The Silent Tower

The Windrose Chronicles

By: Barbara Hambly

Narrated by: Nicole Poole

A wizard and a computer programmer from opposite sides of an interdimensional portal must work together to save their worlds from destruction....

In a world where wizards are relegated to ghettos, it is no surprise to see one murdered in the street. But for Stonne Caris, a young warrior monk who sees the killing and gives chase to the culprit, there is nothing ordinary about seeing a murderer disappear into a black, inky portal. The Archmage sends him in search of Antryg Windrose - a half-mad mage who understands the nature of these passages between dimensions.

On the other side of the Void is Joanna, a programmer as mild as Caris is deadly. She has spent her life in cubicles, staring into computer terminals, as far from heroism as she can get. But when the power that is crossing between dimensions draws her through the Void, she finds herself battling to save a world she never even knew existed.

©1986 Barbara Hambly (P)2012 Audible, Inc.

Love these Characters

I enjoy Barbara Hambly's writings, but especially these characters. Entry is an absolute all-time favorite. Ms Poole does a wonderful job breathing life into the story. An excellent listen.

Addictive fantasy, exciting action

Where does The Silent Tower rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

One of the top five books I like to reread. Now that it is finally an audiobook, I'll be listening to it again and again. Time and again, I fall for the characters and have to read this and its two companions (The Silicon Mage and The Dog Wizard) to find out what happens to them...

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Silent Tower?

Early in the book and before we know what is going on, the terrified heroine (who is all alone at work in the middle of the night) locks herself in a broom closet because a black hole has opened in the corridor ahead of her -- and then something tries the doorknob. The hair on my arms always rises when I read that scene. There are better scenes later on, but that would spoil the story for you.

Which character – as performed by Nicole Poole – was your favorite?

I love Antryg Windrose, but I want to be Joanna. She sees herself as shy, but she also rises to the occasion when necessary. What would you do if you were kidnapped to another universe? Joanne doesn't curl up and die, like I would.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes. Everyone else had to wait for me to pause the exciting story before I would listen to their humdrum dialogue.

Any additional comments?

If you like this book, you should listen to the other 2 books in the trilogy, Silicon Mage and Dog Wizard. Stranger at the Wedding is also entertaining and is set in the same universe, but it doesn't include any of the main Windrose characters. And in a similar vein, Barbara Hambly's The Time of the Dark is also wizards and California visitors and not to be missed!

Interesting story but dragging narration

This fantasy is set in two universes: a fictional kingdom of swords and mages where magic is alive and well, and California of the 1980s. The characters, some from each world, are compelling and the twists in the story are excellent.

Be aware that this is the start of a series and the author definitely wants you to buy the next book...

The narration, unfortunately, was very slow and dull. Speeding your reader to 1.25X works better, but still not great. There was some questionable pronunciations, too. I will not continue this series if it's read by the same narrator.

One of my favorites!

I read this book years ago, and loved re-vistiting it through audio! definitely a great story!
The technology of our world is a little dated, but the magic of the other world is realistic and relatable, the prose is similar to that of a gothic horror novel, and the story has strong action all throughout.
I highly recommend this audiobook!

Good Listen

Love this book. I'm a big Hambly fan..just a natural mystery writer combining wizard and computers. Her version of wizards and magic seem very believable. I recommend