The Croning
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wish list failed.
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Buy Now for $31.26
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Emily Zeller
-
Written by:
-
Laird Barron
About this listen
Strange things exist on the periphery of our existence, haunting us from the darkness looming beyond our firelight. Black magic, weird cults, and worse things loom in the shadows. The Children of Old Leech have been with us from time immemorial. And they love us....
Donald Miller, geologist and academic, has walked along the edge of a chasm for most of his nearly 80 years, leading a charmed life between endearing absent-mindedness and sanity-shattering realization. Now, all things must converge. Donald will discover the dark secrets along the edges, unearthing savage truths about his wife Michelle, their adult twins, and all he knows and trusts. For Donald is about to stumble on the secret... of The Croning.
From Laird Barron, Shirley Jackson Award-winning author of The Imago Sequence and Occultation, comes The Croning, a debut novel of cosmic horror.
©2012 Laird Barron (P)2012 Audible, Inc.You may also enjoy...
-
The Beautiful Thing That Awaits Us All
- Stories
- Written by: Laird Barron
- Narrated by: Ray Porter
- Length: 12 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Over the course of two award-winning collections and a critically acclaimed novel, The Croning, Laird Barron has arisen as one of the strongest and most original literary voices in modern horror and the dark fantastic. Melding supernatural horror with hardboiled noir, espionage, and a scientific backbone, Barron's stories have garnered critical acclaim and have been reprinted in numerous year's best anthologies and nominated for multiple awards, including the Crawford, International Horror Guild, Shirley Jackson, Theodore Sturgeon, and World Fantasy awards.
-
-
Peak horror
- By Gregory Smart on 2024-11-06
Written by: Laird Barron
-
The Imago Sequence
- And Other Stories
- Written by: Laird Barron
- Narrated by: Ray Porter
- Length: 14 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The title story of this collection - a devilishly ironic riff on H. P. Lovecraft's "Pickman's Model" - was nominated for a World Fantasy Award, while "Probiscus" was nominated for an International Horror Guild award and reprinted in The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror 19. In addition to his previously published work, this collection contains an original story.
-
-
Outstanding
- By Daniel on 2021-07-06
Written by: Laird Barron
-
Songs of a Dead Dreamer and Grimscribe
- Written by: Thomas Ligotti, Jeff VanderMeer - foreword
- Narrated by: Jon Padgett, Linda Jones
- Length: 21 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Thomas Ligotti’s debut collection, Songs of a Dead Dreamer, and his second, Grimscribe, permanently inscribed a new name in the pantheon of horror fiction. Influenced by the strange terrors of Lovecraft and Poe and by the brutal absurdity of Kafka, Ligotti eschews cheap, gory thrills for his own brand of horror, which shocks at the deepest, existential, levels.
-
-
Great Narration and some fantastic stories
- By Jason Cameron on 2023-04-19
Written by: Thomas Ligotti, and others
-
The Gods of H. P. Lovecraft
- Written by: Rachel Caine, Seanan McGuire, Laird Barron, and others
- Narrated by: David Stifel, uncredited
- Length: 15 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Gods of H.P. Lovecraft: a brand new anthology that collects the 12 principal deities of the Lovecraftian Mythos and sets them loose. Featuring the biggest names in horror and dark fantasy, including many New York Times best sellers; full of original fiction; and individual commentary on each of the deities by Donald Tyson.
-
-
Not the scariest book I've ever read
- By Norman on 2021-11-16
Written by: Rachel Caine, and others
-
The Hollow Places
- Written by: T. Kingfisher
- Narrated by: Hillary Huber
- Length: 9 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
"Pray they are hungry." Kara finds these words in the mysterious bunker that she’s discovered behind a hole in the wall of her uncle's house. Freshly divorced and living back at home, Kara now becomes obsessed with these cryptic words and starts exploring the peculiar bunker - only to discover that it holds portals to countless alternate realities. But these places are haunted by creatures that seem to hear thoughts...and the more you fear them, the stronger they become.
-
-
It was Good
- By Amy Merritt on 2020-12-31
Written by: T. Kingfisher
-
Agents of Dreamland
- Tinfoil Dossier, Book 1
- Written by: Caitlin R. Kiernan
- Narrated by: Danny Campbell, Chelsea Stephens
- Length: 2 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A government special agent known only as the Signalman gets off a train on a stunningly hot morning in Winslow, Arizona. Later that day he meets a woman in a diner to exchange information about an event that happened a week earlier for which neither has an explanation but which haunts the Signalman. In a ranch house near the shore of the Salton Sea, a cult leader gathers up the weak and susceptible - the Children of the Next Level - and offers them something to believe in and a chance for transcendence. The future is coming, and they will help to usher it in.
