
The Trials of King Sparrow
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 $6.95
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
James Romick
-
By:
-
Bill Meeks
About this listen
While leading his queen and faithful subjects to their winter home, King Sparrow is betrayed, then abandoned in the woods. He battles foul beasts, psychotic eagles, and the oncoming winter on his quest to find his true love.
With twists throughout, The Trials of King Sparrow celebrates his strength, compassion, and perseverance as he seeks his revenge. It's a magical adventure set against the brutal backdrop of the natural world.
©2015 Bill Meeks (P)2015 Bill MeeksListeners also enjoyed...
-
Watership Down
- By: Richard Adams
- Narrated by: Peter Capaldi
- Length: 17 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Fiver could sense danger. Something terrible was going to happen to the warren; he felt sure of it. They had to leave immediately. So begins a long and perilous journey of survival for a small band of rabbits. As the rabbits skirt danger at every turn, we become acquainted with the band, its humorous characters, and its compelling culture, complete with its own folk history and mythos. Fiver’s vision finally leads them to Watership Down, an upland meadow. But here they face their most difficult challenges of all.
-
-
Capaldi is FANTASTIC; tech editing, not as much
- By Becca on 05-19-19
By: Richard Adams
-
His Dark Materials: Once upon a Time in the North
- By: Philip Pullman
- Narrated by: David Harewood
- Length: 2 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this prequel episode from Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials universe, Lee Scoresby—Texan aeronaut and future friend to Lyra Belacqua—is just 24 years old, and he's recently won his hot-air balloon in a poker game. He finds himself floating North to the windswept Arctic island of Novy Odense, where he and his hare daemon Hester are quickly tangled in a deadly plot involving an oil magnate, a corrupt mayoral candidate, and Lee's longtime nemesis from the Dakota Country, a hired killer with at least twenty murders to his name.
-
-
Great story
- By Wendy Strgar, sagebrushbooks on 10-04-24
By: Philip Pullman
-
The Wild Robot
- By: Peter Brown
- Narrated by: Kate Atwater
- Length: 4 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When robot Roz opens her eyes for the first time, she discovers that she is alone on a remote, wild island. Why is she there? Where did she come from? And, most important, how will she survive in her harsh surroundings? Roz's only hope is to learn from the island's hostile animal inhabitants. When she tries to care for an orphaned gosling, the other animals finally decide to help, and the island starts to feel like home. Until one day, the robot's mysterious past comes back to haunt her....
-
-
Terrible Background Noise: Sweet Story
- By B.A. Wilson on 12-30-17
By: Peter Brown
-
Above World
- Above World, Book 1
- By: Jenn Reese
- Narrated by: Kate Rudd
- Length: 7 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Thirteen-year-old Aluna has lived her entire life under the ocean, just like all of the Coral Kampii in the City of Shifting Tides. But after remaining hidden from the Above World for centuries, her colony is in trouble, its survival in doubt : the tech that allows the Kampii to breathe underwater is beginning to fail, and many Kampii have already died. Yet the colony’s elders, including Aluna’s father, are unwilling to venture to the dry and dangerous Above World to search for answers. So it’s up to Aluna and her friend Hoku to face the terrors of land to find a solution.
-
-
2 1/2 stars...4 stars if your a Tween...
- By LINCOLN on 11-21-17
By: Jenn Reese
-
Lost Boy
- The True Story of Captain Hook
- By: Christina Henry
- Narrated by: Samuel Roukin
- Length: 7 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On an island lives a boy called Peter and his band of merry lost boys, young forever. That is unless they get sick or killed by pirates or eaten by crocodiles or unless - inexplicably - they grow old. For some of them do grow old, and nobody knows why. One of these boys is called Jamie, and he was the first boy that Peter ever brought to the island. Jamie's lived there for longer than he can remember, and it's not all fun and games.
-
-
Awesome! A super retelling of Peter Pan.
