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The DemonWars Saga [Dramatized Adaptation] #1, 1 of 3
The Demon Awakens (1 of 3) [Dramatized Adaptation]
In THE DEMON AWAKENS, bestselling author R. A. Salvatore creates an astonishing new world for readers to explore--and an intrepid hero to lead the way: Elbryan Wynden, who must confront the dark tides of destiny in his epic search for justice and peace . . .
A great evil has awakened in the land of Corona, a terrible demon determined to spread death and misery. His goblin armies and fearsome giants ravage the settlements of the frontier, and in the small village of Dundallis their merciless attack leaves behind two shattered orphans: Pony and her lifelong friend, the youth Elbryan. Taken in by elves, Elbryan is raised to become a formidable ranger--a fateful role that will lead him into harrowing confrontation.
Meanwhile, on a far-off island, a shower of gemstones will fall onto the black sand shores. These heaven-sent stones carry within them an incredible power--the key to all that is good in the world and all that is evil, and it is up to one young monk to liberate them from the corrupt monastery that harvests them. Pray that they don't fall into the wrong, clawed hands . . .
8 pages, Audio CD
Published April 1, 2009
About the author
R.A. Salvatore
608 books11.5k followersAs one of the fantasy genre’s most successful authors, R.A. Salvatore enjoys an ever-expanding and tremendously loyal following. His books regularly appear on The New York Times best-seller lists and have sold more than 10,000,000 copies. Salvatore’s original hardcover, The Two Swords, Book III of The Hunter’s Blade Trilogy (October 2004) debuted at # 1 on The Wall Street Journal best-seller list and at # 4 on The New York Times best-seller list. His books have been translated into numerous foreign languages including German, Italian, Finnish, Greek, Hungarian, Turkish, Croatian, Bulgarian, Yiddish, Spanish, Russian, Polish, Portuguese, Czech, and French.
Salvatore’s first published novel, The Crystal Shard from TSR in 1988, became the first volume of the acclaimed Icewind Dale Trilogy and introduced an enormously popular character, the dark elf Drizzt Do’Urden. Since that time, Salvatore has published numerous novels for each of his signature multi-volume series including The Dark Elf Trilogy, Paths of Darkness, The Hunter’s Blades Trilogy, and The Cleric Quintet.
His love affair with fantasy, and with literature in general, began during his sophomore year of college when he was given a copy of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings as a Christmas gift. He promptly changed his major from computerscience to journalism. He received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Communications from Fitchburg State College in 1981, then returned for the degree he always cherished, the Bachelor of Arts in English. He began writing seriously in 1982, penning the manuscript that would become Echoes of the Fourth Magic. Salvatore held many jobs during those first years as a writer, finally settling in (much to our delight) to write full time in 1990.
The R.A. Salvatore Collection has been established at his alma mater, Fitchburg State College in Fitchburg, Massachusetts, containing the writer’s letters, manuscripts, and other professional papers. He is in good company, as The Salvatore Collection is situated alongside The Robert Cormier Library, which celebrates the writing career of the co-alum and esteemed author of young adult books.
Salvatore is an active member of his community and is on the board of trustees at the local library in Leominster, Massachusetts. He has participated in several American Library Association regional conferences, giving talks on themes including “Adventure fantasy” and “Why young adults read fantasy.” Salvatore himself enjoys a broad range of literary writers including James Joyce, Mark Twain, Geoffrey Chaucer, Shakespeare, Dante, and Sartre. He counts among his favorite genre literary influences Ian Fleming, Arthur Conan Doyle, Fritz Leiber, and of course, J.R.R. Tolkien.
Born in 1959, Salvatore is a native of Massachusetts and resides there with his wife Diane, and their three children, Bryan, Geno, and Caitlin. The family pets include three Japanese Chins, Oliver, Artemis and Ivan, and four cats including Guenhwyvar.
When he isn't writing, Salvatore chases after his three Japanese Chins, takes long walks, hits the gym, and coaches/plays on a fun-league softball team that includes most of his family. His gaming group still meets on Sundays to play.
http://us.macmillan.com/author/rasalv...
Salvatore’s first published novel, The Crystal Shard from TSR in 1988, became the first volume of the acclaimed Icewind Dale Trilogy and introduced an enormously popular character, the dark elf Drizzt Do’Urden. Since that time, Salvatore has published numerous novels for each of his signature multi-volume series including The Dark Elf Trilogy, Paths of Darkness, The Hunter’s Blades Trilogy, and The Cleric Quintet.
His love affair with fantasy, and with literature in general, began during his sophomore year of college when he was given a copy of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings as a Christmas gift. He promptly changed his major from computerscience to journalism. He received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Communications from Fitchburg State College in 1981, then returned for the degree he always cherished, the Bachelor of Arts in English. He began writing seriously in 1982, penning the manuscript that would become Echoes of the Fourth Magic. Salvatore held many jobs during those first years as a writer, finally settling in (much to our delight) to write full time in 1990.
The R.A. Salvatore Collection has been established at his alma mater, Fitchburg State College in Fitchburg, Massachusetts, containing the writer’s letters, manuscripts, and other professional papers. He is in good company, as The Salvatore Collection is situated alongside The Robert Cormier Library, which celebrates the writing career of the co-alum and esteemed author of young adult books.
