Matthew Woodring Stover may be best known for the Star Wars novels that landed him on The New York Times Bestseller List, but die-hard fans know that his talents reach dimensions far beyond black and white. Stover also penned HEROES DIE—the first in his Acts of Caine series—a tale that Finalist Publisher Audible.com describes as “a new kind of fantasy novel and a new kind of hero to go with it: Caine, a street thug turned superstar, battling in a future where reality shows take place in another dimension, on a world where magic exists and gods are up close and personal.” Even a cursory Google of Stover will produce gaggles of fans who swear that he’s the best sci-fi/fantasy author around today.
In the video below, AudioFile Golden Voice and Skyboat Media co-founder Stefan Rudnicki shares his experience narrating HEROES DIE, and quite frankly, his excitement for this work is both palpable and catching. The project is an Audie finalist in the category of Fantasy, but Stefan’s fuzzy feelings for the story go far beyond awards. Stefan praises Stover for his depth of character, for his rare ability to invent languages that his readers can truly understand, and for his knack at making so much violence and bloodshed feel earned.
But Stefan didn’t travel this road alone. Skyboat Director Claire Bloom kept her fingers on the dials as Stefan dove headfirst into this masterful sci-fi/fantasy hybrid. Listen to her talk about what it was like to work with the words of Matthew Stover and the voice of Stefan Rudnicki, or, as she put it, “two genii.”
Click here to listen to Stefan’s golden voice take on that of Caine, and click here for an interview Stover did with Jay Tomio on Boom Reads, where he discusses everything from his literary influences to his favorite fight scenes of all time. Thanks for reading! Keep tuning in to our Audie Countdown as the May 30th gala approaches!
