Grail by Elizabeth Bear

Science Fiction/ Audio Book

Grail is the third book in the Jacob’s Ladder trilogy.  I checked out  Dust and Chill from my local library.  When I went to check out Grail it had been ordered but I had to wait for it to arrive and be processed before I could finish listening to the series.  I said before but let me say again.  I do not think I would have read the series but I enjoyed listening.  Elizabeth Bear has a way with words and descriptions.  There is a wonderful flow to her prose that made listening a pleasure.

I loved how Grail started.  Between the close of Chill and the start of Grail 50 years have passed.  Grail does not start on the Jacob’s Ladder.  It starts on Fortune or Grail with Premier Danilaw learning that a star ship is approaching.  He knows that it is the Jacob’s Ladder, missing for over 1000 years. Things are about to get very complicated not only on Fortune but also on the Jacob’s Ladder.

I wondered how Elizabeth Bear would handle arriving at a planet.  I found that I was very invested in the characters.  I cared what happened to them.  I wanted a solution that let them remain true to who they were. I didn’t expect the solution she found for the crew and passengers of the Jacob’s Ladder.   In some ways I was disappointed and in other ways the solution fit.  It was with some sadness that I said goodbye to Tristan, Mallory, and Perceval.  They live on in my memory.

Recorded Books produced Grail by Elizabeth Bear in 2012. 

Grail was narrated by Alma Cuervo.