is emerging. Kaylin is ordered back into Nightshade with a partner she knows she can't trust, a Dragon lord for a companion and a device to contain her powers—powers that no other human has. Her task is simple—find the killer, stop the murders… and survive the attentions of those who claim to be her allies!

Spellbound? Listen to more Chronicles of Elantra.

©2011 Michelle Sagara (P)2011 Audible, Inc.

Agree with other reviewers

It started off really promising and I was excited for it for maybe the 1/4 of the book, but I didn’t ever really bond with the characters and near the end I really didn’t care who died mostly, and it was really vague even near the end of what exactly was going on, and I love books that don’t just spell out everything for you but this was different, the more the book went on the less I cared

One of my favorite series

This is one of my most favorite series and I was delighted that the narrator was good because sometimes you get kind of dull sounding narrator but she does very well I love the voices and everything.

entertaining

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Great story line. Entertaining characters, could not stop listening when I got started.

What other book might you compare Cast in Shadow to and why?

I compare the audiobook to the Harry Potter series in the fact you can tell one character from another

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

Different voices bring out the characters personalities.

This was an interesting story.

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

Yes, but I had to listen to the beginning 3 times, because the discription of the characters is so thin. For instance: The flight wings on Clint, are they a part of him or does he look like a human and have wings attached? Does he have a bird face? I did get into the book and enjoyed it. I like female heroines and Kaylin had a humorous personality which didn't make the story all dark and dangerous all the time. There were good elements to Kaylin's magic such as her healing ability as well as the dark parts of the magic.

What could Michelle Sagara have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

Better description of the characters, especially Avian.

Which character – as performed by Khristine Hvam – was your favorite?

Kaylin

Nice storyline and strong characters.

I enjoyed this book because the storyline was interesting. I was super lost throughout the book however. I don't feel as though the characters were explained in depth. overall and nice read though!

Brilliant Series - Excellently read and visualised

Where does Cast in Shadow rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This is one of my favourites. The author is new to me but well worth the listen.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Kaylin Neya the main character. She displays a bold courageous nature, often reckless but she's on a learning curve. Looking forward to further development.

Which character – as performed by Khristine Hvam – was your favorite?

Kaylin

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Magic to die for!

Any additional comments?

Really quirky storyline, you have to pay attention but it is well worth while. The characters are quite well defined although there are a few gaps. Perhaps future books will flesh this out.

Loved it!

I enjoyed the beginning of this series. It reminds me of another one but with a heroine instead of a hero.

I'm new to this author...

So I got the free prequel to see if I would like the rest of the books. I have now listened to the "1st" book of the series and used my new credits on the other four.
Good story, nice execution, enjoying every minute of the characters and look forward to the rest of the story.

Good until the end.......

I purchased this novel because I listened to the four hour Novella that was the prequel and I really loved it. I listened to this novel and loved about 12 hours of it. After that It seemed like it was just dragging on and on and on! I didn't even really pay attention to the ending. I was soo dissapointed! I really liked the begining of the book, the mystery, and the intrigue. But by the time I got to the end I just couldn't wait for it to be over. I am not saying that the ending was bad, but somewhere between the 12th and 14th hour I just lost faith and didn't really care what happened as long as it ended. Sorry, but I don't think I will be purchasing the next book in the series unless it happens to be listed on one of the $4.50 sales.

Vague world building and dim witted heroine

Wow, we just jumped into a world with no background information or descriptions of the universe we landed in. You never get much of one either.

I also couldn’t identify with the lead character. She asks questions constantly, even when it’s clear she is risking her skin to do it, and she’s asking questions of other species/races who are incapable of giving her straight answers anyway. It was frustrating. She’s also, both bananas powerful and self-admittedly pretty dim witted (she failed all her classes but languages and fighting). She has magic, but never learned a thing in her classes on magic.
Maybe it’s all supposed to make her approachable and realistic, but I found it to be tedious, inaccessible, and in the end annoying.

Waist of time, and I regret the purchase.