Listen free for 30 days
-
Suldrun’s Garden
- Lyonesse: Book 1
- Narrated by: Kevin T. Collins
- Series: Lyonesse, Book 1
- Length: 18 hrs and 49 mins
- Categories: Science Fiction & Fantasy, Fantasy
People who bought this also bought...
-
Planet of Adventure
- City of the Chasch, Servants of the Wankh, The Dirdir, The Pnume: The Tschai, Planet of Adventure
- By: Jack Vance
- Narrated by: Elijah Alexander
- Length: 23 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Stranded on the distant planet Tschai, young Adam Reith is the sole survivor of a space mission who discovers the world is inhabited - not only by warring alien cultures but by human slaves as well, taken early in Earth's history. Reith must find a way off the planet to warn Earth of Tschai's deadly existence.
-
-
Good solid sci-fi
- By Mr. M. G. Helliwell on 09-06-18
-
The Dying Earth
- By: Jack Vance
- Narrated by: Arthur Morey
- Length: 6 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The stories in The Dying Earth introduce dozens of seekers of wisom and beauty, lovely lost women, wizards of every shade of eccentricity with their runic amulets and spells. We meet the melancholy deodands, who feed on human flesh and the twk-men, who ride dragonflies and trade information for salt. There are monsters and demons. Each being is morally ambiguous: The evil are charming, the good are dangerous. All are at home.
-
-
Ripe with ideas and peculiar characters
- By Amazon Customer on 09-11-13
-
Robert E. Howard's Conan the Cimmerian Barbarian
- The Complete Weird Tales Omnibus
- By: Robert E. Howard, Finn J. D. John
- Narrated by: Finn J. D. John
- Length: 35 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This collection contains all of Robert E. Howard's Conan the Cimmerian stories published during his lifetime, contextualized with biographical details of their author.
-
-
Not the best narrator
- By AndyJ on 28-05-18
-
Daughter of the Empire
- By: Raymond E. Feist, Janny Wurts
- Narrated by: Tania Rodrigues
- Length: 19 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Enter the mysterious and exotic world of Kelewan.… Mara, the youngest child of the ancient and noble Acoma family, is about to take her pledge of servitude to the goddess Lashima when the ceremony is disrupted by news of her father and brother's deaths in battle. Despite her grief, as the only surviving member of her house, Mara must now take up the mantles of Ruling Lady. But she soon discovers betrayal at the heart of her family's loss, and the Acoma's enemies have brought her house to the brink of utter destruction.
-
-
Astounding and way above my expectations.
- By Miss Kara J Spencer on 11-11-17
-
Dragons of Autumn Twilight
- Dragonlance: Chronicles, Book 1
- By: Margaret Weis, Tracy Hickman
- Narrated by: Paul Boehmer
- Length: 20 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Lifelong friends, they went their separate ways. Now they are together again, though each holds secrets from the others in his heart. They speak of a world shadowed with rumors of war. They speak of tales of strange monsters, creatures of myth, creatures of legend. They do not speak of their secrets. Not then. Not until a chance encounter with a beautiful, sorrowful woman, who bears a magical crystal staff, draws the companions deeper into the shadows, forever changing their lives and shaping the fate of the world.
-
-
Great story but there are issues with narration
- By Sean on 03-12-13
-
The Dragonbone Chair
- Memory, Sorrow & Thorn, Book 1
- By: Tad Williams
- Narrated by: Andrew Wincott
- Length: 33 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Kitchen-boy Simon is bored, restless and 14 years old - a dangerous combination. It seems, however, that his life has just taken a turn for the better when he's apprenticed to his castle's resident wizard. As Simon's learning to read and write under Doctor Morgenes' tutelage, forces greater than he could possible imagine are gathering: forces which will change Simon's life - and his world - forever. Following the death of Good King John, Osten Ard is plunged into civil war as his sons battle for control of the fabled Dragonbone Chair - the country's throne as well as the symbol of its power.
-
-
You'll need a little patience for this one
- By Robyn on 26-09-16
-
Planet of Adventure
- City of the Chasch, Servants of the Wankh, The Dirdir, The Pnume: The Tschai, Planet of Adventure
- By: Jack Vance
- Narrated by: Elijah Alexander
- Length: 23 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Stranded on the distant planet Tschai, young Adam Reith is the sole survivor of a space mission who discovers the world is inhabited - not only by warring alien cultures but by human slaves as well, taken early in Earth's history. Reith must find a way off the planet to warn Earth of Tschai's deadly existence.
