• Malaise Falchion

  • The Spade Case Files
  • By: Paul Barrett
  • Narrated by: Jack Wayne
  • Length: 8 hrs and 33 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (35 ratings)

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Malaise Falchion  By  cover art

Malaise Falchion

By: Paul Barrett
Narrated by: Jack Wayne
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Publisher's summary

Disgraced during the Demon War, Dwarf investigator Snazdaggin Kundarik (Spade to his friends) wants nothing more than a desk to sleep on, a bottle of grog to drink, and the occasional easy case for quick pay.

Then a mysterious female Elf from the posh side of town shows up and offers him exoneration for his past sins and lots of gold. All he has to do is follow her brother and report his activities. Simple, right?

He should have known better. The simple job soon spirals out of control. Spade finds himself sucked into intrigue, powerful magic, and the hunt for a weapon powerful enough to end the world. Ill-prepared, Spade forges on with the aid of his hapless sidekick and a reluctant female warrior.

Will he survive long enough to save the world and get his grog?

©2016 Paul Barrett (P)2017 Paul Barrett

What listeners say about Malaise Falchion

Average customer ratings
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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Imaginative and well-constructed

This is an awesome read.  It through me at the beginning, this was so not what I was expecting.  When I heard that Spade was a Dwarf and it takes place in a world of elf’s, demons, goblins, and magicians, I thought WOW!  It started off as a 1930’s style private eye type novel but evolved into so much more!

Spade, also known as Snazdaggin Kundarik loves to drink – mainly grog but anything with alcohol in it; he drags two of his friends into the search for a magic sword his friends are two very awesome lizard-like creatures.

Of course, there are lies, deceit, and the limelight hogging wizard, but this is a great listen!  Paul Barrett took a wonderful favorite and turned it into something more!  Crafting a new story altogether, he crosses over genres to combine thriller with sci-fi and make an incredible story.

Imaginative and well-constructed, the story flowed well.  Character development was clear and well done.  I found myself enjoying this book more than I did any other private-eye based story.  The humor was above reproach and entertaining.

Jack Wayne does an excellent job of narrating.  Wayne allowed the narrative to stand on its own, voicing characters without unnecessary dramatic flair. His calming smooth voice was relaxing.

The quality of the audiobook was without issue as was the production.

Audiobook was provided for review by the publisher.

Please find this complete review and many others at my review blog

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10 people found this helpful

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

A fantastical retelling of a classic noir story

Sometimes, comedy is hard. Sometimes, it is impossible.

On rare occassions, comedy will work. And on less frequent occurances thn that , comedy is funny.

This book is funny. It plays out the classic Maltese Falcon storyline, only set in a fantasy world. This elevates the original story more than you might have thought possible. Spade's lizard folk companions are good for some chuckles, and the story fills in laughs in very unexpected places. Oh, it does so in expected places too.

Jack Wayne nails the mood with his narration, delivery and tone. I listen to a lot of different narrators, and have some particular favorites, but I cannot see anyone else doing the job that he did here. It is hard to believe that this book came out two years ago, as this feels like a real classic. It has real meat on its bones. It is a rare book that can take and remain close to its source material, but convert it into something very different, and make it funny. I don't recall ever lightly chuckling while watching the Malteese Falcon.


Even though I did receive a promo code for this review it in no way influenced my considerations of the material, and in fact, inspired me to be more honest. In fact, getting a code generally makes me harsher as a reviewer as I am more often concerned what someone like Me will decide based on my review.

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

An Interesting Tale

I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher and found it very entertaining. Snobbish Elves and a drunk Dwarf, what could be more fun. The Elves hire the Dwarf, a private investigator, to find a priceless artifact. Too bad no one tell him the truth about it. The unique characters and the fast paced plot will keep you listening until the end.

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2 people found this helpful

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

Well narrated, but odd mystery/fantasy wackiness.<br />

"Malaise Falchion: The Spade Case Files" is an utterly ridiculous action packed mystery tale swarming with personality and strange clashing fantasy stereotypes. This book is a relatively unknown diamond in the rough so far, because one has to practically stumble across it on audible.com. However, once discovered listeners will find that it makes for a great audiobook once given the chance. Mystery, comedy, action, and fantasy collide here in an oddly entertaining way.

