Review: The Wooden Prince

The Wooden Prince by John Claude Bemis is on the shortlist for the 2017 Young Listeners Audie Award. It's the first book in a new series, Out of Abaton. Abaton is a magical kingdom, but it has ties to the Venician Empire (Venice). Book one shares snippets about Abaton, but all the action takes place in the Venician Empire.

Bemis shares a new interpretation of the classic story Pinocchio. In The Wooden Prince, Pinocchio is a automa servant who carries something mysterious inside is chest. He is sent to the alchemist Geppetto by the ruler of Abaton, Prestor John. Geppetto is in hiding. The airmen of the emperor are after Geppetto and Pinocchio. Prestor John is imprisoned and his daughter, Princess Lazuli is determined to rescue him. As the story unfolds, their paths cross and the Abatonians band together to overcome the evil forces of the emperor.

This story is not what I expected at all. The magical world is built on alchemy and elemental forces (earth, wind, fire, water) which are attached to magical creatures (gnomes, sylphs, djinn, undines). Some readers might place this story under the steampunk genre. I personally didn't feel a heavy steampunk vibe. The story does wrap up well in book one with openings for book two. No giant cliff hanger for those who are uncertain to continue with the series. I'm not sure I will continue with book two.

The Wooden Prince under the shortlist for the Young Listeners Audie category and after finishing the story I'm questioning the placement. Shouldn't The Wooden Prince be in the next step up with Middle Grade? Young Listeners goes up to age 8 which is around second grade. This story is pretty in-depth with magic, battle, new worlds, etc. Readers can even download a glossary of terms online. I am sure there are some children who would happily jump into this tale, but in general this is not a book I would recommend to third graders and younger. If you have ideas or thoughts on the The Wooden Prince, please let me know. I would be very interested.

Audie awards are given for the production of the piece and this is a well crafted audiobook. Oasis Audio put a lot of time in adding music, sound effects, and voice adjustments for some of the magical characters. Narrator Ralph Lister was a fine voice to hear throughout the book. I have previously heard Lister reading The Haunting of Charles Dickens and The Flint Heart. I liked Maestro's cranky voice and attitude. The undine's voice was the hardest to hear while I was listening. His voice was very low and being accompanied with sound effects made the voice very muddy to me.

The added sound effects and music were a fine addition. The music is by Vernian Process. The sound effects helped and hindered the story. Some of the squelch noises were disgusting - eating and arrow pulling. Other sound effects help set the mood of the story - night crickets or a fire burning. I think sound effects were an interesting choice to add.

Reviewed from a library copy.

Audio Book Details...
The Wooden Prince by John Claude Bemis
Series: Book 1, Out of Abaton
Read by Ralph Lister
Music by Vernian Process
Produced by Oasis Audio
Number of Discs: 8
Total Time: 9 Hours, 39 Minutes
Release Date: March 2016
ISBN: 9781613757666

Review: The Case of the Counterfeit Criminals

Lady Ada and Mary return in the third Wollstonecraft Detective Agency adventure, The Case of the Counterfeit Criminals. Ada and Mary are joined by Allegra, Jane, Charles, and the staff at Ada's home. Book three closely follows book two, The Case of the Girl in Grey. In the third installment, "The game is truly afoot in this quirky caper involving blood-sucking leeches, an asthmatic pug, smoke bombs, secret elevators, diabolical disguises, and wicked word-play."

The characters remain true to their personalities that were shared in the previous two stories. Sometimes it can be hard to follow all the characters through the story, but that could be just me listening instead of reading it. I did listen to book three while in the car so the story was a bit broken up instead of at one straight go. The final disc in the three disc set was my favorite. There is a letter delivery scene that I really enjoyed. The ending tied into a story from book one, The Case of the Missing Moonstone. I am intrigued to read the next book in the series. Author Stratford can't leave his listeners (or readers) hanging on this small book ledge!

I would recommend this series to families or someone who enjoyed The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place series. There is a website for The Wollstonecraft Detective Agency if you'd like to wander around Ada and Mary's world.

Nicola Barber returns to narrate The Case of the Counterfeit Criminals. Yahoo! I heard the characters come back to the life from the previous stories. The female and male characters were enjoyable. I still really enjoy how she says, "clandestine." I hope Barber will return for the next book.

Reviewed from a Audiobook Jukebox copy. Thank you, HighBridge Audio!

Audio Book Details...
The Case of the Counterfeit Criminals by Jordan Stratford
Series: Book 3, The Wollstonecraft Detective Agency
Read by Nicola Barber
Produced by HighBridge Audio
Number of Discs: 3
Total Time: 2 Hours, 50 Minutes
Release Date: January 2017
ISBN: 9781622314300