Audiobooks Narrated by Aiko Nakasone

Across the Nightingale Floor: Tales of the Otori Book 1

"Set in a mythical, feudal, Japanese land, a world both beautiful and cruel, the intense love story of two young people takes place against a background of warring clans, secret alliances, high honour and lightning swordplay. Lian Hearn's stunningly powerful bestseller, Across the Nightingale Floor, is an epic story for readers young and old. In his palace at Inuyama, Lord Iida Sadamu, warlord of the Tohan clan, surveys his famous nightingale floor. Its surface sings at the tread of every human foot, and no assassin can cross it. But sixteen-year-old Otori Takeo, his family murdered by Iida's warriors, has the magical skills of the Tribe – preternatural hearing, invisibility, a second self – that enable him to enter the lair of the Tohan. He has love in his heart and death at his fingertips . . . The first novel in the epic Tales of the Otori series, Across the Nightingale Floor is followed by Grass For His Pillow and Brilliance of the Moon. 'Quite simply the best story of magic, love, sex, revenge and suspense to have come this way since Philip Pullman.' – Independent on Sunday"

Lian Hearn (Author), Aiko Nakasone, Kevin Gray (Narrator)

Audiobook

Grass for His Pillow: Tales of the Otori Book 2

"Grass for His Pillow is the second novel in Lian Hearn's astonishingly beautiful series inspired by feudal Japan, Tales of the Otori. In the ancient Oriental lands of the Otori, amidst a time of violent war, famine and treacherous alliances, the fate of the young lovers Otori Takeo and Shirakawa Kaede hangs in the balance . . . Takeo, heir to the great Otori clan, has pledged his life to the secret Tribe. His supernatural skills of virtual invisibility and acute hearing make him their most deadly assassin. But he must deny the solemn oath of vengeance he made, his adopted birthright of wealth, land and power – and his love for Kaede. If he does not devote himself entirely to the brutal ways of the Tribe, they will kill him. Whichever path he chooses, it will lead to hardship and sacrifice in the bitter winter of the high mountains, and test him to the limits of his being. Kaede, heiress to vast lands, is now the valuable pawn of ruthless warlords. She must use her intelligence, beauty and cunning to assert her place in a world of all-powerful men – who must never suspect the dangerous secret she hides."

Lian Hearn (Author), Aiko Nakasone, Kevin Gray (Narrator)

Audiobook

Brilliance of the Moon: Tales of the Otori Book 3

"The third title in the compelling Tales of the Otori – the story that began with Across the Nightingale Floor and Grass for his Pillow, Brilliance of the Moon by Lian Hearn is an epic tale of love, power and destiny, set in a mythical world inspired by feudal Japan. Takeo and the exquisite Kaede, still only teenagers, are now married, but the implacable forces of destiny that rule their lives tear them apart. Takeo, a battle-hardened warrior at the head of an army fighting for his Otori birthright, finds his courage and leadership forged in the fire of bloodshed and sacrifice, while his legendary magical powers are tested to their limits against the invisible assassins of the Tribe. Kaede, determined to reclaim her own lands, is treacherously betrayed and forced into marriage. Their love will survive until death – but death, in this savage, beautiful world, is always only a moment away."

Lian Hearn (Author), Aiko Nakasone, Kevin Gray (Narrator)

Audiobook