The Dream-Quest of Vellitt Boe cover art

The Dream-Quest of Vellitt Boe

Preview

£0.00 for first 30 days

Try for £0.00
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

The Dream-Quest of Vellitt Boe

By: Kij Johnson
Narrated by: Kij Johnson
Try for £0.00

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £11.99

Buy Now for £11.99

Confirm Purchase
Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.
Cancel

About this listen

One of NPR's Best Books of 2016 and a 2016 Nebula Award finalist for Best Novella

Professor Vellitt Boe teaches at the prestigious Ulthar Women's College. When one of her most gifted students elopes with a dreamer from the waking world, Vellitt must retrieve her.

©2016 Tor.com (P)2017 TalkingBook
Classics Dark Fantasy Fantasy Fiction
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

Listeners also enjoyed...

The Glass Sentence cover art
The Immortal Circus cover art
Trial of Flowers cover art
Dragon Dreams cover art
A Dead Djinn in Cairo cover art
Trail of Lightning cover art
Star Trek, Deep Space Nine: Fallen Heroes (Adapted) cover art
Virgins cover art
A Stranger in Olondria cover art
Knight of a Trillion Stars cover art
Agent to the Stars cover art
The Android's Dream cover art
Mind Dimensions, Books 0, 1, & 2 cover art
The Crown Tower cover art
The Ninth Rain cover art
The John Carter Trilogy of Edgar Rice Burroughs cover art

Critic reviews

"Kij Johnson's haunting novella The Dream-Quest of Vellitt Boe is both a commentary on a classic H.P. Lovecraft tale and a profound reflection on a woman's life. Vellitt's quest to find a former student who may be the only person who can save her community takes her through a world governed by a seemingly arbitrary dream logic in which she occasionally glimpses an underlying but mysterious order, a world ruled by capricious gods and populated by the creatures of dreams and nightmares. Those familiar with Lovecraft's work will travel through a fantasy landscape infused with Lovecraftian images viewed from another perspective, but even readers unfamiliar with his work will be enthralled by Vellitt's quest. A remarkable accomplishment that repays rereading." (Pamela Sargent, winner of the Nebula Award)

What listeners say about The Dream-Quest of Vellitt Boe

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    4
  • 4 Stars
    5
  • 3 Stars
    2
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    1
Performance
  • 3.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    3
  • 4 Stars
    3
  • 3 Stars
    2
  • 2 Stars
    2
  • 1 Stars
    1
Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    4
  • 4 Stars
    5
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    1

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Journey Through the Dreamlands

Kij Johnson is one of my favourite living short fiction writers. She always delivers the unexpected - from her ultraviolent stories, to her quieter, more pensive tales. This was no exception, and I loved the inclusion of an older female character, so often invisible or ignored in fantasy. Vellitt was a great character, too - fierce and caring and intelligent, with a rich history of travelling. The ending was surprising and yet inevitable, as a good ending should be.

And while I love Johnson, I didn't think her narration was very good in places. When there was no dialogue, which is most of the story, it was fine, but the beginning was a little painful due to the lack of inflection or emotion in the dialogue. But otherwise, it worked well.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful