
King Nyx
A Novel
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
3 months free
Buy for $21.49
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Bahni Turpin
-
By:
-
Kirsten Bakis
About this listen
A haunting mystery about lost girls and the woman driven to find them. From the author of the contemporary classic Lives of the Monster Dogs.
Anna Fort wants to be a supportive wife, even if that means accompanying her husband for the winter of 1918 to a remote, frozen island estate so he can finish his book as the guest of an eccentric millionaire. When she learns three girls are missing from a school run by their host, Anna realizes finding them is up to her—even if that means risking her husband’s career, and possibly her life.
Her husband’s masterpiece-in-progress features strange meteorological anomalies along with wild speculations about “facts” he believes scientists hide from the public. Most people think Charles Fort is a crackpot. That’s about to change now that wealthy Claude Arkel is his patron.
Yet Anna is sure something’s not right on Prosper Island, though the alarming return of her “troubles” makes her question her own sanity. Is the figure in the woods really the ghost of her long-lost friend Mary, or a product of her disturbed imagination? Accompanied reluctantly by a fellow guest, the elegant and troubled Stella Bixby, Anna embarks on a dangerous quest to find the missing girls before Arkel finds her—or her own mind unravels.
A contemporary feminist tale with a dreamlike, gothic setting, King Nyx reintroduces audiences, twenty-five years after her acclaimed debut, to one of our most astonishingly imaginative storytellers.
©2024 Kirsten Bakis (P)2024 Recorded BooksListeners also enjoyed...
-
The Bog Wife
- A Novel
- By: Kay Chronister
- Narrated by: Shannon McManus
- Length: 10 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Since time immemorial, the Haddesley family has tended the cranberry bog. In exchange, the bog sustains them. The staunch seasons of their lives are governed by a strict covenant that is renewed each generation with the ritual sacrifice of their patriarch, and in return, the bog produces a “bog-wife.” Brought to life from vegetation, this woman is meant to carry on the family line. But when the bog fails—or refuses—to honor the bargain, the Haddesleys, a group of discordant siblings still grieving the mother who mysteriously disappeared years earlier, face an unknown future.
-
-
Excellent writing that backs out of its own ending
- By Corinne on 03-22-25
By: Kay Chronister
-
The Sapling Cage
- Daughters of the Empty Throne, Book 1
- By: Margaret Killjoy
- Narrated by: Jackie Meloche
- Length: 9 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Lorel has always dreamed of becoming a witch—learning magic, fighting monsters, and exploring the world beyond the small town where she and her mother run the stables. Even though a strange plague is killing the trees in the Kingdom of Cekon and witches are being blamed for it, Lorel wants nothing more than to join them. There’s only one problem: all witches are women, and she was born a boy. When the coven comes to claim her best friend, Lorel disguises herself in a dress and joins in her friend’s place, leaving home and her old self behind.
-
-
Hits all the genre tropes with flair and originality
- By Jannik Mennen on 01-12-25
By: Margaret Killjoy
-
A Child Alone with Strangers
- A Novel
- By: Philip Fracassi
- Narrated by: Sterling Boyns
- Length: 18 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When young Henry Thorne is kidnapped and held prisoner in a remote farmhouse surrounded by miles of forest, he finds himself connecting with a strange force living in the woods—using that bond to wreak havoc against his captors. Unknown to the boy, however, is that this ancient being has its own reasons for wanting the interlopers gone—there is something hidden beneath the house, tucked away in the dark, damp root cellar . . . waiting for its return.
-
-
Ugh
- By Holly on 04-06-24
By: Philip Fracassi
-
Bright I Burn
- A Novel
- By: Molly Aitken
- Narrated by: Avena Mansergh-Wallace
- Length: 6 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Alice, the daughter of a wealthy innkeeper in Kilkenny, grows up watching her mother wither under the constraints of family responsibilities—and she vows that she will never suffer the same fate. In time, she discovers she has a flair for making money, and takes her father's flourishing business to new heights. But as her riches and stature grow, so too do rumors about her private life. By the time she marries her fourth husband—the three earlier are dead—a storm of local gossip and resentment culminates in a life-threatening accusation.
-
-
Very descriptive
- By Susan Parks on 06-14-25
By: Molly Aitken
-
Asunder
- By: Kerstin Hall
- Narrated by: Alyssa Appleton
- Length: 19 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Karys Eska is a deathspeaker, locked into an irrevocable compact with Sabaster, a terrifying eldritch being—three-faced, hundred-winged, unforgiving—who has granted her the ability to communicate with the newly departed. She pays the rent by using her abilities to investigate suspicious deaths around the troubled city she calls home. When a job goes sideways and connects her to a dying stranger with some very dangerous secrets, her entire world is upended.
