Kings of the Wyld: Booktrack Edition

By: Nicholas Eames

Narrated by: Jeff Harding

Length: 17 hrs and 46 mins

Publisher's summary

Kings of the Wyld: Booktrack Edition adds an immersive musical soundtrack to your audiobook listening experience!

A retired group of legendary mercenaries get the band back together for one last impossible mission in this award-winning debut epic fantasy.

"Fantastic, funny, ferocious." (Sam Sykes)

Clay Cooper and his band were once the best of the best, the most feared and renowned crew of mercenaries this side of the Heartwyld.

Their glory days long past, the mercs have grown apart and grown old, fat, drunk, or a combination of the three. Then an ex-bandmate turns up at Clay's door with a plea for help - the kind of mission that only the very brave or the very stupid would sign up for.

It's time to get the band back together.

Winner of the David Gemmell Morningstar Award for Best Fantasy Debut.

Winner of the Reddit /fantasy Award for Best Debut Fantasy Novel.

*Booktrack is an immersive format that pairs traditional audiobook narration to complementary music. The tempo and rhythm of the score are in perfect harmony with the action and characters throughout the audiobook. Gently playing in the background, the music never overpowers or distracts from the narration, so listeners can enjoy every minute. When you purchase this Booktrack edition, you receive the exact narration as the traditional audiobook available, with the addition of music throughout.

©2017 Nicholas Eames (P)2020 Orbit

We Were Giants

The humor in Kings of the Wyld is just too perfect, I think the book can best be described as a great game of D&D with old friends. The characters are all well executed, Moog and Slowhand being my favorite. If you need a break from the grim dark fantasy, Kings of the Wyld is the perfect pallet cleanser.

This was also my first Booktrack that I've listened to. I was worried I might find it distracting but I think the music really added to the atmosphere, and helped make certain moments feel that much more epic. If I was only going to own one Booktrack this would be it.

Oh and Jeff Harding's narration as Slowhand was soothing, I could listen to him just list magical creatures all day. His voice was perfect for the role and at times I could imagine I was listening to a Behind the Music documentary or something.

my new favorite book.

I love this book. Best Voice actor ever. he make it so visual and its an amazing story.

A hilarious and thrilling Heavy Metal Fantasy

Amazing narration, witty dialogue, enthralling and personal story.

Don't wait. Get the band back together

Best new fantasy out there

so I am a huge fan of Tolkien and Dungeons & Dragons style fantasy and Conan the Barbarian. I grew up on all of these things throughout the late 70s and 80s.
this is a new take on old school fantasy and I could not be more pleased.
the author is obviously a big fan of old-school D&D fantasy and classic rock music. The nods to classic rock all throughout the story are wonderful and whether you know anything about them or not it's okay you can still have a great time with this story. It is light-hearted like the running joke of the Owlbear / Bigfoot throughout the story and the many other humorous takes on Dungeons & Dragons style fantasy. Yet at times it is heavy at times with the Recollections and ruminations of the character's past that made them what they are now. I am sure reading the book would have been great but you must listen to the audio version. That makes it awesome as it has a background soundtrack to it that just fits the moods. This is the best new fantasy I have seen out in a lot of years and I thoroughly enjoyed this audio version.

I love the story, but the music

I found the music to be lacking at parts of the story. or that the rock didn't fit the mundane scene itnwas added to. that could just be personal preference as some of the music does fit into the scene. overall, I'm pleased with the story!

It takes a minute to get going but

It takes some time to get going, but once it gets on track its a wonderful adventure.

Glory days gone... here's to the rest.

It reminds me of what it might look like if a DND band got back together for a second campaign after their first, having all retired characters. They are all retired with a story for each end every scar. Their relationships have already been tested and stomped on and mended. There was less DRAMA, and more ENTERTAINMENT. I really enjoyed reading from the perspective of seasoned warriors, albeit old, tired, fat, and sorely lacking in stamina. But what they lacked in youth and speed, they made up for in experience, and knowledge from previous shenanigans. I realized towards the end of the book, that I wasn't even really reading the 'main characters" perspective. Clay Cooper, seemed to be the honest, trustworthy ever humble sidekick, and it felt like it was really Golden Gabe's story. But honestly I'm not sure how to articulate how much I enjoyed that little epiphany.

It's not the rolling on the floor laughing adventure I had assumed it would be going in, after reviews, Instead it was consistently sprinkled with admirable jokes, pleasingly awkward tropes, and thoughtful descriptions. But may the hilarity of the book be rated with this knowledge: I am not the type to laugh out loud in books, movies, stand up comedies ect, More so smile widely or huff out a giggle now and then... which happened often when listening to Kings of the Wyld. But, I did in fact laugh out loud in my car towards the end, as Gabe was giving a glory pitch to mercs, introducing himself and his band, and Ganalon and a wyvern momentarily crash the party, before Ganalon kills it and casually exits, before Gabe continues his pitch as if nothing happened. Damn it all if I'm still not laughing at that scene.

It's rich in lore, and fantastical creatures, flawlessly marring the two so you never question the legitimacy of either. And at the center of it all... a heartfelt story. Hell I even cried in a few parts. When you hear your daughters voice in the heat of battle goin awry... WHEW... cue the tears.

Never was there a dull moment. Incredible characters... and an absolutely satisfying ending. Never re-read a book before. Considering it with this one, just to keep track of all the quotes I want to remember- the funny, the sad, the thoughtful.

Old timers still got it

Yes. 1000 times yes. stop reading and download. entertaining listen with plenty of humor. knows exactly what it wants to do and does it well

Got this one on a whim-

You see, I own the original. same narrator, and I figured I could return this one once the curiosity itch was scratched. One problem... though they did add a little bit of light chatter, they added something far more deep and profound... a soundtrack!

This book always felt like a cross between Rock, and Dungeons & Dragons... and the soundtrack just hammers that nail home. It's not overpowering, it's not distracting... it carries the emotion and accentuates story at the exact right times.

Story-wise, this book is a near Perfect story arc, from beginning to end it sets it's hook deep, and pulls you all the way through to a very satisfying ending. if you already own the audiobook, give it a try. If you don't already on the audio book so, do yourself a favor and make this one a permanent part of your library. Either way, you'll thank me later.

I actually don't own the sequel yet, but if it gets the same treatment I'll probably go ahead and get it.

Everything you want in an adventure.

Funny thing about this book is, I wanted to listen to it more after the bad reviews. Its a trudging, gritty, hilarious adventure that makes you stay up late to keep listening.