An Enforcer of Havilah

De: Robert W. Ross

Narrado por: Autumn Juliet, Nick Podehl

My parents named me after an angel. That was a mistake. My words and actions remind them of this on a daily basis.

My father disagrees. He is the Sentinel of Order, God’s unchecked hand on the world, but I’ll always be his little girl. Da may be biased, but he’s not deluded. The angel for whom I was named is beautiful, brave, and temperate. Da says two out of three isn’t bad. I cannot take credit for my beauty, and will not attribute bravery to things that simply must be done. As for temperance, I have none.

I come to my lack of temperance honestly. It flows from my mother, the Soulborn of Order. My hair may lack her fire, but my blood makes up for it in spades. I have a sentinel’s blood, which means I can perform what others might call magic.

All my life I’ve been told that, like my father and brother, I am a sentinel, but I’m really not. A sentinel guards. She stands watch and waits for threats to emerge. That’s not me.

Who am I? I am an enforcer for the Council of Havilah, and I don’t wait for threats to emerge. I seek them out in their cradle and destroy them utterly. I do so without regret. I do so without mercy. I am Ariel Thorne, and this is my story.

Author's Note:

Nick Podehl is a featured narrator within this title, having previously voiced all the Thorne Boys in everything I've ever written because he loves them so much and, I think, didn't want anyone infringing on his territory.

I hope everyone enjoys this very cool, duel narration.

©2025 Robert W. Ross (P)2025 Spartamac LLC

RWR delivers again!

If you are not familiar with Robert W. Ross and his body of work then you have my sympathy. But, you also have my envy. I am jealous that while I have to wait months for something I haven't read from him while you, my lucky audible buddy, have several books to enjoy in your very near future.

An Enforcer of Havilah is Mr. Ross's first attempt at first person. I only wish that my first attempt at anything would be as wonderful as this. Ariel's character is likeable and believable right from the beginning. While the story is new and fresh several of the characters are familiar and welcome to fans of Sentinels of Creation.

Both Nick and Autumn are consummate professionals and their narration honestly makes me feel sorry for readers that consume Ross's content in dead tree format. They don't know what they are missing.

TL;DR Great book. Definitely worth a credit. Story awesome, narration awesome, RWR awesome.

loved

this is my first book from this author and is an enjoyable listen. The narrators did a really good job bringing this book to life. Worth checking out.

New Series - Same World, But Brand New Fun

When an author chooses to leave their literary wheelhouse, it's always a gutsy move. Sometimes it pays off — I mean, who would have thought Stephen King, the master of horror, would give us "Different Seasons?" Sometimes the gamble fails spectacularly, leaving avid book readers scratching their heads and wondering, "What in the world were they thinking?" When I first learned Robert W. Ross was cannonballing into the first-person point of view, I'll admit it, I was wary. Changing narration may seem like a trivial little switch, but it's not. It's a complete structural change and a huge risk. And when your narrative bread and butter is phenomenal, why take the gamble?

Well, why does anyone gamble? The potential inherent in a high risk is a high reward. "An Enforcer of Havilah" was a high risk and my god, is it a high reward. "An Enforcer of Havilah" follows the first journey (and hopefully not the last) of Ariel Thorne, a nineteen-year-old girl who could only be the daughter of Sentinel's Kellan and Shannon — she's too much heart and too much fire. Ariel’s off to do what all nineteen-year-olds do: save the world (because they know better). Ross, who is well known as an author who can actually write women, does a fantastic job bringing Ariel to life. Ariel and her cohorts are as real and tangible as the friends we fell in love with in SOC.

Aside from the spectacular and fun-filled plot, this book is chockablock full of delightful gems. It's nostalgically wonderful to see a flash-forward of favorite characters — as much as I wouldn't mind a 57th "Sentinels of Creation" book, I don’t need it. It’s good to have this twenty-some-odd-years-later check-in on the people you know and love; it’s nice to see the crew still kickin’ and still very much themselves. Also, Ross’s writing is always a treat, but this book in particular contains some truly beautiful and clever passages; each time he releases a book, his proficiency as a writer grows — which isn't something you can say about all authors.

As always, the narration is great. I have yet to see Podehl fail to knock something out of the park, and Autumn Juliet is a delight — she has a full, rich tonality that is rare in female narrators.

Overall, a great start to what looks to be a fun and innovative new series!

Love the story

I like the change to a first person story! The characters are great and I wanted to find out what happened, but I didn’t want it to end~ my definition of a great story. So it’s back to rereading the previous stories, until the next! So congratulations on the grandchild Mr Ross, but more please!!!

