131 Days

Publisher's Summary

Strength. Honor. Death.

Once every year, in the city of Sunja, gladiators meet within the arena known as Sunja's Pit. Some men enter for the lure of fortune, some for the fame, and some simply for the fight. The games continue for days until a champion is finally crowned. Or until all involved perish.

Four companions struggle to change their lives in and out of the arena as it becomes clear that to be a Free Trained pit fighter is to live with a mark on one's head. And not everyone is pleased to learn of their plans, as the four warriors soon discover that the path to establishing a formal presence in the games, after the season has started, is infinitely more difficult than expected. All the while, unseen forces watch, waiting for the best time to strike at the companions and take everything that they have.

This is blood sport at its finest.

At its worst.

At its longest.

©2013 Keith C. Blackmore (P)2018 Podium Publishing

A Masterpiece, read by one of the best!

OK, this doesn't belong in horror, which is where I found it. I'm not typically a fan of action fantasy fiction. It takes an exceptional book to get one to like something outside of their preferred genres, and this book does that and leaves me wanting more.

131 Days is like the best historical fiction, rich with detail, fast moving, but in this case so compressed, focused on the arena and those connected to it that it ultimately seduces you with the finely woven world.

Then there's the one-two punch of Blackmore's excellent character development and Lee's typically incredible character performance. While I notice a few voices were familiar from other works (particularly Clive Barker's the Crimson Gospels) this is in no way a negative. They were perfect for the characters they were used for. In my mind, Lee adds so much to the uniqueness of each voice, that it's as if you're listening to a full cast audio play, and some roles are being played by familiar, highly talented actors. Take note publishers, and you too Audible, THIS is what an audiobook should sound like.

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

I Dub Thee "Keith Sweat"

I like all Keith C. "Sweat's" books, Mountain Man, Breeds, Blah, etc- Review
* Book was good, earned Keith the Nick Name Keith "Sweat" - (If you don't know this reference, Google Keith Sweat, watch the Video 'Nobody' and dream of the hot date to prom you didn't have and imagine her or him and you grinding away to this song, you are welcome.)
* I like Gladiator Books apparently
* Good Start
* Decent Finish
* Good Narrator
* Keith C. Sweat is a good, fun, author- I will read the rest of the series
* I like when people recommend books in their reviews
* So you don't have to google, 'authors like Keith C Blackmore or Joe Abercrombie'
* I really Enjoyed Nicoles Eames Heart Wylde
* Angus Watson's Land you Never Leave- Really Sneaky Good
* Arisen Series- Michael Stehen Fuches (Less Funny, Really Good though)
* Galaxys Edge Series
* The First Law Series by Joe Abercrombie
- I don't really write reviews, but am always looking for awesome books like these and from incredible authors like Keith C. Sweat Blackmore, so throw some out in your reviews for me will you? Let this review be a guide on how I, Thomas 'T-Bag' Baggins, would like all reviews done moving forward.

8 of 9 people found this review helpful

Action Packed Awesome!

131 Days is all about the arena. Fighter vs fighter, blood and gore, tons of action.

Never been disappointed with this author's books and I've been reading them from the start.

Listen to the sample and enjoy. It starts off with an old fighter going back to the arena for glory. The matches fly by and you'll be attached to the characters hoping they can win against the odds. Who doesn't love an underdog?

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

Perfect mix

Great mix of story and Narrator, with just the right amount of humor!!!!!! Can't wait for Book #2!!!!

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Driveway moment

Full disclosure - I did love the movie Gladiator ... and this audiobook made me want to scream like Liz Taylor at the Oscars "Gladiator." The action scenes deliver so much tension that I sat in my car until I knew who'd make it out of the pit - hence giving me that driveway moment. John Lee's performance of the characters is incredible - he takes you there. You love some and hate some. Really a great beginning - can't wait for more.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

better then mountain man

I loved the mountain man series and so far this series is even better. the characters are deep and endearing, there's a lot of humor and a ton of action. I can't wait for the rest of the series to come on audible! Blackmore is so much fun to read!

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

very relatable characters

keith blackmore Is very familiar with the mindset of hard working men. His characters are Extremely realistic and relatable to anyone who is worked on a work Crew of any kind. He writes Many a kindred spirit that I identify with.

excellent

awesome Keith c blackmore is the man. this ranks up there with mountain man. ready for more from this story.

How to reck good book.

A good story is like a statue. It's action and adventure make it's curves and give it detail.
To put it in a British accent is like taking a pink can of spray paint to it. Then giving it purple stripes.

excellent

very engaging and colorful characters brought to life with a intriguing plot. looking for next book

A Heartwarming Blood Bath!

My only previous experience with Keith C Blackmore was his excellent Mountain Man series which narrated by RC Bray has remained a favourite of mine. This is a very different genre and indeed a very different narrator. As for the story it's a fantasy piece about four friends who number among the free-trained, the mongrels of the Sunjan gladiatorial games. They battle against the odds to set themselves up and survive against the settled establishment. While this is something very different overall some of the facets of the Mountain Man series can be found in this one too. Most obvious are the bloody and aggressive fight scenes both inside and outside of the arena as bodies are hacked apart in ever inventive ways. Next is Blackmore's ability to create thuggish, beered-up characters that you somehow warm to, one or two in this may well have you thinking back to the Mountain Man himself.

Blackmore is far more than an author who writes fight scenes among louts though. I loved the clever and rather oblique way he chooses to introduce his main characters. It's something I have rarely seen before and the constant shifts in fortune and the way it's done mean that as a reader you can never be quite sure about which way a fight is going to go or how serious the results of it might be. On top of all this there is a richly detailed set of characters populating the city of Sunja where this all takes place. Schemes within schemes surround our unwitting protagonists.

Breathing a resonant life into all this are the rumbling tones of John Lee. I find he often has a slightly odd cadence to descriptive parts but he seems like a complete cast in a single man! Some really great voices bring these gladiators and the scheming house masters to life in a genuinely impressive performance!

So, different to what I have seen on Audible from Blackmore previously but as a start to a series this feels extremely promising.

10 of 10 people found this review helpful

Hooked again. Nnnnggghh!

One of my favourite authors strikes again, mountain man, breeds, now 131 days, can’t stop listening. Tense, moments of humour, loved it.

surprisingly good.

I really enjoyed the author's " Mountain Man" zombie series but wasn't expecting such a seamless transition to another genre. Excellent story and characters , compelling storytelling and left with a desire for more.. I bought the second book before even halfway through the first.. highly recommended..

Yet another amazing story

Totally different genre for Mr.Blackmore but he aces it. All i can say is if you like action and adventure with a bit of gore and tons of intrigue then this is the book for you. Great characters you really care about and humorous dialogue. He writes really well which unfortunately is becoming quite rare. I love this author

You gotta love pig knock!

So glad Kieth has branched out from mountain man. I love this world too. And the world of Breeds.