-
-
Good solid sci-fi
- By Mr. M. G. Helliwell on 09-06-18
-
The Dying Earth
- By: Jack Vance
- Narrated by: Arthur Morey
- Length: 6 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The stories in The Dying Earth introduce dozens of seekers of wisom and beauty, lovely lost women, wizards of every shade of eccentricity with their runic amulets and spells. We meet the melancholy deodands, who feed on human flesh and the twk-men, who ride dragonflies and trade information for salt. There are monsters and demons. Each being is morally ambiguous: The evil are charming, the good are dangerous. All are at home.
-
-
Ripe with ideas and peculiar characters
- By Amazon Customer on 09-11-13
-
Robert E. Howard's Conan the Cimmerian Barbarian
- The Complete Weird Tales Omnibus
- By: Robert E. Howard, Finn J. D. John
- Narrated by: Finn J. D. John
- Length: 35 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This collection contains all of Robert E. Howard's Conan the Cimmerian stories published during his lifetime, contextualized with biographical details of their author.
-
-
Not the best narrator
- By AndyJ on 28-05-18
-
Daughter of the Empire
- By: Raymond E. Feist, Janny Wurts
- Narrated by: Tania Rodrigues
- Length: 19 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Enter the mysterious and exotic world of Kelewan.… Mara, the youngest child of the ancient and noble Acoma family, is about to take her pledge of servitude to the goddess Lashima when the ceremony is disrupted by news of her father and brother's deaths in battle. Despite her grief, as the only surviving member of her house, Mara must now take up the mantles of Ruling Lady. But she soon discovers betrayal at the heart of her family's loss, and the Acoma's enemies have brought her house to the brink of utter destruction.
-
-
Astounding and way above my expectations.
- By Miss Kara J Spencer on 11-11-17
-
Dragons of Autumn Twilight
- Dragonlance: Chronicles, Book 1
- By: Margaret Weis, Tracy Hickman
- Narrated by: Paul Boehmer
- Length: 20 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Lifelong friends, they went their separate ways. Now they are together again, though each holds secrets from the others in his heart. They speak of a world shadowed with rumors of war. They speak of tales of strange monsters, creatures of myth, creatures of legend. They do not speak of their secrets. Not then. Not until a chance encounter with a beautiful, sorrowful woman, who bears a magical crystal staff, draws the companions deeper into the shadows, forever changing their lives and shaping the fate of the world.
-
-
Great story but there are issues with narration
- By Sean on 03-12-13
-
The Dragonbone Chair
- Memory, Sorrow & Thorn, Book 1
- By: Tad Williams
- Narrated by: Andrew Wincott
- Length: 33 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Kitchen-boy Simon is bored, restless and 14 years old - a dangerous combination. It seems, however, that his life has just taken a turn for the better when he's apprenticed to his castle's resident wizard. As Simon's learning to read and write under Doctor Morgenes' tutelage, forces greater than he could possible imagine are gathering: forces which will change Simon's life - and his world - forever. Following the death of Good King John, Osten Ard is plunged into civil war as his sons battle for control of the fabled Dragonbone Chair - the country's throne as well as the symbol of its power.
-
-
You'll need a little patience for this one
- By Robyn on 26-09-16
-
The Red Knight
- By: Miles Cameron
- Narrated by: Matthew Wolf
- Length: 30 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Forget George and the dragon. Forget Sir Lancelot and tales of knightly exploits. This is dirty, bloody work. This is violent, visceral action. This is a mercenary knight as you've never seen one before. Twenty-eight florins a month is a huge price to pay for a man to stand between you and the Wild. Twenty-eight florins a month is nowhere near enough when a wyvern's jaws snap shut on your helmet in the hot stink of battle, and the beast starts to rip the head from your shoulders.
-
-
Epic!
- By K on 05-10-15
-
Lovecraft Country
- By: Matt Ruff
- Narrated by: Kevin Kenerly
- Length: 12 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Chicago, 1954. When his father, Montrose, goes missing, 22-year-old army veteran Atticus Turner embarks on a road trip to New England to find him, accompanied by his uncle George - publisher of The Safe Negro Travel Guide - and his childhood friend Letitia. On their journey to the manor of Mr. Braithwhite - heir to the estate that owned one of Atticus’ ancestors - they encounter both mundane terrors of white America and malevolent spirits that seem straight out of the weird tales George devours.
