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Rider: Spirals of Destiny: Book 1
- Narrated by: Christine Padovan
- Series: Spirals of Destiny, Book 1
- Length: 8 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged Audiobook
- Categories: Children's Audiobooks, Literature & Fiction
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What listeners say about Rider: Spirals of Destiny: Book 1
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- AudiobookDevotee
- 10-03-22
A good book
This was a pretty decent book. The story is good and the main characters are fairly compelling. I dislike the facistic vibes that are present in seemingly all military fantasy series but I think that might be addressed in later books in this universe.
The main problem is that this was published in 2010, the sequel in 2012 and the conclusion of the trilogy(?) is still outstanding. I don't want to read the sequel if the remaining books will never materialise. Fair warning this not a standalone novel with an ending, the conclusion feels more like a stopgap before the story continues in the next book.
Other than that I liked seeing the characters grow and develop over the course of the book. I was pleasantly surprised by the various developments that weren't obvious as I was reading.
The narration was not great though. The main character's voice was good but all of the older women in authority positions sounded squeaky and young. The men didn't sound right either. I think the narrator gave some characters more angry and more irrationality than perhaps the author was trying to convey. There were several times that I thought the voice didn't match the text. There were a few minor mispronunciations as well.
Overall not a bad book but as of 2022 it is the start of an unfinished series.
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- ian mcnamara
- 19-12-15
A pleasant surprise for me.
I am not normally a fan of Fantasy, my partner recommended this book and I picked it up with trepidation. The synopsis for this book intrigue me as I do you like stories about unicorns and other mythical creatures. Normally I am not keen on magic in books, however the way magic is portrayed in this one really interested me. I found the story similar in some ways to the inheritance cycle. I would recommend that anybody give this a try although I would not recommend it for very young readers. When I got used to her I also find narrator read the book very well and was very good at portraying different voices for different characters.
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- Chris Cunliffe
- 09-07-15
Another fun story from bernheimer
enjoyable story even as an adult. bernheimer does not disappoint. and if i had been the intended age audience (teenage girl) I would have loved it even more . . shame about the narrator though
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- Kindle Customer
- 05-01-13
A Horse Lover's Book-- An Enchanting Fantasy
I really enjoyed this book. I worried a little after reading some of the reviews. The high pitched voice was a little much, but nothing I couldn't handle. If you've ever been a child who wanted to see or hug a unicorn you will LOVE this book. I'm not as much of a horse lover as my sister, but I couldn't resist the description. I got this title so she could listen to it as well as myself. I can hardly wait for her to read it. My sister made not just myself but everyone around her see the beauty in horses everywhere. I listened to it first to make sure it was clean enough and it is! There are a couple of mentions of sexual overtones and that was it. Great read for all ages. Don't know that it will stay that way in the whole series, but this book is great. I hope he is able to keep it fairly clean.
This book reminds me a little of the Dragon Riders of Pern, but a lot more happens in this book than ever happens in one of those. The link with the unicorns is somewhat similar, I think.
Kayleigh is a great main character. She goes through a lot and is really tested. I've read other books with somewhat similar themes, but this book never felt old or too familiar. There is quite a twist at the end that was not altogether unexpected-- in part, but the whole was different than I expected. I will say it does leave you with your mouth hanging open saying WHEN will the next book come out!! It can't come out too soon for me.
20 people found this helpful
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- jane
- 01-08-13
surprisingly good
I was surprised that I could not stop listening as this is not my normal style of book. Now I really want the next book or two only to find I can not buy the next book, Damn come on audible
17 people found this helpful
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- allison
- 03-07-12
Great Book for all ages
If you could sum up Rider: Spirals of Destiny: Book 1 in three words, what would they be?
A strong woman
Who was your favorite character and why?
Kayleigh she starts off as a week willed girl but changes into a brave warrior.
Which scene was your favorite?
Yes I think the book was aimed at teenagers, but it kept me interested and I'll continuethe series. There were plenty of plot twist.
Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?
nothing
Any additional comments?
