What Remains of Heroes

A Requiem for Heroes Volume 1

By: David Benem

Narrated by: Andrew Tell

Length: 13 hrs and 43 mins

Publisher's summary

Lannick deVeers used to be somebody. A hero, even. Then, he ran afoul of the kingdom's most powerful general and the cost he paid was nearly too much to bear. In the years that followed, his grief turned him into a shadow of his former self, and he spent his days drowning his regrets in tankards of ale. But now an unexpected encounter casts Lannick upon an unlikely path to revenge. If he can just find the strength to overcome the many mistakes of his past, he can seize the chance to become a hero once more. And with an ancient enemy lurking at the kingdom's doorstep, he'd better....

©2015 David Benem (P)2015 David Benem

Can't wait for the next one!

Great story! Very much worth the listen!



"This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of AudiobookBlast dot com."

graphic

before I begin I must disclose that I was provided a copy of this book at no charge for writing a unbiased review .
The story is very good, nice twist and character development. The only thing that I heard enough of was the characters complaining and crying g about how tuff their life was. I like the hard charging hero that never waivers in purpose .
That being said I did enjoy the book and look forward to the connclusion or next phase of the story in the next book.

will try to listen again

I had a hard time keeping up with what was going on .. my mind kept wondering , I`m not sure if I just was not interested or the story was not interesting , I think it was that the story is so complicated that I need to try again , and really listen . ill try again someday . if my opinion changes ill update my review . until then ill say the narrator did a fine job and the story was ok


This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of Audiobook Blast.

Probably a great book for many!

Would you listen to What Remains of Heroes again? Why?

I listened to about 4 hours of the book. When I downloaded it, I didn't realize that the story centered around the occult. I know that many people thoroughly enjoy a good story dealing with spirits and the like. In fact I believe the author and the narrator both do a masterful job. David Benem is a real wordsmith who does a great job of letting us see what is happening. Likewise, Andrew Tell is a very effective story teller. If you have any interest in this genre, I highly recommend that you check it out. Even though this subject matter is not my cup of tea, I was intrigued enough to listen for several hours. If I didn't have so many other books to finish that are more in my preferred areas of interest, I would have kept going simply because of the high quality of this literature/performance.

Any additional comments?

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review of what I thought of it. The opinions stated are my own and not influenced by the free download.

Book was so good, I had to get the audiobook!

I read the kindle book and liked it so much, I had to get the audiobook. I was not disappointed. The performance by Andrew Tell was fantastic. He really brought the characters to life. I hope once Benem finishes the series it gets picked up as a movie or HBO series.

Can't wait for the next installment!

Outstanding entry series opener

Would you consider the audio edition of What Remains of Heroes to be better than the print version?

Did not read the book

Who was your favorite character and why?

The opening scenes of the novel with Lannick

Have you listened to any of Andrew Tell’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Enjoyed listening to the book

Any additional comments?

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review of what I thought of it. The opinions stated are my own and not influenced by the free download.

Really fast paced and well written!

For the most part, this novel follows the exploits of three primary characters: Lannick is an old soldier, once a hero and a captain in the royal army, and a former member of a sort of secret society of protectors. Now he’s more of an old drunkard who spends most of his time in the pub drowning the sorrows of losing his entire family to a gruesome murder. Karnag is a thief and an assassin who is going completely bonkers insane because of the last job he did. (B-O-N-K-E-R-S. Like… right off the deep end). Last but not least, Bale is a socially anxious scholar who, despite it being the last thing he wants to do, is sent to investigate the same murder that’s driving Karnag mad.

