Quail Recommends: Fantasy

Babel

Or the Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of The Oxford Translators' Revolution

By: R. F. Kuang
Narrated by: Chris Lew Kum Hoi & Billie Fulford-Brown
Length: 21 hours 45 minutes

“Finishing a book like this is equal parts pleasure and pain: pleasure in that reading something as striking and beautiful as this is everything a reader hopes to feel in a book juxtaposed by the pain of something beautiful ending and leaving these characters behind in the pages. There are few books that have brought tears to my eyes (I can still... Read more

The Third Daughter

Betrayal Prophecies: Book #1

By: Adrienne Tooley
Narrated by: Rebecca Lee
Length: 8 hours 32 minutes

A sweeping YA fantasy about legacy, betrayal, sisterhood, and politicizing emotion in the quest for power—all balanced by a slow-burn LGBTQ romance.
 
For centuries, the citizens of Velle have waited for their New Maiden to return. The prophecy states she will appear as the third daughter of a third daughter. When the fabled child is finally... Read more

A Magic Steeped in Poison

The Book of Tea: Book #1

By: Judy I. Lin
Narrated by: Carolyn Kang
Length: 11 hours 11 minutes

Judy I. Lin's sweeping debut A Magic Steeped in Poison, first in a duology, is sure to enchant fans of Adrienne Young and Leigh Bardugo.

I used to look at my hands with pride. Now all I can think is, "These are the hands that buried my mother."

For Ning, the only thing worse than losing her mother is knowing that it's her own fault. She was the... Read more

The Children of Húrin

By: J. R. R. Tolkien
Narrated by: Christopher Lee
Length: 7 hours 51 minutes

Painstakingly restored from Tolkien’s manuscripts and presented for the first time as a fully continuous and standalone story, the epic tale of The Children of Húrin will reunite fans of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings with Elves and Men, dragons and Dwarves, eagles and Orcs, and the rich landscape and characters unique to... Read more

The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi

A Novel

By: Shannon Chakraborty
Narrated by: Lameece Issaq & Amin El Gamal
Length: 16 hours 59 minutes

“I loved the setup of her being pulled in for 'one last job' and all the illusions to Middle Eastern Mythology. Plus, pirates! The narrator had the perfect air of wry humor to embody Amina, and her asides where she steps away from the microphone as if she's actually talking to someone else are a nice touch that make it feel as if she's actually... Read more

The Surviving Sky

Surviving Sky: Book #1

By: Kritika H. Rao
Narrated by: Sharmila Devar & Pranshu Mishra
Length: 18 hours 23 minutes

High above a jungle-planet float the last refuges of humanity—plant-made civilizations held together by tradition, technology, and arcane science. Here, architects are revered deeply, with humanity’s survival reliant on a privileged few.
If not for their abilities, the cities would plunge into the devastating earthrage storms below.
Charismatic... Read more

Emily Wilde's Map of the Otherlands

Emily Wilde: Book #2

By: Heather Fawcett
Narrated by: Ell Potter & Michael Dodds
Length: TBA

“Our favorite prickly English folklorist and deposed Irish faerie king are back, this time on an adventure to the Austrian Alps. The Alpine setting of the Map of the Otherlands is rendered just as vividly as the Scandinavian backdrop of the Encyclopaedia of Faeries. The environments are beautiful and treacherous, populated by Fair Folk both... Read more

In the Lives of Puppets

By: TJ Klune
Narrated by: Daniel Henning
Length: 15 hours 22 minutes

“TJ Klune has never let me down, but I wasn't expecting In The Lives of Puppets to outshine the rest like it has. A Pinocchio retelling with a queer, dystopian setting? This book tore my heart out and then threw it back into my chest three times larger. The descriptions, the characters, the representation!! I cannot recommend this enough. If... Read more

Tress of the Emerald Sea

A Cosmere Novel

Secret Projects: Book #1

By: Brandon Sanderson
Narrated by: Michael Kramer
Length: 12 hours 26 minutes

“This felt like reading one of my childhood adventure/fairytale books, like warmth and nostalgia and absurdity all wrapped together. I loved the wildly unfamiliar setting and the quirky, loveable characters. A small-town girl turns pirateer to rescue her love from a sorceress, and to do so has to sail over oceans of... moon dust? Definitely a... Read more

The Fall of Númenor

and Other Tales from the Second Age of Middle-earth

By: J.R.R. Tolkien
Narrated by: Brian Sibley & Samuel West
Length: 10 hours 51 minutes

J.R.R. Tolkien’s writings on the Second Age of Middle-earth, collected for the first time in one volume. J.R.R. Tolkien famously described the Second Age of Middle-earth as a ‘dark age, and not very much of its history is (or need be) told’. And for many years readers would need to be content with the tantalizing glimpses of... Read more

Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries

Emily Wilde: Book #1

By: Heather Fawcett
Narrated by: Ell Potter & Michael Dodds
Length: 12 hours 5 minutes

“Emily Wilde is a serious Dryadologist and probably the best in her field. Her colleague Wendell Bambleby is...not. Or at least, he certainly doesn't live up to her high academic standards. He's too posh, too lazy, to fickle, and come to think of it, maybe a little too much like the fairy folk they study. Is Wendell harboring a secret? Or maybe... Read more

Legends & Lattes

A Novel of High Fantasy and Low Stakes

Legends & Lattes

By: Travis Baldree
Narrated by: Travis Baldree
Length: 7 hours 18 minutes

“This is the cozy and heartwarming fantasy novel you didn't know you needed! It's a tender story with delightful characters in a snug setting. The kind of tale that Dungeon Masters will feel inspired to have for their next laid-back D&D campaign. So if you are a fan of wholesome, found-family stories do yourself a favor and listen to this book! Read more

The Hobbit

Lord of the Rings

By: J.R.R. Tolkien
Narrated by: Andy Serkis
Length: 10 hours 24 minutes

THE GREAT MODERN CLASSIC AND PRELUDE TO THE LORD OF THE RINGS
Deep down here by the dark water lived old Gollum, a small slimy creature. I don’t know where he came from, nor who
or what he was. He was Gollum—as dark as darkness, except for two big round pale eyes in his thin face. He had a little
boat, and he rowed about quite quietly on the lake;... Read more

Fairy Tale

By: Stephen King
Narrated by: Seth Numrich & Stephen King
Length: 24 hours 4 minutes

“For every reader who loves a fresh retelling of an old story, this audiobook is the perfect way to read one. The narrator does all the voices, from the charming to the revolting to the terrifying, with a character actor's panache and paces his performance perfectly as the tension rises. Read more

The Ten Thousand Doors of January

By: Alix E. Harrow
Narrated by: January LaVoy
Length: 12 hours 20 minutes

“This is one of the most beautifully written pieces of magical fiction I’ve ever read. I was obsessed with the book within the first two pages. Take an unforgettable journey with January Scaller through doors of lost worlds and heart-wrenching love stories. This book shows just how much power a story can hold, especially with the right... Read more

Foundryside

A Novel

The Founders Trilogy: Book #1

By: Robert Jackson Bennett
Narrated by: Tara Sands
Length: 19 hours 34 minutes

“Foundryside is the first book in Robert Jackson Bennett’s The Foundry trilogy. Not only did this book get me out of my reading slump, it was a book that I just couldn’t stop listening to. The cover grabbed my attention and the story surpassed every expectation that I had. Foundryside is about a well-trained thief, Sancia. She’s good at what she... Read more

Spinning Silver

A Novel

By: Naomi Novik
Narrated by: Lisa Flanagan
Length: 17 hours 56 minutes

“When Miryem takes over the family money-lender business from her unsuccessful father, her family's fortune finally starts looking up. However, her reputation for turning silver to gold catches the notice of the feared Staryk (magical ice-beings) who come to test her claim. Meanwhile, a duke plots to marry his daughter to Tsar Mirnatius, who is... Read more

Magic for Liars

A Novel

By: Sarah Gailey
Narrated by: Xe Sands
Length: 9 hours 7 minutes

“Private Detective Ivy Gamble is hired to investigate a gruesome death at Osthorne Academy for Young Mages. Ivy has no magic and has more experience investigating insurance fraud cases than she has in solving murders. Now she has the chance to show off her detective skills at the same school her estranged magical twin sister teaches at...but will... Read more

Silver in the Wood & Drowned Country

Greenhollow Duology

By: Emily Tesh
Narrated by: Matthew Lloyd Davies
Length: 5 hours 50 minutes

“Silver in the Wood is a beautiful, atmospheric story that draws from folklore in creative and enchanting ways. Immerse yourself in the forest with the mythical Wild Man, his dryads, and his pet cat. Read more

Hollow Kingdom

By: Kira Jane Buxton
Narrated by: Robert Petkoff
Length: 10 hours 10 minutes

“This is the zombie apocalypse like you’ve never seen it before! Things go sideways when S.T. the crow’s human, Big Jim, loses an eyeball. Jim’s worsening condition propels S.T. to leave the safety of domestic life, along with the simple, slobbering bloodhound, Dennis. Together they roam the ruins of Seattle, searching for purpose in this new,... Read more