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The Monster of Elendhaven

Audiobook
1 of 1 copy available
1 of 1 copy available

"[Narrator Daniel Henning] fully commits to this tale, providing a nearly breathless and deliciously evil-sounding narration while also developing unique voices and presenting surprisingly layered characters." — AudioFile Magazine
"A black tide of perversity, violence, and lush writing. I loved it." —Joe Hill
Debut author Jennifer Giesbrecht paints a darkly compelling fantasy of revenge in The Monster of Elendhaven, a dark fantasy about murder, a monster, and the magician who loves both.

The city of Elendhaven sulks on the edge of the ocean. Wracked by plague, abandoned by the South, stripped of industry and left to die. But not everything dies so easily. A thing without a name stalks the city, a thing shaped like a man, with a dark heart and long pale fingers yearning to wrap around throats. A monster who cannot die. His frail master sends him out on errands, twisting him with magic, crafting a plan too cruel to name, while the monster's heart grows fonder and colder and more cunning.
These monsters of Elendhaven will have their revenge on everyone who wronged the city, even if they have to burn the world to do it.

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    • Publisher's Weekly

      June 3, 2019
      Full of foul, intoxicating odors and fouler characters, this disquieting short novel employs serial suicide and multiple homicides to offer criticism of its decadent setting. In vaguely Victorian, coal-grimed Elendhaven, Johann, a supernatural companion mistakenly summoned by sorcerer Florian Leickenbloom, becomes Florian’s assistant in crafting a plan to reintroduce a deadly plague. Florian, last heir of the fallen Leickenbloom fortune, schemes to collapse Elendhaven’s nouveau riche elites and take vengeance on the neighboring countries who profited on the devastation wrought by the previous plague outbreak. Opposing him and Johann is a Mage Hunter who’s charged with removing either Florian’s magic or his life. Giesbrecht tries for a sardonic tone in showing how societies deserve the monsters that they produce, but the imagery of pestilence and splattered bodily fluids tips the balance from picaresque to grotesque. Her work goes beyond grimdark to something more like grimglum, and few readers will be able to stick it out even for the brief length of this misery-marinated story.

    • AudioFile Magazine
      Daniel Henning gives a compelling narration of this dark fantasy novella. The story follows Johann, a supernatural human-like monster who kills people for his own pleasure and education. Johann plans to murder Herr Leikenbloom, but they wind up unlikely cohorts in a revenge scheme against those who wronged them. Henning fully commits to this tale, providing a nearly breathless and deliciously evil-sounding narration while also developing unique voices and presenting surprisingly layered characters. Squeamish listeners should look elsewhere, though. This audiobook verges on the grotesque and is a difficult listen, despite its relatively short length. Those willing to stick around will find that the story is well served by Henning's theatrical performance. A.T.N. © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine

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Languages

  • English

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