Road's End and Other Fantasies

De: Brian A. Hopkins

Narrado por: Joshua Saxon, Naomi Rose-Mock

An old king with nothing left to lose is lured to the site of his greatest victory by a long-forgotten enemy seeking revenge.

The last dragon-slayer and the last dragon, brought together with just one anticipated outcome, but what if they have more to ask of each other?

A brave knight cursed to know love as no other, but to never have that love returned in kind.

The wild west as you've never seen it before.

Two ancient warriors body-stealing through time.

These are just some of the stories in this collection from award-winning author Brian A. Hopkins.

©2021 Brian A. Hopkins (P)2021 David N. Wilson

yes please...except for ONE issue

I was given a copy of this from a friend to listen to because he knows that I like Joshua slSaxon's narrations, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with Joshua's recitation of this author's fine work.

It's Naomi Rose-Mock.... I listened to the story she was trying to recite / narrate and I just could not take her ever fluctuating dialect as the same character! and it was just as bad when she tried to switch between characters, it all came off as slightly the same but still just as stereotypically offensive as some of the poor trail of hillbillies you see on television! As a person who was raised in Appalachian Ohio I am thoroughly offended at the unnatural sounds of her attempt at regional dialects, it just did not work for me. I have heard a lot of Southern accents and regional dialects in my 58 years on this planet and hers could not be identified as anything other than something she learned from watching stereotypes on television. her portion/contribution was just not my cup of tea.

the stories however were quite good and I thoroughly enjoyed adding this to my collection I just know now to skip the chapters/stories that she's reading. perhaps if I found something where she wasn't trying to emulate a dialect she may not be completely familiar with that may help.

A great mix of stories if that's what you want.

I really enjoyed the viking stories, but mixed alongside of western stories just didn't feel right to me even though they were good as well. I would have preferred a book with just viking stories and one with just the westerns. Regardless, overall was enjoyable to listen too.

"Charming, Sometimes Scary, Always Compelling"

Brian Hopkins is an insanely talented writer that no one seems to be familiar with. In ROAD'S END AND OTHER FANTASIES, he shows off his skills in a variety of genres, all of which were entertaining and fun.

I'm not going to list each story, but I'm going to briefly mention a few so you can get an idea whether or not this audio is right for you.

There were several western stories about One Eyed Jack and I absolutely adored them. These were co-written with David Niall Wilson and they kicked all kinds of butt. It takes guts to try to marry a western with cosmic horror, but these guys pull it off- in spades. These tales were my favorites and I would love to see them expanded out into a full novel or series of novels. That would be RAD!

The tales towards the end involving knights, dragons and unicorns were a lot of fun. Engaging tales of saving kingdoms, family betrayals, and strangers who become friends, made for compelling listening, and easy to imagine as films in my mind's eye.

The narrators, Joshua Saxon, (who narrated most of the stories), and Naomi Rose-Mock, were both phenomenal and brought these stories to life.

I'm not sure why Brian Hopkins is not more well known, but I'd like to try to rectify that. I'll start with this review. If you're looking for stories with depth and characters you can get behind, this is a great volume with which to start!

*Thank you to the narrator, Joshua Saxon, for the Audible download in exchange for my honest feedback. This is it.*

I LOVED IT!

I loved it! This book was another great collection of stories by this author. I read Salt Water Tears and enjoyed that as well. The narration was great and kept me entertained! The author did a great job with the characters! I look forward to reading more books from this author! I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.