Book description
Fire and Flight (ElfQuest #1) Review
Let me get this straight - we're supposed to believe that Wendy Pini, who couldn't even get Marvel to look at her art back in 1974, somehow revolutionized fantasy comics with her husband's elf saga? Well, color me skeptical, but also slightly impressed.
The audiobook version of Fire and Flight presents the first Wolfriders adventure with all the dramatic flair you'd expect from a husband-and-wife team running their own publishing empire out of New York. Our hero Cutter (because of course he's named something so on-the-nose) leads his elf crew through what can only be described as the world's most inconvenient real estate dispute - humans burned down their house, and now they're off to find some mystical cave they've never actually seen.
The narration captures the epic scope of this "groundbreaking" tale, though I use air quotes because let's be honest, fantasy elves fleeing persecution is hardly original material. But the Pinis managed to make it their own with what appears to be genuine passion and approximately zero budget - they self-published this thing for 25 years before DC Comics finally took pity on them.
What's particularly amusing is how the audiobook presents this as high drama when it's essentially just a very elaborate camping trip gone wrong. "Can the Wolfriders survive?" asks the synopsis with breathless anticipation. I mean, they're elves - they've got pointed ears and supernatural agility. They'll probably be fine. Though I suppose being betrayed by "cowardly trolls" (yes, that's a direct quote) does add some stakes to what might otherwise be a pleasant hiking expedition.
The production values are decent enough for a work that started as a rejection letter footnote. Wendy Pini's artwork may have been spurned by Marvel, but apparently, she and Richard figured out how to turn elf politics into a decades-long career. There's something almost admirable about that entrepreneurial spirit, even if the story itself feels like it was cobbled together from rejected Dungeons & Dragons character sheets.
Still, you've got to hand it to the Pinis - they turned their comic book rejection into a Hall of Fame induction and multiple awards. Maybe there's a lesson there about perseverance, or maybe it's just proof that you don't need Marvel's blessing to make it work. Either way, Fire and Flight serves as an adequate introduction to a fantasy world that's more ambitious than polished, which somehow feels perfectly appropriate for its origins.
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Bleeker
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Granola
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Cricket
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Playing a wide variety of audio formats
Works on all devices with iOS 13 and newer
Huge amount of features for a small price
Frequent updates to add new features and improve existing ones
Advanced playback controls
Live sound processing
Changing the timbre of the reader's voice and noise reduction
Translated into more than 20 languages
If you love listening to fiction audiobooks, ListenBook has features to make the process easier.
Edit book data: title, author, cover
Use equalizer to make the sound comfortable for you
Adjust the playback speed
Enjoy dark and light app themes
Supported formats: MP3, M4B, AWB, FLAC, OGG audio files and many more (must be DRM free)
Auto-Bookmarks make it easy to find your place
AirPlay support allows redirection of audio output.
VoiceOver support
Dark mode for night owls
Convenient bookmarking system helps you mark the most important places.
Unlimited bookmarks for each audiobook
Put your own cover on the wager
Share your audiobook with friends
Lock-screen control
Customise app with extensive options
Sleep timer with shake to reset, set custom notification sounds, and a few unique options
Auto rewind depending on paused time, customize rewind times to your liking
Removing background noise from recordings made in classrooms and meetings
Changing the timbre of the reader's voice for a better listening experience