Outling

By: Marty Mayberry

Narrated by: Nicole Parnell

Magic doesn't exist in the human world. As far as I know. But when I fling a fireball at a bully, my horrified mom dumps me at Crystal Wing Academy, a place straight out of my favorite fantasy books.

They tell me I'm an Outling, a wizard born from non-magical parents. Mom's human. Dad? I don't exactly know who he is....

One thing I do know is I'm not an Elite - descendants of the original six families who split from the Fae ages ago. At 17, their children and despised Outlings like me attend the Academy to learn to control our power.

I'm barely on campus when I'm targeted by a mean girl. Figures. Thankfully, the Academy's not all bad. My pixie roommate's awesome. I score a coveted moonstone during Stone Selection. And let's not forget Donovan, a cute guy who seems to like me and not the mean Elite girl who's determined to win him.

Except something's luring students into the forest and draining their power, leaving only shriveled husks behind. The Headmistress warns me not to investigate, but the killer's after my friends. Big mistake there. My magical skills may be untrained and wild, but if a power-sucking vamp thinks he can harm people I care about, he's about to discover I'm a wizard unlike any other.

©2019 Marty Mayberry (P)2020 Dreamscape Media, LLC

LOVE

My14-year-old daughter and I absolutely love this!!
Great work Marty and Nicole!
LOVE !

Enchanting Fantasy novel with exquisite narration

Loved this exciting tale of magic and mystery. I found myself captivated by the vivid imagery and moved by the emotion behind the narrator’s voice. Great performance bringing all the different characters to life. The voices were perfectly catered to each character. This allowed the story to dance and come alive in my mind as if it were a movie. Looking forward to the whole series! This book has been a great fantastical getaway allowing my to unwind and destress from the stresses and demands of my everyday life.

My first "magic" book.

My first "magic" book - I wanted to see (hear) what all the magic hype was about. It kept me in suspense, making me want to keep listening to find out what happens. The narrator was excellent - great voice inflection and an amazing job on switching from one character to another, and really enhanced the mystery of the book. An easy read (or listen!).

I enjoyed this Narrator

I do base my enjoyment of the audio book on the good merits of the writer and the narrator.

I really enjoy this book, and I tend to relisten to part of it over again, because I enjoy Nicole Parnell's expressions in re-telling Marty Mayberry's story!

Good one!

I LOVE THIS STORY

I started out by reading the story, and the way I imagined the characters voices was way different, if there was a movie I'd watch it 5,000 times

👍👍

The narrator did a great job, loved all the voices! Good story, can’t wait for the next book.

Very Enjoyable

The narrators voice is very soothing and I was impressed by all the characters she could do. The story and setting were very immersive and although it took place in a magical land the writing was very believable. Looking forward to hearing more.

Outling Turned me into a fan!

Being a bit of a helicopter Dad I decided to listen to this series along with my daughter. I was pleasantly surprised. Not only was I enthralled with the story the character development and voices were wonderful. I highly recommend this series for all ages.

Pleasantly Surprised

A fun and whimsical romp through an enchanted land. Creative characters and thrilling storyline. My nephew and I listened together and he was imitating Esther around the house. Excited to hear the rest of the series!

UNEXPECTED TREAT Kent Junge

As a 65 year old man who grew up with Narnia instead of Harry Potter, I'm not generally drawn to fantasy romance books featuring dreamy warlock hunks attending Incantation 101 classes ...But Mayberry's writing captivated and engaged me from start to finish. Despite her other worldly subject matter, her writing is refreshingly earthy and grounded, seasoned by a touch of whimsy. Even emotions,for example, are expressed in vividly physical terms, "Sadness reached into my chest and grabbed my heart"..
Her characters are not just romantic archetypes...(The brooding wounded bad boy hero tamed by the upper class heroine's tender love) They are confused, highly idealistic but clumsily horny, normal teenagers learning to manage the potential of powerful life skills which..uh...happen to be magic.
I was also blown away both by Narrator, Nicole Parnell's collection of voices (a chatty dragon fly, sssseductive nyad, and sassy talking door..to name a few) AND her ability to keep them distinctly consistent (therefore believable) throughout the book. Shortly into the book, for example I noticed that the voice of Flor (the heroine)'s mother sounded just like Flo the narrator...which made sense because both voices were read by Parnell....But because Parnell stuck by her vocal choices, kept them consistent throughout the book (Flo's mother didn't suddenly sound like Meryl Streep. Flo The narrator didn't turn into an old woman looking back at her life) I was able to suspend my disbelief, ceased thinking about Parnell's voice altogether and my brain simply accepted that adult Flo and her mother sounded alike because...well...they are mother and daughter .
Parnell's disciplined reading kept the narrative flowing free from distraction and maintained the book's credibility.
Playing several characters is often daunting on STAGE when you can rely on visual distinctions.. Alone in her booth Parnell's ability to keep characters distinct using only her voice is simply phenomenal. At one point I watched her juggle the voice of Flor the narrator, Flor the heroine, Flor's inner monologue, 3 or four other voices of varying ages genders and accents...THEN distinguish when these same voices were *telepathically* conversing through something called "Mindspeak" …
I very much appreciate how both Mayberry and Parnell chose not to give in THEMSELVES to teenage melodrama in their rendition of dialogue between the young, angst ridden residents of Chrystal Wing Academy. The drama is made all the more powerful because the story is told with understated, internalized emotion......I was almost hypnotically drawn into a powerful scene depicting Flor's first kiss....the dialogue was allowed to unfold with quiet vulnerable intensity rather than driven by giddy melodrama...I found myself enchanted by the "magic" of the writing and vocalization, my age and gender forgotten..
In conclusion, thumbs up from me and thanks to both author and narrator.
GREAT collaboration. Look forward to more