Audible Book Review: Carniepunk: The Demon Barker of Wheat Street by Kevin Hearne

I enjoy the Iron Druid Series and the short novellas that add to the series.

Carniepunk: The Demon Barker of Wheat Street
By: Kevin Hearne
Narrated by: Kirby Heyborne
Series: Iron Druid Chronicles, Book 4.7
Length: 1 hr and 4 mins
Release date: 09-09-14
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
Genre: Short Story, Urban Fantasy
My Rating: 4.25 of 5.0 Overall; Story 4.25; Narration 3.75.
#Fraterfest

Publisher's Summary
From the New York Times best-selling author of Hounded comes an Iron Druid Chronicles short story in the captivating Carniepunk anthology.
The ancient Druid Atticus O’Sullivan gets more than greasy corn dogs and flat soda when he visits a carnival in Kansas to which his apprentice, Granuaile, drags him. He runs across a barker with a strange power over the crowd: attractive women leave their men and disappear into an unmarked tent, never to be seen again, and the men wander away, forgetting that they ever had girlfriends or wives. When Granuaile falls under the barker’s influence and enters the tent, Atticus isn’t about to forget it and move on. He and his Irish wolfhound, Oberon, pursue her and discover the horrifying secret to the carnival’s success.
©2014 Kevin Hearne (P)2014 Simon & Schuster Audio

Review:
Atticus has been busy training his apprentice, Granuaile, after faking her death a few years earlier. Granuaile is concerned how her mother is doing and convinces Atticus to go with her to her home town in Kansas. Atticus is originally reluctant because he last left Kansas on tense terms with the underlying elemental whom he calls “Amber”. There is no telling what might occur to Atticus.

Once Granuaile has confirmed that her mother is fine, she drags Atticus to a local carnival. At first things seem fairly normal until they come upon a tent where the people seem to enter and disappear, leaving, friends behind with a sense of confusion. Granuaile rushes in before Atticus can warn her that he has recognized danger in the booth. Atticus’ faithful wolfhound, Oberon, also realizes there is danger but by the time he tries to pull Granuaile away, she is mesmerized and unresponsive to him. Will Amber help Atticus in his desperate efforts to reach Granuaile before she is destroyed by the evil that has taken over?

I enjoy the Iron Druid series and it is always fun to get the adventure and danger in a short bite novella between the full stories. The usual sass and snark between the characters is present and makes the story the fun I expected. I recommend the short story to fans of the series or to readers who might want to test the waters in the Iron Druid series.

Audio Notes: I have to say that I was disappointed in the audio. The quality was fine and the narrator, Kirby Heyborne, did an alright job, but he is not Luke Daniels. Those of us who have listened to other full stories and novellas in the series which have been narrated by Daniels are clearly aware of the difference in voice and not too happy about the different narrator. It did jolt even my equable senses. I was glad to have the listen for my air-flight but to true fans I might suggest reading this one.

Source: 12/13/2019 Audible Member Sales $.94. This qualifies for 2020TBR, 2020Audiobook goals and #Fraterfest event.