
City of Dark Magic
A Novel
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
$0.99/mo for the first 3 months

Buy for $15.75
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Natalie Gold
-
By:
-
Magnus Flyte
About this listen
Cosmically fast-paced and wildly imaginative, this debut novel is a perfect potion of magic and suspense.
Once a city of enormous wealth and culture, Prague was home to emperors, alchemists, astronomers, and, as it’s whispered, hell portals. When music student Sarah Weston lands a summer job at Prague Castle cataloging Beethoven’s manuscripts, she has no idea how dangerous her life is about to become. Prague is a threshold, Sarah is warned, and it is steeped in blood.
Soon after Sarah arrives, strange things begin to happen. She learns that her mentor, who was working at the castle, may not have committed suicide after all. Could his cryptic notes be warnings? As Sarah parses his clues about Beethoven’s "Immortal Beloved", she manages to get arrested, to have tantric sex in a public fountain, and to discover a time-warping drug. She also catches the attention of a 400-year-old dwarf, the handsome Prince Max, and a powerful US senator with secrets she will do anything to hide.
City of Dark Magic could be called a rom-com paranormal suspense novel - or it could simply be called one of the most entertaining novels of the year.
©2012 Magnus Flyte (P)2012 Penguin AudiobooksListeners also enjoyed...
-
A Deadly Education
- A Novel (The Scholomance, Book 1)
- By: Naomi Novik
- Narrated by: Anisha Dadia
- Length: 10 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
I decided that Orion Lake needed to die after the second time he saved my life. Everyone loves Orion Lake. Everyone else, that is. Far as I’m concerned, he can keep his flashy combat magic to himself. I’m not joining his pack of adoring fans. I don’t need help surviving the Scholomance, even if they do. Forget the hordes of monsters and cursed artifacts; I’m probably the most dangerous thing in the place. Just give me a chance and I’ll level mountains and kill untold millions, making myself the dark queen of the world.
-
-
Intersting concept, way too much self pity
- By Rune on 10-13-20
By: Naomi Novik
-
All Systems Red
- By: Martha Wells
- Narrated by: Kevin R. Free
- Length: 3 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
All Systems Red is the tense first science fiction adventure novella in Martha Wells' series The Murderbot Diaries. For fans of Westworld, Ex Machina, Ann Leckie's Imperial Raadch series, or Iain M. Banks' Culture novels. The main character is a deadly security droid that has bucked its restrictive programming and is balanced between contemplative self-discovery and an idle instinct to kill all humans.
-
-
I just wish all four stories were one book...
- By Garrett Stone on 11-05-18
By: Martha Wells
-
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell
- By: Susanna Clarke
- Narrated by: Simon Prebble
- Length: 32 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
English magicians were once the wonder of the known world, with fairy servants at their beck and call; they could command winds, mountains, and woods. But by the early 1800s they have long since lost the ability to perform magic. They can only write long, dull papers about it, while fairy servants are nothing but a fading memory.
-
-
Hang in there!
- By D. McMillen on 05-31-05
By: Susanna Clarke
-
Milk Run
- Smuggler's Tales, Book 1
- By: Nathan Lowell
- Narrated by: Emily Woo Zeller
- Length: 11 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Academy graduate Natalya Regyri stood first in line for her pick of engineering officer jobs, until, at the graduation party, a classmate turned up dead. Now, betrayed by her friends and framed for murder, she must flee beyond the reach of the Confederation...and any semblance of civilized society. With a damaged second-hand ship and TIC interceptors dogging her step, she nets a smuggling contract that might just get her back on her feet and in control of her destiny. But only if she's willing to make an ore run back to the place she's wanted for murder.
-
-
Another Cooper Yarn
- By Paul on 10-05-19
By: Nathan Lowell
-
The Librarian of Crooked Lane
- The Glass Library, Book 1
- By: C.J. Archer
- Narrated by: Marian Hussey
- Length: 8 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Librarian Sylvia Ashe knows nothing about her past, having grown up without a father and a mother who refused to discuss him. When she stumbles upon a diary that suggests she's descended from magicians, she's skeptical. After all, magicians are special, and she's just an ordinary woman who loves books. She seeks answers from a member of the most prominent family of magicians, but she quickly learns that finding the truth won't be easy, especially when he turns out to be as artless as her, and more compelling and dangerous than books.
