This was a beautiful play about the push and pull between good and evil, revenge and forgiveness, reality and magic. It started out slow for me but then it reeled me in completely. The ending was superb. This was reminiscent of a Greek play but instead of Gods there was magic and spirits. Prospero is a God like figure who rules the Island he's on and the sea around it with fantastical magic. He has ultimate power over everyone who enters or inhabits the Island. For a good deal of the time, other than Miranda, the characters are not likable but they (some) grow on you as they go through changes. 
 I started out with an audible version through channels and was confused to the end. I'm not saying that it wasn't a good recording in general, but it wasn't for me. I'm easily distracted and there were too many sound effects and other distractions for me to keep track of who was speaking. I think the men were all read by the same actor which also made it hard. Airel, the spirit servant, was done in a strange demonic type voice that was hard for me to understand. Miranda was the only person I could consistently comprehend. 
 When I read it, everything became much clearer. Prospero was a Duke who lost his dukedom in large part because of his insatiable quest for knowledge which kept him from seeing the real world around him. He uses magic for his 12 years of isolation to make a beautiful world for himself and his daughter. Even his monstrous, despicable, mistreated slave can ultimately speak of the Island with beautiful poetry. When the people responsible for Prospero's fall come sailing near, he becomes obsessed with revenge. 
 There were lots of great magical scenes that were lyrically poetic. I did love the audio for the music and songs. Those were great and I had even more appreciation being able to remember them when reading. Even though Prospero is the main character, the lives of many of the characters are key. Ariel and Caliban have great back stories, they've had long hard journeys. Other characters have shorter but still important journeys. 
 (view spoiler)[ For me it was ultimately a story about the necessity of human companionship and experiencing real life with all it's imperfections and how a hard journey can make you more appreciative. In that journey though, the power of imagination and it's magic can help you heal. (hide spoiler)]