The Henchmen of Zenda

By: KJ Charles

Narrated by: Antony Ferguson

Length: 6 hrs and 51 mins

Publisher's summary

Jasper Detchard is a disgraced British officer, now selling his blade to the highest bidder. Currently that's Michael Elphberg, half-brother to the King of Ruritania. Michael wants the throne for himself, and Jasper is one of the scoundrels he hires to help him take it. But when Michael makes his move, things don't go entirely to plan - and the penalty for treason is death.

Rupert of Hentzau is Michael's newest addition to his sinister band of henchmen. Charming, lethal, and intolerably handsome, Rupert is out for his own ends - which seem to include getting Jasper into bed. But Jasper needs to work out what Rupert's really up to amid a maelstrom of plots, swordfights, scheming, impersonation, desire, betrayal, and murder.

Nobody can be trusted. Everyone has a secret. And love is the worst mistake you can make.

Contains mature themes.

©2018 K. J. Charles (P)2018 Tantor

Intrigue! Swordfights! Dalliances!

This was sooo much fun. It's Prisoner of Zenda, from the POV of Jasper Detchard, one of Black Michael's six henchmen. It cleans up a lot of the more ridiculous and/or sloppy details (one that gave Charles the most trouble was that the drawbridge apparently opens from both sides in the original... She picked the direction most crucial to the pivotal end-scene), and comes up a lot more plausible as a result.

While reading Prisoner of Zenda is not required, I would recommend it. It's so much more entertaining to have that background in mind while you see what the henchmen were really up to.

I loved this narrator as Jasper. He has just the right sneering attitude. There are one or two places where I quibbled with his tone of voice, but overall it's excellent.

#MM #Swords #Castles #tagsgiving #sweepstakes

Adventures & Schemes

I really enjoyed this story. It was a bit confusing at first but once you get to know the characters it becomes a thrilling adventurous tale. There’s a lot of sexual tension but not that many detailed heated scenes. Definitely keeps you on the edge of your seat.

Slow to start, but quite engaging.

I wasn't familiar with the book that The Henchmen of Zenda was based on- The Prisoner of Zenda. I'm not sure if that matters one way or another when it comes to this book, but I think I might go back and read it anyway.
This was an entertaining read, although it took awhile for things to start to come together for me. It was a little slower moving than some of KJ Charles's other books, but no less engaging. Once the story started coming together I found myself really enjoying it.
There was a lot of build-up to an ending that seemed almost a little too anti-climatic. I liked the epilogue, but I think I would have liked "seeing" more of what happened, instead of learning of it second hand, if that even makes sense!
I do like how this was presented as a memoir of sorts, but then we were thrown right into the action as it was happening.
Altogether another enjoyable read from Ms, Charles, helped in part by the narration by Anthony Ferguson. He did a terrific job bringing this story to life, I really liked listening to his performance.


*Borrowed through AE.

grows on you

I wasn't sure about this book at first, but it is one that really grows on you. It's fun and different, highly entertaining. What really makes it, though, is the performance. I think it would be a harder book to get into if you were just reading it on your own. The performer is just perfect for Jasper, and for the story. Well done!

A Surprise Pleasure!

I wouldn't have tried this hidden gem except for it being included in the Audible Plus catalog (and what a boon for members, the ability to try a new author for free!), and showing up in the "recommended for you" feed. The latter is presumably because I've downloaded a lot of historical romances over the years.

K J Charles is a superb writer whose books deal with M/M romance in the 18th and 19th centuries, I'm a middle-aged (or old, depending on your point of view) straight woman, so was a little suprised at how much I got into this one. There are several sexy scenes, including one that's quite explicit, but they are intrinsic to the story and extremely well writen.

The "Henchmen'" story is a riff on "The Prisoner of Zenda," a swashbuckler written in the late 1800's that was made into several movie versions (Douglas Fairbanks Jr.!) as well as having spawned TV and other media versions. I haven't read "Zenda," but took the time to read the Wikipedia synopsis, and am glad I did, although it's not strictly necessary. Charles's version is not told by the "hero" who narrates the original novel, but by one of the villain's "henchmen." In a passage at the very end of "Henchmen," the narrator quotes a passage from the original that seems to make clear (at least to me) what started Charles thinking about an alternate version of this story.

The book has action, romance, humor, and great characters, including strong females. Extremely well read by Antony Ferguson, and clocking in at just over 7 hours, it's a total treat that defies genre classification. Enjoyable by anyone (well, by any adult--not really childrens' fare), i HIGHLY recommend it!

delightful

I loved this story! It was absolutely delightful to hear a queer romance featuring older characters.

Sexy and adventurous

The pace is a bit awkward in some parts but I really enjoy the world building and the details.

An incredible Aromantic Adventure

WOW. THIS BOOK!I cannot rec it enough! But despite it being tagged as such, I think calling it a romance is a disservice. It's an adventure, with gay characters, and it's simply incredible. KJ Charles has never disappointed me and I'm always impressed with what they can come up with, even in a short novel. So why is it not a romance? The MC/narrator is explicitly #aromantic (but not asexual... there's def multiple steamy scenes). The "love" interest may not necessarily be aromantic but they don't have "expectations" of each other. There is a HEA/HFN ending which I'll spoil below.
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SPOILER!
In the epilogue, they stay together for years and go their separate ways every so often, always coming back together at some point. At the very end, they are reunited to go rescue a youth they had a menage with. It's very satisfying imo.

The plot that keeps on giving!!!!

I had never heard of The Prisoner of zenda before I came across this rendition but I'm so glad i did!
after the fourth plot twist i stopped trying to guess how it would all turn out and decided to simply hold on and be taken for the ride of my life. I recommend everyone who loves a good double cross to give this one a try.
I had a wonderful time with each of the characters in this story and I'm happy to say that above all it was consistent in it's delivery. beginning, middle, climax and ending were all satisfying and filled with humor.
READ IT.

Give it a go, no reason not to.

I admittedly got distracted a few times while listening, and the plot was a bit predictable. But overall it was a good time and I'm a fan now. It would be nice to hear more queer period pieces like this.