Desdaemona

Desdaemona, Book 1

By: Ben Macallan

Narrated by: Richard Hughes

Length: 8 hrs and 17 mins

Publisher's summary

Jordan helps kids on the run find their way back home. He's good at that. He should be - he's a runaway himself. Sometimes he helps the kids in other stranger ways. He looks like a regular teenager, but he's not. He acts like he's not exactly human, but he is. He treads the line between mundane reality and the world of the supernatural.

Desdaemona also knows the nonhuman world far too well. She tracks Jordan down and enlists his aid in searching for her lost sister, Fay, who did a Very Bad Thing involving an immortal. This may be a mistake - for both of them. Too many people are interested now, and some of them are not people at all.

Ben Macallan's urban fantasy debut takes you on a terrifying journey, lifting the curtain on what really walks our city streets.

©2011 Chaz Brenchley (P)2015 Audible, Inc.

Great Story Cliffhangers into Disappointing Sequel

Listened on a whim and loved it. This was so much more than I thought it would be. I was ready to immediately hop into book two - but I was disappointed to find the reviews for the follow-up are pretty low. The story switches POVs and the focus is taken off of this protagonist who is central to the novel's cliffhanger. Sadly, it doesn't sound like a very satisfying conclusion. If unresolved storylines really bother you, then you might want to stay away, as the ending is definitely a cliffhanger. But this book was a fun ride while it lasted.

Interesting

Pretty good, well paced, interesting. The big reveal was pretty obvious from the beginning, but it didn’t detract from the story.

Clever story line

Story line is refreshing for this genre. Characters are complicated and broken which I like. Dark story line that doesn’t leave you feeling dark. Very enjoyable.

Fast and engaging

This story had me hooked from the quick beginning to the end. I couldn’t wait to get in the car each day so that I could listen to more of the story. Although I felt like I needed a history!mythology lesson, I was intrigued by these otherworldly characters. I’ll be looking for more from this author and the engaging narrator. IMDB Mr Richard Hughes, look into getting on there, you’ll have followers.

Running away from destiny

Jordan is a runaway from the immortal realm. Found by a demon who wants him to help her find another runaway. Vampires, werewolves, harpies, banshee, and the green man all make an appearance.

A pleasant surprise.

I was out of credits and needed something to listen to. This book was free so I didn't expect much. I was very pleasantly surprised to find that I enjoyed every minute of it. I found it engaging and even snarky at times. And, yes, I will buy the next book in the series.

100% Not sure what other reviewers listened to.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The narrator did a fine job with the entire book in my opinion. Negative reviews about it not having a plot - what the... what are you listening to? This has a great story and a very good through line beginning to end.

The author doesn't hand hold you at all with the world building and characters and I legitimately couldn't have appreciated that more. Things are learned dynamically and in a way that makes sense for the characters. There's no "info dump" or expository mess. It was hours in before you get a real sense as to who is who and what is what I'm relation to them. Good writing.

There are multiple reviews that complained about sex or assault in the book - it's a horror novel (though personally I think it fits mystery just as well) and the MC is a 17 year old male with 17 year old hormones and the author doesn't spend time throwing anything at all in anyone's face. Instead, he writes about afterthoughts or experiences with in all honesty is very dialed back in terms of description. If you are looking for a book with more of that in it, you will in fact be very disappointed. As for assault - there are vampires, demons, and all other manners of characters in this book and they don't all get along. If you have sensitive sensibilities - maybe choose a different genre?

This was a great read. I finished it in less than a day and enjoyed it. Give it a shot. It's worth your time.

--David--

Interesting perspectives

I loved the narration and the overall story. It was a rich well- developed world.

Enjoyed the performance

Loved the narrator. Makes such a huge difference in the story. I enjoyed it overall. It was different and kept my interest.

I highly recommend

It started off at a fast pace, but did a good job at developing the characters. It was a unique and interesting take on urban fantasy. The narrator made it feel as though you were living in the main character’s head.