Marie

I don't know if this story deserves one star but the narration is so awful I couldn't continue listening. The reader's voice is dull, flat and lifeless and made me cringe. Maybe it is better read. But who knows.

A fun, funny, multidimensional fantasy that will make you laugh out loud at points, even if people do stare at you on the Metro. I haven't read any of this series but I think it must be better listened to rather than read. The vocal characterizations add so much to the word play, puns and teasers. I would have missed a couple in the text. The narrator is excellent and he becomes a very important and essential part of the book. I wasn't so in love with the author's writing style. It is a bit simplistic for the adult listener, and the author never met an "ly" adverb he didn't like. I would have preferred more detail and description; he needs to work on "show don't tell" in his narrative and his taglines. I wasn't surprised to see book reviews on Amazon and Audible from readers who first discovered this series in high school. That said, the book is worth a listen if you like your fantasy mixed with satire and humor.

Okay, so I don't like this book. I loved the first chapter and thought I would go on loving the rest. Yes, George Martin is an excellent writer. If only everyone didn't die or suffer grievous injury. I am only 1/3 through the first in the series. I don't think I am actually going to be able to finish this book. Violence and death can fit in a story but do they have to overwhelm it? Nobody stays around long enough for a multi volume story to go anywhere, except some of the bad guys it appears. And then I have an issue with the author's tendency to have prepubescent or very young teen girls be sexual objects, often involving rape or violent sex. There is something disturbing about that. Most of the women, at least in this volume, are little more than sexual objects.

There are so many things I wanted to know more about: the long winter, Winterfell, what was beyond the wall. But I am not willing to trudge through several volumes to find out.

Not for me. And I am not going to apologize.

I have a long standing mental image of Elizabeth I that the narrator, Katherine Kellgren, tore to shreds. Those of you who have listened to the Her Royal Spyness series will be familiar with Ms. Kellgren. She is great for that series (though wearing after a couple of volumes) which is campy and light. Unfortunately, her reading style doesn't translate well to Tudor England. Her overwrought narration often overwhelms the story. When a Elizabeth shouts, she shouts so loudly I jumped. I have trouble keeping the volume at a consistent level.

I selected the book because it takes place at almost the same time and involves many of the same characters as a book I had just finished (To Shield the Queen by Fiona Buckley) and I was interested in comparing the stories. To Shield a Queen is a lighter story but a much better listening experience.

So refreshing to meet an unapologetically flawed character. Crowner John, the man in black, cheats on his wife and his mistress but defends the right of the accused criminal to fair treatment. He shouts, he stomps, he hates his in-laws. You've got to love it. I've been reading a lot of historical mysteries and this may be my new favorite. The author easily weaves medieval history, culture and vocabulary into the story. The settings are gritty and real. I gave it a 4 instead of a 5 only because I didn't like the ending; I felt the author took the easy way out. That said, I will be visiting Crowner John again soon.

I love Ngaio Marsh books and this is one of my favorites. I love that Agatha Troy has such a major part in the story. I love her and her relationship with Roderick. The odd cast of characters in the story are so much fun from start to finish. And Nadia May is the best.

Nadia May is the best. Her narration is superb. It adds so much to the text. It's not that I didn't enjoy the book, I did as you can see by my rating. I am rating it for what it is, a light historical mystery with a romantic subplot. But I wonder if I would have been as taken if I had read it. Ursula Blanchard is an interesting character, as are those around her. I especially like her servants. But she is naive to say the least. Her support of Elizabeth and the protestants isn't based on any strong religious conviction but rather on a description she had heard of a burning under the reign of Queen Mary. While things weren't lovely under Mary, Mary certainly didn't start the torturing and killing based on religion. Henry the VIII's reign was rampant with burnings, beheading, and hangings. The dissolution of the monasteries was violent. Ursula's lack of serious contemplation about this issue made her a weak character for me. The description of the recorded plotting and intrigue at Elizabeth's court is superficial.

That said, the book was enjoyable and I will listen to at least one more. I admit the lack of brutal killings and graphic violence was a relief after other books set in the same or close time periods. I love Sansom's Matthew Shardlake books but the killings and murders can be gruesome.

