Narrated by Natalie Ross & Phil Gigante
The Fever series took a bit of a right turn with Burned. Originally planned to be another book mainly from Dani’s POV, that idea was rolled into a book which mainly focuses on Mac. I believe this part of the series was planned to be five books but will now be three (taking the Fever total to eight). It’s quite a departure from the previous book, Iced. I saw an interview with the author where she said that she felt the book was better for the new direction. For me, it was obvious that Burned does not fit seamlessly into the Fever universe. It felt a little squished around the edges and made to fit.
In case listeners don’t already know – this is not a series where you can just jump in anywhere. It’s best to start at the beginning (Darkfever). There is a lot going on and it’s difficult to describe the plot without giving away major spoilers, but I’ll do my best. Fans of the series will no doubt have already listened to (or read – or both) The Alpha Alternative. That scene (a sex scene from Barrons’ POV) was originally written as a result of a promise to fans after Shadowfever did well in a competition. It ended with a question, posed from the author – did this really happen or not? That question is answered at the very beginning of this book and if the words sound familiar – well, there’s a reason for that (that’s a hint – you do not need to go find The Alpha Alternative. Trust me on this.).
Near the start of Burned, Dani (aged 14 as she was in Iced) encounters Mac and flees through the silvers (mirror-like objects which are used as portals to different worlds). This has profound impact on Dani but listeners have to wait a fair amount of time to know exactly how. I won’t say it neatly solves the problem of Dani’s age and a possible love interest with Ryodan or Christian MacKeltar because it didn’t feel particularly neat. I thought it a little bit twee actually. But it does solve the problem – even as it creates new ones.
Mac has been lying low because she has a copy of the Sinsar Dubh inside her. It talks to her and tries to get her to do evil things. She and Barrons have been searching the silvers for a way to rid her of it – which explains their absence in the previous book. While Mac has the lion’s share of the narration, there are a number of POV characters – Dani, Barrons, Christian, Lor, Kat and a new character called Jada. I may have forgotten someone.
As has been the case for the previous three books, Natalie Ross and Phil Gigante share the narration. Ms. Ross performs all the female POV and female dialogue, Mr. Gigante performs the male. It’s a method I’ve only heard in the Fever series but it really works. The males always sound male and the females always sound female. There is never any confusion about who is talking because everyone has a different accent and/or a completely different pitch. Changes in POV are obvious and this makes it easier not to get lost when there’s a change of direction.
Both narrators have had a long association with the series and this also adds to the depth of their characterisations, which are just brilliant. There were a few vocal errors in the listen – where Kat’s accent faded a bit or Barrons’ voice slipped into Ryodan’s and one or two fluffed or mixed-up words but it was otherwise excellent. The story had quite a bit of the ridiculous in it but the narration helped keep it grounded.
I particularly enjoyed the way Mr. Gigante narrated Christian – who spends most of the book a prisoner of the Crimson Hag (who, if you will remember, likes to disembowel her victims and knit with their entrails. Because Christian is immortal, he dies over and over again only to wake to hideous pain.) The way Mr. Gigante performed these scenes was (pardon the pun) visceral.
After the introductory portion of the story, the prime focus on the novel was in locating Christian and mounting a rescue. The comic relief in an otherwise heavy novel was Lor (and I have the feeling Mr. Gigante particularly enjoyed voicing this character). Lor is not at all PC and I think he’s about to get his comeuppance but he’s also hilarious:
“A woman is a performance. My dick rises to it.”
Where I think the story may have dragged for me in print, Ms. Ross’s narration kept my interest up. She knows Mac and her sense of humour so very well.
Mac discovers something heretofore unknown about Barrons and they have to work through it. Well, Barrons doesn’t do a lot of working – are you surprised? Their relationship isn’t in serious peril which I liked but I would have preferred some intimate time with them, where their softer emotions for each other were on display. Unfortunately, what was there was all tell not show.
While there is fairly explicit sex in the story, none of it is particularly romantic and very little of it involved Mac or Barrons (alas).
The book ends with a revelation but not a cliffhanger – something I appreciated very much. I don’t have a sense of what might be next but Ryodan isn’t finished with Dani and I expect Christian will have something to say about it. Mac is left in a somewhat interesting predicament and I’m sure it will be resolved at a very inopportune time. I think Barrons won’t let her get into too much trouble so I’m not too worried.
There are sections of the story which don’t really make sense and in parts it’s very choppy, especially with there being so many POV characters. However, the narration was so good, it kept me glued to my iPod so I’m counting this one as a win.
Kaetrin
Narration: A-
Book Content: C+
Steam Factor: Glad I had my earbuds in
Violence: Graphic plus Escalated Fighting
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Publisher: Brilliance Audio
Burned was provided to AudioGals by Brilliance Audio for a review.
Great review Kaetrin! I was not aware of The Alpha Alternative, so your review really was helpful in putting the opening scene in context. I’m listening to this book now, and just finished that scene, which definitely through me for a loop as I was expecting Dani, not Mac, and definitely not a past scene. I will say that Phil Gigante is magnificent! And the dual narration style of Phil Gigante and Natalie Ross is beyond compare!
Yes, the dual narration works wonderfully well for this series.
As for The Alpha Alternative – I was really surprised because when I first read it, I thought it was just a “what if” kind of thing, particularly because of how it came to be written and the tease at the end about “is it true or not?” but it is now “canon”.