-
-
strange and fun
- By Anonymous User on 2021-06-25
Written by: Caitlin R. Kiernan
-
The Beautiful Thing That Awaits Us All
- Stories
- Written by: Laird Barron
- Narrated by: Ray Porter
- Length: 12 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Over the course of two award-winning collections and a critically acclaimed novel, The Croning, Laird Barron has arisen as one of the strongest and most original literary voices in modern horror and the dark fantastic. Melding supernatural horror with hardboiled noir, espionage, and a scientific backbone, Barron's stories have garnered critical acclaim and have been reprinted in numerous year's best anthologies and nominated for multiple awards, including the Crawford, International Horror Guild, Shirley Jackson, Theodore Sturgeon, and World Fantasy awards.
-
-
Peak horror
- By Gregory Smart on 2024-11-06
Written by: Laird Barron
-
The Imago Sequence
- And Other Stories
- Written by: Laird Barron
- Narrated by: Ray Porter
- Length: 14 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The title story of this collection - a devilishly ironic riff on H. P. Lovecraft's "Pickman's Model" - was nominated for a World Fantasy Award, while "Probiscus" was nominated for an International Horror Guild award and reprinted in The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror 19. In addition to his previously published work, this collection contains an original story.
-
-
Outstanding
- By Daniel on 2021-07-06
Written by: Laird Barron
-
Songs of a Dead Dreamer and Grimscribe
- Written by: Thomas Ligotti, Jeff VanderMeer - foreword
- Narrated by: Jon Padgett, Linda Jones
- Length: 21 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Thomas Ligotti’s debut collection, Songs of a Dead Dreamer, and his second, Grimscribe, permanently inscribed a new name in the pantheon of horror fiction. Influenced by the strange terrors of Lovecraft and Poe and by the brutal absurdity of Kafka, Ligotti eschews cheap, gory thrills for his own brand of horror, which shocks at the deepest, existential, levels.
-
-
Great Narration and some fantastic stories
- By Jason Cameron on 2023-04-19
Written by: Thomas Ligotti, and others
-
The Gods of H. P. Lovecraft
- Written by: Rachel Caine, Seanan McGuire, Laird Barron, and others
- Narrated by: David Stifel, uncredited
- Length: 15 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Gods of H.P. Lovecraft: a brand new anthology that collects the 12 principal deities of the Lovecraftian Mythos and sets them loose. Featuring the biggest names in horror and dark fantasy, including many New York Times best sellers; full of original fiction; and individual commentary on each of the deities by Donald Tyson.
-
-
Not the scariest book I've ever read
- By Norman on 2021-11-16
Written by: Rachel Caine, and others
-
The Hollow Places
- Written by: T. Kingfisher
- Narrated by: Hillary Huber
- Length: 9 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
"Pray they are hungry." Kara finds these words in the mysterious bunker that she’s discovered behind a hole in the wall of her uncle's house. Freshly divorced and living back at home, Kara now becomes obsessed with these cryptic words and starts exploring the peculiar bunker - only to discover that it holds portals to countless alternate realities. But these places are haunted by creatures that seem to hear thoughts...and the more you fear them, the stronger they become.
-
-
It was Good
- By Amy Merritt on 2020-12-31
Written by: T. Kingfisher
-
Agents of Dreamland
- Tinfoil Dossier, Book 1
- Written by: Caitlin R. Kiernan
- Narrated by: Danny Campbell, Chelsea Stephens
- Length: 2 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A government special agent known only as the Signalman gets off a train on a stunningly hot morning in Winslow, Arizona. Later that day he meets a woman in a diner to exchange information about an event that happened a week earlier for which neither has an explanation but which haunts the Signalman. In a ranch house near the shore of the Salton Sea, a cult leader gathers up the weak and susceptible - the Children of the Next Level - and offers them something to believe in and a chance for transcendence. The future is coming, and they will help to usher it in.
-
-
strange and fun
- By Anonymous User on 2021-06-25
Written by: Caitlin R. Kiernan
-
The Reddening
- Written by: Adam Nevill
- Narrated by: Conner Goff
- Length: 12 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Lifestyle journalist Katrine escaped past traumas by moving to a coast renowned for seaside holidays and natural beauty. But when a vast hoard of human remains and prehistoric artifacts is discovered in nearby Brickburgh, a hideous shadow engulfs her life. Helene, a disillusioned lone parent, lost her brother, Lincoln, six years ago. Disturbing subterranean noises he recorded prior to vanishing, draw her to Brickburgh's caves. A site where early humans butchered each other across 60,000 years. Upon the walls, images of their nameless gods remain.
