A Dance of Cloaks

Shadowdance

By: David Dalglish

Narrated by: Elijah Alexander

Length: 14 hrs and 56 mins

Publisher's summary

From USA Today best-selling author David Dalglish

The Underworld rules the city of Veldaren. Thieves, smugglers, assassins...they fear only one man. In book number one of the Shadowdance series, Thren Felhorn is the greatest assassin of his time. All the thieves' guilds of the city are under his unflinching control. If he has his way, death will soon spill out from the shadows and into the streets.

Aaron is Thren's son, trained to be heir to his father's criminal empire. He's cold, ruthless - everything an assassin should be. But when Aaron risks his life to protect a priest's daughter from his own guild, he glimpses a world beyond piston, daggers, and the iron rule of his father. Assassin or protector; every choice has its consequences.

Fantasy author David Dalglish spins a tale of retribution and darkness, and an underworld reaching for ultimate power.

©2013 David Dalglish (P)2013 Hachette Audio

Critic reviews

"[A] winning combination of A Game of Thrones, sword-and-sorcery RPGs, and vivid description...Dalglish puts familiar pieces together with a freshness and pleasure that are contagious." (Publishers Weekly)

"Fast, furious, and fabulous." (Michael J. Sullivan, author of Theft of Swords)

"Strong characterization as well as detailed action...a believable tale of a young man's coming-of-age and the difficult decisions he must make. His saga should appeal to fans of R.A. Salvatore and Richard Lee Byers." (Library Journal)

Great World Confusing Plot

I have to say I loved the world this is set in. Very developed and it feels alive. With that said this book read more like a script for film. I was told what was happening not shown with description.

"he jumped and twisted. Using his dagger he stabbed his enemy. His enemy died."

That was not hyperbole. That is how it is written.

I didn't love any of the main characters but did enjoy the secondary characters. They felt more genuine and omnidirectional compared to the singular, bland, predictable main characters.

The plot itself didn't make much sense. I wrote out why but it has too many spoilers. So read for yourself to decide. It wasn't the worst thing I've ever read so it's worth the listen.

Very Good Story, Not So Great Narration

A Dance Of Cloaks was another Audiobook where the narrator almost ruined the book. But before I get to that, I want to say that I thought the actual story itself was good enough to keep me going. Dance Of Cloaks begins with the story of Aarron, the son of the leader of a cities thief guilds. The father Thren is a bastard of a character, and runs the city with viciousness. Throughout the book he is not a very likable person. Despite this the book is enjoyable due to a cast of other characters, both good guys and bad, who bring the book to life. The first is Aaron who is torn between his devotion to his father, and his distaste for the things he does. I also liked Sinke, one of Thren's henchmen with a good sense of humor, Kayla the pretty street wise girl who Aarron has a crush on, and Alyssa the daughter of a wealthy merchant and rival to Thren. I also really enjoyed the nuns called the Unseen who were more like ninjas than nuns.The story it's self is interesting and well paced. There is not a lot of world building in this story as it mostly takes place in one city, but it is the first in a series, and will likely expand. Had it not been for the aforementioned narration, this book would have gotten a solid 5 stars from me.

Unfortunately, I really did not care for Elijah Alexander's reading of this book. His main narration is not horrible, or the worse I've heard, but right from the get go I felt he was talking way to fast as if I was listening to a commercial where the announcer was trying to get in 5 minutes of information into a 30 second spot. I had to rewind a few times to get things he had said. That wasn't what bothered me so much though. It was his voices for the characters that were horrible. All of the characters had quiet feminine voices, and for a story that takes place in one city, each had a different accent. Characters had accents reminiscent of British, Irish, Indian, and everything in between. The character Sinke sounded like one of the German guards from Hogan's Heroes. And then when you thought you heard it all, a priest shows up about three quarters through the book who sounds like a hillbilly redneck. I did manage to eventually get used to the voices and Mr. Alexander's speed about halfway through the book.

Overall, this is a very good beginning to a new fantasy series. It would be a shame to miss it due to the narrator, so if you cannot get past the voices, I would suggest you buy the book and read it instead. Or, you can do like I did, and push through and enjoy the audiobook despite it's faults.

Tough slurring narration

What did you like best about this story?

The story line is good, just have to get past the narration which is can drone on.

Narrator hurt this novel

Very good story line but the narrator seemed to be trying with all his might to get the voices right throughout the book. He tried so hard that EVERY different voice over was extra slow and drawn out. It doesn't ruin the audio book, but it causes you to start yelling at the characters to start talking faster.

It was a hard listen bases on the slowness of speech.

Never a dull moment.

I have had this book awhile. Great book can't wait to dive into the rest of the series.

Amazing book Awesome narration!

I have no idea what all the reviews are about that hate on this narrator. He is amazing! His voices for characters are distinct and believable and I have no, none, no complaints about him. Amazing!

David Dalglish is officially my favorite author. It was a fun story and the series only got better! I've gotten my husband into audio books because of this series. I have shared my published copies with so many friends, and they all bought their own set. Love these books, I wish they never ended!

nice series to listen to

the narrator was ok I think he tried to hard to give everyone a different voice some were good some were horrible, but the book and story line were worth it, I plan on reading other books in the series from this author..

Just good

I had read the books and really loved the story and now hearing it told has changed the overall experience so much more!!! This was the first series I had read since getting back into reading and wanted to say thanks to David for lighting a fire and have been back to reading full time ever since!!!

Introduced to a New World

love the story and fell in love with the characters but.......I can't stand the narrator tho....need Victor bevine

I could not get past the reader

I didn't like the reader and just couldn't get into the story Maybe he should be reading text books - not books with different characters and accents. Nothing about the reader appealed to me, and I had to stop the book. I didn't like the characters either. Someone said the main character had a heart of gold - is that after he killed his first two victims without emotion? I think I missed something here.