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Stan Lee's Alliances: A Trick of Light cover art

Stan Lee's Alliances: A Trick of Light

Written by: Stan Lee, Kat Rosenfield, Created by Stan Lee, Luke Lieberman, Ryan Silbert
Narrated by: Yara Shahidi
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Publisher's Summary

"Leave it to Stan Lee to save his very best for last. A Trick of Light is as heartfelt and emotional as it is original and exciting. What a movie this one will make."(James Patterson)

"Beguiling, cinematic, operatic, A Trick of Light is a bracing espresso first thing in the morning and the thrum of a familiar love deep at night." (Gary Shteyngart)

In one of Stan Lee’s final collaborations and most innovative works, the legendary creator invites you to unleash the power of your imagination, and bring to life an epic, superhero origin story set within a tech-centric, highly connected world, unnervingly reminiscent of our own.

Narrated by Yara Shahidi, one of today’s brightest talents, Stan Lee’s Alliances: A Trick of Light introduces listeners to a mysterious young woman, Nia, whose fate is intertwined with a seemingly ordinary Midwestern teenager, Cameron Ackerson, whose quest for YouTube stardom takes him to the heart of the Great Lakes Triangle where he is imbued with the power to "see" and "hear" a new reality.

As Nia and Cameron’s relationship grows, they conspire to create a more righteous online universe, but wind up crossing a shadowy outfit called OPTIC. Meanwhile, a threat of galactic proportions emerges, imperiling humanity’s very existence by harnessing our individual desire to connect as the very means to destroy us.

Can Nia, Cameron, and Juaquo (Cameron’s best friend) save us from our own collective ruin? 

Join forces with Stan Lee to find out! 

©2019 New Reality, LLC (P)2019 Audible Originals, LLC.

What the critics say

A Trick of Light is uncannily frightening, amazingly modern, incredibly moving and impossible to put down. You will recognize these characters, and you may be surprised to see yourself in their struggles in an increasingly over-connected, yet under-considered world. There are fears here that didn’t exist when Marvel Comics was created, and it’s fascinating to see Stan and company take the scalpel to them, and the listener. Listen to this book.” (Gail Simone)

“Leave it to Stan Lee to save his very best for last. A Trick of Light is as heartfelt and emotional as it is original and exciting. What a movie this one will make.” (James Patterson) 

"For lovers of Stan Lee this is nothing short of a publishing event! (And, honestly, who the hell doesn't love Stan Lee?) Beguiling, cinematic, operatic, A Trick of Light is a bracing espresso first thing in the morning and the thrum of a familiar love deep at night.” (Gary Shteyngart, author of Absurdistan and Lake Success)

Meet Our Heroes

Meet the Creators

Stan Lee was known to the world as the man whose superheroes propelled Marvel to its preeminent position in the entertainment industry. His co-creations included Spider-Man, The Avengers, Black Panther, X-Men, Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, The Fantastic Four, and hundreds of others. Lee continued to serve as Marvel Entertainment’s Chairman Emeritus until his death in 2018. Lee was also the Chairman and Chief Creative Officer of Stan Lee’s POW! Entertainment, which he founded with production partner Gill Champion and attorney Arthur Lieberman. In Stan Lee’s Alliances: A Trick of Light, Lee chose the immersive medium of audio to share one of his latest universes and casts of superheroes. His trademark mastery of creating both engaging and provocative story lines is on full display as he and his co-creators developed a fascinating new world to explore that deftly comments on our own.

Meet the Creators

Academy Award winning filmmaker Ryan Silbertis a writer, producer, author, and founder of Origin Story Entertainment, a multi-platform entertainment company with a global focus on storytelling. Silbert’s next project is Stan Lee’s Alliances: A Trick of Light, an original, first-of-its kind audio storytelling event produced by Amazon’s Audible Studios and starring Yara Shahidi. Created by Silbert, Luke Lieberman, and Stan Lee in the late cultural icon’s final collaboration, Stan Lee’s Alliances: A Trick of Light debuted on June 27 as an Audible Original. With work recognized by the Academy Awards, the Canadian Academy of Film & Television, Sundance, and the Berlinale, Silbert’s repertoire includes such films as the Academy Award winning God of Love and Spike Lee’s The Girls in Trouble. Silbert is currently in development on television, film, and immersive narratives projects created specifically for audio platforms.