I think the story has a lot of merit in the way that a person is responsible for his or her own actions. Also growing up means leaving behind all you know and following a new goal.
15 people found this helpful
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- Julia
- 04-12-13
Love this Story!
Would you listen to Rider: Spirals of Destiny: Book 1 again? Why?
I really loved the story and it was a nice change from what I usually listen to. The story was over so fast and leaves you at a cliffhanger. I looked up the authors next book and I am so glad to see it will be out soon.
Have you listened to any of Christine Padovan’s other performances before? How does this one compare?
She was not horrible but the high pitched voices were a little weird for me...not my favorite but the story was worth it.
14 people found this helpful
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- Suzann
- 14-07-13
where is the rest of the series
Would you consider the audio edition of Rider: Spirals of Destiny: Book 1 to be better than the print version?
n/a
What other book might you compare Rider: Spirals of Destiny: Book 1 to and why?
Mercedes Lackey's Valdemar series, Alexis Morgan's Warriors of the Mist series
What does Christine Padovan bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?
it was kind of fun hearing the different voices
Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
a little of both
Any additional comments?
it was a great book, but after playing it could find no record of the rest of the series ever being written. So there is a great beginning and no end
14 people found this helpful
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- Nicholas
- 23-01-12
Excellent story
What did you love best about Rider: Spirals of Destiny: Book 1?
The story just draws you in and makes you want to listen to it more and listen to the next book in the series.
Who was your favorite character and why?
The main character and her discovery of the powers that she posses.
Which scene was your favorite?
The description of the magic in the story
14 people found this helpful
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- Crossing Rebecca
- 07-02-15
Fun coming of age, flawed but enjoyable reading
If you could sum up Rider: Spirals of Destiny: Book 1 in three words, what would they be?
Unicorn Rider Matures
Who was your favorite character and why?
I like Kayly (not sure how the name is spelled). I also liked her unicorn. They struggle to do the right thing even when everything is going against them.
Did Christine Padovan do a good job differentiating all the characters? How?
Reasonably good. Her voice for some of the characters was an annoyingly childlike high pitched voice that did not seem likely for a mature female soldier. Accents work better than pitch for this kind of change.
Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?
I was struck by the ongoing struggle in Kayly's heart to understand and move beyond her mother's rejection of her.
Any additional comments?
Christine Padovan needs to learn how to pronounce the words. Since I am grown and know how to pronounce large words, this was only irritating. But I love recommending audiobooks to teenagers who are in the process of expanding their vocabulary. I would only recommend this one with some caveats about pronunciation. Acolyte and adulate were two words that particularly stuck out.
11 people found this helpful
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- Lyra
- 15-02-15
Reminds me of....
Any additional comments?
This book reminded me a bit of the feel of Tamara Pierce writing/atmosphere and school set up of Kristen Britain's first book 'green rider'
10 people found this helpful
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- Teresa
- 13-01-15
Unicorn Basic Training.
3.5 stars overall. A fairly enjoyable book, I suspect as a girl I would have loved it. I picked this book up because I have enjoyed both the Dead Eye and the Supervillian Series by Jim Bernheimer, plus I like to read a good fantasy every once in a while. This book is from both Kayleigh's and Majherri's point of view. Majherri is one stubborn unicorn. Kayleigh is selected as a rider and then she goes through basic training with her unicorn. Since her unicorn has already been through this before, he gets up to trouble. I liked the characters but just barely, and I did see a lot of ideas that were in this book that have been done before. Which made me doubt if I would read the next book. Fortunately the last couple of hours in this book was full of action and magic, it started to get good and I will probably read the next book. Of course this book leaves you hanging, just like the end of TV season, trying to temp you to come back. Narrator is okay, she did have a bit of a monotone voice and a couple of character voices that were too screechy or just too high pitched.
7 people found this helpful
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- Jason
- 03-01-12
need to see more from this guy
loved this guys work and would like to see a lot more
if i see aney more of his books it's a safe bet i will get them too :)
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