Salvatore is an active member of his community and is on the board of trustees at the local library in Leominster, Massachusetts. He has participated in several American Library Association regional conferences, giving talks on themes including “Adventure fantasy” and “Why young adults read fantasy.” Salvatore himself enjoys a broad range of literary writers including James Joyce, Mark Twain, Geoffrey Chaucer, Shakespeare, Dante, and Sartre. He counts among his favorite genre literary influences Ian Fleming, Arthur Conan Doyle, Fritz Leiber, and of course, J.R.R. Tolkien.
Born in 1959, Salvatore is a native of Massachusetts and resides there with his wife Diane, and their three children, Bryan, Geno, and Caitlin. The family pets include three Japanese Chins, Oliver, Artemis and Ivan, and four cats including Guenhwyvar.
When he isn't writing, Salvatore chases after his three Japanese Chins, takes long walks, hits the gym, and coaches/plays on a fun-league softball team that includes most of his family. His gaming group still meets on Sundays to play.
http://us.macmillan.com/author/rasalv...
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
November 29, 2016
Started listening without knowing what I'm going into. I only knew one thing - R.A. Salvatore!
As it turned out, it was more than enough! Perfect start to what will apparently become a saga of epic proportions!
Master of creating new worlds, and injecting life into old ones, Salvatore surprised me with how unexpected Corona turned out to be. Yes, my expectation bar was pretty high, but it's his own fault for writing so good! And oh my Gods, did he deliver...
Entire experience was drastically enhanced by the guys at GraphicAudio! I read some people didn't like them adding dialogue when there was none, but once you start listening with the book in front of you you'll realize how it had to be done. I'm glad they did it, as it further enhanced the immersion.
Rare are the books that I listen that don't start with horrible "This is Audible."
This one, however, starts with something like "Graphic audio... a theater in your mind."
They were 101% on point there. I had two ~4-5 hours flights and can't remember most of them. I had my eyes firmly shut and was listening to this masterpiece!
I guess I'm a bit late to this epic saga considering it was written 20 years ago, but it was well worth the wait. Hearing how Random House Audio did their StarWars-related book productions and enjoying vocal magic from Marc Thompson, I thought audiobooks can never get better.
To be honest, it's like comparing apples and oranges at this point, because people at GraphicAudio really went out of their way to keep that promise of a theater in your mind. They had songs in Elvish! And I must admit I was really caught off guard by it and surely haven't appreciated it at the time of hearing. But I'll find it somewhere and set as my morning alarm. That's just too damn beautiful to hear only once.
There are little cons to this audiobook, too. Can you believe it? Yes, still not an absolute perfect 5*, but if I ever find one I'll jump off a bridge. My life will be complete. However, even if I like handing out fives for book that leave such an impression on me, a perfect 5* will be an equivalent of 3,333,360 points score on Pacman.
So, cons. One, really, but repeated several times throughout the book. Producer wanted to make you feel you were there every second of your listening. Complete immersion. Problem first appeared during the first battle. Swords clanging, warriors shouting, fire burning, people screaming... I had serious trouble making out the dialogue. I turned the volume up, but all the background noise also went up. It pissed me off so badly.
Still, not much of a story usually develops during the battle, so I guess it was all good. And hopefully people provided them with feedback once the book was released to the public. I'll check out part 2 soon and will let you know :-)
In the meantime, download this perfection and plug yourself in the world of Corona. You'll thank me later.
As it turned out, it was more than enough! Perfect start to what will apparently become a saga of epic proportions!
Master of creating new worlds, and injecting life into old ones, Salvatore surprised me with how unexpected Corona turned out to be. Yes, my expectation bar was pretty high, but it's his own fault for writing so good! And oh my Gods, did he deliver...
Entire experience was drastically enhanced by the guys at GraphicAudio! I read some people didn't like them adding dialogue when there was none, but once you start listening with the book in front of you you'll realize how it had to be done. I'm glad they did it, as it further enhanced the immersion.
Rare are the books that I listen that don't start with horrible "This is Audible."
This one, however, starts with something like "Graphic audio... a theater in your mind."
They were 101% on point there. I had two ~4-5 hours flights and can't remember most of them. I had my eyes firmly shut and was listening to this masterpiece!
I guess I'm a bit late to this epic saga considering it was written 20 years ago, but it was well worth the wait. Hearing how Random House Audio did their StarWars-related book productions and enjoying vocal magic from Marc Thompson, I thought audiobooks can never get better.
To be honest, it's like comparing apples and oranges at this point, because people at GraphicAudio really went out of their way to keep that promise of a theater in your mind. They had songs in Elvish! And I must admit I was really caught off guard by it and surely haven't appreciated it at the time of hearing. But I'll find it somewhere and set as my morning alarm. That's just too damn beautiful to hear only once.
There are little cons to this audiobook, too. Can you believe it? Yes, still not an absolute perfect 5*, but if I ever find one I'll jump off a bridge. My life will be complete. However, even if I like handing out fives for book that leave such an impression on me, a perfect 5* will be an equivalent of 3,333,360 points score on Pacman.
