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Sons of Zeus  By  cover art

Sons of Zeus

By: Noble Smith
Narrated by: Elijah Alexander
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Publisher's summary

In 431 BC, ancient Greece experienced its own "Pearl Harbor" - a treacherous sneak attack that would mark the start of the bloody war between the democracy of Athens and the tyranny of Sparta. Caught between these superpowers, the independent city-state of Plataea became the arena where their battle for control of all of Greece would begin.

In Plataea, the young Greek warrior Nikias dreams of glory in the Olympic games as he trains for the pankration - the no-holds-barred ultimate fighting of the era - until an act of violence in defense of his beloved threatens to send him into exile. But before his trial can take place, a traitor opens the city gates to a surprise attack force.

Suddenly trapped inside their own fortress, the Plataeans are fighting for their lives. As Nikias seeks to discover the identity of the man who betrayed the city, he makes a daring escape, gathers an army, and leads this ragtag band into a suicidal battle at the gates of the citadel - a battle that will decide the fates of his family, his friends, and the woman he loves.

In the vein of Bernard Cornwell, Conn Iggulden, and Steven Pressfield, Sons of Zeus marks the beginning of a richly detailed new action-adventure series.

©2013 Noble Smith (P)2013 Blackstone

What listeners say about Sons of Zeus

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

YA story with adult content and unskilled narrator

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

Not worth the time. The story is artificial and adolescent. It would be good for young readers except for the ridiculously immature sex scenes, explicit in ways only a hormone fueled high school jock could appreciate or believe. Worse than this is the narrator who creates character distinction by falling back on unimaginative and misplaced accents. One of the ancient Greeks actually is given a buttery soft southern accent with diction and pacing reminiscent of Bing Crosby. And, like the Bingle, regardless of the situation his voice never changes, even in the midst of battle he speaks in laconic, ploddingly, cocktail party voice. It is just plain silly. Other characters have British accents, Midwestern, B-movie vampire, etc. Accents do not work to replace well thought out and presented character voices.

Has Sons of Zeus turned you off from other books in this genre?

Not the genre, but definitely the author and narrator.

How could the performance have been better?

The writer needed to write more maturely if he wanted to keep the rape and sexual torture scenes in (though they need to be better written to be believable) or remove the sex and tone down some of the brutality and pitch it to young readers--which is the level of the story. But mostly, it needed a different narrator.

Could you see Sons of Zeus being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

It might make a movie for children. Who knows what might be picked up for a movie--it would be completely rewritten in any case. No major actor would touch it in current state.

Any additional comments?

This is actually the first time an audible book has moved me to write a review--to bad the motivation is negative rather than positive. This is a pretty wretchedly conceived project.

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8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Struggling with Reader

I am trying to get through this book but it is a true struggle. Prior to this I was unaware that most Greeks from the period were transplants from south Alabama. I initially thought they were from Georgia like me but by the third chapter realized that no they sound more like Alabama. I was also unaware that a slow drawl was appropriate for the excitement of a fight scene, now that I think about it the reader feels it appropriate for any scene. Many of the characters also sound like they are a sandwich short of a picnic mentally. Maybe that is a result of all the fighting and they get hit on the head a lot. The story itself seems passable but the reading (performance is way too generous and the term in no way resembles this) is grating and distracting during the good times. Noble Smith should consider ponying up a few dollars for a professional next time. Offering the reader a set of used flip-flops and a Big Mac to eat all by himself didn't work out so well. Note to the reader- I am from south Georgia and sound like it. Therefore I do not read books on Audible. Maybe you too should consider not doing this. If this was intentional and you do not have an accent in real life, all I can say is bless your heart little fella, your in the wrong career. Did you ever consider mime?

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7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Couldn't Finish the Book, Due to Narrator

This book could very well be extremely good, but I could not get past the narrator... in my opinion he was unbearable. I would def. try reading this book because I saw many good reviews on Amazon so I don't believe the content can be that bad considering the subject & who is involved

I just want to give a warning to anyone to be sure to listen to the sample play of the book

I guess its unfair to give it low stars because I didn't finish the content but even the hour I listened to was a bit difficult to follow due to not knowing anything or even heard of Plataeans? I am no historian & I wish people could comment on other peoples comments because I would like to know if I completely slept thru this part of global history in school (quite possible lol)

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7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

OK story, crappy narrator!