- By Mare Freeborn on 07-30-17
By: Christina Henry
-
The Harrowed Half-Breed: A Tarnished Lands Story
- Forgotten Woods Series, Book 1
- By: P. A. Wikoff
- Narrated by: Crystal Wikoff
- Length: 3 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Magic has been slowly fading from the enchanted forest ever since the greedy humans invaded. The native folk were kind in sharing their homeland, but peace couldn't last forever. Conflict stirs while Barne, half human/half native, is stuck in the middle. Trapped between two worlds he must try and find himself before choosing a side. In a world where he never really belongs, Barne searches to find his smile using all means necessary. But there's a dark secret that holds his happiness hostage... In a world of swords and sorcery, darkness and despair, nothing comes without a price.
-
-
Enter a strange world.
- By cosmitron on 06-07-18
By: P. A. Wikoff
-
Watership Down
- By: Richard Adams
- Narrated by: Peter Capaldi
- Length: 17 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Fiver could sense danger. Something terrible was going to happen to the warren; he felt sure of it. They had to leave immediately. So begins a long and perilous journey of survival for a small band of rabbits. As the rabbits skirt danger at every turn, we become acquainted with the band, its humorous characters, and its compelling culture, complete with its own folk history and mythos. Fiver’s vision finally leads them to Watership Down, an upland meadow. But here they face their most difficult challenges of all.
-
-
Capaldi is FANTASTIC; tech editing, not as much
- By Becca on 05-19-19
By: Richard Adams
-
His Dark Materials: Once upon a Time in the North
- By: Philip Pullman
- Narrated by: David Harewood
- Length: 2 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this prequel episode from Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials universe, Lee Scoresby—Texan aeronaut and future friend to Lyra Belacqua—is just 24 years old, and he's recently won his hot-air balloon in a poker game. He finds himself floating North to the windswept Arctic island of Novy Odense, where he and his hare daemon Hester are quickly tangled in a deadly plot involving an oil magnate, a corrupt mayoral candidate, and Lee's longtime nemesis from the Dakota Country, a hired killer with at least twenty murders to his name.
-
-
Great story
- By Wendy Strgar, sagebrushbooks on 10-04-24
By: Philip Pullman
-
The Wild Robot
- By: Peter Brown
- Narrated by: Kate Atwater
- Length: 4 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When robot Roz opens her eyes for the first time, she discovers that she is alone on a remote, wild island. Why is she there? Where did she come from? And, most important, how will she survive in her harsh surroundings? Roz's only hope is to learn from the island's hostile animal inhabitants. When she tries to care for an orphaned gosling, the other animals finally decide to help, and the island starts to feel like home. Until one day, the robot's mysterious past comes back to haunt her....
-
-
Terrible Background Noise: Sweet Story
- By B.A. Wilson on 12-30-17
By: Peter Brown
-
Above World
- Above World, Book 1
- By: Jenn Reese
- Narrated by: Kate Rudd
- Length: 7 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Thirteen-year-old Aluna has lived her entire life under the ocean, just like all of the Coral Kampii in the City of Shifting Tides. But after remaining hidden from the Above World for centuries, her colony is in trouble, its survival in doubt : the tech that allows the Kampii to breathe underwater is beginning to fail, and many Kampii have already died. Yet the colony’s elders, including Aluna’s father, are unwilling to venture to the dry and dangerous Above World to search for answers. So it’s up to Aluna and her friend Hoku to face the terrors of land to find a solution.
-
-
2 1/2 stars...4 stars if your a Tween...
- By LINCOLN on 11-21-17
By: Jenn Reese
-
Lost Boy
- The True Story of Captain Hook
- By: Christina Henry
- Narrated by: Samuel Roukin
- Length: 7 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On an island lives a boy called Peter and his band of merry lost boys, young forever. That is unless they get sick or killed by pirates or eaten by crocodiles or unless - inexplicably - they grow old. For some of them do grow old, and nobody knows why. One of these boys is called Jamie, and he was the first boy that Peter ever brought to the island. Jamie's lived there for longer than he can remember, and it's not all fun and games.
-
-
Awesome! A super retelling of Peter Pan.
