Prince of Death

Lords of the Underworld, Book 1

By: Sam Burns, W.M. Fawkes

Narrated by: Zachary Zaba

Length: 7 hrs and 41 mins

Publisher's summary

Gifted power over life and death, Lysandros has spent millennia in the underworld, listless and alone. The youngest child of Hades and Persephone, he’s been sheltered from the threats in the world above.

Theo Ward hasn’t been so lucky. After watching his mother wither away, he’d do almost anything to have her back. When a messenger appears at the Banneker College of Magic and offers the young professor a chance to save her, Theo can’t pass it up, even if it means going straight into the underworld and dragging her home. But Theo gets more than he bargained for when he crosses paths with the prince of Hades.

Set against the king of Olympus, they must shed their past burdens and learn to trust each other, so they can face down a storm that threatens to wipe the nation’s capital off the map.

©2019 FlickerFox Books (P)2019 FlickerFox Books

Loved the story

Enjoyed this one from Sam Burns and WM Fawkes! The world building was great and I loved the storyline. The narration had some issues including some odd background noises and the narrator was rather stilted and did not have definitive voice distinctions.

horrible narration

I normally can excuse just about anything if I truly enjoy a book, but the audio quality and lack luster narration just killed some of my joy. I usually easy to please cause I have varied taste however Mr Zaba's flat performance made a cute fluff filled paranormal read sad. This book could really used a strong performer to really boost it never the less I did enjoy the story.

Different Take on Greek Mythology & Romance

As the first book in the Lords of the Underworld Series, I found this book to be a good start to a new series. I have always been drawn to Greek mythology and fiction based on it (God of War video-game, Percy Jackson movie, etc). This book follows those with the the action and adventure that a true Greek story has.
Prince of Death focuses on the family of Hades (and Persephone), with the addition of a new son, Lysandros, the son with an ability to give and take away life. Lysandros pairs up with Theo, a professor at the Banneker College of Magic. In order to help save Theo's mother, he dives straight into the Underworld. Upon Theo's journey to save his mom, he and Lysandros get to see several of the other Greek gods, come across creatures, lots of action and adventure and of course love.
I truly enjoyed this book. I enjoyed the unique and creative look at the Greek gods. There are a lot of characters to keep track of if you are previously unfamiliar with the gods. The narration was good. Zaba is newer to me and I am unfamiliar with more of his work, but I felt that there were times it was hard to distinguish who was "speaking" as the voices were similar. Overall, I enjoyed this book, and look forward to more from this series, and from the other "families" in the Greek world.

Engaging story

This was a great meal prep/cook/baking story. I found myself enjoying the dialogue and found the plot to be riveting. Both Theo and Lysandros are multifaceted and full of interesting backgrounds. Burns and Fawkes have created a great twist of gods, magic, and modern worlds. Zaba's narration is interesting and lends to creating such a deep tie to the book. Not one to be missed.

Great Story

I received an ARC of this audio for my honest review. This is a change of pace from the stories I normally read. I thought the plot was intriguing as it kept my attention. I really recommend this book these authors are great.

I liked the story but not the narrator

This is a new to me author and I can’t wait to read more from her. I loved Theo he was such a sweet unassuming character who couldn’t see his own worth. Lysandros was such a sweetheart. Theo is a professor at a magical college who teaches theoretical magic and is competing with his office mate, who I couldn’t stand, for a tenor position. He believes he has no shot at it as his office mate can create fireballs, he really is stuck on the fireballs. What Theo has is the ability to kind of drain magic and for whatever reason he feels that this is a useless talent. Lysandros is the only son of Hades and Persephone. A very long time ago he fell in love with a mortal and I really couldn’t tell if she loved him back or was just kind of stuck on herself. Well he did some things and learned a valuable lesson and isn’t going to allow himself to fall for a mortal again. When Theo ends up in the underworld, Lysandros falls for him. When Hermes made some snide remarks Lysandros feels that Theo was intending on using him. Communication guys!! Then we run into issues with Zeus and shenanigans of the other gods and goddesses. I didn’t figure out beforehand who the bad guy was. It didn’t surprise me who they were but I didn’t have it figured out. I can’t wait to continue this series.

I did not like the narrator Zachary Zaba, it was like he was reading a clinical book.

Audio ARC provided by LesCourt Services in exchange for an honest review.

Excellent story!!

I have really enjoyed other works by Sam Burns, and this does not disappoint. It was a very solid novel with co-writer WM Fawkes. The characters were engaging, the story was interesting, and the writing was excellent. It was so cool to read about Gods, Olympus, and the modern world. Lysandros is Hades' son and doesn't leave the underworld often. Theo is a magic professor who doesn't think he really has any magic abilities. One day, Theo unknowingly gets guided to the underworld, and the two men are attracted. There are definite challenges of having a relationship between a mortal and an immortal, but they worked through things pretty well. The ending was super cool as we learned more about Theo. It was a great book. I can't wait to read the next in the series. I

As far as narration, I found this was one I needed to slow down. I usually listen at 1.25x or 1.5x speed, but the detail of the story and big olympian names made me slow it down to 1x so I wouldn't miss anything.

I am voluntarily reviewing an ARC provided by LesCourt Author Services

Wonderful Writing Marred by Uneven Narration

I am a huge fan of Sam Burns novels! Her stories are full of creative and believable world-building, compelling characters and consistently interesting plot lines with the kind of romances we all wish we had. This one was no exception: a fun reinterpretation of the Greek gods and myths.

The narrator, however, was difficult to hear—and even to comprehend sometimes. It's a shame because the timbre of Mr. Zaba's voice is really good. If he worked on emphasis, cadence and NOT swallowing his words, he would be a real star on Audible. Unfortunately, the narration required continual rewinding to understand what he said. A narrator like Chris Chambers, who has a similar voice quality, would have made this a full 5+ star listen.

Unprepared

Enjoyed the book, however, I was not prepared for the risque parts. Also is it me or is the reader hard to understand and talking to fast? Overall I enjoyed the book 3.5/5

Enjoyed!

The story was engaging and entertaining. The world building was believable and realistic. The characters were fun and adventurous and Zachary Zaba did a fantastic job of bringing them to life! If you're looking for something light and entertaining, this book is a great choice.