-
-
meh
- By Anne on 2021-03-06
Written by: Adam Nevill
-
The Ballad of Black Tom
- Written by: Victor LaValle
- Narrated by: Kevin R. Free
- Length: 3 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Charles Thomas Tester hustles to put food on the table, keep the roof over his father's head, from Harlem to Flushing Meadows to Red Hook. He knows what magic a suit can cast, the invisibility a guitar case can provide, and the curse written on his black skin that attracts the eye of wealthy white folks and their trained cops. But when he delivers an occult page to a reclusive sorceress in the heart of Queens, Tom opens a door to a deeper realm of magic.
-
-
very good book
- By Jay G on 2024-03-14
Written by: Victor LaValle
-
14
- Written 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.
-
-
I enjoyed this audio book very much.
- By John on 2019-02-28
Written by: Peter Clines
-
Leech
- Written by: Hiron Ennes
- Narrated by: Abigail Thorn
- Length: 13 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In an isolated chateau, as far north as north goes, the baron’s doctor has died. The doctor’s replacement has a mystery to solve: discovering how the Institute lost track of one of its many bodies. For hundreds of years the Interprovincial Medical Institute has grown by taking root in young minds and shaping them into doctors, replacing every human practitioner of medicine. The Institute is here to help humanity, to cure and to cut, to cradle and protect the species from the apocalyptic horrors their ancestors unleashed.
-
-
Suspenseful, menacing, slow burn gothic horror
- By Dream Fractal on 2024-09-27
Written by: Hiron Ennes
-
The Only Good Indians
- Written by: Stephen Graham Jones
- Narrated by: Shaun Taylor-Corbett
- Length: 8 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From New York Times best-selling author Stephen Graham Jones comes a novel that is equal parts psychological horror and cutting social commentary on identity politics and the American-Indian experience. Fans of Jordan Peele and Tommy Orange will love this story as it follows the lives of four American-Indian men and their families, all haunted by a disturbing, deadly event that took place in their youth. Years later, they find themselves tracked by an entity bent on revenge, totally helpless as the culture and traditions they left behind catch up to them in a vengeful way.
-
-
I like it, good story
- By Kevin Chelsea on 2020-08-18
Written by: Stephen Graham Jones
-
Slewfoot
- A Tale of Bewitchery
- Written by: Brom
- Narrated by: Barrie Kreinik
- Length: 14 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Connecticut, 1666. An ancient spirit awakens in a dark wood. The wildfolk call him Father, slayer, protector. The colonists call him Slewfoot, demon, devil. To Abitha, a recently widowed outcast, alone and vulnerable in her pious village, he is the only one she can turn to for help. Together, they ignite a battle between pagan and Puritan - one that threatens to destroy the entire village, leaving nothing but ashes and bloodshed in their wake.
-
-
Amazing!
- By Jocelyn Jennings on 2024-02-20
Written by: Brom
-
Nestlings
- Written by: Nat Cassidy
- Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell, Nat Cassidy
- Length: 13 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Ana and Reid needed a lucky break. The horrifically complicated birth of their first child has left Ana paralyzed, bitter, and struggling: with mobility, with her relationship with Reid, with resentment for her baby. That's about to change with the words any New Yorker would love to hear—affordable housing lottery. They've won an apartment in the Deptford, one of Manhattan's most revered buildings. Reid dismisses disturbing events and Ana’s deep unease and paranoia as the price of living in New York—people are odd—but he can't explain the needle-like bite marks on the baby.
-
-
Narration was good. Book was not
- By Dana Clow on 2024-06-20
Written by: Nat Cassidy
-
Blindsight
- Written by: Peter Watts
- Narrated by: T. Ryder Smith
- Length: 11 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Set in 2082, Peter Watts' Blindsight is fast-moving, hard SF that pulls readers into a futuristic world where a mind-bending alien encounter is about to unfold. After the Firefall, all eyes are locked heavenward as a team of specialists aboard the self-piloted spaceship Theseus hurtles outbound to intercept an unknown intelligence.