The story is certainly no "Gates of Fire" or "Lion of the Sun", but it would be entertaining enough with the right narrator. This guy stinks! He's terrible! He tries to do voices and ruins the story.

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4 people found this helpful

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

Thoroughly enjoyed this story and narration!

What did you like best about this story?

i felt transported to another world, and completely taken in by this group of unlikely and reluctant heros. This is a gem of historical fiction and I would highly recommend.

Which character – as performed by Elijah Alexander – was your favorite?

I was actually impressed with the entire cast of characters, and the way in which the narrator skillfully brought each one to life. This writer and narrator are well matched in their style and passion for the content, and deliver a rich and totally immersive experience

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Greek Adventure ala Sunday morning Disney cartoon

I do not usually write reviews for audiobooks, but this one compelled me. The story was great, with many dark turns and a compelling narrative and characters. Unfortunately, it was difficult to take seriously because of the narrator. He took what was a serious and exciting story and robbed it of any inflection or depth. If given a job reading for Disney children's books, Alexander would win an Oscar. However, his performance was sorely lacked for a serious adventure story. He gives different cartoon accents to each character no matter how small, meaning in a force of Theban soldiers, there were cartoon Scottish, cockney, Brooklyn, and even South Carolina aristocrat accents. The main character's friend is voiced in a studdering plaintive voice turning a strong warrior into a stammering, insecure village idiot. It seemed he was putting more effort into demonstrating his "range" of different accents than trying to convey the emotions depicted in the story.

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2 people found this helpful

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

Great New Noble Smith Series

I highly recommend the start to this series. It's part ancient history, part high action, with great characters. It's gritty, just a warning. I differ from some of the reviews and enjoyed the narrator. Check this out, you will not be disappointed.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

Sick and sadistic

Horrible excessive descriptions of maiming and bloodshed. Perfect for readers with sick minds. Incompetent pronunciation of the Latin words. I hope I can get my money back.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Good story, bad performance.

I'm enjoying the story but he performance is forced. Narrator seems to want to be a voice actor but can't pull it off. He makes terrible choices for voice characterizations that directly violate the narrative. This one would be better as text than audio.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
  • RJ
  • 07-25-23

The War Between Athens and Sparta!

The Pankration Championship. “The fight between The Bull and The Centaur. The flies attacked, believed to come from the Underworld.” A papyrus from the Exiled Scribe 431 B.C.… Yound Nickies lived for the Pankration. He wanted to get into the Hippodrome. Damos The Centaur versus The Bull of Platea. Nickies loved the Bull, he was his grandfather, Menasarkus. Menasarkus killed Damos for killing his son Aristo in an earlier war. Ten years later, Nickies trained with his grandfather, Menasarkus which means “the flesh that endures”. The Greek city of Platea was rich from its defeat of the Persian King Xerxes. Platea fielded a mighty army. Urimidus, magistrate of Platea wrote to Artaxerxes, son of Xerxes, becoming a Persian spy and traitor. Nickkies was soon to become a man in the Haircutting Ceremony and a citizen of Platea, gaining a set of armor and a shield. We’ll learn of his girlfriend Calisto. We follow Nickies through his teenage years to adulthood; his friends, training, encounters, his enemies, his courage, and his passion. There is much political intrigue, subterfuge, treachery, honor, and death. The invasion of Platea was about to begin. Four hundred Thebians, Platea's age-old enemies, entered the fortress city unchallenged. What of Spartan General Draco The Skull’s plans for a treaty with Platea, which required Platea to break their alliance with Athens? What of the traitor Artaxerxes had bought? I like Greek history, so the political interplay between Athens, Sparta, and the regional cities was quite interesting to me, as well as the armor, weapons, battles, and tactics. The narrator, Elijahah Alexander is very good and his skill with voices is excellent.

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