The Diamond of Darkhold by Jeanne DuPrau (Audiobook Review)

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The Builders left behind one piece of advanced technology for the Emberites. First they have to find it, then they have to figure out how to use it.

Title: The Diamond of Darkhold
Series: Books of Ember, book 4
Author: Jeanne DuPrau
Narrator: Katherine Kellgren
Publisher: Listening Library
Duration: 6 hours, 30 minutes
Copyright: 2008
Genres: science fiction, adventure, juvenile
Filed in: Audiobook reviews
Review copy provided by Kearney Public Library.

THE GIST: Fearing the approaching Armageddon, the Builders put together an entire city underground. The City of Ember, as it was called, was designed to survive the destruction on the surface, so that humanity could carry on and begin again.

The Builders knew that when the Emberites finally returned to the surface, some two hundred years later, they would have nothing. And so, the Builders left the Emberites one solitary piece of technology to help them rebuild the world. The device, along with instructions for its use, was hidden in a sealed chamber on the spot where the Emberites would one day emerge. The best laid plans often go amiss, however. The Emberites remained underground far longer than the Builders anticipated, and by then the chamber was hidden by a grove of trees that had grown up.

The Emberites did not find the device that was left for them, but someone else did. A roamer looking for scavenged goods to trade at a village happened across the chamber. Since most of humanity had lost the skill of reading, the instruction manual became kindling for campfires. Without the instructions, the device was little more than a pretty trinket.

What remained of the instruction book eventually finds its way into the hands of Dune Harrow, a former Emberite. Dune can make little sense of the few remaining pages, but he knows it is something important. The inscription on the front cover of the book reads, “For the People of Ember.” Dune, and his best friend Lina Mayfleet, decide that they must return to the City of Ember to see if they can find any clues to help them decipher the book. They also decide it would be a good idea to scavenge the city for supplies that might help their village get through the approaching winter.

The two thirteen-year-olds begin their journey back to Ember. Imagine their surprise when they discover that their old city already has some new inhabitants.

MY THOUGHTS: In this fourth audio book of the Ember series, Jeanne DuPrau returns us to the village of Sparks for another adventure with Dune and Lina. All through this series, I kept wondering why no one ever returned to Ember to get the food and supplies that were left behind. In "The Diamond of Darkhold", that's exactly what happened.

“The Diamond of Darkhold” was a good story. Overall, this would be my second favorite of the series. You would really have to read the first three audio books to get the full impact of it, however.

NARRATOR: At first, I didn’t like Katherine Kellgren. She has a mild British accent that sounded odd for this series. Kellgren quickly grew on me, though. She has a natural style and does good voices. In particular, her voices for Mister and Missus Trog were really funny and fit the characters very well.

FINAL WORD: I enjoyed Jeanne DuPrau's Ember series quite a lot. Before you read "The Diamond of Darkhold", however, you should read the first three audio books of the series. I think you’ll enjoy them, especially younger readers.

CHECK OUT THESE OTHER AUDIOBOOK REVIEWS:
The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau (Audiobook Review)
The People of Sparks by Jeanne DuPrau (Audiobook Review)
The Prophet of Yonwood by Jeanne DuPrau (Audiobook Review)
The Diamond of Darkhold by Jeanne DuPrau (Audiobook Review)

If you liked this audiobook review, you can purchase the audiobook here:
Get "The Diamond of Darkhold": The Fourth Book of Ember (The Books of Ember) [AUDIOBOOK] [UNABRIDGED] from Amazon.com.

This audiobook review is based on the unabridged audiobook.
Audiobook review by Steven Brandt
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