-
-
Asunder
- By G Family on 10-16-24
By: Kerstin Hall
-
Diavola
- By: Jennifer Thorne
- Narrated by: Andi Arndt
- Length: 10 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Jennifer Thorne skewers all-too-familiar family dynamics in this sly, wickedly funny vacation-Gothic. Beautifully unhinged and deeply satisfying, Diavola is a sharp twist on the classic haunted house story, exploring loneliness, belonging, and the seemingly inescapable bonds of family mythology.
-
-
Witty, Original, VERY satisfying ending
- By Andrea S on 04-26-24
By: Jennifer Thorne
-
The Bog Wife
- A Novel
- By: Kay Chronister
- Narrated by: Shannon McManus
- Length: 10 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Since time immemorial, the Haddesley family has tended the cranberry bog. In exchange, the bog sustains them. The staunch seasons of their lives are governed by a strict covenant that is renewed each generation with the ritual sacrifice of their patriarch, and in return, the bog produces a “bog-wife.” Brought to life from vegetation, this woman is meant to carry on the family line. But when the bog fails—or refuses—to honor the bargain, the Haddesleys, a group of discordant siblings still grieving the mother who mysteriously disappeared years earlier, face an unknown future.
-
-
Excellent writing that backs out of its own ending
- By Corinne on 03-22-25
By: Kay Chronister
-
The Sapling Cage
- Daughters of the Empty Throne, Book 1
- By: Margaret Killjoy
- Narrated by: Jackie Meloche
- Length: 9 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Lorel has always dreamed of becoming a witch—learning magic, fighting monsters, and exploring the world beyond the small town where she and her mother run the stables. Even though a strange plague is killing the trees in the Kingdom of Cekon and witches are being blamed for it, Lorel wants nothing more than to join them. There’s only one problem: all witches are women, and she was born a boy. When the coven comes to claim her best friend, Lorel disguises herself in a dress and joins in her friend’s place, leaving home and her old self behind.
-
-
Hits all the genre tropes with flair and originality
- By Jannik Mennen on 01-12-25
By: Margaret Killjoy
-
A Child Alone with Strangers
- A Novel
- By: Philip Fracassi
- Narrated by: Sterling Boyns
- Length: 18 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When young Henry Thorne is kidnapped and held prisoner in a remote farmhouse surrounded by miles of forest, he finds himself connecting with a strange force living in the woods—using that bond to wreak havoc against his captors. Unknown to the boy, however, is that this ancient being has its own reasons for wanting the interlopers gone—there is something hidden beneath the house, tucked away in the dark, damp root cellar . . . waiting for its return.
-
-
Ugh
- By Holly on 04-06-24
By: Philip Fracassi
-
Bright I Burn
- A Novel
- By: Molly Aitken
- Narrated by: Avena Mansergh-Wallace
- Length: 6 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Alice, the daughter of a wealthy innkeeper in Kilkenny, grows up watching her mother wither under the constraints of family responsibilities—and she vows that she will never suffer the same fate. In time, she discovers she has a flair for making money, and takes her father's flourishing business to new heights. But as her riches and stature grow, so too do rumors about her private life. By the time she marries her fourth husband—the three earlier are dead—a storm of local gossip and resentment culminates in a life-threatening accusation.
-
-
Very descriptive
- By Susan Parks on 06-14-25
By: Molly Aitken
-
Asunder
- By: Kerstin Hall
- Narrated by: Alyssa Appleton
- Length: 19 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Karys Eska is a deathspeaker, locked into an irrevocable compact with Sabaster, a terrifying eldritch being—three-faced, hundred-winged, unforgiving—who has granted her the ability to communicate with the newly departed. She pays the rent by using her abilities to investigate suspicious deaths around the troubled city she calls home. When a job goes sideways and connects her to a dying stranger with some very dangerous secrets, her entire world is upended.
-
-
Asunder
- By G Family on 10-16-24
By: Kerstin Hall
-
Diavola
- By: Jennifer Thorne
- Narrated by: Andi Arndt
- Length: 10 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Jennifer Thorne skewers all-too-familiar family dynamics in this sly, wickedly funny vacation-Gothic. Beautifully unhinged and deeply satisfying, Diavola is a sharp twist on the classic haunted house story, exploring loneliness, belonging, and the seemingly inescapable bonds of family mythology.
