• Dim Sum Asylum

  • By: Rhys Ford
  • Narrated by: Greg Tremblay
  • Length: 9 hrs and 44 mins
  • 4.6 out of 5 stars (413 ratings)

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Dim Sum Asylum  By  cover art

Dim Sum Asylum

By: Rhys Ford
Narrated by: Greg Tremblay
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Publisher's summary

Welcome to Dim Sum Asylum: a San Francisco where it's a ho-hum kind of case when a cop has to chase down an enchanted two-foot-tall shrine god statue with an impressive Fu Manchu mustache that's running around Chinatown trolling sex magic and chaos in its wake.

Senior Inspector Roku MacCormick of the Chinatown Arcane Crimes Division faces a pile of challenges far beyond his human-faerie heritage - snarling dragons guarding C-Town's multiple gates and exploding noodle factories. After a case goes sideways, Roku is saddled with Trent Leonard, a new partner he can't trust, to add to the crime syndicate family he doesn't want and a spell-casting serial killer he desperately needs to find.

While Roku would rather stay home with Bob the Cat and whiskey himself to sleep, he puts on his badge and gun every day, determined to serve and protect the city he loves. When Chinatown's dark mystical underworld makes his life hell and the case turns deadly, Trent guards Roku's back and, if Trent can be believed, his heart...even if from what Roku can see, Trent is as dangerous as the monsters and criminals they're sworn to bring down.

©2017 Rhys Ford (P)2017 Dreamspinner Press
  • Unabridged Audiobook
  • Categories: LGBTQ+

What listeners say about Dim Sum Asylum

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Haunting and delicious...can't wait for more!

What made the experience of listening to Dim Sum Asylum the most enjoyable?

Rhys Ford's amazing ability to turn a phrase. Not only are her character's engaging and sexy, even the city of San Francisco is a living, breathing entity that I fell in love with. Her sex scenes are so decadent and provocative I want to eat them with a spoon.

What did you like best about this story?

I love Roku MacCormick, he reminds me so much of Cole McGinnis. (A great series to grab next if you have not already read.) He is sarcastic, fatalistic, honorable, and sexy. I love the mixture of fae-irish toughness, chinatown street smarts, and the biggest heart of gold that make up the core of his character.

Have you listened to any of Greg Tremblay’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Greg Tremblay is amazing. I have over 25 books narrated by him in my audible library, so I think it is safe to say I consider him an excellent narrator. This book certainly ranks as one of his top performances.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

I enjoyed the moment Roku meets with his grandmother. It is a wonderful emotional turning point for Roku filled with foreshadowing, healing, and humor.

Any additional comments?

Rhys Ford is always worth a credit :)

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6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

4.5 Stars!

Any additional comments?

Note: Dim Sum Asylum was originally a short story Rhys Ford had in a Dreamspinner anthology that has been developed into a full length novel.

Set in San Francisco's Chinatown where dragons and Faerie are real and magic is prevalent, Dim Sum Asylum is told from the first person, single POV of Roku MacCormick, a half-Fae, Senior Inspector of the Chinatown Arcane Crimes Division.

As far as I remember, much of the original short story is included but has been completely fleshed out - especially the relationship between Roku and his new partner Trent.

I am in love with Greg Tremblay's narration for Dim Sum Asylum!

I loved the pacing of the story and narration - Tremblay brilliantly conveys the action and whirlwind events that occur keeping the listener engrossed from the first few moments until the very last surprise.

There really isn't a pause in the breakneck pace of the story, which could have felt too much, but is expertly progressed through the narration. I really feel like this is some of Rhys Ford's and Greg Tremblay's best work.

Tremblay does such an awesome job with character voices, timing, emotion...it's all so well done I know this will make its way into my auto-rotation for relistening.

All the loose ends are neatly tied up in the end but there is definitely enough to warrant more stories featuring Roku set in this world.

I for one hope Rhys Ford turns this into a new series and that Greg TTremblay narrates it!

Recommended!

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

One of my favorite audiobooks!

I received a free copy of this audiobook to listen to and review for Wicked Reads.

