The Dog War

De: Tyler Hauth

Narrado por: J. Scott Bennett

Only a Light Walker can slay a Shade…

Aldo Hale will do anything to rescue his brother from the monster that’s taken him into the forest. But the Deep Wood is no place to venture alone, especially when Aldo’s brother is only one of a dozen or more villagers to vanish among the trees since the last full moon. Luckily, Aldo won’t be alone. He has Ishi, the last known dog in existence, and perhaps the only creature strong enough to face the Deep Wood and come back alive.

There’s just one problem: owning a dog is a death sentence, the Citadel has found him out, and that means war… if the ancient dread in the forest doesn’t get them first. For the first time in over a century, the Old Gods are stirring. Soldiers are coming for Aldo’s village, and the war for the last dog is about to begin.

The Dog War is a gripping, suspenseful epic fantasy that harkens back to the all-time greats. Download today, and let the journey begin!

©2025 Nef House Publishing, Ltd. Co. (P)2025 Nef House Publishing, Ltd. Co.

A fun start to an imaginative tale

A war on two fronts: the mysterious gods & horrors of the Deep Wood and the Citadel hell bent on destroying the one thing that could protect them.

This epic coming-of-age story is full of action, endearing characters, and is a fun read from start to end. The only downside? Waiting on the sequel.

Thrust Into Adulthood

The Dog War is an eerie and unsettling tale focusing on a young man, his hometown, and the barely understood world beyond. Aldo has a strong sense of duty that leads him to do what he believes is right despite how many around him advise otherwise or even actively try to prevent. Over the course of the story he rapidly goes from a naive teen into a hardened and (somewhat) experienced leader due to responsibilities pushed upon him by forces beyond his control or even comprehension. The well written atmosphere, characters, and events will leave you tense and at times breathless hoping for success from this underdog, but everything comes together beautifully in unpredictable ways that will surely please anyone who reads or listens to this masterpiece.

Dogs and Spiders and Shades. Oh My.

Overall, an exciting, fun, pretty unique spin on the sword and magic fantasy world. The characters are pretty well fleshed out, and the world building is minimal but vivid. There is a lot left unsaid, and even more questions at the end. Be prepared: this book ends like the finale of the Sopranos. Can't wait for book 2!

Was this book written by AI?

I read this book because the cover art was sweet and it seemed to have an interesting premise.

It wasn't very good though. Paper thin characters, very predictable plot and it is a lame cliffhanger of an ending. The book just kinda stops.

The writing feels very very strange. I can't say for certain that it was partially written by AI but it feels like it is. Very strange descriptions that are often repeated with a synonym. In example the dog Ishi in one scene "flies" only to "soar" in the next sentence. The syntax is very weird at times as well. Spiders when running through the woods "splash". The descriptions don't fit the scenes and this happens often. The dog also seems to change size, getting bigger, with many of the descriptions.

The characters are all pretty much exactly what they appear to be but the names are all over the place. Many of them don't feel like they would fit in the same culture. You have some regular names like Tom and then people named Grub, a farmer homage to Farmer Maggot. Then you have a dog named Ishi. They just don't seem to fit together well as a community. Hazel and Aldo are really the only characters that get any sort of development and you see it coming from far away.

The story was also incredibly predictable and felt like a middle grade sort of story. The only thing that makes it not for young kids is the over the top violence which isn't written particularly well. Often battle scenes are just lists of what the good guys are doing to the bad guys. A man is stabbed in the face through his visor, another is decapitated, a third has an arm removed etc etc... Technically violent and bloody descriptions but done amateurish and it gave the feeling of people standing around waiting to be culled.

The narrator was fine but doesn't really fit the tone of the story. At times the story tries to infuse a bit of horror, which often fails, but is exacerbated by the jovial almost grandpa telling a bedtime story tones of the narrator. It was read aptly but without flair or trappings. The narrator sat down and told the story as it was, not bad but nothing spectacular about the performance either. Maybe it was better in print but I doubt that as well.

Like I said before I have strong suspicions that this story was fleshed out using AI. If that is incorrect I apologize to the author.

The cliffhanger ending killed the last bit of "give a crap" I had for the story. I wouldn't recommend this and I won't read the next part.