Graceling

Tiktok made me buy it!

By: Kristin Cashore

Narrated by: Emma Powell

In a world where people born with an exceptional skill, known as a Grace, are feared and exploited, Katsa carries the burden of a skill even she despises: the Grace of killing.

She lives under the command of her Uncle Randa, King of the Middluns, and is expected to carry out his dirty work, punnishing and torturing anyone who displeases him. Breaking arms and cutting off fingers are her stock-in-trade. Finding life under his rule increasingly unbearable Katsa forms an underground Council, whose purpose is to combat the destructive behaviour of the seven kings - after all, the Middluns is only one of the Seven Kingdoms, each of them ruled by their own king and his personal agenda for power.

When the Council hears that the King of Liend's father has been kidnapped Katsa investigates . . . and stumbles across a mystery. Who would want to kidnap him, and why? And who was the extraordinary Graced fighter who challenged her fighting skills, for the first time, as she and the Council rushed the old man to saftey?

Something dark and deadly is rising in the north and creeping across the continent, and behind it all lurks the shadowy figure of a one-eyed king . . .

(p) 2012 Orion Publishing Group©2009 Kristin Cashore

Absolutely Mesmerising!

Would you consider the audio edition of Graceling to be better than the print version?

Yes, though during the action scenes I was desperate to ensure the survival of key people, the audio version made sure I savoured the writing, the emotions and the subtle power shifts

What other book might you compare Graceling to and why?

It is in the league of the great series: Eragon, The Hunger Games, The Lynburn Legacy, Lunar Chronicles, The Mortal Instruments. It has the folklore feeling of Eragon and Lynburn, the war of The Hunger Games, the cheekiness of the Instruments and the creative setting of Lunar

Have you listened to any of Emma Powell’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Only the subsequent novels to this one, she is fab in all 3

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

When the two main characters come to together on the right side, and trust each, it's a pivotal moment

Any additional comments?

Loved it and the next two books, hungry for the fourth!

Nine times!

I've read each of them nine times already. I think that speaks for itself, right?

Historia muy plana

La idea prometía más. Creo que nos queda a deber en emoción. Lo rescatable es la lectura de Emma Powell

Brilliant

I love this book and its characters so very much. The narrator does the voices justice.

Straightforward Fantasy, Good Narration

Graceling is a modern throwback to the fantasy books of the 1980s and 1990s - a straightforward story, relatively low key romance, and complete lack of over the top heroines and too-modern-sounding teens. But at the same time, some of the more frustrating YA staples are here: adults are evil and the guys all have a case of insta-love on our heroine. But it is decently enough written to keep me entertained with the Audible version.

Katsa is a graceling - blessed with an ability (in her case, ability to kill easily) that marks her as different. Her uncle, the king, uses her as his personal enforcer, sending her out to hurt those who displease him. On one such trip, Katsa encounters a young man, a prince from a neighboring country, and after that, their fates will be entwined as she must learn to use her abilities compassionately and not as her Uncle's thug. But he has a secret grace and she will be drawn into politics of the world on a grand scale.

This is a stand alone though there are two other books in this same world (one a prequel of sorts and the other a sequel but both with different characters). I did feel the book floats around quite a bit and lacks a good solid structure. As well, it can get tiring hearing Katsa echo the same thoughts over and over. Yes, we get the idea you don't want to marry. No, we don't need all the guys falling all over you even though you're supposedly deadly. And yes, we have a hero who is once again just a bit too good to be true.

I would probably rate this around 3.5 stars. It's nice to see a return to more traditional fantasy (rather than the ubiquitous YA urban fantasy) but at the same time, I wish the characters were a bit more distinct and multilayered.