Meet the Creators

Luke Lieberman started his career working for the legend, who mentored him in the art of storytelling. He left Stan's employ to relaunch the Red Sonja comic book franchise, which has published over 300 issues and 60 graphic novels, and where he serves as licensor and executive editor to this day. Luke also practices intellectual property and entertainment law at Rosenfeld, Meyer & Susman of Los Angeles. His current projects include writing this year’s Red Sonja: Birth of a She-Devil miniseries for Dynamite Entertainment, executive producing the Red Sonja feature motion picture, and co-creating Stan Lee's Alliances: A Trick of Light, an innovative audio experience from Audible Studios and performed by Yara Shahidi, with Ryan Silbert, and Stan ''The Man'' Lee himself.

Meet the Creators

Kat Rosenfield is an Edgar-nominated author and pop culture journalist with a gift for reporting on digital-age dramas from the place where art and politics intersect. In 2018, Kat was tapped to co-author Stan Lee's Alliances: A Trick of Light with icon Stan Lee. She previously authored two young adult novels, the Edgar-nominated Amelia Anne Is Dead and Gone (2012) and Inland (2014). Kat began her career in journalism at MTV News, reporting on TV, film, books, and young Hollywood culture. Her work includes critical essays for Playboy, TV recapping for Entertainment Weekly, and live-blogging the 2016 US presidential debates and election results for Us Weekly. Her more recent work as a freelance journalist includes seminal reporting on controversies within the young adult publishing community. Rosenfield is a co-host of the Feminine Chaos podcast on Bloggingheads.tv and a contributing editor at Tablet.

Meet the Narrator

Actress, model, activist, and youth speaker Yara Shahidi is quickly emerging as a generational voice able to captivate and inspire audiences both on- and off-screen. With a combination of raw talent, authenticity, and passion for projects of substance, Shahidi’s narration of Stan Lee’s Alliances: A Trick of Light adds another distinct level of depth and sophistication to this visionary work. Best known for her breakout television roles in Black-ish and Grown-ish, she most recently starred in the 2019 film The Sun Is Also a Star. Shahidi was a recipient of the ''Generation Next'' award at the 10th Annual Essence Black Women in Hollywood event and is intimately involved in various educational and social initiatives. Among them, Eighteen x 18, founded by Shahidi to encourage voter turnout, and Yara’s Club, a partnered venture with the Young Women’s Leadership Network of New York, focused on education.

What listeners say about Stan Lee's Alliances: A Trick of Light

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Book might be good

The story may be good, as it's Stan Lee, but the narration is dry and monotone. I can't even remember what happened in the story so far and I'm on chapter 3.

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4 people found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Story was okay, narration wasn't great.

Narrator does a good job at reading the story but she's terrible at imitating guys voices which becomes somewhat annoying to listen to at times.

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4 people found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Awesome narration

Worth it for the narration of Yara Shahidi
Story is similar to" ready player one " or "armada"
but not as good.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars
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Helped me catch up on my sleep!

The narrator literally put me to sleep every time I tried to listen. The story ideas could have developed but it just didn't get there for me. Perhaps the narration was part of the issue but I wouldn't recommend it.

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2 people found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Hard to get started... but got good as it went on.

Struggled to get into it, but after a few tries, I am glad I stuck it out. Cant wait to listen to the next one.

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1 person found this helpful

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    2 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

not as expected

from the ads I saw I had expected something closer to an audio drama, with multiple VAs, sound effects ect.
nothing wrong with it just not enough to keep me engaged

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Crushed it in one weekend!

I really enjoyed this book. Reminiscent of many sci-fi/other worldly take over/ AI vs humanity type stories but still very engaging. The only thing I could have done without was some of the music in the background. Took me out of the tense moments a bit. Looking forward to starting book two!

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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great audible

loved it! waiting for a sequel? great storytelling by a master that's been around awhile

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Cool story! Wil, please re-record this!

Nice scifi/ super origin! (me next please) I am ready for the next one. TG new narr though. Worst thing about this, boring one note narration and barely there characterizations. Like trying to watch a movie through fog.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Engaging Sci-fi tale with likeable characters that develop through every chapter...

This is a win not just for Stan, Luke, and Ryan, but for all sci-fi genre fans. The story is well crafted and never forgets that we as readers/listeners are on a thrill ride, and as such, expectant of a proper dose of surprises and time honoured plotting to get us to the end. Indeed, we are not left disappointed! Imaginative, well conceived, and pop-culture sensitive, 'Stan Lee's Alliances: A Trick of Light' leaves you applauding and wanting more.

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