Dim Sum Asylum is one of my favorite audiobooks, especially when I’m in the mood for fantasy. I have long been fascinated by the fae, so Rhys Ford had my complete attention with Roku’s human-faerie heritage. The cherry on top was that the audiobook was narrated by my favorite narrator, Greg Tremblay. How could I resist? I couldn’t. My mistake was in not writing up my review as soon as I finished listening to the book the first time. Yeah, you read that right, the first time. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve listened to Dim Sum Asylum over the past several months, hence its five-star rating.

“I hated running first thing in the morning.” Not only does Ford insure that I’ll love Roku right off the bat with this thought, but we’re dropped right into the middle of the action as the book begins with Roku chasing down a suspect who’s stolen a clutch of dragon eggs. A very valuable clutch of dragon eggs. And the thief is his partner on the force. The chase is exciting until Arnett demonstrates just how dirty of a cop he is and murders an innocent bystander in an attempt to escape. While the murder is tragic, Ford uses it as a way to show just how good of a man Roku is and why he works so hard to right the world’s wrongs instead of embracing his father’s Yakuza ties and stepping into the role his grandfather would like to groom him for. But that’s merely the tip of the iceberg in this novel as Roku has to train Trent, his new partner, keep his ghosts at bay, track down a magical serial killer, avoid his grandfather’s continued overtures to join the family’s criminal enterprises, resist the temptation of his new partner, and still get home in time to feed his cat, Bob – who I absolutely freaking adored, especially at the very end. Fortunately for me, Roku succeeds at the right tasks, fails at the tasks he needed to, and averages 50/50 on the cat (lol). One of the things I enjoy most about Dim Sum Asylum is that even after repeated listens, I realized that Ford doesn’t telegraph who the serial killer is. The reader or listener isn’t meant to “solve” the case before Roku and Trent do, they’re meant to enjoy the ride – and I do every single time I cue it up.

For me, this is possibly one of my favorite performances by Greg Tremblay. Between the Asian accents, the Scottish accents, and the American accents – both male and female – Ford certainly kept him busy and Tremblay demonstrates that he was up for the challenge. Roku is such an emotive character and the narration clearly conveys his frustration, irritation, sadness, grief, happiness, attraction, and most importantly, his determination. There’s a scene in the book where Roku is talking things out with the morgue tech and I felt like I could actually hear the gears grinding in his head and see him pacing the room as he reasons through what they know, attempting to connect the dots back to the killer. Once again, Tremblay has impressed me with his ability to breathe life into an author’s words, bringing Ford’s world and characters to life in such a way that I get lost in the story, forgetting for several hours that dragons and faeries and magic aren’t real – at least, not in my world. Thank goodness for re-listens, so I can return to Dim Sum Asylum anytime I want.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Great world building, funny, exciting

While we’ve reviewed this book on the site before, I feel that – with the listening – I wanted to amend some things.

First, as was said before – this is another great example of how Rhys Ford has a crazy wonderful imagination and an absolutely awe-inspiring talent for description.

She has created a fully developed, intricate and unique new world here and manages to give the reader/listener the set up without an “info dump”. This is a rare and wonderful gift.

Rhys is also amazing at metaphors and descriptions that make the reader/listener hear, feel, smell, taste and touch the story she is creating. I can think of few writers who match her in this skill.

What I didn’t focus on as I was reading it – and that is the magic of audiobooks – they really can change your impression of a story – is how DARK it is. Every day it rained, every day poor Roku got injured again and again – every day we were reminded of the death and destruction in Roku’s world.

The other part I didn’t quite “see” when I was reading this was how little the relationship between Roku and Trent really develops – even by the end.

I guess, when I was reading this, I must have skimmed all the violence and focused on the very cute and funny relationship parts and my brain gave them more weight. Upon re-visiting this, the main story is really about Roku and his struggles in the world and his relationship with Trent is a small part of this.

If this were to be expanded to a series I could see the relationship deepening and becoming more of a “thing” but as it stands I think I’d call this Romantic Fiction more than a romance – because the mystery and the main character development supersede the romance - IMHO.

It was still an amazing story that absolutely enthralls the reader/listener – but it wasn’t as romantic as I’d remembered.


Audio

Greg and Rhys are a powerhouse team and he was absolutely the best choice for this narration! He’s got all those Chinese and Japanese words down and they flow effortlessly off his tongue. I had to keep reminding myself that this wasn’t Rhys’ other series – Cole McGinnis – because Trent reminded me so much of Bobby – both in voice and characterization! In a way this is kind of a paranormal Cole McGinnis – and I don’t mean that in a bad way at all!

