Depths of Vanalf Audiobook By Brady Hunsaker cover art

Depths of Vanalf

Grimnir Chronicles, Book 1

Preview
Try for $0.00
Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Depths of Vanalf

By: Brady Hunsaker
Narrated by: Marisa Calin, Raphael Corkhill, Matthew Lloyd Davies, James Meunier, Shakira Shute
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $22.49

Buy for $22.49

Confirm purchase
Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use, License, and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.
Cancel

About this listen

The first book of an epic progression fantasy series inspired by Scandinavian folklore, The Witcher, and Dungeons & Dragons, where a young man named Hallik has been training his whole life to become a magic-wielder, or Grimnir, to keep his island safe. But when monsters breach the shield protecting his realm, Hallik must venture into the mystical cave of Vanalf to hone his skills to protect everything he holds dear.

Hallik has been training his whole life to become a Grimnir, a magic-wielder who can aid in keeping their island safe from the monster hordes outside the shield protecting them. Hundreds of years ago, Grimnirs created a shield around their island. Hallik has waited his whole life to become one of the elite Grimnir who can keep their enemies at bay.

But when monsters start showing up on the island, it appears they aren’t as safe as they thought. They’ll need more Grimnirs to ensure their safety, but to become a magic-wielder, they’ll need to traverse the depths of Vanalf, a cave system that connects the realms, making it the most dangerous place imaginable. Fortunately, there’s one ragtag crew that’s up to the task.

An epic progression fantasy inspired by Scandinavian folklore, The Witcher, and Dungeons & Dragons, The Depths of Vanalf is the first in an epic series that will leave you spellbound.

©2025 Brady Hunsaker (P)2025 Simon & Schuster Audio
Dragons & Mythical Creatures Epic Fantasy Fiction Scandinavia Island
adbl_web_global_use_to_activate_T1_webcro805_stickypopup
All stars
Most relevant  
I saw on social media that the author was channeling D&D for this story and I definitely feel like he nailed the vibes! The narrators were incredible, I could tell every character separately. I also thought the world building and storyline were well done. It took some time to get momentum in the story due to the world building but once it was built, hold onto your seat because you're in for a ride!
I tried to guess what characters would come out of Vanalf with what magic and I was nearly spot on. It was fun to try to make the guess and helped me better immerse myself in the story as many characters were doing the same thing.

Great epic fantasy story!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

I liked the deep lore and the pacing with gradual introductions to the characters. I thought the multiple narrators was really cool (just wanted some volume balancing a little bit more with a couple of the chapters, but it wasn’t too bad).

The story is awesome. I feel like I just wanted more information. I need a background story on Jaysen Bjorn. Can’t wait for the next book!

Awesome world

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

what I loved… Very inventive reimagining of Scandinavian folklore with a obvious nod and homage to DND

what I didn’t like…
This might seem nitpicky, because it is, but some of the spells that a couple of the protagonist used were a little on the nose “detect magic.” it kind of forced me out of the immersion for a minute, but that’s super minor compared to the collective hole of the narrative, which was scintillating and gripping from start to finish.

The story is as cool as the book cover

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

I must say that I’m disappointed to read the other reviews of this book. I find this book to be very engaging and find myself picturing the scenes in my head while listening. I’m a fan of this genre and am looking forward to the next books in the grimnir chronicles. The narration is also top notch!

Fantastic Fantasy Novel

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

I honestly felt like listening to someone's RPG session. I guess that can be a good or a bad thing, but at least chance the character names if your players take names like Jason Borne (pronounced Beorne) for a fantasy game. I know all fantasy borrows some elements and that there are traditional conventions. All the elements felt borrowed from other sources so it lacked originality. It's Marvel Thor Ragnarok, with some Witcher, Elric, Hogwarts, Star Wars and D&D clichés tossed together. Turn based battle description without respite. I can almost hear the dice roll. If you are into that, this could be for you. However, the characters remain so shallow that the only one I could relate to was the direct ripoff: the "Jason Borne" Witcher. The two male readers performances were great, I especially enjoyed the accents, but the female reader's odd delivery of alternating slow and super fast reading feels like the tape is being put on fast forward in parts. Honestly wondered if the file was broken. A bit of a disappointment really as a friend recommended it.

Feels like a D&D session

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

The cast was spectacular. The audio was superb. And the story was epic. I loved the story and had a great time listening. 10/10!

Epic Fantasy Story

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

It was an incredible story, having multiple readers really helped bring the story alive and helped keep it interesting.

Multiple readers

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

The UK has Hogwarts, America has Ilvermorny, & Vikings have the Depths of Vanalf. Imagine if the Golden Trio had a fourth member, but they were from a Viking-like people and they wanted to learn magic. Well, send them into a horrific dungeon with terrifying monsters where the outcome is either you become a entry level magic user or you die. That's the essence. It's an incredible story for anyone who enjoys Will Wight, Brandon Sanderson, DnD, The Witcher, etc. The performance is amazing too. Each POV has their own narrator. I can't wait for the next book in the series! I only wish they had gone into the Depths of Vanalf in an earlier chapter but I understand laying a foundation.

The UK has Hogwarts, America has Ilvermorny, &...

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

Epic concept and great actors to voice it. Overall the story arch is frustrating for an Island filled with a magical warrior history they sure make mistake after mistake. More time could have been spent on building the lore and world but it feels rushed to reach the demise of the realm. I might come back for book two but we will see..

Epic world

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

The story was well written and the voice acting was on point for each character!

It was a different style of writing with a wonderful world building experience.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

See more reviews