The Traitor's Son

Path of the Ranger, Book 1

By: Pedro Urvi

Narrated by: John Banks

Length: 11 hrs and 59 mins

Publisher's summary

A kingdom in danger, a great betrayal, a boy seeking to redeem his father's honor. Will he succeed in exonerating him and saving the realm from an enemy in the shadows before it’s too late?

Lasgol is the son of the traitor; the man who betrayed the kingdom and tried to kill the king. At the age of 15, he has endured a hard childhood. In his small village in the North, where he’s cornered and hated, his only companions are the mountains and ever-present snow. Yet he refuses to believe that his father is guilty, even though the king himself was a witness to the betrayal.

Lasgol is determined to clear his father's name, and to do this, he has only one option: attend the School of Rangers, a secret place where the respected and feared defenders of the lands of the kingdom are trained for four years. Going there is insane: Hate and death await him. But as the son of a Ranger, he's entitled to attend.

At the Camp he will find himself involved in political intrigues, disloyalties, and fights. He will encounter hatred and fearsome enemies, but also a handful of friends; other novices who are out of place like himself, determined to do whatever is necessary to make it through the first year alive.

©2020 Pedro Urvi (P)2020 Podium Audio

Scratches the itch “battlemage” left me

The book was good but it does have its flaws. But first off, the narrator was great. Nothing kills an audiobook faster than a bad narrator. Secondly, after the exposition, the book flowed well. Too many fantasy authors like to flex their flowery vocabulary which ends up slowing the pace to a crawl and ultimately doesn’t advance the plot.

The book also did a good job introducing concepts so that when certain events happened down the road, it didn’t feel like it was pulled out of thin air. On that note, there’s a decent bit of questionable logic. SPOILERS

Turns out dominator mages was a thing and the MCs dad was dominated. The king had found many agents with the same runes and everything. They knew about dominator mages and yet they didn’t even think about investigating this possibility before hopping on the traitor train. In fact the king is a king and should have had access to lots of resources to investigate the runes. Instead it took an unrealistic monologue from the corrupt mage for them to figure out which was stupid imo. A smart person would have kept quiet about the domination so the agents could sow paranoia into the king. He wouldn’t know who was good or bad but now the king knows that those controlled were innocent.

Aside from that I can safely say that I’m continuing with the series.

Great read

Great story, character build up and narration. It definitely has left me ready for book 2.

I really liked it!

I liked everything about this book except for a bit of foul language here and there. I prefer no cursing at all but otherwise I liked the story line, the characters and the narrator did a splendid job!! I’m starting book 2 right now!

Shaky plot

Often times it felt like I was being handled in kiddie gloves. I don't mind enjoying stories of a lower reading level, but there were many moments where the author would over explain. Readers aren't stupid, they don't need to know every detail as to why a character reacts a way they do. If someone gets punched in the face, you don't need to say "they cried because getting punched hurts". That's not an example from the actual story but things like that often happen.

Another thing that bothered me was how the plot choices were strange, like how the truth of the MC's father was glaringly obvious and how the King didn't figure it out beforehand.

Traitor's Son was also very similar to Rangers Apprentice in the beginning but the similarities dwindle as you continue listening.

The performer is a skilled reader! When I first started listening I was concerned how an older sounding man was going to realistically act out a 15 year old...and was pleasantly surprised. I was a little freaked out and actually thought it was another person for a few seconds haha.

Overall it was an okay experience, I wouldn't say it thrilled me. The action was written well, that's one thing I enjoyed!

A Truly fun story

It's kinda a blend of Enders Game, and Harry Potter in feel. The story is fast paced and the world is populated with some very memorable individuals. John Banks does a fantastic job with Pedro Urvi's words.

I liked the story.

The story was good but the breathing from the narrator bugged me. The story was good but left wanting me.

great book

now unknown issues from beginning to end and keeps listeners/readers wanting more. cant wait for second third and fourth books and know there is several more to follow and cant wait

Good read

Loved the book good narrator to. Great plot I can’t wait tell the next books come out.

My New Favorite

I couldn't stop listening to it and I would have to force myself to stop so I could savor this story longer. I highly recommend this book to anyone. Pedro, my hat is off to you good sir!

Too many similes

The story is fine. The influence of other authors is obvious, but the trope works. The writing is a bit simple and the use of similes is overwhelming. Reads like a high school assignment.