- By Mare Freeborn on 07-30-17
By: Christina Henry
-
The Harrowed Half-Breed: A Tarnished Lands Story
- Forgotten Woods Series, Book 1
- By: P. A. Wikoff
- Narrated by: Crystal Wikoff
- Length: 3 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Magic has been slowly fading from the enchanted forest ever since the greedy humans invaded. The native folk were kind in sharing their homeland, but peace couldn't last forever. Conflict stirs while Barne, half human/half native, is stuck in the middle. Trapped between two worlds he must try and find himself before choosing a side. In a world where he never really belongs, Barne searches to find his smile using all means necessary. But there's a dark secret that holds his happiness hostage... In a world of swords and sorcery, darkness and despair, nothing comes without a price.
-
-
Enter a strange world.
- By cosmitron on 06-07-18
By: P. A. Wikoff
-
The Familiars
- By: Adam Jay Epstein
- Narrated by: Lincoln Hoppe
- Length: 7 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Running fast to save his life, Aldwyn ducks into an unusual pet store. Moments later Jack, a young wizard in training, comes in to choose a magical animal to be his familiar. Aldwyn's always been clever. But magical? Jack thinks so - and Aldwyn is happy to play along. He just has to convince the other familiars - the know-it-all blue jay Skylar and the friendly tree frog Gilbert - that he's the powerful cat he claims to be. Then the unthinkable happens. Jack and two other young wizards are captured by the evil queen of Vastia!
-
-
Good kid's story
- By Ed on 04-18-13
By: Adam Jay Epstein
-
Kacy Chronicles Boxed Set
- The Revelations of Oriceran
- By: A. L. Knorr, Martha Carr, Michael Anderle
- Narrated by: Mikael Naramore
- Length: 31 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Born to a wealthy Virginian family, privileged Jordan's got her life all planned out. Get her PhD, find the perfect Virginian man to marry, pop out a few more Kacys, and make her state senator father proud. If only Jordan could let the past rest. When your mother disappears without a trace, it carves a gash that bleeds a long time. Jordan has never given up hope that her mother is alive. So when Jordan's old nanny shows up with a mysterious locket containing a portrait of Jordan's mother, Jordan believes her hope was not in vain.
-
-
A good teen fantasy!
- By Montzalee Wittmann on 01-13-20
By: A. L. Knorr, and others
-
The Last Wild
- By: Piers Torday
- Narrated by: Oliver Hembrough
- Length: 7 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In a world where animals no longer exist, twelve-year-old Kester Jaynes sometimes feels like he hardly exists either. Locked away in a home for troubled children, he's told there's something wrong with him. So when he meets a flock of talking pigeons and a bossy cockroach, Kester thinks he's finally gone crazy. But the animals have something to say. And they need him. The pigeons fly Kester to a wild place where the last creatures in the land have survived.
-
-
My ela project book
- By Anonymous User on 01-03-22
By: Piers Torday
-
The Brothers Grimm: Illuminated Fairy Tales, Vol. 1
- By: Brothers Grimm
- Narrated by: Anne Flosnik
- Length: 1 hr and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Many well-loved modern stories have roots in the imaginations of the brothers Grimm, but do you know Rapunzel's real predicament, or Hansel and Gretel's gruesome revenge after eating an old woman out of house and home, or the lengths Cinderella's stepsisters would go to achieve the perfect fit? With these original tales, you'll discover the darker side of once upon a time.
-
-
a great classic
- By Derek Ambrose on 03-27-18
By: Brothers Grimm
-
Aranya
- Shapeshifter Dragons, Book 1
- By: Marc Secchia
- Narrated by: Shiromi Arserio
- Length: 14 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Chained to a rock and tossed off a cliff by her boyfriend, Aranya is executed for high treason against the Sylakian Empire. Falling a league into the deadly Cloudlands is not a fate she ever envisaged. But what if she did not die? What if she could spread her wings and fly?
