The Ether Witch: The Casting Call

I’ll admit, I rolled my eyes at first when I heard *another* ‘troubled young mage’ premise. But *The Ether Witch* disarmed me within an hour—not with grand battles or prophecy, but with how *uncomfortable* Tamlin’s magic makes everyone around him. His powers don’t just *happen*; they *intrude*. A spell might manifest as a chorus of overlapping voices in his sister’s mind, or a single note that leaves his father clutching his ears. Delemhach’s writing excels in these quiet, creepy moments, and Wolf’s narration sells them perfectly. His Tamlin isn’t a brooding hero—he’s a kid who’s *tired* of being feared, and Wolf nails that mix of defiance and exhaustion. That said, the pacing stumbles in the middle. The ‘casting call’ of the title—a magical audition of sorts—drags when it should sing. Some secondary characters blur together, their voices in Wolf’s performance lacking distinctness, which is a shame given how vivid Tam and his family feel. And while the sound design is innovative, a few spell effects (like the ‘whispering wind’ motif) repeat enough to lose impact. But the finale? Worth the wait. When Tam’s magic finally *harmonizes*—both literally and thematically—it’s a payoff that lingers. This isn’t a book for listeners who want easy escapism; it’s for those who like their fantasy weird, emotional, and just a little bit *loud* in all the right ways.