Enchantment
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Enchantment Audible Audiobook – Unabridged

4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 754 ratings
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As one of the most consistently exciting writers to emerge in the last 25 years, Orson Scott Card has been honored with numerous awards, while immersing readers in dazzling worlds only he could create. Now, in Enchantment, Card works his magic as never before, transforming the timeless story of Sleeping Beauty into an original fantasy brimming with romance and adventure.
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  1. Listening Length
    17 hours and 26 minutes
  2. Author
    Orson Scott Card
  3. Narrator
    Stefan Rudnicki
  4. Audible release date
    December 17, 2007
  5. Language
    English
  6. Publisher
    Blackstone Audio, Inc.
  7. ASIN
    B0011FSRUI
  8. Version
    Unabridged
  9. Program Type
    Audiobook
  10. See all details
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Product details

Listening Length 17 hours and 26 minutes
Author Orson Scott Card
Narrator Stefan Rudnicki
Audible.com Release Date December 17, 2007
Publisher Blackstone Audio, Inc.
Program Type Audiobook
Version Unabridged
Language English
ASIN B0011FSRUI
Best Sellers Rank #82,919 in Audible Books & Originals (See Top 100 in Audible Books & Originals)
#487 in Fairy Tale Fantasy (Audible Books & Originals)
#691 in Historical Fantasy (Audible Books & Originals)
#691 in Contemporary Fantasy

Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5 out of 5
754 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

amazon user
5.0 out of 5 stars A lovely tale masterfully written
Reviewed in the United States on June 17, 2013
Verified Purchase
An incredible book. Enchantment is one of my overall-favorite books and is my favorite book by Orson Scott Card. For comparison, here is a short list of my overall-favorite books (up to the present time, out of several thousand books, in no particular order):

- The Mouse That Roared, by Leonard Wibberley
- Catch 22, by Joseph Heller
- Le Comte de Monte Cristo (AKA, The Count of Monte Cristo), by Alexandre Dumas
- Les Misérables, by Victor Hugo
- Enchantment, by Orson Scott Card
- Lord of the Flies, by William Golding
- The Mists of Avalon, by Marion Zimmer Bradley

If you enjoy the other books on the above list, I'm fairly certain you'll enjoy Enchantment as well. Enchantment has romping adventure, doesn't shy from unmentionables, adhere's to reality as much as possible in a lighthearted manner, and puts a wide grin on my face. Refer respectively to; The Mouse that Roared and The Count of Monte Cristo (romping adventure); Les Misérables, Lord of the Flies, Catch 22, and The Mists of Avalon (doesn't shy from unmentionables and/or adheres to reality); The Mouse that Roared and Catch 22 (lighthearted, grin-inducing read).

As I see it, the novel Enchantment was written to answer the question, "What if those fairy-tales were true?" In answering that question there are two key points; 1) Enchantment is written from a, sometimes-graphic, real-life viewpoint rather than that of Disney fairy tales, and 2) Card masterfully weaves fairy-tale logic into the story in such a manner that one must actively seek it out to recognize it.

The first point is lost on some who only want the PG-rated version. Enchantment is lighthearted with a twist of dark humor. A refreshing combination. For a parallel, think of a fairy-tale nemesis who lops off the heads of his opponents. If said nemesis existed in Card's carefully crafted world, perhaps one would hear his thoughts and find a more detailed description of events and/or of one of the heads as it lay on the ground. As in some of Card's other works, sexual topics do pop up in passing without window dressing--more intellectually graphic than physically (pertinent spoiler at the bottom*). All events occur in a natural manner, not forced.

The second point (on fairy-tale logic) is lost on other readers who are left wondering why some things occur.

Q: "Why did that happen?"
A: "Because these things happen in fairy tales."

Enchantment is a masterful telling of the "true" story behind the fairy tale. If you; like to laugh, have a soft spot for a little romance, enjoy adventures, and don't shy from discussing some aspects of life; you just might enjoy Enchantment. I highly recommend it.

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kindle: My current version of the book is a kindle book. If you are familiar with kindle books, you will be fine with the experience. With Enchantment, nothing kindle-related is noteworthy. If you have a kindle, you'll know why I mention it. If you don't have one, kindle books sometimes have issues (technical formulas not being zoomable, etc.) but are great for leisure reading.

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*Mild SPOILER ALERT of a pertinent passage:

A specific mention in the book of B. Yaga's first marriage was referred to with loathing by another rater. A careful reading, however, will show--later in the book--it was B. Yaga who was in control (according to her current thoughts), not her victim of a first husband. Twistedly humorous.

Another viewpoint might be B. Yaga is currently so evil she copes with that situation by assigning her then self with evil intent. I find this second viewpoint unlikely to be the one Card intended.
5 people found this helpful
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Nadine
5.0 out of 5 stars An Extremely Original Re-telling of Sleeping Beauty
Reviewed in the United States on September 22, 2009
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Very few books leave me completely satisfied at the end, especially re-tellings of fairy tales which often do not meet my expectations. Orson Scott Card's version of Sleeping Beauty exceeded my expectations and is now sharing shelf space with my most favourite and cherished books.

I don't want to spoil anyone's reading pleasure by disclosing the plot of the story, but for those of you who are lucky to pick this book up - expect a rich historical setting, convergence of culture, well rounded characters, magic, philosophy and suspense. This is not the well-known prince-kisses-sleeping-princess-and-they-live-happily-ever-after story. It goes beyond the kiss and shows how happily ever after has to be fought for.

For once I am stuck for words to explain just how good this book is. Card has gone to great lengths to make his characters and the world they inhabit authentic. In a way, his version is much better than the original. I couldn't put this book down and will certainly read it again and again.
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Chip Hunter
4.0 out of 5 stars OSC's unique take on a classic fairy tale
Reviewed in the United States on May 4, 2016
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ENCHANTMENT is a unique take on the classic tale of Sleeping Beauty plus various other fairy tale tropes by Orson Scott Card. What happens after an unwitting Prince Charming kisses the spellbound Princess awake? What does Happily Ever After really look like, and how do we get there when the evil witch (Baba Yaga in this case) is still around? And just to make things a little more interesting, make this a time-traveling story with the usual philosophical meanderings which that entails. It may be a bit much to pull that off in a single novel, but OSC is up to the challenge.

The tale centers around a modern-day boy (Ivan) who accidentally discovers a secret glen containing a mysterious, sleeping woman (Katerina). This fated meeting begins a cascade of events that will determine the course of history, and involves powerful magic, modern innovations, and the involvement of new gods and old. Katerina and Ivan live up to your expectations for fairy tale heroes. Ivan is the pampered son of the modern age, never having had to perform actual manual labor, never having had to bother with the mundane aspects of survival (farming, etc), and certainly never having had to fight for his life. Katerina is the perfect story tale princess, though much tougher than you might imagine Snow White or Cinderella to be. Her beauty and privilege is matched by her confidence, knowledge, and ability. They make a lovely pair, somehow familiar, but definitely containing a magical charm.

The story strikes a nice balance between the mundane and the magical. Card tells this story in a way that minimizes the fantastical and reveals that even in a world of magic, it is the everyday struggles and worries of life that consume us. I also enjoyed Card’s contrasting of our modern world and medieval Russia, where despite having lost the pervasive magic found in olden times, our technology and learning have created a far more advanced and civilized world. Also, true to fairy tale form, OSC doesn't shy from the highly improbable or unbelievable circumstance. There are gods and Fate involved after all.

The pacing of the story is less than ideal at times. Some parts tend to wander and could have been pared down into a simpler, less repetitive form. This is true for the time when Katerina visits modern America and also when Ivan is learning the facts of life in ancient Taina. Card typically does a better job of cutting the chafe, so I was somewhat disappointed in this lack of rigorous editing, but its possible he had reasons that I don’t understand for seeming to drag out parts of the book. Overall, I very much enjoyed the story, and would recommend the book to anyone looking for a fun, brainy, and well-written novel.
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Kaylo
5.0 out of 5 stars Great for reading aloud
Reviewed in the United States on May 18, 2007
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A friend loaned me a copy of this book, and after reading a bit of it, I quickly stopped. Why? Because vacation was coming up soon, I was going to take my wife and go see my parents for a couple weeks, and it looked like something everyone would enjoy.

And they did. All at once. Enchantment made great "sit around and read to each other" material.

For Ender fans... no, this is not the Enderverse. It's well written. It entertainly probes boundaries between fairytales, fairytale settings, and modern misconceptions about fairytale settings. It's main character is a competitive runner, which I thought was fun. There's a sprinkling of magic, a modicum of history, and a lot of culture shock. It's a fun read, and a good book to pass on to the next person.
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Top reviews from other countries

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Bart M. Lajeunesse
5.0 out of 5 stars Can’t stop reading
Reviewed in Canada on October 3, 2021
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Olson Scott Card writes about characters better than nearly anyone I’ve read, I’ll buy anything he writes
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Alex
5.0 out of 5 stars Lieblingsbuch
Reviewed in Germany on September 28, 2021
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Bestimmt schon 7 oder 8 mal gelesen. einfach jedes Mal gut, ein richtiger Wohlfühl-Roman!
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sasha
5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic book! A wonderful story with Very funny
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 13, 2016
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Fantastic book! A wonderful story with Very funny, but also has sympathetic real characters, especially the evil witch Baba Yaga.
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Arnaud
5.0 out of 5 stars Génial Orson Scott Card
Reviewed in France on April 13, 2015
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Si vous avez aimé la série Ender Games vous savez de quoi est capable OSC, mais le thème n'a ici rien à voir, c'est juste magnifique, on se retrouve dans la tête d'un jeune homme propulsé dans un univers de conte de fées teinté de folklore russe, absolument génial, magnifiquement écrit et d'une grande profondeur dans les questionnements existentiels. Bref c'est beau, agréable à lire et ça donne à réfléchir... seul petit bémol, l'édition est vraiment moche (couverture à vomir et très gna gan, police horriblement petite et papier de qualité médiocre), heureusement que c'est une belle oeuvre
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Yukari
5.0 out of 5 stars i like it
Reviewed in Japan on June 11, 2014
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thank you for sending me. we read it at our book club.
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