So, cons. One, really, but repeated several times throughout the book. Producer wanted to make you feel you were there every second of your listening. Complete immersion. Problem first appeared during the first battle. Swords clanging, warriors shouting, fire burning, people screaming... I had serious trouble making out the dialogue. I turned the volume up, but all the background noise also went up. It pissed me off so badly.
Still, not much of a story usually develops during the battle, so I guess it was all good. And hopefully people provided them with feedback once the book was released to the public. I'll check out part 2 soon and will let you know :-)
In the meantime, download this perfection and plug yourself in the world of Corona. You'll thank me later.
May 7, 2016
I tried. I honestly tried. When I bought this book from Humble Bundle, I thought I'd be getting a fantasy audio book. I got a lame audio play which is very difficult to follow because most of the narration is drowned out by all kinds of characters panting and/or screaming and the little I could concentrate on was not really worth my while (one-dimensional characters and all too familiar tropes). Usually I finish a book even if I hate it but I have a whole series of this crap and I just gave up without even getting through even 1/4 of the very first book.
September 9, 2022
Can you believe this is from 1996?! It holds up very well. I'll definitely continue on with the series in graphic audiobook 🎧 format.
June 22, 2025
The story itself is captivating, but there are some sound issues. There are moments of high drama where the backing tracks overpower the narration making the listener have to vibe out what's going on especially in the first few chapters with our young protagonists. Some of the vocalizations can also come off as a tad too much, but that might be charming to another listener.
If you can muddle through it though the payoff is wonderful as you get to grow up the characters. Our 3 protagonists leading lives on very different paths makes me excited for when their storylines converge.
I was concerned about the book being split into 3 parts, but I do believe the end of the first part felt natural, akin to a mid season finale
If you can muddle through it though the payoff is wonderful as you get to grow up the characters. Our 3 protagonists leading lives on very different paths makes me excited for when their storylines converge.
I was concerned about the book being split into 3 parts, but I do believe the end of the first part felt natural, akin to a mid season finale
September 24, 2019
Classic fantasy,
liked the initial coming of age bit and the progression as they get stronger, but the ending felt like it just happened suddenly in a straight line path. Hardly any frustrations or anything. The bad guy ended up not being as bad or as strong as expected .
The transformation of avelyn was awesome though!
liked the initial coming of age bit and the progression as they get stronger, but the ending felt like it just happened suddenly in a straight line path. Hardly any frustrations or anything. The bad guy ended up not being as bad or as strong as expected .
The transformation of avelyn was awesome though!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 11, 2021
This volume is definitely slow. There is a lot of background and set up. There is some action, but it’s mostly the main characters ordinary lives. The sound design is pretty good but rather loud in some parts. It’s sometimes hard to hear the characters or narrator over the music or background noise.
March 13, 2017
Flat writing. Salvatore TELLS you many times people are "in physical and emotional pain". *shudder* Plus...the part where Pony and Elbrion are making out....they're 12/13. Slightly icky to hear a description of kids that age make out. Plus, Pony gets a complex about sex and marries a pervy rapey noble...ew. Plus, what noble marries a freakin' barmaid, even a pretty sweet one?
I also have to laugh at ROCKS that can be squeezed for juice...BOG juice. Um...dude, just pick some sort of organic material...I can't even accept magic as a reason for squeezable rocks.
I wanted to like this...the plot was beginning to interest me, but...no. Just no.
I also have to laugh at ROCKS that can be squeezed for juice...BOG juice. Um...dude, just pick some sort of organic material...I can't even accept magic as a reason for squeezable rocks.
I wanted to like this...the plot was beginning to interest me, but...no. Just no.
March 17, 2018
There is some weakness in the writing. The soliloquies are horrible. However, bear with it. The second book is much better
July 26, 2016
This was my first foray into Graphic Audio (as well as Salvatore). I'm actually a little worried that regular audio books may feel dull now. :D Unfortunately, I listen to audio books while I work, cleaning pools, and I only wear one earbud in case a customer tries to get my attention. With the graphic audio books, I found that if I had the wrong earbud in, the narration and dialogue was sometimes lost behind the music and sound effects. Of course, I don't think I missed any important plot points, with all the slashing, cutting, grunting, and screaming going on.
The story was fun enough, though nothing great. This review goes for all three parts of book one "The Demon Awakens".
The story was fun enough, though nothing great. This review goes for all three parts of book one "The Demon Awakens".
September 7, 2014
This was an enjoy work but it reminded me so much of the previous series the author wrote it was hard to get into at first. The surround sound of the story is both interesting and immersible. There were a few times I looked around hearing the effects and wondering if anyone else knew what was happening in the storyline. This was a good read and a good listen.
April 20, 2016
This book is a great start to the series. The recording on this audiobook is excellent. The different sound effects and the music really add to the different scenes. This story will appeal to fans of the Wheel of Time series.
July 30, 2017
Najbardziej podobał mi się motyw Elbryana i Pony. Niezbyt podobał mi się motyw mnicha. Ale ciekawa jestem co będzie dalej.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews