The Sword and the Dragon, Revised

The Wardstone Trilogy, Book 1

By: M. R. Mathias

Narrated by: Chris Dorman

Length: 24 hrs and 9 mins

Publisher's summary

When the Royal Wizard of Westland poisons the king so that his puppet prince can take the throne and start a continental war, a young squire is forced to run for his life carrying the powerful sword that his dying monarch burdened him with from the death bed.

Two brothers find a magic ring and start on paths to becoming the most powerful sort of enemies, while an evil young sorceress unwillingly falls in love with one of them when he agrees to help her steal a dragon's egg for her father. Her father just happens to be the Royal Wizard, and despite his daughter's feelings, he would love nothing more than to sacrifice the boy!

All of these characters, along with the Wolf King of Wildermont, the Lion Lord of Westland, and a magical hawk named Talon, are on a collision course toward Willa the Witch Queen's palace in the distant kingdom of Highwander. There the very bedrock is formed of the powerful magical substance called Wardstone.

Who are the heroes? And will they get there before the Royal Wizard and his evil hordes do?

Whatever happens, the journey will be spectacular, and the confrontation will be cataclysmic.

©2010 Michael R. Mathias Jr (P)2012 Michael Robb Mathias Jr

The story is so much better than the narration

I was intrigued by the reviews. I wanted to like this reading but only a few minutes in I can't listen to the narrator anymore. It's just awful, monotone dreck. I found the kindle version is only a buck. Complete waste of my credit. Read it yourself, you'll do a better job.

bad naritor

naritor voice goes up then down and drags out on last word of every sentence.

there are computerized voices better

there are computerized voices better than this reader. he speeds through sentences and drags out the last word.

This book is confused.

The story is not bad, but the storytelling should either be an adult story, written for adults, or a YA book. The writing is too juvenile for adults to really enjoy, but the story has adult parts I wouldn't want youngsters to read. The narration for the first 18 chapters is horrendous! At chapter 18 it seems like a different person reading. I will not bother with the rest of the series, it did not hold my interest enough to care what happens in the next books.

Is this serious?

I have over 250 titles in my library. The story seemed to be fine what parts I heard. However,I just can't get past the narrator. He is slow and monotone and 23 hours of listening to him would be unbearable. I would review ths differently othewise. Audible has spoiled me with exceptional narrators.

Too Bad I Could Not Enjoy the Book

Would you try another book from M. R. Mathias and/or Chris Dorman?

I haven't been able to listen to this book because the readers' monotone voice sets my teeth on edge. I honestly couldn't stomach to listen to him. I think I might like to read the book instead.

What do you think your next listen will be?

Mystery or Sci Fi, not sure still hunting.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

Made the book unbearable. I didn't make it past the first few chapters.

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from The Sword and the Dragon, Revised?

No clue

Any additional comments?

I see the same person reads the series and I'm opting out.

Decent story, but distracting narration.

The narrator's tendancy to draw out the last syllable of a sentence for words that didn't end with a stop consonant was very distracting - even more so than the general monotone of the overall narration. However, he did a decent job of creating distinctive voices for the various characters without any of problems of the general narrative. I later discovered that if I sped up his narration slightly, I could get past the his distractions and get lost in the story.

Bad Listen

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

A good narrator would help 100%. He's so bad I didn't make it through the first chapter.

Would you ever listen to anything by M. R. Mathias again?

Yes, with someone else doing reading.

Would you be willing to try another one of Chris Dorman’s performances?

No way. He should never narrate another book.

What character would you cut from The Sword and the Dragon, Revised?

Couldn't read past the first chapter.

Any additional comments?

Get a good narrator. He lost my reading the rest of the series too.

bad narration

great storey but the worst narration of any audio novel I have ever listened too.

This is wonderful. Listen to the free sample!

Would you consider the audio edition of The Sword and the Dragon, Revised to be better than the print version?

This is a grand listen. I used to buy from a different audio book retailer, but maybe I will start listening here. This was well narrated and as I read the story (for the 4th time) along with the audio. I once again fell in love with Mathias' characters. I simply can not wait for books two and three of this series to be available. They are my favorite fantasy series of all time.

What did you like best about this story?

The characters are so relatable and fallible.

What about Chris Dorman’s performance did you like?

The narrator has clever voices for the witch, the characters, and even the dragon at the end.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

The first two times I read it I cried. One of my favorite fantasy characters of all time dies in this book and it is heart wrenching.

Any additional comments?

Mathias has climbed over a lot of indies on his rise to the top. Expect many of them to be bitter and small. Just listen to the free audio sample and judge for yourself. So many people have an opinion about Mathias, but that is what happens when you get famous.