-
-
Some of the plot was lost on me
- By Jason Leach on 2024-03-21
Written by: Peter Watts
-
The Immaculate Void
- Written by: Brian Hodge
- Narrated by: Grahame Bywater
- Length: 6 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
You wouldn’t think events happening years apart, at points in the solar system hundreds of millions of miles distant, would have anything to do with each other. When she was six, Daphne was taken into a neighbor’s tool shed and came within seconds of never coming out alive. Most of the scars healed. Except for the one that went all the way through. You wouldn’t think that the serial murders of children and the one who got away would have any connection with the strange fate of one of Jupiter’s moons.
-
-
I bought the authors entire work after this novel.
- By HouseAtlantic on 2023-05-25
Written by: Brian Hodge
-
Carrion Comfort
- Written by: Dan Simmons
- Narrated by: Mel Foster, Laural Merlington
- Length: 39 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Caught behind the lines of Hitler's Final Solution, Saul Laski is one of the multitudes destined to die in the notorious Chelmno extermination camp. Until he rises to meet his fate and finds himself face to face with an evil far older, and far greater, than the Nazis themselves. Compelled by the encounter to survive at all costs, so begins a journey that for Saul will span decades and cross continents, plunging into the darkest corners of 20th century history to reveal a secret society of beings who may often exist behind the world's most horrible and violent events.
-
-
A marvelous revisit to a classic story.
- By Candace on 2018-09-29
Written by: Dan Simmons
-
Little Heaven
- A Novel
- Written by: Nick Cutter
- Narrated by: Corey Brill
- Length: 15 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From electrifying horror author Nick Cutter comes a haunting new novel, reminiscent of Cormac McCarthy's Blood Meridian and Stephen King's It, in which a trio of mismatched mercenaries is hired by a young woman for a deceptively simple task: check in on her nephew, who may have been taken against his will to a remote New Mexico backwoods settlement called Little Heaven. Shortly after they arrive, things begin to turn ominous.
-
-
unreal
- By Alex Harper on 2021-04-18
Written by: Nick Cutter
-
The Book of Cthulhu
- Tales Inspired by H. P. Lovecraft
- Written by: Ross E. Lockhart - editor
- Narrated by: Fleet Cooper, Teresa DeBerry
- Length: 27 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Cthulhu Mythos is one of the 20th century's most singularly recognizable literary creations. Initially created by H. P. Lovecraft and a group of his amorphous contemporaries (the so-called "Lovecraft Circle"), The Cthulhu Mythos story cycle has taken on a convoluted, cyclopean life of its own. Some of the most prodigious writers of the 20th century, and some of the most astounding writers of the 21st century have planted their seeds in this fertile soil. The Book of Cthulhu harvests the weirdest and most corpulent crop of these modern mythos tales.
-
-
Great stuff
- By Anon on 2019-06-27
Written by: Ross E. Lockhart - editor
What the critics say
What listeners say about The Croning
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Jake
- 2022-02-12
Second listen
Really enjoyed this book, especially upon second listening. If you like cosmic horror, Laird Barron doesn’t disappoint. I’m far from a literary expert but I’d put The Croning high on the list of excellent cosmic horror novels. Definitely worth a listen if you love horror beyond the stars, and just remember, the children of old leech love you.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Amazon Customer
- 2023-01-20
Certainly Lovecraftian
This is the type of novel you really have to pay close attention and may be better read vs audio. In addition to being surreal and existential, there are three main sections. The first chapter builds a history, the second tells of a specific time period involving two main characters, and the third is the main characters experience later in life (as it relates to the first two chapters). It is very Lovecraftian, surreal at times. I enjoyed the protagonist, an older gentleman with a polite vocabulary (you scoundrel!!!). Lastly, I understand there was rationale with the disjointed and inconsistent narration, and the ending was clever, yet... the story overall felt condensed and incomplete, and by the end was not satisfied nor filled with dread.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Amazon Customer
- 2021-07-31
Worth Listening To
It's tough to find modern Lovecraftian Horror and it's even tougher to find good Lovecraftian Horror. this was a great read and the final chapters were really worth the journey. It had some pacing issues and this is a book that actually requires your focus. I had to listen to some sections multiple times to understand what was happening but it was definitely worth it. I narrator was fantastic.
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
- Kaler Jonson
- 2023-12-10
Solid cosmic horror marred by erratic narration
The book was fine, nothing particularly memorable but worth the read.
The narrator is awful, but only in very specific ways.
Every single older male voice sounds like a coked up Muppet bursting with good will, regardless of the situation.
The narrator only has maybe four total voices she can do, which leads to very hard to parse conversations which leave me confused as to who said what.
Most bafflingly, the narrator is incapable of pronouncing basic words, making the mistakes I associate with children not adult professional voice actors.
The poor narration really took away from the book for me.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful