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Audiobooks, ratings, reviews (beta)

The House in the Cerulean Sea

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mushrooms on a tree covered with moss

Author: TJ Klune –


Publisher: Tor –


Genre: Fable –


Overall rating: 1/5 –


Writing: 1/5 –


Duration: 12:11 (medium) –


Narrators: Daniel Henning –


Narrator/performance: 4/5 –


Impressions: 4/5 –


Performance errors: 0/5 –


Complexity/reading level: 1/5 –


Audience: Possibly children about to be adopted by responsible gay couples


Commentary/review

I tried the book thanks to its enthusiastic ratings and was very disappointed. While the beginning of the story promises a cozy fairy tale about the important, private things in life, with great dialogues and funny ideas, by the time the book was finished, I found it painfully unlikable. I have exactly nothing against a six year old Lucifer in an orphanage or against gay couples raising children. This book was irritating because it was bad but not for the reason of its subject but for the low quality of writing. The characters in the book were developed in a way which was at the same time predictable and unsatisfactory (until recently I have not realized it was even possible). The motivations jump from one extreme to another without any clear reason or any sign of inner development. The characters became unrelatable. Once they become unrelatable, they start their tedious monologues based on our assumed great support for them. The magical children, the best part of the book, do not save the tale near its ending as, by then, it becomes absurdly political and celebrating fame. Why? Again, completely unclear.

The book is read expertly. Daniel Henning’s performance is in my opinion the best part of the book.

The House in the Cerulean Sea audiobook cover, showing a house on an unsteady hanging cliff hanging over a body of water

The cover is very nice. It has the right colors, the right subject and the right style. The entire cover is a great success.

Cover Photo by Amy Humphries on Unsplash