-
-
I really wanted to love this novel
- By Midwestbonsai on 01-09-16
By: Marc Secchia
-
Silverwing
- By: Kenneth Oppel
- Narrated by: John McDonough
- Length: 7 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Shade, a young silverwing bat, is the runt of his colony. Determined to show how brave he is, Shade breaks one of the ancient rules that governs the bats. As punishment, owls burn the bats' roost, forcing them to migrate earlier than normal. While on the trip south to the Hibernaculum, Shade becomes separated from his flock during a rain storm. His destination is millions of wing beats away. Now he must find a way to make the journey on his own.
-
-
A great story for all ages
- By Hayley on 10-13-24
By: Kenneth Oppel
-
The Wearle
- The Erth Dragons, Book 1
- By: Chris d'Lacey
- Narrated by: Jonathan Keeble
- Length: 7 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A Wearle of dragons set out on an expedition from their home planet and was never heard from again. Now a new Wearle, determined to find the first, has come to the place its creatures call Erth. Gabrial, who still has the blue scales of a young dragon, is eager to prove himself and to find his missing father. But when Gabrial causes an accident that results in a baby dragon going missing, he'll have to prove himself worthy of remaining with the Wearle at all.
-
-
Not for the faint of heart
- By Bruce on 01-26-20
By: Chris d'Lacey
-
Black Wings Beating
- Skybound Saga, Book 1
- By: Alex London
- Narrated by: Michael Crouch, Brittany Pressley
- Length: 8 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
To the people of Uztar, nothing in their world is more revered than the birds of prey and no one more honored than the falconers who call them to their fists. Brysen strives to be a great falconer - while his twin sister, Kylee, rejects her ancient gifts for the sport and wishes to be free of falconry. She’s nearly made it out, too, but a war is rolling toward their home in the Six Villages, and no bird or falconer will be safe. Together, the twins must journey into the treacherous mountains to trap the Ghost Eagle, the greatest of the Uztari birds and a solitary killer.
-
-
Interesting Start to a Trilogy
- By Ashley on 10-19-18
By: Alex London
-
Red
- The (Fairly) True Story of Red Riding Hood
- By: Liesl Shurtliff
- Narrated by: Tara Sands
- Length: 6 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Red is not afraid of the big bad wolf. She’s not afraid of anything...except magic. But when Red’s granny falls ill, it seems that only magic can save her, and fearless Red is forced to confront her one weakness. With the help of a blond, porridge-sampling nuisance called Goldie, Red goes on a quest to cure Granny. Her journey takes her through dwarves’ caverns to a haunted well and a beast’s castle. All the while, Red and Goldie are followed by a wolf and a huntsman. And one of them just might have the magical solution Red is looking for.
-
-
Love! Love! Love!
- By Amazon Customer on 08-13-16
By: Liesl Shurtliff
-
Tales of the Great Beasts (Spirit Animals: Special Edition)
- By: Brandon Mull
- Narrated by: Nicola Barber
- Length: 5 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Long before they were spirit animals, the four were still legends - Great Beasts, the most powerful beings to roam the wilds of Erdas. Aided by a brave resistance of humans and animals, they gave their lives to protect the world from a threat more dangerous than any it had seen before: their own kind. Wise and cunning, gentle and ruthless, these are tales of the true heroes and villains in the war that started it all.
-
-
review from 9 y/o daughter
- By Ellie on 01-08-17
By: Brandon Mull
-
The Forbidden Library: The Forbidden Library, Book 1
- By: Django Wexler
- Narrated by: Cassandra Morris
- Length: 8 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Alice always thought fairy tales had happy endings. That - along with everything else - changed the day she met her first fairy. When Alice's father goes down in a shipwreck, she is sent to live with her uncle Geryon - an uncle she's never heard of and knows nothing about. He lives in an enormous manor with a massive library that is off-limits to Alice. But then she meets a talking cat.
-
-
My Kids Loved It
- By That Odd Mom on 10-08-15
By: Django Wexler
-
Trixter
- By: Alethea Kontis
- Narrated by: Alastair Cameron
- Length: 3 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Trix Woodcutter is the long prophesied boy who talks to animals. He's also a foundling prankster scamp who places his family under a sleeping spell so that he can run away from home. Compelled by a vision of his dead birth mother, Trix departs on the eve of a great catastrophe, only to find himself caught in the maelstrom.
-
-
Best Trouble To Be Had!!!
- By Nessa on 01-24-16
By: Alethea Kontis
What listeners say about The Trials of King Sparrow
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- M. Lucero
- 07-31-15
Watership Down meets Ovid
Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?
Absolutely. It's like very few other reads on the market today.
Who was your favorite character and why?
King Sparrow. He's humble yet authoritative, wise yet flawed.
Which character – as performed by James Romick – was your favorite?
He did a great job on every character, giving them each unique, recognizable, and fitting vocal features.
If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?
In a world where bird betrays bird, anything can happen... Literally anything.
Any additional comments?
Take equal parts Watership Down and traditional fairy tales, and add a strong dash of Ovid, and what you get is pretty close to Bill Meeks' The Trials of King Sparrow. Another way to describe the story — or the first half, at any rate — is to imagine a BBC nature documentary, but told from the first person perspective of the animals themselves. The story begins with King Sparrow, the monarch of a small flock of birds flying south for the winter, is the victim of betrayal, almost losing his life to a conspiracy of wolves and one of his own people. Injured and almost certain to die, he begins a long journey toward vengeance, helped or hindered by other animals along the way. This first segment, to me, has a lot in common with Richard Adams' epic of rabbits plagued by a continuous series of dangers both without and within their own kind. Like Adams, Meeks gives his animal characters a definite ans pleasurable sense of their own animality. Though they have reason and speech, they're not merely human characters in animal clothing. This, to me, is the best part of the story.
About two-thirds into the book, the story takes an unexpected turn, as mysterious forces begin to intervene in King Sparrow's quest, and he is forced to turn aside, for a while, from the road to vengeance. This section is surprising and dreamlike, and for a while I felt unsure whether enjoyment or unease was the better response.
In a way this is appropriate, as this is often the feeling one gets when reading certain old myths, especially the kind one finds in The Metamorphoses. What is more surprising is that, as firmly rooted as the story begins in animality and a naturalist (in the more common sense of the word) aesthetic, it ends in sheer supernaturalism (also in the common sense). Again, this is approapriate to the fairy tail tradition, which in some ways King Sparrow falls firmly into.
The difference is that these characters, being written so well and so strongly as animals, do not belong as squarely in that setting of enchantment and happy endings. There is a brutality in King Sparrow that is both very appropriate given its setting in the animal world, and also very disturbing given the human territory the story wanders into later on. And that dissonance contributes very much to the overall sense of awe, mystery, and inscrutability the reader is left with at the end of the book.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Amy Powell
- 06-15-15
King sparrow
Was a little different then the usual books I read. But a good and interesting story.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Deedra
- 06-03-15
The Trials of King Sparrow
Any additional comments?
This was a terrific 'read'!The story is of King Sparrow and his flock.There is love, betrayal and magic, all told from King Sparrows viewpoint.I believe that this would be aimed towards YA boys,but I would have loved it as a girl.James Romick was fine as King Sparrows voice.He was commanding yet compassionate where he needed to be.
"I was provided this audiobook at no charge by the author in exchange for an unbiased review via AudiobookBlast dot com."
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- kutzkai
- 08-24-20
I Liked It
The Trials of King Sparrow was not the type of book I normally read/listen too. But I have to say I enjoyed this audio book, it had good characters and story line and the narration was pretty good....Recommended
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Annemarie
- 05-21-15
Like a fairytale
Bill Meeks' The trials of King Sparrow reads like a fairytale. I really loved reading this novella. There is at least one gruesome scene in this story, but it wouldn't be a Bill Meeks story without it.
If you want to relive your Brothers Grimm or Hans Christian Andersen days I would recommend you to read this one.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Jennifer C.
- 11-24-21
Clever story
I enjoyed this story much more than I thought I would. The action begins almost immediately, and keeps up a good pace throughout. I also thought the narrator had a perfect voice to carry the gravitas of King Sparrow.
The use of magic, betrayal, revenge, and love in the story made it like a regular fairy tale, but with birds instead of people. I look forward to reading/listening to more books by Bill Meeks.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!