Kill the Beast

By: Serra Swift

Narrated by: Moira Quirk

“Moira Quirk's narration of this fantasy is outstanding...Quirk is a master of accents, which she employs to great advantage.”—AudioFile (Earphones Award Winner)

The Witcher meets Howl’s Moving Castle in this debut original faerie tale of revenge, redemption, and friendship—for fans of T. Kingfisher, Naomi Novik, and cozy fantasy with a dash of gritty adventure.

The night Lyssa Cadogan's brother was murdered by a faerie-made monster known as the Beast, she made him a promise: she would find a way to destroy the immortal creature and avenge his death. For thirteen years, she has been hunting faeries and the abominations they created. But in all that time, the one Beast she is most desperate to find has never resurfaced.

Until she meets Alderic Casimir de Laurent, a melodramatic dandy with a coin purse bigger than his brain. Somehow, he has found the monster’s lair, and—even more surprising—retrieved one of its claws. A claw Lyssa needs in order to forge a sword that can kill the Beast.

Alderic is ill-equipped for a hunt and almost guaranteed to get himself killed. But as the two of them search for the rest of the materials that will be the Beast's undoing, Alderic reveals hidden depths: dark secrets that he guards as carefully as Lyssa guards hers. Before long, and against Lyssa's better judgment, an unlikely friendship begins to bloom—one that will either lead to the culmination of Lyssa's quest for vengeance, or spell doom for them both.

A Macmillan Audio production from Tor Books

Critic reviews

"I devoured this book! Full of revenge, monsters, and found family, Kill the Beast is riveting and thrilling!"—Sarah Beth Durst, New York Times bestselling author of The Spellshop

"Heartfelt, dark, and yet very fun, Kill the Beast is a fresh fairy tale that pulls apart old tropes and artfully reconstructs itself as a new story about friendship, grief, and forgiveness."—J.R. Dawson, the author of The First Bright Thing

"This cheerful, brawling adventure has everything you could want: bloody revenge, exquisite tailoring, and a very good dog."—Davinia Evans, author of Notorious Sorcerer

"A glorious adventure, filled with heart and heroics, friendship and redemption, monsters and hope. I love Lyssa and Alderic, and I loved this book."—H.G. Parry, author of A Far Better Thing

"I wholly adored this fun, bloody, and phenomenal fantasy debut. With a queer friendship story, a feral bisexual main character, and a lot of heart, this is definitely one you'll want to get your hands on!"— M. Stevenson, author of Behooved

"Swift’s novel falls in the twilight between melancholy and adventure, punctuated with brutality, occasional gore, and shocking moments of joy. The foreshadowing is excellent, stringing action scenes and a delightful berserker/sunshine dynamic on a thread of delicious tension.... An excellent recommendation for all fantasy readers."—Library Journal (starred review)

"Fans of folklore and fairy tales will enjoy pondering the tinges of "Beauty and the Beast" woven into Swift's debut."—Booklist

"Adventurous and warmhearted."—Shelf Awareness

Great story and perfect narration

I really enjoyed the story. It is a very loose, fairytale derivative, but feels completely fresh and engaging throughout the story. The narration is superb!

Good spin on a classic fairytale

I like the way the author just drops you into this story and then develops the characters and the world. I could have used a little more explanation about how certain things worked; but overall it was a good listen.

Fantastic!

Great story and great characters! Pulls you in immediately and leaves you wanting more!

Beautiful and poignant

This was such a special, touching, lovely book and so well written. The narration deserves 6 stars - Moira Quirk turned this into a masterpiece of an experience. I didn’t want it to end but I felt so satisfied when it did. I can’t wait for more books from this author!!

Loved this!!

The banter!! So great. And the focus on a platonic love made my heart fuzzy. Love love love.