Goldenhand
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Narrated by:
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Heather Wilds
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By:
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Garth Nix
About this listen
Goldenhand takes place six months after the events of Abhorsen and follows the novella Nicholas Sayre and the Creature in the Case, which is featured in Across the Wall.
Lirael lost one of her hands in the binding of Orannis, but now she has a new hand, one of gilded steel and Charter Magic. On a dangerous journey, Lirael returns to her childhood home, the Clayr’s Glacier, where she was once a Second Assistant Librarian. There, a young woman from the distant North brings her a message from her long-dead mother, Arielle. It is a warning about the Witch with No Face. But who is the Witch, and what is she planning? Lirael must use her new powers to save the Old Kingdom from this great danger—and it must be forestalled not only in the living world but also in the cold, remorseless river of Death.
That said, the story is great. Anything Old Kingdom makes me happy, and this was nearly everything I'd hoped for. Drama, history, tying up old loose ends, creating new ones, and new bits of the world-building for which Nix is so famed. This last point is the best, as you might reasonably expect :)
However, the narration really lets this book down. I want to think it's because I loved Tim Curry's reading of the original trilogy so much, but it's more than that. The emphasis patterns sound so staged and unnatural, to my ears, I almost gave up on the story. It might sound silly and petty, but it makes such a difference to me. My advice: if you have any choice in the matter, read this book rather than listen to it. But definitely experience it somehow :)
Decent story, terrible narration
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What made the experience of listening to Goldenhand the most enjoyable?
I have been listening to this series since it began (first bought Sabriel on tape), so hearing the next installment is like catching up with old friends. I listen to two YA series from my youth nearly every year, HDM and the Old Kingdom. Goldenhand will not disappoint like-minded fans.Who was your favorite character and why?
I thought Ferrin was a great addition to the cast, another fiery independent female lead.Did Heather Wilds do a good job differentiating each of the characters? How?
Not really. I found her voice too staccato, and unable to differentiate emotions or characters. From the start, it sounded like she was putting on a specific voice for the book, so the narrator's voice sounded inauthentic. There was little of the depth and range displayed by voice actors like Tim Curry, Martin Jarvis, or Lesley Sharp. However, I knew this from the sample and purchased because of the love of this fictional world and the lack of time I have for physically reading a book. At points, I got used to Heather Wilds's style but at others it pulled me out of the story.Any additional comments?
I would have liked to have seen more of the older characters, but I am hopeful for the next installment.Finally!
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Charter magical
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Didn't like the changes.
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The narrator is simply awful though, with an extremely irritating intonation pattern that doesn't seem to have any relationship with the text she's reading.
Sadly the weakest of the Old Kingdom series so far
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