-
-
Distracting narration
- By Mac on 08-07-19
-
Boudica: Dreaming the Eagle
- Boudica, Book 1
- By: Manda Scott
- Narrated by: Jerome Flynn, Liza Goddard, Philip Stevens
- Length: 23 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In AD 60, Boudica, war leader of the Eceni, led her people in a final bloody revolt against the occupying armies of Rome. It was the culmination of nearly 20 years of resistance against an occupying force that sought to crush a vibrant, complex civilisation and replace it with the laws, taxes and slavery of the Roman Empire.
-
-
A lavish, humane, moving, topical, historical saga
- By Dane Buckley on 22-02-20
-
The Magicians
- The Magicians, Book 1
- By: Lev Grossman
- Narrated by: Mark Bramhall
- Length: 17 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In a secret world of forbidden knowledge, power comes at a terrible price.... Quentin Coldwater's life is changed forever by an apparently chance encounter: when he turns up for his entrance interview to Princeton, he finds his interviewer dead - but a strange envelope bearing Quentin's name leads him down a path very different from any he'd ever imagined.
-
-
Narnia and Harry Potter combination for adults
- By Upper echelon on 05-03-16
-
Snow Crash
- By: Neal Stephenson
- Narrated by: Jonathan Davis
- Length: 17 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Neal Stephenson is a blazing new force on the sci-fi scene. With the groundbreaking cyberpunk novel Snow Crash, he has "vaulted onto the literary stage." It weaves virtual reality, Sumerian myth, and just about everything in between with a cool, hip cybersensibility - in short, it is the gigathriller of the information age.
-
-
Lose yourself in another world
- By Lily the Pink on 26-09-15
-
The Algebraist
- By: Iain M. Banks
- Narrated by: Geoff Annis
- Length: 24 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For short-lived races like humans, space is dominated by the complicated, grandiose Mercatoria. To the Dwellers who may live billions of years, the galaxy consists of their gas-giant planets - the rest is debris. Fassin Taak is a Slow Seer privileged to work with the Dwellers of the gas-giant Nasqueron. His work consists of rummaging for data in their vast, disorganised memories and libraries. Unfortunately, without knowing it, he's come close to an ancient secret of unimaginable importance.
-
-
Spoiled by awful narration
- By Martin on 05-12-17
-
Foundation
- By: Isaac Asimov
- Narrated by: William Hope
- Length: 8 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Galactic Empire has prospered for 12,000 years. Nobody suspects that the heart of the thriving Empire is rotten, until psychohistorian Hari Seldon uses his new science to foresee its terrible fate. Exiled to the desolate planet Terminus, Seldon establishes a colony of the greatest minds in the Empire, a Foundation which holds the key to changing the fate of the galaxy.
-
-
foundation. classic golden age sci fi
- By john COZ WE CAN on 27-10-19
-
The Sandman
- By: Neil Gaiman, Dirk Maggs
- Narrated by: Riz Ahmed, Kat Dennings, Taron Egerton, and others
- Length: 10 hrs and 54 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When The Sandman, also known as Lord Morpheus - the immortal king of dreams, stories and the imagination - is pulled from his realm and imprisoned on Earth by a nefarious cult, he languishes for decades before finally escaping. Once free, he must retrieve the three “tools” that will restore his power and help him to rebuild his dominion, which has deteriorated in his absence.
-
-
I don’t get this
- By John P. Allum on 21-07-20
-
The Blade Itself
- The First Law: Book One
- By: Joe Abercrombie
- Narrated by: Steven Pacey
- Length: 22 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Inquisitor Glokta, a crippled and bitter relic of the last war, former fencing champion turned torturer, is trapped in a twisted and broken body - not that he allows it to distract him from his daily routine of torturing smugglers.Nobleman, dashing officer and would-be fencing champion Captain Jezal dan Luthar is living a life of ease by cheating his friends at cards. Vain and shallow, the biggest blot on his horizon is having to get out of bed in the morning to train with obsessive and boring old men.
-
-
Possibly My Favourite Listen So Far...
- By Andrew on 18-10-13
-
Assassin’s Apprentice
- The Farseer Trilogy, Book 1
- By: Robin Hobb
- Narrated by: Paul Boehmer
- Length: 17 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In a faraway land where members of the royal family are named for the virtues they embody, one young boy will become a walking enigma.Born on the wrong side of the sheets, Fitz, son of Chilvary Farseer, is a royal bastard, cast out into the world, friendless and lonely. Only his magical link with animals - the old art known as the Wit - gives him solace and companionship. But the Wit, if used too often, is a perilous magic, and one abhorred by the nobility. So when Fitz is finally adopted into the royal household, he must give up his old ways.