In any case, this was an amazing way to experience this fantastic story and highly recommended to fans of the author, urban fantasy and romantic crime stories.

4.5 of 5 stars

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

loved it !

Would I listen to it again: in a heart-beat
Did the story keep me engaged: absolutely
Was I invested in the characters: totally

📖 Story comment: action packed with smart / snarky characters.
Loved everything about this one, Rhys Ford has created a modern day China Town (in San Fran Cisco) full of life, magic and mystery. A great concept in a police department that investigates magical crimes opens this series up to all sorts of exciting adventures and I hope there are many more to come.

🎧 Narrator comment: Greg Tremblay is a master performer. He suits the characters, has a great range of accents and the narrative is easy to separate from the dialog. He has wonderful pacing, good cadence, inflections and intonations and pulls all the emotions from the story. Always an enjoyable performance.

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📌 Where does it fall on my personal scale? 8
• 1 not my thing • 2 didn't like the narration • 3 didn't keep my attention • 4 was good, but once was enough • 5 enjoyed it • 6 will listen again if i'm in the mood for the narrator [4⭐] • 7 goes on the "re-listen" list [4⭐] • 8 kept me up past bed-time [4.5⭐] • 9 recommended to family/friends [4.75⭐] • 10 own it in multiple formats [5⭐] • 11 keep a copy with me at all times [5⭐]
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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

more

I want more of this world and series and especially more of these characters please!!!

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Would Like More!

The author creates interesting and rich characters and the narrator brings them to life as always. The full background and developed characters scream for additional stories featuring Roky and Trent.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Fast paced, emotionally complex world

Once again, Rhys Ford catapults the reader into a fast paced, emotionally complex world; this time, a world full of literal as well as figurative magic. Rhys Ford uses her own wizardry with words to bring to life aspects of both this reality’s San Francisco and her reimagined version for the reader. You can almost smell the food from the vendors and hear the creaking gates that the dragons rest on, and it is this vividness and juxtaposition of the fantastic and mundane that make the world-building in this book so great.

Moreover, this attention to detail is apparent in all the characters, not just the MCs, adding vibrancy to all aspects of the book and the interactions that the MCs have with others. Regarding the MC Roku MacCormick, I’m not sure how much more developed/complex a character can get—a man with a fae cop mother, an absentee human father and a yakuza grandfather who has tapped Roku as his heir and refuses to take no as an answer.

Roku has to navigate the politics involved in being a cop, his underground connections, his fae-human heritage, and learning to trust his new partner Trent Leonard, who seems to have a secret or two of his own, all while trying to track down a very powerful murdering caster. Discovering who Roku and Trent are, their past pain and what drives them is as engaging as the otherworldly aspects of this story, which is what truly makes the book magical.


AUDIBLE 20 REVIEW SWEEPSTAKES ENTRY

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Rhys Ford & Greg Tremblay equal perfection

I'll admit to being a total Fordophile - if Rhys rewrote the phonebook, I'd read it. Combine her powers of awesomeness with Greg Tremblay's narrative genuis and you have a total eargasm! I already loved the book so it was always a given I'd enjoy the audio version. It goes without saying that I FLOVED this. The pace was perfect, accents did not grate or feel forced, and Greg's choice of vocal chatacterisation for each character worked perfectly. I'll definitely be going back for a relisten or ten. A definite 5 stars for me

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
  • BR
  • 08-09-17

For Rhys Ford and Greg Tremblay fans

Rhys Ford mixes magic, police, San Francisco, crime families and m/m romance in a fast paced book. Detective Roku gets a new partner and a bizarre new mystery full of magical creatures on the same day. The investigation takes them into the dark corners of Chinatown with complications added by Roku's crime lord grandfather. The two detectives bond slowly and the romance is pretty low key but satisfying. Roku has a lot of charm and a lot of personal baggage. Rhys Ford is always a fun read and her partnership with narrator Greg Tremblay continues to produce great audiobooks. He is a favorite of mine and he does his usual stellar narration with unique voices, great accents and an emphatic (but not overdone) reading. All and all another win for Rhys Ford and Greg Tremblay.

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