Shawn

Reliving a thrill of Youth

Reviewed: 05-23-23

I remember reading this story as a teen. I was so captivated by it as science fiction. Now as an adult, and with a greater understanding of allegory & with more experience with the parts of life that are beyond the visible, I am even more amazed at the captivating world C.S. Lewis creates. Then on top of this, I had the added joy of having the story read by someone who has the same accent and diction that C.S. Lewis would have had (especially to hear how some of those foreign words are to be pronounced), I really gained a better appreciation and love for this classic from my youth.

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hi-larry-ous!

Reviewed: 11-18-19

Just a short story, but a perfect fit between more serious, emotionally draining novels. It was a hilarious concept for a story and we'll executed - serious tones and inflection for gags that were obviously comedic made it all-the-more hilarious! For a sci-fi geek like myself who's also worked in a call center, the humor was perfectly apt. I loved the "Firefly" references, but considering who the narrator wad, it was even more funny. The one-word description of it being hilarious can't be stressed enough; it was "hi-larry-ous!"

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Powerful story beautifully spoken

Reviewed: 06-01-19

This story alone can move one to tears, but to hear it spoken so well with all the tenderness and inflection given had me wondering if I would become dehydrated from the experience. A must listen for anyone who has a heart of flesh, and maybe even for those with a heart of stone for it would be transformed.

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An insightful twist that brings the ancient, biblical world alive.

Reviewed: 12-01-16

While the author could have easily fallen into the typical girl-pretends-to-be-a-boy-to-survive-in-a-man's-world motif, Thorne expertly developes each character to be believable and real within their historical/societal cofines.

Even though the main biblical characters have a minimal role in this story, the author uses them to shape, guide, and redirect the protagonist's character and actions.

Ginger Roll does an exceptional job narrating the story, especially with transitioning between male and female voices in conversation. Too many times narrators cannot pull off one gender or the other without sounding false or nondescript - making many of the voices the same. Roll makes the voice of each character distinct and easily distinguishable - very helpful for those long conversations where not seeing the text becomes a handicap to understanding who's speaking.

Overall, the story was compelling, creating real attachment and identification with the characters. The venue of each scene was so well written that one could taste the dry deserts and smell the sulfur pits.

The story only got four, instead of five, stars due to the author's use of creative license in explaining the power source of El's messengers, but this may be just a personal preference due to personal scholarship. However, illusions to the messagers being from very distant ("lost") lands (possibly Celtic) was an intriguing addition. It would have lost only half a star of that was possible.

Well done. A recommended read for all.

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2 people found this helpful