-
-
Great book but the narrator is all wrong!
- By Lucy Clarke on 11-10-12
-
New Spring
- A Wheel of Time Prequel
- By: Robert Jordan
- Narrated by: Kate Reading, Michael Kramer
- Length: 12 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For three days battle has raged in the snow around the great city of Tar Valon. In the city, a foretelling of the future is uttered. On the slopes of Dragonmount, the immense mountain that looms over the city, a child is born, an infant prophesied to change the world. That child must be found before he can be killed by the forces of the Shadow.
-
-
The beginning of the wheel's turn
- By Rp Trelfa on 21-06-11
-
To Live Forever
- By: Jack Vance
- Narrated by: Kevin Kenerly
- Length: 7 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Gavin Waylock had waited seven years for the scandal surrounding his former immortal self to be forgotten and had kept his identity concealed so that he could once again join the ranks of those who lived forever. He had been exceedingly careful about hiding his past. Then he met the Jacynth. She was a beautiful 19-year-old, and Gavin wanted her. But he recognized that a wisdom far beyond her years marked her as one who knew too much about him to live.
Summary
The Elder Isles, located in what is now the Bay of Biscay off the coast of Old Gaul, are made up of 10 contending kingdoms, all vying with each other for control. At the centre of much of the intrigue is Casmir, the ruthless and ambitious king of Lyonnesse. His beautiful but otherworldly daughter, Suldrun, is part of his plans. He intends to cement an alliance or two by marrying her well. But Suldrun is as determined as he and defies him. Casmir coldly confines her to the overgrown garden that she loves to frequent, and it is here that meets her love and her tragedy unfolds. Political intrigue, magic, war, adventure and romance are interwoven in a rich and sweeping tale set in a brilliantly realized fabled land.
Critic reviews
More from the same
What listeners say about Suldrun’s Garden
Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Peter
- 18-06-15
Ruined by the narrator
Great story, appalling narration. They could at least have found someone whose pronunciation matched a known language.
5 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Mr Graham Kinniburgh
- 31-12-20
Wonderfully inventive and delightfully narrated
As per above- an very entertaining and inventive fantasy tale. Already looking forward to hearing the sequel.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Rex
- 22-09-20
Tolkien,Vance,Martin in that order
I read this many years ago and revisiting it in audio has lost none of the magic,
fabulous fantasy book and the narrator is very good as well.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Thes
- 30-11-18
Great book
Great characters, a wonderful world, would recommend to any who care to listen! Jack Vance is always a good read.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- MarcA
- 16-10-18
Impressive
It's wonderful to listen to this story when driving for a long time. The speaker is really good for a while you are in the Jack Vance' universe...
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- M.Garman
- 06-02-14
SCI-FI/FANTASY WRITER LIKE NO OTHER
I am 65 years old.When I was about 13 I discovered science Fiction outside of comic books.It was a novelette in GALAXY Science Fiction magazine by Jack Vance entitled THE DRAGON MASTERS which had just won the Hugo and [I think] Nebula awards.
I was hooked on both Jack Vance and Science Fiction.To this day Jack Vance is one of my favorites.WORDSMITH comes to mind.Not only does he create worlds,characters,civilizations and concepts as good as any of the genre,he's different.No Sci-Fi/Fantasy author writes quite like Vance.Lyonesse is of course fantasy.It's kind of like reading a Grimm's Faerie tale/Lord of the Rings with a touch of Edgar Allen Poe and a dash of H.P.Lovecraft.This is his most ambitious work and it does not disappoint .However don't rule out reading his other books.I suggest you start with THE DRAGON MASTERS.
9 people found this helpful
-
Overall

- J. Renton
- 19-07-10
Starts slow,,,gets really fun later on
Jack Vance is a great author, and helped create the fantasy genre with his Dying Earth series. This was written in his later period, and it is rich with both noble and mendacious characters and meandering, cynical digressions which can either drive you crazy or laugh with delight. With my 5 star rating you can safely count me in the later group.
Suldren's Garden is the first of the Lyonesse trilogy, & it takes a little while to get going. Stay with it, and by the end of the book, you can' wait for the next one.
8 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance

- jp
- 31-12-16
Narrator issues
I had a hard time listening to this narrator and couldn't get through the first chapter.
7 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Cam
- 22-08-16
A masterpiece by a master
Vance was a master storyteller, and this is one of the best stories he told. It is filled with fairies, magicians, knights, villains, kings, war, love, hate, birth, death, anguish and triumph. Mix The Count of Monte Cristo with Grimm's Fairy Tales and you have some of the flavor of the book.
Vance's language is lackadaisically descriptive, and he takes his time to build situations and events, but once the stage is set the play that follows will have you on the edge of your seat.
This is a great introduction to Vance.
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Gan
- 17-06-13
Tragic Beginning of Epic Story
I had read this novel in print back sometime in the 90's and remembered it very well. I remembered also thinking that the first book started out slow and was almost insufferably tragic. But too, I also remembered that the story really took off and held me in thrall from about the last third of this first book and through also the second and third. I give the story itself only four stars only because I must reserve a five-star rating for certain other of Jack Vance's works (sadly none of his SF seems to be yet available as audiobooks).
In comparison to Jack Vance, I'd have to give almost any of Tolkien's works, and very particularly The Hobbit only a three or even a two-star rating. Why? Because in all of Tolkien's works the reader can almost always be certain that just when the going gets really hard for the hero, some wizard will just pop in out of nowhere to save the day, send a flock of eagles, or something. Vance never makes it so easy for any protagonist of his. Mainly they have to solve heir own problems.
Also I like for the female characters to have important roles. In much of Jack Vance's SF this is not so much the case (being written in the early 60's) but he does so in his later novels,of which this is one. The Elder Isles being an ancient, patriarchal society, their roles are suppressed. But still Jack allows for some to shine through, especially in the last book, Madouc.
Lastly let me praise this whole series for being extremely well read. The narrator could not have done better. As for the story itself...
Herein begins the Lyonesse Trilogy, a tale of greed, tragedy and revenge such as only Jack Vance could ever have written. It begins a bit slowly in the first chapter by setting the scene of the overall background, narrating the history of the Elder Isles in a way that I generally only skim over lightly when reading a book in print. Jack Vance does this, principally, to set the mood and motivations for certain of the characters, namely Suldren's father, the king. Just let those bits wash over you as there is no need to memorize any details. While the principal movers and shakers of this world of Vance's creation may be the kings and their machinations, the principal characters of the story are more the sort that any reader can personally identify with. Nevertheless, Jack Vance gives full characterization to all, so that the motivations of each make sense within their separate contexts. It is a full bodied story and doesn't take on the greater part of its overall scope until very nearly the end of this, the first book of three.
I'm sure the reader will enjoy this whole series, however apparently slow might be the beginning. From about a quarter of the way into the second book it will have become very clear that the first could not have been in any wise different. It serves as the foundation for what will forever be a timeless classic.
8 people found this helpful
-
Overall

- Eric
- 18-07-10
beautifully written, wonderful plot
Jack Vance is perhaps one of the most talented American writers of the 20th century. Suldrun’s Garden is a modern day Grimm’s fair tale. The characters are rich; the story is convoluted and interposed on numerous levels. Kevin Collins does a wonderful job bring to life those characters.
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Michael Garber
- 14-04-19
Vance at the height of his powers!
An old favorite (the complete trilogy is a must) enhanced by the talents of a wonderful reader, actor, storyteller. I doubt that many people would ever say that the Lyonesse tale is less than extremely appealing.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Al
- 11-12-18
Great Story
Not sure what the complaints about the narrator are all about. I found him to be a fine talent and enjoyed the performance a great deal. I loved the writing and the form in which the story was told. Vance is a master.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall

- Ann
- 10-01-11
Not my cup of tea
I bought this book on audible because it came recommended as one of the greatest fantasy books of all time. I don't understand why it gets that recommendation. I didn't like the way that characters in this book have little meaningful interaction. In fact, when the author mannages to finally get his two main characters together (spending half of the book to get there), he skips over interraction and then immediately zooms ahead in time. Maybe some people love lots of description, but I prefer reading of human connection. So this book is not for me. I moved on to some LLoyd Alexander instead, and was much more satisfied.
11 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Tyler E
- 01-03-21
I almost gave up on this one.
The story starts slow and is very sad concern Suldrun and her upbringing. But the story does deliver and finishing this one made me invested in the rest of the Lyonesse trilogy.