Where this may lead

if you are a fan of Ross, this story will not let you down. This being Ross's first, 1st person book, he did a great job. I laughed and even had my eyes moisten a bit throughout the book. I can really see the parallels this new series is taking with Ross's Argonauts into to the Void series. I can't wait to see how these stories will merge into a very epic ending. Autumn and Nick do a great job of narrating the story and I can't wait for the next books!

Absolutely Loved This!

Kellan and Shannon’s daughter, Ariel is more than a sentinel. She is a chip off the ole block of both parents – meeting danger and challenges head on. She does not watch or wait for threats to finally show themselves, she finds them, and then sets out to destroy! This book is her debut as enforcer for the Council of Havilah. The excitement is just beginning!

Robert Ross, the author, does it again with another immersive and super engaging story about the Thorne family. This time it’s all about Ariel, but familiar faces still show up and fit in smoothly. The plot twists totally caught me off guard, in the best way! Character development is on point and keeps getting better, picking up seamlessly from previous books and characters.

The narrators, Autumn Juliet and Nick Podehl, are absolutely perfect for their roles. Autumn nails Ariel’s voice—her delivery is smooth, genuine, and really brings the character to life with depth just as you'd expect. And Nick, as always, delivers with his signature consistency and emotional depth.

I've come to expect a lot from Robert Ross’s multiverse—and he never disappoints. I’m a huge fan of Sentinels of Creation, Argonauts, and now The Enforcer of Havilah—each one just keeps raising the bar. If you're into epic storytelling, rich worlds, and unforgettable characters, this series is a must-hear!

There were no issues with the quality or production of this audiobook.

Ariel is amazing!!

Robert does it again! If you have read and enjoyed the other books in this wonderful universe RWR has created then you will not be disappointed with Ariel. She is amazing. She has the fire of her mother and the heart of her father. The next generation of Thornes (and company) definitely continue the shenanigans of their parents.
But This book can be read without the knowledge of all the sentinely stuff.
I laughed, rolled my eyes and got all teary eyed and loved every minute of it. But as always I want more! I can’t wait to see what comes next for my favorite enforcer.
Autumn did an incredible job narrating this book. I feel like Ariel was made to be voiced by Autumn. It was fantastic.
It’s hard to compare to my absolute favorite Nick Podhel. I didn’t think I could ever like another narrator for these guys. But Autumn did great! She and Nick paired beautifully in giving voice to these lovable characters.
Another win for the Ross crew! Thanks

Great read!

I was lucky to get an early copy of this book. This story follows Kellan and Shannon’s daughter. It is great returning to this world and getting to see the old characters we know and love from the sentinels of creation books and the next generation that is taking over for their parents. If you’re a fan of the sentinel of creation books, I highly recommend you pick this up. It is such a great read.

Great tag team

Great story, and the overall direction made you forget whose daughter she was. It can stand on its own without having to have the Sentinal of creation backstory. Doesn’t feel like a guy wrote it for a woman, rather totally written and tweaked to sound like a daughter wrote it for her father.

Ariel Thorne, Wow! Contemporary fantasy done RIGHT

If you’ve read any of Ross’ other work, especially Sentinels of Creation, you hoped and prayed for this book. Ever one to listen to his fans, Robert telegraphed this book was coming in one of the must-read author’s notes he puts at the end of each novel.

While I’d recommend reading Sentinels of Creation first, it certainly isn’t required. This book’s story is self-contained with wink-and-nod cameos from several of Ross’ other series. The action picks up twenty years after Sentinel’s spectacular book 7 finale and around the same time as Ross’ “Argonauts of the Void,” series.

Unlike all of Ross’ other work, An Enforcer of Havilah, reads like a journal. We get to hear all the action in Ariel’s own voice, which brings me to one of the voice actors. Autumn Juliet channels this character like magical mystical medium. I can’t tell you how many times I freaked out along with Ariel because Autumn Juliet made me feel like I was riding shotgun.

Then there’s Nick Podehl, who is one of my favorite voice actors of all time. He sneaks in at just the right moments, giving voice to Ariel’s Da, Kellan and big brother, William.

Honestly this book has everything. It starts off having a bit of a coming of age vibe as Ariel finds her footing, then boom! We are thrown in the deep end of a deadly mystery filled with vampires, werewolves, demons, fae, Norse gods, and archangels.

Even with all that action, the pacing remains perfect. Not too fast and not too slow. There are lots of laughs to be had, a few tears, and even some romantic sighs.

Robert W. Ross, you’ve done it again, sir. Well worth the credit!