The Palace Job

Rogues of the Republic, Book 1

By: Patrick Weekes

Narrated by: Justine Eyre

Length: 11 hrs and 17 mins

Publisher's summary

Loch is seeking revenge. It would help if she wasn’t in jail. The plan: To steal a priceless elven manuscript that once belonged to her family, but is now in the hands of the most powerful man in the Republic. To do so, Loch - former soldier, former prisoner, and current fugitive - must assemble a crack team of magical misfits that includes a cynical illusionist, a shape shifting unicorn, a repentant death priestess, a talking magical war hammer, and a lad with seemingly no skills. This crack team of misfits will help her break into the floating fortress of Heaven’s Spire and the vault that holds her family’s treasure - all while eluding the unrelenting pursuit of Justicar Pyvic, whose only mission is to see the law upheld. What could possibly go wrong?

©2013 Patrick Weekes (P)2013 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved

Well Written Fun...With a few twists along the way

What did you love best about The Palace Job?

A good story brought to life with great narration. I was instantly drawn to the main character and the storyline that actually had a few surprises in it as well

What did you like best about this story?

Well delivered with multiple strands of characters interwoven with enough back story to make it fun and interesting. When the individual characters begin to interact it is like well woven tapestry

Which character – as performed by Justine Eyre – was your favorite?

Actually enjoyed them all. Very well delivered with great personality for all of them. The Death Priestess though....Very interesting.

Surprisingly good!

What made the experience of listening to The Palace Job the most enjoyable?

I enjoyed the light, tongue and cheek humor and the twists in the story. I read a lot of fantasy as a teen and this book brings back some of the fun, with a bit of sly irreverence to standard fantasy elements.

What did you like best about this story?

I really enjoyed the dialog between the characters and the humorous comebacks.

What about Justine Eyre’s performance did you like?

At first I found the narrators voice a little difficult to follow, but within a few minutes, I found myself immersed in the story, narrator forgotten.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

The ultimate fantasy heist? A unicorn, tinkerer, magician and two thieves? I am not great at tag lines, but it's a great heist adventure I couldn't stop listening to!

Any additional comments?

I was looking for something light, funny and magical ( since I was feeling like the world was rather bleak at that moment) and this fit the bill perfectly. I enjoyed the performance and story immensely.

Robin Hood with a twist

Robin Hood with a fantastic twist and lots of magic and fun. I'm not sure why I was the only one to see this as an old story updated, but it's there none the less. Justine Eyre did a very good job with the voices, and there were a lot of them to keep straight. Patrick Weekes wrote this fast paced update with flair and style and more fun and adventure than the original story ever had. All in all it was a pleasure to listen to.

Great story - annoying narration at times.

Would you listen to The Palace Job again? Why?

Yes - very complex, richly described world. Loved the characters!

Who was your favorite character and why?

It's such an ensemble, it's hard to pick out a favorite.

What three words best describe Justine Eyre’s voice?

Smoky, sultry, husky

Any additional comments?

The narrator would be GREAT for a romance. She's a little too sultry for the topic - I was distracted by her tone many times.

Hilarious

Twas a lot of fun, but a little predictable and wouldn't necessarily say it had the best plot. enjoyed it and laughed a lot though so that's saying something 😅

Absolutely Loved It!

This is the second time I've listened to this audiobook and it was just as amazing as the first! The storyline is perfectly laid out, the characters delightfully well written and the world-building is just right! Such an interesting tale with some many twists that are perfectly woven together. I see myself listening to this many more times in the future without it losing any wonder or excitement! Thank you for such an amazing story! Can't wait to go on another adventure with the next one!

Oh, and Justine Eyre was an exceptional storyteller! I love any audiobook with her as the narrator! She was absolutely made for this job!

I feel like I'm back in world of Dragon age !!

This book was a delicious blend of adventure, fantasy and humor. The author sure knows how to jump you right into story, without totally overwhelming the reader with fantasy elements. It was just too much fun to read and I definitely would recommend it to anyone who is a fan of dragon age series. Or anyone who loves a good adventure.

Lost on Page 1

I was thoroughly confused while listening to this book. Was I not following approved listening procedures? Did I skip the instructions? Were there too many characters? Was the narrator too clever with her accents? If there was a quiz after the book ended, Audible would be emailing me a big fat “F” and contacting my parents.

To be fair, the narrator was enthusiastic and parts of the book had me biting my nails.

Wow! What a book! Great Fun & Amazing Characters!

A con job, swindle, & revenge story... A fast paced adventure with strong characters and a lot of twist and turns!

Innovative? Or Indecisive? Definitely Overrated.

This audiobook is certainly entertaining, but all in all...I think I should have just read the book, and not invested the hours in listening to the audio version.

The narrator, Justine Eyre, has a wonderfully flexible voice: The voices of the many characters are distinctly different, and her switch between dialogue and narration is crisp and clean. She also reads with attention to phrasing, punctuation, and meaning. HOWEVER, either she or a director/producer should be slapped for the selection of her narrator's voice for this book, which is not a comfortable natural voice, but instead a sort of husky, purring undertone, unusual and interesting, but also nearly unintelligible. The effect is rather like trying to understand someone with a bad case of laryngitis--or watching a otherwise wonderfully-cast play where the main character is performed by the producer's under-talented girlfriend. Who needs a voice coach. And mumbles.

The story is a standard quest in the fantasy tradition, or a standard heist in the action/adventure (e.g. "Mission: Impossible) tradition. Nothing wrong with that; it just makes me wonder about how much reading the many reviewers who praised this work for its innovative nature have done. What I found most distinctive about the story, actually, is that the author did not seem to know who his audience was. Overall, the story seemed to be a not-too-demanding, stock-character, playful romp of the type suitable for tweens, but there were elements that made the story completely inappropriate for young adults (e.g. heroines strapped spreadeagled on a table and menaced by a satyr). However, there was a certain reticence with the violence and sexual innuendo that resulted in the story not having the edginess one would expect in fiction intended for adults. It felt as if the author either needed an editor, or had been terribly over-edited.

Bottom line: not offensive enough to want to return the book; not good enough to recommend.