Jack Wayne was a perfect choice to narrate this story as well. Without his voice this audiobook would only be on the upperside of so-so,  but his vocal range brings the whole story to life. From the jaded alcoholic dwarven detective named Spade to his oddball reptilian pals to his stuck up elven employeer, each character sounds unique and memorable.

Recommended to listeners who believe both fantasy and mystery is at it's best when it is full of nonsensical ironic slap stick humor and self aware jokes.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
  • TU
  • 05-11-17

Wish I could give more stars! Great Book!

I was given this free review copy audio book at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

So, this was a great combination of detective noir with fantasy. The story was fun,interesting and exceedingly entertaining.

The narrator, though, truly made this audio book for me. He has become one of my favorites. I will look for more from him!

If you like either noir (think Dick Tracy) or high fantasy (Lord of the Rings), you should definitely check this one out.

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2 people found this helpful

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

Don't let the cover fool you, this book was good!

Any additional comments?

I love audible! This portal has introduced me to books that I never would have discovered in a book store. That is certainly the case with this listen.

This was a good story even if it did involve lizards, fairies and dwarfs. There were some seriously humorous moments and a rather nice adventure. The story is not the reason why I kept listening though. The narrator made this listen so enjoyable. It was like a listening to a radio drama! He. Was. So. Good.

If you don't like fantasy reads, don't let that deter you. The narrator will keep you in the story!!

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

Fantasy detective noir - voiced tough & hardboiled

If you like your fantasy hardboiled and gritty this audiobook may be for you. Paul Barrett's tale of Dwarf investigator Snazdaggin Kundarik (or Spade) skillfully employs much-loved tropes from the tradition of hardboiled crime literature and film noir. If readers enjoy the 'Garrett, P.I.' and 'Black Company' stories by Glen Cook then they are in the right place here.

'Malaise Falchion' is driven by the first-person narrative viewpoint of central protagonist Spade. Jack Wayne's performance fills out Spade's personality. If descriptors such as grizzled, tough and smooth-talkin' were in the brief for the job of narrator, Jack Wayne nailed it.

I was voluntarily provided this review copy audiobook at no charge by the author, publisher and/or narrator.

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2 people found this helpful

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

Best Noir Comedic Fantasy

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I'd recommend it, I'd play it during a dinner party, or I'd convince them to listen and review as my birthday prezzie this year.

What did you like best about this story?

"Instead of dying in a hot fire, why don't you shave a blazing porker up your **** and parboil your innards."

Omfgoddess ... this book was filled with the funniest dialogues. Idk how the narrator kept a straight face as he read it!

What does Jack Wayne bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Everything. The accent and ability to make the bad asses bad and the double crossers hated.
Had I read the book, some of the humour would have gone over my head, actually.

Any additional comments?

“I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher.”

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

Dwarves, Elves, and Demons. What's not to like?

If you could sum up Malaise Falchion in three words, what would they be?

Fantasy, Action, Magic

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

The story keeps you enthralled as you constantly try to figure out in this battle of good vs evil, which side is good and which is evil. Betrayal, twists, and constant action throughout.

Which scene was your favorite?

There is a large build up to the final battle at the end, which is well written and excellently narrated. Much better than the huge build up and then nothing that you get at the end of a popular vampire series that I won't mention the name of. Yeesh!

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

There is one scene where a main character has to go through a pretty major self sacrifice in order to help their side and the author describes it in a way so that the reader can almost feel the character's misery.

Any additional comments?

All around well-written and narrated book. At 8 1/2 hours, it's the perfect length for a long car ride or to help pass the time during a dull day of busy-work. An action/mystery with elves, wizards, dwarves, orcs, hobgoblins, demons etc.... It's kind of a Tolkien meets Dick Tracy story.

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

fantastic

a new twist on the life of a private detective. not my favorite genre but an enjoyable read

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