SO MANY audio/narration errors!!!

Holy buckets! I've never listened to a book that was so poorly produced (and I've listened to hundreds of audiobooks) At least once per hour, the narrator will repeat him/herself, or repeat and change a word. It's so jarring, and there's no excuse for THAT many mistakes.

3 people found this helpful

The perfect listen

It is rare that an audiobook truly captures the personalities of a book, but the narrators were phenomenal!

1 person found this helpful

Amazing story - can’t wait for the next book!

I loved this! The world building was rich and the story was engaging. I can not wait for the 2nd book in this series!

1 person found this helpful

What an adventure

I really enjoyed this story. So different and I really felt like I could see the world being built. I am excited to see where the rest of the series takes us! I loved all the audiobooks narrators voices. They really made the story come alive.

1 person found this helpful

Epic Desert Fantasy with Jinn and Stories

I love epic fantasy with adventure, strong female characters, and found family. Lately, I've also been keeping an eye out for fantasy books with deserts and jinn, so this was right up my alley. My fingers were crossed as I started this book, hoping it wasn't going to be another let down. This was FANTASTIC. Credit where it's due - this book deserves all the praise it's been getting.

This isn't a retelling. You can see the influence from One Thousand and One Nights, but this is an original story that combined a lot of familiar ingredients. The story begins slowly, so it may not appeal to readers/listeners who prefer a faster pace. In multi POV books, I usually struggle to truly engage with all the POV characters, so it's always a good sign when I find myself liking all of them. All the narratives felt essential and interesting. All three were excellently portrayed. I loved the reversal of roles with some of the main male and female characters; it was so convincing. I loved it start to finish, and I will be re-reading this before the next installment comes out.

The narration was solid. I didn't have any trouble engaging with the POV characters, but it could have been better. This book is so epic, so the narration should have been epic too. With three narrators, this production was primed for success.

This audiobook was a credit well spent. The author has stated that her original story was about twice as long, and I am very interested in seeing some of those deleted scenes and side stories released in a collection.

1 person found this helpful

Wonderful Retelling of 1001 Arabian Nights!

Wow! Was really blown away by this one! There was magic, monsters, and myths, and it was a joy to hear beloved characters brought to life in new ways. All the old favorites are in there, just under new names. The narration is told from three perspectives: A female "Aladdin" was very well done, a male "Jasmine", and one of the 40 Thieves. I loved how the women protagonists were strong but still very feminine, and how neither of them had a love interest as their main objective. Sure there were guys on the side, but these girls had a mission to be done and didn't get distracted from their main goals.

1 person found this helpful

Good listen

I recognized a number of elements in this book from middle eastern lore besides the Jinn. I liked how they were woven into the story line.

Action, adventure, magic, betrayal, revenge, ...

 The Stardust Thief is one of the best books I have ever read. Unforgettable characters that are well developed and lots of action that centers around all types of twists and turns.  As the story progresses, we learn more about the characters' pasts and what has made them into who they are at present.  The world development and magic usage are impressive.  The concept of relics and magically imbued objects allows magic to be used by all. Nothing ever is what it seems. The magic could be simple and practically useless or life-altering, often allowing the unexpected to occur.  This story is filled with action and adventure as they start in the Sultan's city and travel across the desert searching for a powerful relic.  However, as truths become known and lies unravel, and we begin to see the past merge with the present, will the Midnight merchant discover the truth and who she can trust before it's too late?  
     I have nothing negative to say about this book.  I give it 5 out of 5 stars.  I recommend this book for those that enjoy fantasy.  If you want action, adventure, magical beings, betrayal, and revenge offset by hope, friendships, found family, strength, and sacrifice, this book is perfect.  I had trouble putting it down and enjoyed trying to predict what would happen after each new twist was revealed.  I eagerly await the next book.

So glad I found this!

The Stardust Theif tells a thrilling fantasy adventure story and establishes an interesting world full of djinn, princes, and thieves. I also appreciate the author's ability to subvert common fantasy tropes, as this gives the book a freshness that is often lacking in the genre. There were a few editing errors with the audio narration, but they weren't frequent enough to be an issue for me. The narrators themselves each did a stellar job voicing characters and creating an engaging audio experience. I hope they are able to narrate the next book in the series!

Confusing

This book has all the elements of a good story - epic scenery, myths reimagined, interesting characters - but the writing is so convoluted and confusing it’s impossible to keep track of what’s happening. Where was the editor on this?? Multiple times someone moves silently while making noise, or carries something in two hands then somehow uses a compass that would mean they had three hands?? The battles are impossible to keep track of. Essential parts of the characters are contradicted constantly. One character sole purpose kills jinn to avenge her murdered family. However, she also says many times she does not concern herself with the past. Hmmmm.
The performances are also not the best. One of the readers sounds like he has a cold and breathes distractingly loudly. One sometimes sounds like a voice coming out of my computer from 2005. Again, where is the editor? The producer? Give the author and readers direction, please!
I love the myths in this story, so I hope someone else writes with this subject matter. This is one to skip.