-
-
Fun to be Back
- By Meg on 10-12-22
By: C.J. Archer
-
Ship of Magic
- The Liveship Traders, Book 1
- By: Robin Hobb
- Narrated by: Anne Flosnik
- Length: 35 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Bingtown is a hub of exotic trade and home to a merchant nobility famed for its liveships---rare vessels carved from wizardwood, which ripens magically into sentient awareness. The fortunes of one of Bingtown's oldest families rest on the newly awakened liveship Vivacia. For Althea Vestrit, the ship is her rightful legacy unjustly denied her---a legacy she will risk anything to reclaim.
-
-
Horrible Narrator
- By CP on 10-07-10
By: Robin Hobb
-
A Deadly Education
- A Novel (The Scholomance, Book 1)
- By: Naomi Novik
- Narrated by: Anisha Dadia
- Length: 10 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
I decided that Orion Lake needed to die after the second time he saved my life. Everyone loves Orion Lake. Everyone else, that is. Far as I’m concerned, he can keep his flashy combat magic to himself. I’m not joining his pack of adoring fans. I don’t need help surviving the Scholomance, even if they do. Forget the hordes of monsters and cursed artifacts; I’m probably the most dangerous thing in the place. Just give me a chance and I’ll level mountains and kill untold millions, making myself the dark queen of the world.
-
-
Intersting concept, way too much self pity
- By Rune on 10-13-20
By: Naomi Novik
-
All Systems Red
- By: Martha Wells
- Narrated by: Kevin R. Free
- Length: 3 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
All Systems Red is the tense first science fiction adventure novella in Martha Wells' series The Murderbot Diaries. For fans of Westworld, Ex Machina, Ann Leckie's Imperial Raadch series, or Iain M. Banks' Culture novels. The main character is a deadly security droid that has bucked its restrictive programming and is balanced between contemplative self-discovery and an idle instinct to kill all humans.
-
-
I just wish all four stories were one book...
- By Garrett Stone on 11-05-18
By: Martha Wells
-
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell
- By: Susanna Clarke
- Narrated by: Simon Prebble
- Length: 32 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
English magicians were once the wonder of the known world, with fairy servants at their beck and call; they could command winds, mountains, and woods. But by the early 1800s they have long since lost the ability to perform magic. They can only write long, dull papers about it, while fairy servants are nothing but a fading memory.
-
-
Hang in there!
- By D. McMillen on 05-31-05
By: Susanna Clarke
-
Milk Run
- Smuggler's Tales, Book 1
- By: Nathan Lowell
- Narrated by: Emily Woo Zeller
- Length: 11 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Academy graduate Natalya Regyri stood first in line for her pick of engineering officer jobs, until, at the graduation party, a classmate turned up dead. Now, betrayed by her friends and framed for murder, she must flee beyond the reach of the Confederation...and any semblance of civilized society. With a damaged second-hand ship and TIC interceptors dogging her step, she nets a smuggling contract that might just get her back on her feet and in control of her destiny. But only if she's willing to make an ore run back to the place she's wanted for murder.
-
-
Another Cooper Yarn
- By Paul on 10-05-19
By: Nathan Lowell
-
The Librarian of Crooked Lane
- The Glass Library, Book 1
- By: C.J. Archer
- Narrated by: Marian Hussey
- Length: 8 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Librarian Sylvia Ashe knows nothing about her past, having grown up without a father and a mother who refused to discuss him. When she stumbles upon a diary that suggests she's descended from magicians, she's skeptical. After all, magicians are special, and she's just an ordinary woman who loves books. She seeks answers from a member of the most prominent family of magicians, but she quickly learns that finding the truth won't be easy, especially when he turns out to be as artless as her, and more compelling and dangerous than books.
-
-
Fun to be Back
- By Meg on 10-12-22
By: C.J. Archer
-
Ship of Magic
- The Liveship Traders, Book 1
- By: Robin Hobb
- Narrated by: Anne Flosnik
- Length: 35 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Bingtown is a hub of exotic trade and home to a merchant nobility famed for its liveships---rare vessels carved from wizardwood, which ripens magically into sentient awareness. The fortunes of one of Bingtown's oldest families rest on the newly awakened liveship Vivacia. For Althea Vestrit, the ship is her rightful legacy unjustly denied her---a legacy she will risk anything to reclaim.
-
-
Horrible Narrator
- By CP on 10-07-10
By: Robin Hobb
-
The Book Eaters
- By: Sunyi Dean
- Narrated by: Katie Erich
- Length: 13 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Out on the Yorkshire Moors lives a secret line of people for whom books are food, and who retain all of a book's content after eating it. To them, spy novels are a peppery snack; romance novels are sweet and delicious. Eating a map can help them remember destinations, and children, when they misbehave, are forced to eat dry, musty pages from dictionaries.
-
-
Book worth a college course on it's own.
- By SW;MDA on 10-08-22
By: Sunyi Dean
-
Air Awakens
- Air Awakens Series, Book 1
- By: Elise Kova
- Narrated by: Caitlin Kelly
- Length: 11 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Solaris Empire is one conquest away from uniting the continent, and the rare elemental magic sleeping in seventeen-year-old library apprentice Vhalla Yarl could shift the tides of war.
-
-
surprisingly awesome
- By EJC.TSUCHIYA on 07-03-22
By: Elise Kova
-
Dark Knight Station: Origins
- By: Nathan Lowell
- Narrated by: Jeffrey Kafer
- Length: 14 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Edgar Vagrant down checks Verkol Kondur’s mining barge, Kondur gets swept up in station politics in spite of his best efforts to avoid them. When Edgar pushes his elder son, Malachai, into working on the station’s freighter, Malachai decides to take matters into his own hands. With Malachai gone, his brother Zachary gets to pick up the pieces of a management structure that he had no hand in making, no authority to control, and no wish to continue.
-
-
I almost gave this a pass!
- By Lenny 55 on 07-03-21
By: Nathan Lowell
-
Nine Lives Magic Mysteries Boxed Set
- Books 1-3
- By: Danielle Garrett
- Narrated by: Amanda Ronconi
- Length: 17 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
My life was going just fine by most standards. I ran a successful business in a tight-knit magical community, and lived just blocks from a beautiful lake and series of hiking trails. Then Selene showed up. According to some magical code I inherit my aunt's ancient familiar; a grumpy ten-pound cat with a broken filter. She fancies herself something of a saber-toothed tiger, and claims to have wrestled the thread of her ninth life from the hands of the Fates themselves—although, I'm pretty sure that last part isn't true. Almost positive.
-
-
A great cozy mystery series with some good humor!
- By Smile on 10-10-23
By: Danielle Garrett
-
Angels and Demons
- By: Dan Brown
- Narrated by: Richard Poe
- Length: 18 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
World-renowned Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon is summoned to a Swiss research facility to analyze a cryptic symbol seared into the chest of a murdered physicist. What he discovers is unimaginable: a deadly vendetta against the Catholic Church by a centuries-old underground organization, the Illuminati. Desperate to save the Vatican from a powerful time bomb, Langdon joins forces in Rome with the beautiful and mysterious scientist Vittoria Vetra.
-
-
A must for fans of The Da Vinci Code
- By Geoffrey on 04-14-04
By: Dan Brown
-
South Coast
- Shaman's Tales from the Golden Age of the Solar Clipper, Book 1
- By: Nathan Lowell
- Narrated by: Jeffrey Kafer
- Length: 8 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Otto is Richard Krugg's only son and heir to the Shaman's gift. Otto doesn't want it. He wants to be a fisherman. When company policies force unwelcome changes onto his life and threaten even the security of the village, Otto discovers that being a shaman isn't optional. Jimmy Pirano is caught between the devil and the deep green sea when new production quotas are handed down from corporate headquarters. Locked into a century of existing practice, Jimmy is forced to find new ways to fish....
-
-
No Solar Clippers, No Problem, Enjoyed anyway!
