
A Far Better Thing
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Narrated by:
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Nathaniel Priestley
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By:
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H. G. Parry
About this listen
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell meets A Tale of Two Cities in H. G. Parry’s A Far Better Thing, a heart-rending fantasy of faery revenge set during the French Revolution.
Most Anticipated SSF Books 2025—The Nerd Daily, BookPage
I feared this was the best of times; I hoped it could not get any worse.
The faeries stole Sydney Carton as a child, and made him a mortal servant of the Faery Realm. Now, he has a rare opportunity for revenge against the fae and Charles Darnay, the changeling left in his stead.
It will take magic and cunning—cold iron and Realm silver—to hide his intentions from humans and fae and bring his plans to fruition.
Shuttling between London and Paris during the Reign of Terror, generations of violence-begetting-violence lead him to a heartbreaking choice in the shadow of the guillotine.
A Macmillan Audio production from Tor Books.
©2025 H. G. Parry (P)2025 Macmillan AudioCritic reviews
“A dazzling incarnation of A Tale of Two Cities; a spellbinding tale of vengeance, violence and enduring heartbreak.”—Ariel Kaplan, author of The Pomegranate Gate
“A real heartburner of a novel—passionate, painful, with protagonists who were dragging all the weight of the past and could still strive towards something better for themselves and the ones they loved. The sort of book that one absolutely can't put down, that makes you cry in the best way.”—Genevieve Cogman
“This book had me at 'fairy revenge set against the French Revolution' and it did not disappoint! An elegant blend of magic, history and fairy lore that taps deep into what it means to be human—and the love and loss that entails.”—Kell Woods, author of Upon a Starlit Tide
“This book is perfect. Human changelings toil in revolutionary Paris and Dickens’ London for the world’s scariest fairy masters, just glad to be out of the Realm. A stage magician who excels at true magic uncovers a book with claws that our dissolute hero must fight with a sword. H. G. Parry is a brilliant writer who kept me on the edge of my seat, gulping down after page while still relishing all the flavors of her delicious prose.”—Ellen Kushner, author of the Tremontaine series
“Parry dazzles in this masterful fantasy riff on A Tale of Two Cities. ... The result is a rip-roaring tale rooted in love, vengeance, and justice. Readers will be wowed.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
It is an absorbing fast paced action driven historical fantasy drama with the heightened drama of the original with the looming and dangerous French Revolution alongside a parallel equally intense political machinations of the fairy realm and how they bind their mortal servants to servitude and leave behind fairy changelings. Thrust in the midst of all this is our beautifully damaged Sydney Carton, a mortal servant with a wickedly sharp brain but riddled with pain and the need for revenge.
The story is told to utter perfection by Nathaniel Priestley who is one of the absolute best and his delivery of this is so sharp he manages to hook you in and have you in his thrall at the end of each chapter you are waiting with bated breath. His range of character work is extraordinary and he manages to perfectly capture the multi-faceted elements of Sydney's character from his sarcastic wit, his blase attitude to life, his pain and vulnerability he keeps locked away - everything.
Its an utter joy to listen to this book, I immediately want to listen again as I loved it so much.
Best book of the last decade!!!!! 20 stars
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