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I knew this day would come.  It’s been circled in red ink on my calendar ever since May 1st, 2008.  I’ve looked forward to it with great anticipation at times, and at other times with dread.  Those were usually the nights when I fell asleep bemoaning how many titles I’d committed to narrate that month, wondering how many hours of sleep I’d have to jettison from my schedule in order to finish them all – and THE ILLEARTH WAR – on time.  (But don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining, just tired.)

This is the day when part two of Stephen R. Donaldson’s amazing CHRONICLES OF THOMAS COVENANT THE UNBELIEVER, my favorite fantasy series of all time, becomes available as an audiobook.  As anyone who’s read my post of May 1st can attest, this has been a dream come true.  I’ve longed to record these books for twenty years, and now, finally, I’ve got my chance.

I’ve read this series a number of times, but it had been at least five or six years since the last time I’d read this particular volume, THE ILLEARTH WAR (click here to listen to a clip).  I recalled various things about it in general: in the first volume, Lord Foul warned the Lords of Revelstone that war would come upon them soon, and in THE ILLEARTH WAR, he takes it to them in forceful, provocative, and horrifying ways.  I recalled that, as its title implies, the book has a number of battle scenes in it, that the specter of war is pervasive even when nothing’s going on, like Fortinbras in “Hamlet,” looming imminently in the wings. 

The thing I had forgotten, however, was how lovely a book this is.  It is, perhaps, the most emotionally engaging book in the entire series.

Okay, I’ll admit that when I’m narrating books, there are the occasional moments when I can’t go on, when I get choked up and can’t continue without blubbering.  With certain books you expect that: love stories, classics, or nonfiction accounts of tragedies, like REPORT FROM GROUND ZERO, the book I did on 9/11.  With those books, tears are part of the bargain, the tax you pay on the trade.  They’re understandable, even expected.

But a book with “war” in the title?  Who expects tears there?

Be ready for it, this book will nail your hide to the wall.  Character arcs that began in volume one begin to progress, until before you know it, you’re a puddle on the wall of your studio and you gotta run out for more Kleenex, only you can’t cuz your girlfriend is upstairs keeping the dogs really quiet since you’re recording and you don’t want to waste the silence…

Uh… I mean, well, maybe that won’t happen to YOU.  Maybe that was more, uh, me.  Hmmm.  Projecting really sucks, doesn’t it?

Anyway, I kid about it, but trust me when I say, this book has got some harrowing adventure, and even more harrowing character development.  Man, I wish you’d already listened to it so we could discuss it here, I so want to share with you my favorite parts, but I can’t cuz it’ll give stuff away.  I envy you, getting to experience all this for the first time.

Well, enough from me, get to reading!  Er, listening. You can click here to listen to a clip from THE ILLEARTH WAR, and if you like it you can buy the download. Remember, like all Brick By Brick audiobooks, this is the ONLY place you can get THE ILLEARTH WAR.

I truly appreciate all the help and support you’ve shown by investing your hard-earned dough on volume one in this series, and making the audiobook version of THE CHRONICLES OF THOMAS COVENANT a success.  We’re now two-thirds of the way through the First Chronicles, and it only gets better from here.  Part Three, THE POWER THAT PRESERVES, comes out April 1st, then after that, it’s on to the Second Chronicles!

Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to record STAVE TWO: THE FIRST OF THE THREE SPIRITS in A CHRISTMAS CAROL.  Then it’s off to bed.  Before nodding off, I’m sure I’ll glance at the next two dates circled in red on my calendar: Thanksgiving, and December 1st.  Two new books in less than two weeks?  Ah well.  Sleep isn’t mandatory, is it?  More just a suggestion…?

Thanks for listening,

Scott Brick