Graceling by Kristin Cashore

Posted by Riklaa on August 3, 2010 at 11:59pm



Graceling by Kristin Cashore

If you had the power to kill with your bare hands, what would you do with it?
Feared as a killer since her childhood, graceling Lady Katsa uses her unusual gift in the service of her uncle, King Randa. Gracelings are beings with special talents—swimming, storytelling, dancing. Katsa’s Grace is considered more useful: her ability to fight and kill is unequaled in the seven kingdoms. She is beginning to rebel against her uncle’s orders to kill or maim his more disloyal subjects when her path crosses that of Po. A young foreign prince with a mysterious Grace as well as wisdom beyond his years, Po convinces Katsa that she can stand up to the brutal king and put her gift to better uses. When Katsa joins Po on a quest, she throws herself headlong into a rescue mission and finds romance, self-knowledge, and justice along the way. Although many fantasy writers create intriguing alternate worlds and worthy adventures, as Cashore does in this well-imagined novel, she also offers believable characters with enough depth, subtlety, and experience to satisfy older readers. Katsa is a heroine who can physically overpower most men she meets, yet her strength is not achieved by becoming manlike. She may care little for fine clothes, but from her first kill to her first experience of lovemaking, Katsa’s womanhood is integral to her character. An impressive first novel, this well-crafted and rewarding fantasy will leave readers hoping for more.

"As Lady Katsa, Chelsea Mixon projects an utterly natural range of emotions that reveal Katsa’s efforts to reconcile her Grace for killing with her quest for social justice; Zachary Exton, as Prince Po, serves as Katsa’s sharp-witted foil through high adventure and romantic sparring, his balanced tones touched with an edge of mystery as listeners decipher the limits of his Grace. Both Mixon’s and Exton’s authentically teen voices forge a strong connection to young adults struggling with issues of identity and responsibility -- Mary Burkey"
    — Hornbook
 
"Kristin Cashore's well-developed characters are completely realized in this full-cast production. Chelsea Mixon portrays Lady Katsa, who was born with a horrifying "grace" for killing. Mixon's nuanced portrayal gives an inside view of the confusions that torment this "graceling." . . . Even minor characters are richly rendered. Their interactions, thoughts, and actions are well integrated in David Baker's strong narration, which animates events and astutely measures emotions. Musical interludes, both regal and somber, are as plentiful as the plot twists, and the result is a production listeners won’t soon forget."
Earphones Award

Unabridged
Read by David Baker, Chelsea Mixon, Zachary Exton (Full cast performance)
Length: 12 hrs and 32 mins
Format: 12 mp3 files (~ 349 MB)
Bit rate: 64 kbps

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Tags: Audio-Book, Fantasy, Full-Cast
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