Bound by Iron

Eberron: The Inquisitives, Book 1

By: Edward Bolme

Narrated by: Steve West

Length: 11 hrs and 48 mins

Publisher's summary

He was a decorated soldier, thought to have died 20 years ago. But yesterday in Karrnath his body washed ashore, unkempt, dressed in rags... and murdered.Now it’s up to a hardened soldier out for cold vengeance and a chronicler looking for a story to unravel a dead man’s past - and with it, the future of Khorvaire.

©2007 Wizards of the Coast LLC (P)2012 Audible, Inc.

A Paladin with Personality!

Now this is how you write a paladin, ladies and gentlemen. Cimozjen Hellekanus is proof that paladins are not all one-dimensional goody two-shoes. This book was the perfect blend of mystery and fantasy, and my only qualm is there are no more books featuring Cimozjen, which is a shame because I bet he will not lead a boring life now that the war is over.

The narrator, Steve West, breathed excitement into an already thrilling tale. His range of voices for the differing characters was excellent. He is the narrator for the other three books in the Inquisitives series.

Honor and Deceit

Sometimes you really need to punch a character in the throat for making the rest of us look bad. I haaaaaaated Minra throughout this book. She lied constantly (especially after the paladin asked her not to), she kept trying to get him to have an affair with her (even after he rebuffed her repeatedly), she kept putting him into potentially deadly situations with no warning and then abandoned him there (or clung to him while he was trying to fight), and she stole the warforged's money when he didn't have enough worldly experience to protect it from her. Why did the only female main character in the book have to be like this?!? The male protagonists were honorable and trustworthy and really worthy of attention. The female protagonist.... well, she was an antagonist in disguise, I guess. Bummer. (Plus the narrator read all her lines with this breathy sultry whining tone that just made me want to punch him a few times, too.)

Cimozjen and the Warforged of Meandering Names, however... they made this book absolutely worthwhile. The paladin was doing his best to investigate the death of his friend and help others have a better life, while being devoted to his god and missing wife. The warforged may well have been one of my favorite characters in quite a while. He had a vast knowledge of language but did not understand nuances or slang so he was so amusingly literal about everything. "How do you feel?" "With my hands." He was rather lost as he learned how to live in the open world instead of being limited to his crate and the battle arena, so it was good to see him learn a different way of life. I also really enjoyed the dry practical tone of voice that the narrator gave him. Well done!

All in all, the female elf was frustrating but she didn't kill the story for me. I really did enjoy it, and I would love to hear that the other two have a continuing story somewhere.

Starts great, gets worse

I got to the resolution of the story and yanked out my audio jack. A really frustrating conclusion to what seemed like a decent mystery.

Also Minra is without a doubt one of the most obnoxious characters in a book I've ever read, and her characterization only worsens with time. Cimozjen and the warforged were very fun and interesting, and kept my attention.

I hope if Eberron novels get put out again and Edward Bolme writes for it, it'll be more like his fantastic "Test of Water" story for "Tales from the Last War" (also starring Cimozjen!)

Good narrator...that's about the end of my praise

Would you try another book from Edward Bolme and/or Steve West?

Well, I would probably listen to something performed by Steve West. The portrayal that Edward Bolme made of Minra nearly bored the snot out of me. Okay, we get it, the elf is a know it all whore. MOVE ON! I expected something exciting not, vague clue, Minra tries to get into Cimozjen's pants, Cimozjen rebuffs her. Plot moves forward slightly. Minra tries to get into Cimozjen's pants, Cimozjen rebuffs her. Plot moves forward slightly. Minra tries to get into Cimozjen's pants, Cimozjen rebuffs her. Plot moves forward slightly. Minra tries to get into Cimozjen's pants, Cimozjen rebuffs her. WILL SOMEONE JUST NEUTER THE ELF ALREADY?!?!?!?!?!?!?!

What about Steve West’s performance did you like?

He made what I did listen of the performance bearable.

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

The narrator was the only redeeming quality since I couldn't get into Cimozjen's actual story for all the annoying elf hormones. Or at least I hope there was an actual story over all the:
"Hi, I'm Minra and I'm always right. Oh, Cimozjen you're so handsome, let's sleep together."
"No Minra, I'm a married man."
"Awwww, but I'm the elf protagonist and your plucky side kick, you totally have to screw me, aren't I pretty enough for you?"
"Yes Minra, you are beautiful. Infuriating, but beautiful. That doesn't change the status of my marriage vows."
"But, but, just screw me. Besides, I'm always right, so you have to screw me."
"Go to sleep Minra. I'm not screwing you."
"Big meanie."

Any additional comments?

If you want to listen to basically 5 hours of almost getting into a story and lots of female elf pouting because the male protagonist refuses to bed her, go ahead. You'll enjoy it. The actual book is much longer than that, but that's as far as I could stomach listening. Sorry Mr. West, you have an enchanting voice, but there are some things that can't be overcome.