Audio Book Review – Batman: The Stone King by Alan Grant, Based on the series from DC Comics

Something has been unearthed in Gotham City, something that should not have been disturbed. An ancient pyramid has unleashed supernatural energies throughout the world. Drawn to the eye of this arcane storm, the heroes of the JLA become caught in the grip of a force far beyond their extraordinary powers. Only Gotham's protector, the Batman, manages to escape — but to free his allies and stop the chaos that is fast engulfing the world, the Dark Knight must somehow unlock the pyramid's secret curse.

Once again I was treated to a Graphic Audio performance that really brings you into the story. The combination of sound effects and artistic vocal performances creates what Graphic Audio call’s a “Movie in your Mind” and that is truly what Batman: The Stone King is.

When the investigation of the pyramid begins, one of the students is taken over by a spirit that has existed on the site for thousands of years; waiting. Now that it has been unearthed it can begin taking out its revenge on the world.

When it starts to exercise its power, strange occurrences begin to happen to the Justice League. An out of control train, the undead rising from their graves, and a shuttle launch gone awry are just some of them. But they all have one thing in common; a blue light.

When the team unites to fight the menace, all are captured except for Batman, and the Martian Man hunter who was away on Mars. The questions to be answered are what happened to The Flash, Wonder Woman, Superman, and the others? How to stop the destruction going on around the world? Can they figure out what is happening in time?

 One of the things that makes Batman: The Stone King so good is the nonstop action. I like the fact that this really focuses on Batman to save the day, and the fact that he must face his fears to save the world. I also like how there is enough background for those who are new to the JLA to learn about the characters. And of course, there are the performances.

The quality of the story and performance are the reason that I will be coming back to Graphic Audio products. You can also check out some of their other series as well. If you want you can listen to a sample, or purchase the GraphicAudio Book from their on-line Store. The story comes three ways; standard CD (the version I reviewed), MP3 CD and downloadable WMA with digital rights management.