- By daniel l. newell on 08-02-21
By: Nathan Lowell
-
Artemis
- By: Andy Weir
- Narrated by: Rosario Dawson
- Length: 8 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Jazz Bashara is a criminal. Well, sort of. Life on Artemis, the first and only city on the moon, is tough if you're not a rich tourist or an eccentric billionaire. So smuggling in the occasional harmless bit of contraband barely counts, right? Not when you've got debts to pay and your job as a porter barely covers the rent. Everything changes when Jazz sees the chance to commit the perfect crime, with a reward too lucrative to turn down.
-
-
A ferrari with no motor
- By will on 11-18-17
By: Andy Weir
-
14
- By: Peter Clines
- Narrated by: Ray Porter
- Length: 12 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
There are some odd things about Nate’s new apartment. Of course, he has other things on his mind. He hates his job. He has no money in the bank. No girlfriend. No plans for the future. So while his new home isn’t perfect, it’s livable. The rent is low, the property managers are friendly, and the odd little mysteries don’t nag at him too much. At least, not until he meets Mandy, his neighbor across the hall, and notices something unusual about her apartment. And Xela’s apartment. And Tim’s. And Veek’s.
-
-
Super solid listen!!
- By Magpie on 06-24-12
By: Peter Clines
-
The Collapsing Empire
- The Interdependency, Book 1
- By: John Scalzi
- Narrated by: Wil Wheaton
- Length: 9 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Our universe is ruled by physics, and faster-than-light travel is not possible - until the discovery of The Flow, an extradimensional field we can access at certain points in space-time that transports us to other worlds, around other stars. Humanity flows away from Earth, into space, and in time forgets our home world and creates a new empire, the Interdependency, whose ethos requires that no one human outpost can survive without the others. It's a hedge against interstellar war - and a system of control for the rulers of the empire.
-
-
THE STUPIDITIES OF COURT
- By Jim "The Impatient" on 04-01-17
By: John Scalzi
-
Furies of Calderon
- Codex Alera, Book 1
- By: Jim Butcher
- Narrated by: Kate Reading
- Length: 19 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the realm of Alera, where people bond with the furies - elementals of earth, air, fire, water, and metal - 15-year-old Tavi struggles with his lack of furycrafting. But when his homeland erupts in chaos - when rebels war with loyalists and furies clash with furies - Tavi's simple courage will turn the tides of war.
-
-
Lost Roman Legions...And POKEMON?
- By Michael on 05-03-13
By: Jim Butcher
-
The Very First Damned Thing
- An Author-Read Audio Exclusive
- By: Jodi Taylor
- Narrated by: Jodi Taylor
- Length: 2 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Jodi Taylor reads the long-awaited prequel in her Chronicles of St Mary’s series, as Dr Bairstow struggles to set up St Mary’s as we know it in a world still scarred by the ravages of civil war. Ever wondered how it all began? It’s two years since the final victory at the Battersea Barricades. The fighting might be finished, but for Dr Bairstow, just now setting up St Mary's, the struggle is only beginning. How will he assemble his team? From where will his funding come?
-
-
Wait for it on Kindle. Not the best on audio
- By Sheryl on 11-05-15
By: Jodi Taylor
-
Hard Magic
- Book I of the Grimnoir Chronicles
- By: Larry Correia
- Narrated by: Bronson Pinchot
- Length: 16 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Jake Sullivan is a licensed private eye with a seriously hardboiled attitude. He also possesses raw magical talent and the ability to make objects in his vicinity light as a feather or as heavy as depleted uranium, all with a magical thought. It's no wonder the G-men turn to Jake when they need someoneto go after a suspected killer who has been knocking off banks in a magic-enhanced crime spree.
-
-
Not what I thought it was going to be.
- By Anonymous User on 08-06-11
By: Larry Correia
Critic reviews
“This deliciously madcap novel has it all: murder in Prague, time travel, a misanthropic Beethoven, tantric sex, and a dwarf with attitude. I salute you, Magnus Flyte!” (Conan O'Brien)
“The most wickedly enchanting novel I’ve ever read and also the funniest. A Champagne magnum of intrigue and wit, this book sparkles from beginning to end.” (Anne Fortier, bestselling author of Juliet)
“An entertaining mix of magic, mystery and romance, it’s one of the most original novels released this year.” (CNN.com)
What listeners say about City of Dark Magic
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- sinnerarity
- 02-10-13
Thrills, Art, Magic, Beethoven, Romance and Prague
This is one of the best books I've 'read' in years. I bought it out of interest in the city of Prague, land of my ancestors... and also the art angle sounded interesting. Little did I know I was in for a Ride. One interesting twist after another, great characters, wonderful discussions of long lost art/music/pick something precious, it's probably in this book. Then throw in Cold War CIA operatives, and really, why wasn't this book longer?
And... Who is Magnus Flyte? I've been trying to find another book by the author, and wow, another mystery! Magnus, if you are out there, reading this, please write another books soon. You are my new favorite author, and I already miss the characters in this book.
My advice, buy this book. You will be entranced, entertained and engaged.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Torsten Will
- 11-05-13
Not fantasy
Is there anything you would change about this book?
The sprinked-in sex is not at all neccessary, nor does it add to the story. It makes the characters more flat.
What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?
The relations to actual history, especially music, is novel and believable. The description of prague is great and makes one feel really there. The romance is boring, the bad-guy in the story too simple.
What does Natalie Gold bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?
The characters are good and distinguishable, I really like the accents she manages to speak with.
Could you see City of Dark Magic being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?
Well, Tom Hanks, if he were a woman -- it is sort of Da Vinci Codish...
Any additional comments?
The good guys are well drawn and get a character. The bad guys are a bit in contrast to that, more flat and a bit obvious. The story itself is build quite straight, too. The author lays out secrets in the beginning of the book and resolved them one by one in the end, more or less believable. Quite a straight story with few surprises.
From the title I somehow expected a bit more fantasy-style, but it is not much so. The Magic in the title relates more to what I would call Mysticism.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
5 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Patricia
- 06-12-13
Ok But....
Would you try another book from Magnus Flyte and/or Natalie Gold?
No I wouldn't.
How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?
Have less history facts. The book is for history buffs.
Which scene was your favorite?
None
If this book were a movie would you go see it?
No
Any additional comments?
Just too tedious to listen to but I am determined to finish it.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Edith
- 03-06-13
Exceptional!
Where does City of Dark Magic rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?
It's in a category along with Deborah Harkness' books, Discovery of Witches and Shadow of Night.
Any additional comments?
I enjoyed that the author historical facts into the fantasy in a seamless way to evoke a truly possible existence! I can't wait for the next book from this author!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Kat
- 01-28-16
Good read
I enjoyed this story as well as the reader. It took a little while to get into the book but once I did I was hooked. This book makes you think and has some bit of mystery worked in that keeps you captivated. Good book all around.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Trish
- 09-19-23
Amazing
This … so much interest, thought, realism and fantasy in one novel. Definitely check this out!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- StellaBella
- 03-02-16
Fun story with something for everyone
Whether you like romance, female independence, science fiction, musicology or historical novels you will find something to like in this book
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Jean
- 12-08-13
Change Title to 50 Shades of Dark Magic & Sex
Enjoyed the book because the narrator added an extra star to the overall rating. The story has great potential but bogs down with efforts to bring in serious science. The sex scenes were really out of place. Felt like I was reading 50 Shades of Dark Magic instead of this book. However, liked it enough that I will give Book 2 a go.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Shelley J Speed
- 09-16-15
confusing narration
never heard anyone pronounce "museum" like this narrator and it distracted from story. narrator also chose to use two very different sounding voices as there were 2 perspectives but both of those perspectives were in the 3rd person again this confused me. never really got into feeling for the main characters but the supporting characters were interesting.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
4 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Robin
- 06-16-14
Weird but good.
more like 3 1/2. This was weirdly interesting. Kind of all over the place but in the end it worked well enough that I'll read the next one. I'm not sure I was in love with the narrator enough to listen to another, I'll have to think about it, but I will read it. I think what I liked most were the characters. The plot was odd but as I say interesting.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!