If anyone had told me I would love a crime novel with ghosts, wizards, water sprites, and other mythical creatures, all living in modern-day London, I would have said they were crazy. But love it I did. It is a mix of murder, fantasy, and social commentary, with many laugh out loud moments to soften the graphic violence. I will caution listeners to be willing to suspend reality from the very beginning. At first I was puzzled when Peter Grant, a new constable with desk job, so readily accepts the existence of magic and other worldly creatures existing in modern times. He doesn't question an appointment as an apprentice wizard to Superintendent Nightingale. But so does Scotland Yard, so why shouldn't Peter Grant. A rash of gruesome murders transpire and the final solution is a bit of a ghostly soap opera, but everything works.

Kobna Holdbrook-Smith is a great reader. Even though his voices are great and his characters are distinct, I gave him four stars because of the too casual, almost dismissive, reading at times. His reading of the second volume of the series is tighter and I found it easier to listen to. I think he has a great future in audio books.

I wanted to give the book 5 stars overall but held back because the viciousness of the murders and several senseless killings and maimings disturbed me. But the secondary story of the territorial dispute between Mama Thames and Papa Thames is a hoot and helped break the tension.

The wait was worth it. This might be my favorite of the series. Ruso, the medicus, and his barbarian wife Tilla are as entertaining as ever, though the theme of the story and the main actions are anything but a comedy. Roman Britain comes alive in this story of cruelty, murder and political cover ups. The visit of the Emperor Hadrian and his wife Sabina is especially interesting and led me to do some follow-up reading on the pair. Simon Vance is the perfect Ruso. I can't wait for the next adventure with Ruso and Tilla.

This review covers both Rise of Empire and Heir of Novron, the second and third books in the Theft of Swards trilogy. Any series of books that can hold my attention for 70+ hours and leave me wanting more is a winner. On top of discovering one of my new favorite narrators, I found the books amusing, swashbuckling, and a romp of a fantasy.

The author is not afraid to left Royce, Hadrian and Arista experience both victory and pain. Recurrent characters pop up throughout the trilogy and add continuity and bind the stories together. Originally written as six stand alone books, the trilogy is wisely packaged in three volumes. The main characters and their joint and individual stories are well developed. I felt I knew them and I missed them when it was over.

I am giving the story only four out of five stars because the author leaves subtle but essential clues throughout the books that are hard to remember after such a long narration. He is a bit too clever for his own good at times. When listening, remember, nothing is irrelevant. I was confused by the ending of Heir of Novron. Luckily, I had purchased both the audio and Kindle version and I was able to do a search of the Kindle text to find the answer. It annoyed me I had to resort to looking back.

I had a couple other quibbles with the excessive details in Rise of Empire about every type of mast or sail on a ship and how to operate it in various types of weather. As a reader, I wanted to story to move on and it almost sank. The search for the lost city was puzzling when it turned out that many people knew where it was.

Those quibbles aside, I highly recommend the Theft of Swords trilogy. It is so much better than others series I have tried, such as The Elvenbane (uneven and disjointed) and The Kingkiller Chronicles (so boring I returned the first book and won't revisit).

This review covers both Rise of Empire and Heir of Novron, the second and third books in the Theft of Swards trilogy. Any series of books that can hold my attention for 70+ hours and leave me wanting more is a winner. On top of discovering one of my new favorite narrators, I found the books amusing, swashbuckling, and a romp of a fantasy.

The author is not afraid to left Royce, Hadrian and Arista experience both victory and pain. Recurrent characters pop up throughout the trilogy and add continuity and bind the stories together. Originally written as six stand alone books, the trilogy is wisely packaged in three volumes. The main characters and their joint and individual stories are well developed. I felt I knew them and I missed them when it was over.

I am giving the story only four out of five stars because the author leaves subtle but essential clues throughout the books that are hard to remember after such a long narration. He is a bit too clever for his own good at times. When listening, remember, nothing is irrelevant. I was confused by the ending of Heir of Novron. Luckily, I had purchased both the audio and Kindle version and I was able to do a search of the Kindle text to find the answer. It annoyed me I had to resort to looking back.

I had a couple other quibbles with the excessive details in Rise of Empire about every type of mast or sail on a ship and how to operate it in various types of weather. As a reader, I wanted to story to move on and it almost sank. The search for the lost city was puzzling when it turned out that many people knew where it was.

Those quibbles aside, I highly recommend the Theft of Swords trilogy. It is so much better than others series I have tried, such as The Elvenbane (uneven and disjointed) and The Kingkiller Chronicles (so boring I returned the first book and won't revisit).