Mervyn Wall has 2 audiobooks on Listento.it, narrated by 2 narrators, with an average listener rating of 5★ across 1 ratings. The most-rated is The Unfortunate Fursey.
The Unfortunate Fursey
Summary
Hailed by critic E. F. Bleiler as a "landmark book in the history of fantasy," Mervyn Wall's classic The Unfortunate Fursey (1946) is set in 10th century Ireland, where the forces of evil have launched an assault on the monastery of Clonmacnoise. Their task is made easier by the fact that one hapless monk, the simple-minded Brother Fursey, cannot manage to pronounce the necessary words of exorcism. When the other monks discover this, the unfortunate Fursey is expelled and sets forth on the first stage of his travels, accompanied by a fantastic procession of cacodemons, hippogriffs, imps, furies, and other dreadful creatures, not to mention the elegant gentleman in black who is their commander-in-chief. "Wildly fantastic, intensely satirical, and wickedly comic." (Irish Times)
©1946, 2018 Mervyn Wall (P)2020 Valancourt Books, LLC
The Return of Fursey
Summary
“Henceforth I will serve Evil. I’ll become a most depraved character. I’ll turn really wicked.” (Fursey)
Having escaped being burnt at the stake, the reluctant sorcerer Fursey is back in this sequel, trying to make a quiet life for himself as a grocer in the realm of King Ethelwulf. But when his old enemies seize his wife, Fursey resolves to embrace evil and return to Ireland to reclaim her. Along the way, he'll have to contend with bloodthirsty Vikings, a melancholy vampire, an alcoholic wizard, a lovesick cow, and Satan himself, who is more determined than ever to get his hands on Fursey's soul.
“The Return of Fursey shows no lessening at all in Wall’s quality of imagination ... as with the best of Charlie Chaplin, or of Anton Chekhov or O’Casey, the laughter is very akin to high art.” (Robert Hogan)
“For anyone who doesn’t know Fursey, this opportunity to do so is not to be missed.” (George O'Brien, Dublin Book Review)
“The Unfortunate Fursey and The Return of Fursey are not quaint esoterica for the specialist, folks, they are living masterpieces. They haven't dated slightly and are as fresh and as powerful as when they were first written.” (Darrell Schweitzer)
“The Unfortunate Fursey and its 1948 sequel, The Return of Fursey, have been called the Irish equivalent to T.H. White’s The Once and Future King.... If you enjoy the dry, ironic humour of John Collier, Roald Dahl, Saki, or Jack Vance (and you should), you will like Fursey." (Michael Dirda, Essays and Literary Entertainments)
©1948, 2018 Mervyn Wall (P)2019 Valancourt Books