-
-
Witty, Original, VERY satisfying ending
- By Andrea S on 04-26-24
By: Jennifer Thorne
-
Don't Let the Forest In
- By: CG Drews
- Narrated by: Michael Crouch
- Length: 8 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
High school senior Andrew Perrault finds refuge in the twisted fairy tales that he writes for the only person who can ground him to reality—Thomas Rye, the boy with perpetually ink-stained hands and hair like autumn leaves. And with his twin sister, Dove, inexplicably keeping him at a cold distance upon their return to Wickwood Academy, Andrew finds himself leaning on his friend even more. But something strange is going on with Thomas. His abusive parents have mysteriously vanished, and he arrives at school with blood on his sleeve.
-
-
Beautiful story but…
- By wheelchairmommy on 01-15-25
By: CG Drews
-
Victorian Psycho
- By: Virginia Feito
- Narrated by: Anna Burnett
- Length: 4 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Grim Wolds, England: Winifred Notty arrives at Ensor House prepared to play the perfect governess—she’ll dutifully tutor her charges, Drusilla and Andrew, tell them bedtime stories, and only joke about eating children. But long, listless days spent within the estate’s dreary confines come with an intimate knowledge of the perversions and pathetic preoccupations of the Pounds family—Mr. Pounds can’t keep his eyes off Winifred’s chest, and Mrs. Pounds takes a sickly pleasure in punishing Winifred for her husband’s wandering gaze.
-
-
meh
- By Pamela Y. S. on 02-13-25
By: Virginia Feito
-
William
- By: Mason Coile
- Narrated by: Honey St. Dennis
- Length: 5 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Henry is a brilliant engineer who, after untold hours spent in his home lab, has achieved the breakthrough of his career—he’s created an artificially intelligent consciousness. He calls the half-formed robot William. No one knows about William. Henry’s agoraphobia keeps him inside the house, and his fixation on his project keeps him up in the attic, away from everyone, including his pregnant wife, Lily.
-
-
Brilliant book
- By Zulma Gutierrez on 10-01-24
By: Mason Coile
-
The Eyes Are the Best Part
- By: Monika Kim
- Narrated by: Jaine Ye
- Length: 9 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A brilliantly inventive, subversive novel about a young woman unraveling, Monika Kim’s The Eyes Are the Best Part is a story of a family falling apart and trying to find their way back to each other, marking a bold new voice in horror that will leave listeners mesmerized and craving more.
-
-
slow burn, but well worth it
- By Michael Matos on 10-23-24
By: Monika Kim
-
Withered Hill
- By: David Barnett
- Narrated by: Ziggy Sobers
- Length: 11 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A year ago Sophie Wickham stumbled into the isolated Lancashire village of Withered Hill, naked, alone and with no memory of who she is. Surrounded by a thick ring of woodland, its inhabitants seem to be of another world, drenched in pagan, folklorish traditions. As Sophie struggles to regain the memories of her life from before, she quickly realises she is a prisoner after multiple failed escape attempts. But is it the locals who keep her trapped, with smiles on their faces, or something else, lurking in the woods?
-
-
Hit that folk horror nerve just right.
- By Anonymous User on 06-25-25
By: David Barnett
-
The Gathering
- A Novel
- By: C. J. Tudor
- Narrated by: Lorelei King
- Length: 10 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In a small Alaska town, a boy is found with his throat ripped out and all the blood drained from his body. The inhabitants of Deadhart haven’t seen a killing like this in twenty-five years. But they know who’s responsible: a member of the Colony, an ostracized community of vampyrs living in an old mine settlement deep in the woods.
-
-
Interesting setting
- By downtown on 06-10-24
By: C. J. Tudor
-
Guillotine
- By: Delilah S. Dawson
- Narrated by: Elisabeth Ashby
- Length: 5 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Thrift fashionista Dez Lane doesn't want to date Patrick Ruskin; she just wants to meet his mother, the editor-in-chief of Nouveau magazine. When he invites her to his family's big Easter reunion at their ancestral home, she's certain she can put up with his arrogance and fend off his advances long enough to ask Marie Caulfield-Ruskin for an internship someone with her pedigree could never nab through the regular submission route. But once all the family members are on the island and the ferry has departed, things take a dark turn.