We also get some pretty awesome secondary characters: Fencress, a mercenary and member of Karnag’s company; Gamghast, a prefect of the same religious order as Bale; Brugan, an old friend of Lannick (and purveyor of drinks), and Lorra, a woman who agreed to guide Bale to his destination. Interestingly, sometimes we see the story from the POV of some of the secondary characters, in fact, Fencress’ POV takes over Karnag’s as the story progresses and he’s not… really in his right mind. I think my favorite character is Bale. We have a lot in common, Bale and I. Except the religion. >.>;

This book is very well written, not at all boring, and dark AF sometimes (Lannick’s first encounter with the Necrists, I’m looking in your direction). You would think that the main antagonists of the book, who are basically a group of necromancers trying to revive their nightmare god, would make the whole thing kind of cheesy, but that’s not at all the case. They were legit creepy AF, wearing people’s faces as masks and stuff. Other reviewers have pointed out that this book does have a few commonly used fantasy tropes, but it doesn’t feel at all like a common fantasy novel. Benem does a great job using tropes like the retired soldier, and the evil necromancers and making them seem new and fresh.

Andrew Tell, the narrator did a very good job at telling the story. I liked the voices that he gave Bale and Fane (who is easy to hate to begin with, but I might have hated him more because of the voice), but I loved the voice he gave Karnag most of all. Very menacing and appropriate (though, there were a few times that I desperately wanted him to say ‘I’M BATMAN’ with all that menacing gruffness). He made each character quite unique and helped immerse me in the story. Well done!

Heroes Defined

What Remains of Heroes is a story of a formerly war hero, Lannick deVeers, a priest, Bale, and a thief and murderer, Karnag, and two other characters. Lannick has fallen hard after his family has been murdered. He has been drowning his sorrow at the Wanton Vicar when he made a mistake of sleeping with the General's daughter. In order for him to gain the revenge that he desperately wanted and to save the kingdom of Rune, that he protected, he would need to become the man he was before.

Bale is sent to investigate one of the Rune's seven protectors that have been banished from Rune for treason. As an ancient enemy is returning, one of the seven protectors is residing in a human vessel and is heading to Rune. Before the vessel could make it there, he is killed by Karnag.

Karnag is now possessed by the Rune protector and he is driven mad. His companion is now following him to find a way to break through his madness.

What Remains of Heroes has so many characters taking active roles in saving the Kingdom of Rune. A former hero searching for himself, a priest, a thief/assassin, and a killer, each playing a unknown role of a hero. They may not have the same plan to go about it but they are intent on saving their home. The story will have readers/listeners to come back to see what will happen next as the armies of their ancient foe marched forward to Rune.

The narrator, Andrew Tell does a great job in narrating so many characters. The story is quite long to narrate but listeners will be able to distinguish which voices go with what characters.

I was given this book by the narrator via Audiobook Blast in exchange for an honest review. I was not compensated or influenced in any way for writing this review.

Better than I expected.

This novel is pretty good, though it's not for immature audiences, because of an opening sex scene and the S, and F bombs here and there. Basically, this is an epic story of good vs evil, set in a medieval world, that follows the paths of a few different characters, each of whom hold some aspect of the fate of the world in their hands. It also has an interesting magic system with powers coming from various demigods.

Andrew Tell is an excellent narrator. I really enjoyed his performance. However, I had to listen at 0.85x, because he talks pretty fast.

I'll definitely keep an eye out for the next book. I may even re-listen to this book, which I don't often do, unless I rated a book as a 5 star listen.

BTW...I don't like these reviews by people that receive a copy of the book for free just for a review. They kind of rub me the wrong way. Be assured that This is an honest review, because I Paid for this Book with a Credit...and I'm glad I did.

Outstanding entry series opener

Would you listen to What Remains of Heroes again? Why?

Yes. I might like to listen again to regain detail that could be missed the first time through.

What did you like best about this story?

I liked the way the story built so that the purpose of the characters seemed to become more clear.

Which scene was your favorite?

When the queen decides that it is time to take the heir to safety

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

There was several moments when the characters seemed to find a strength they needed to perform whatever function they were about.

Any additional comments?

I received this book in exchange for a review. It started slowly and it was not for several chapters before I realized the author was weaving the threads of the various stories into on solid fabric. Each chapter built well on the others and by the book's end it had a strong story going. I was left with the feeling that I would need to read the next book for sure as I was left wanting to see how this story would end up.

The narrator was excellent and very understandable. He did an outstanding job with the voices of the various characters and made them come alive in his performance. A most enjoyable performance.