Audiobook Sample
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- Title: Destroyer
- Author: Michael-Scott Earle
- Narrator: Kevin T. Collins
- Length: 14:55:19
- Version: Abridged
- Release Date: 21/11/2017
- Publisher: Tantor Media
- Genre: Science Fiction & Fantasy, Epic Fantasy
- ISBN13: 9.78E+12
The first time I pressed play on Michael-Scott Earle’s “Destroyer”, I was winding through the Atlas Mountains in Morocco, where the line between legend and reality feels as thin as the mountain air. The audiobook’s opening scenes – where Duchess Nadea and Scholar Paug embark on their desperate quest – immediately transported me to those Moroccan cliffs where local storytellers weave tales of djinn and ancient heroes. There’s something magical about listening to epic fantasy while moving through landscapes that have inspired such stories for centuries.
Kevin T. Collins’ narration grabs you from the first syllable. His voice has that rare quality I associate with the best campfire storytellers – the kind I encountered while staying with Berber nomads who could make the cracking of a fire sound like prophecy. Collins handles the novel’s complex characters with impressive range, giving Duchess Nadea a regal yet vulnerable tone while voicing the awakened ‘legend’ with gravelly ambiguity that keeps you guessing about his true nature. The way he modulates his pacing during battle scenes had me white-knuckling the steering wheel during my mountain drive, as if dragons might swoop down from the peaks.
Earle’s world-building shines in audio format. The Ancients’ return carries apocalyptic weight when you hear their voices – Collins renders them with this chilling, multi-layered effect that reminded me of hearing echoes in Petra’s ancient ruins. The magic system’s sonic descriptions (spells ‘hissing like steam from a geyser’) gain visceral impact when performed rather than read. I particularly appreciated how the audio format enhances the scholar Paug’s documents – Collins reads them with just the right touch of academic dryness, like a university professor I once heard lecturing in the ruins of Carthage.
What makes this audiobook special is how it plays with expectations. Like stumbling upon a ‘legendary’ restaurant in some back alley that turns out to serve either the best meal of your life or food poisoning, the story constantly keeps you questioning whether this awakened hero is savior or destroyer. Earle subverts fantasy tropes in ways that reminded me of Jorge Luis Borges’ labyrinthine short stories – another author I discovered through audiobooks while lost (literally) in Buenos Aires’ bookshop alleys.
The production quality deserves mention. Unlike some fantasy audiobooks where battle scenes become muddy cacophony, Tantor Media keeps the clarity even during the most chaotic magical confrontations. At 6 hours and 15 minutes, it’s a satisfying single-day listen – I completed it during that Morocco-to-Fes drive, and the timing felt perfect, like a well-paced miniseries.
If I had one critique, it’s that some secondary characters could use more vocal distinction. There’s a tavern scene where three mercenaries blend together, requiring a rewind to track who’s speaking – a small flaw that made me nostalgic for that Oaxacan grandmother who could voice a dozen distinct characters without breaking a sweat.
For fans of gritty fantasy like Joe Abercrombie’s “First Law” series or the morally complex worlds of K.S. Villoso, “Destroyer” offers a fresh take on the ‘awakened hero’ trope. The mature themes (handled with appropriate gravity by Collins) make this best for listeners who prefer their fantasy with philosophical weight and psychological realism.
As someone who’s collected stories from Marrakech to Macau, I can say this audiobook captures that universal human tension between the legends we need and the messy reality we inhabit. The final scenes – which I won’t spoil – left me staring at the Moroccan sunset, pondering how all cultures create heroes to face their existential threats, and how those heroes rarely match the stories. It’s the kind of narrative that lingers, like the taste of strong mint tea or the echo of a storyteller’s last word in a quiet desert night.
Until our next adventure in story and song,
Marcus Rivera