-
-
SO FUN AND SURPRISINGLY GORY
- By Bradley on 09-27-24
-
Kill Creek
- By: Scott Thomas
- Narrated by: Bernard Setaro Clark
- Length: 15 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When best-selling horror author Sam McGarver is invited to spend Halloween night in one of the country's most infamous haunted houses, he reluctantly agrees. At least he won't be alone; joining him are three other masters of the macabre, writers who have helped shape modern horror. But what begins as a simple publicity stunt will become a fight for survival. The entity they have awakened will follow them, torment them, threatening to make them a part of the bloody legacy of Kill Creek.
-
-
UNUSUAL PREMISE, COULDN'T STOP LISTENING
- By Linda Likes to Learn on 12-02-17
By: Scott Thomas
-
Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit
- By: Jeanette Winterson
- Narrated by: Jeanette Winterson
- Length: 6 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Jeanette is a bright and rebellious orphan who is adopted into an evangelical household in the dour, industrial North of England and finds herself embroidering grim religious mottoes and shaking her little tambourine for Jesus. But as this budding missionary comes of age, and comes to terms with her unorthodox sexuality, the peculiar balance of her God-fearing household dissolves. Jeanette’s insistence on listening to truths of her own heart and mind - and on reporting them with wit and passion - makes for an unforgettable chronicle of an eccentric, moving passage into adulthood.
-
-
quirky and odd
- By Kelly on 01-06-20
-
Shark Heart
- A Love Story
- By: Emily Habeck
- Narrated by: Karissa Vacker, Shaun Taylor-Corbett, Soneela Nankani
- Length: 7 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For Lewis and Wren, their first year of marriage is also their last. A few weeks after their wedding, Lewis receives a rare diagnosis. He will retain most of his consciousness, memories, and intellect, but his physical body will gradually turn into a great white shark. As Lewis develops the features and impulses of one of the most predatory creatures in the ocean, his complicated artist’s heart struggles to make peace with his unfulfilled dreams.
-
-
Interesting, unique story involving mutations
- By Nicholas Divine on 12-15-23
By: Emily Habeck
-
The Cautious Traveller's Guide to the Wastelands
- A Novel
- By: Sarah Brooks
- Narrated by: Katie Leung, Kobna Holdbrook-Smith
- Length: 9 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
There is only one way to travel across the Wastelands: on the Trans-Siberian Express, a train as famous for its luxury as for its danger. The train is never short of passengers, eager to catch sight of Wastelands creatures more miraculous and terrifying than anything they could imagine. But on the train's last journey, something went horribly wrong, though no one seems to remember what exactly happened. Not even Zhang Weiwei, who has spent her life onboard and thought she knew all of the train’s secrets.
-
-
Narration cadence too clipped
- By ulan25 on 08-03-24
By: Sarah Brooks
-
Everything the Darkness Eats
- By: Eric LaRocca
- Narrated by: André Santana
- Length: 5 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
After a recent string of disappearances in a small Connecticut town, a grieving widower with a grim secret is drawn into a dangerous ritual of dark magic by a powerful and mysterious older gentleman named Heart Crowley. Meanwhile, a member of local law enforcement tasked with uncovering the culprit responsible for the bizarre disappearances soon begins to learn of a current of unbridled hatred simmering beneath the guise of the town’s idyllic community.
-
-
Immensely dark. Don’t believe the negativity.
- By Amazon Customer on 08-21-23
By: Eric LaRocca
Pros:
The reader was pretty talented and moved the story along.
There was a lot of description throughout the story, some places it was helpful in other places, fluff.
The story had a definite beginning, middle and end.
The climax of the story was exciting but short lived.
Cons:
I felt that the story was slow. Nothing really happened until about 3/4 of the book.
Sometimes the description was a little too much.
The character that the book is named after had very little to do with the story which I found a little bit confusing.
Once the story did get moving, it was over very quickly so kind of anti-climactic.
While I didn’t dislike this book, it would not be the first one I would recommend to someone else. As I said in my review title, might be good for a beach read, or as a filler if you’re waiting for the next book in your favorite series.
Beach read at best
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Maybe it was a product of the times. Maybe you just had to be there.
Following this a claim the author had a hard time producing a sophomore effort. “King Nyx” is sophomoric in every sense.
The number of potential horror and Gothic themes started in this book is overwhelming. Yet none of them plays out in a way truly worthy of the buildup.
The childish simple sentence structure pros that seems to have been an asset in Bakis’ first work are made more tedious and difficult to admire by the narrator of this weird fiction.
Many threads, few worth following
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.