A Tale of Heroes

Book One of Children and Dragons

By: Mark Hansen

Narrated by: Andrew McDermott

Length: 9 hrs and 12 mins

Publisher's summary

There’s someone kidnapping the street kids in Twynne Rivers!

DeFrantis is a young human girl living on the streets, trying to eke out a living in the sprawling city, and she has problems. First, after a botched attempt to steal a chicken, she’s on the run. Second, for some reason, someone other than the City Guard is trying to hunt her down. Finally, the poor kids she was trying to feed got sold off to slavers. She has to save them, but first, she has to find them!

Along the way, she gets help from strangers: Antonerri, a soldier turned heretic—Thissraelle, an elven mage girl; Granthurg, the studious giant; and Karendle, a half-dwarf wizard wannabe...but who is the Dragon’s Flame?

This story is based on the setting and system of the tabletop roleplaying game, A Tale of Heroes by Mark Hansen, Brendon Hansen, and Jacob Hansen. It’s a family-friendly, story-driven system designed to help families enjoy time together. Roll dice—build character.

©2018 Mark Hansen (P)2022 Mark Hansen

Critic reviews

“...Each of these characters emerges from wildly differing circumstances, and have unique perspectives and goals, which don't always neatly align with those of their companions, and in some cases can leave them wondering if they're even fighting on the right side. It's that searching and self-doubt - all while being swept up by larger events - that makes these players in this little drama so fascinating.” (Doug Bedwell, Author of A Counterfeit Princess and Robot Captain)

I enjoyed this book.

I enjoyed this book. Listening to it, felt like I was playing and RPG which was a lot of fun. I didn't make a super strong connection with the characters, but it was very relaxing, clean, and a nice change pace from what I have been reading lately. I'm interested to find out what happens in the next book.

Exciting Adventure!

This is a fun adventure with a great variety of characters and motivations. I admit, in the beginning it was difficult for me to keep track of who everyone was, but once I got to know each of them, it was easy to follow the story. I liked how each of the characters grappled with their own challenges and growth while at the same time uniting individual strengths for a noble cause. The storytelling is engaging and the author paints a vivid picture with his skilled use of language. It leaves you wanting more adventures! The reader did a great job representing the various characters and the Irish accent adds to the story.

An awesome fantasy!

Mark Hansen is a new to me author that has written a wonderful fantasy story in this book! He has well developed characters, a creative and nicely defined story world. Overall it is just a great fantasy story! I absolutely love Andrew McDermott's narratives and would willingly listen to him narrate the dictionary! In this case, the Irish accent really accentuates the story and helps you fall into the world much deeper than just reading it would! I highly recommend both the book and other works by this narrator!

Great book

This book was fun. It is clean and would be appropriate for teens on up. Maybe a preteen. If you like fantasy you need to read this book. Upcoming new author.

The Irish accent from the reader, added to the story.

A rich world of magic!

Mark Hansen scores a hit Tale of Heroes. The characters are fully formed and three dimensional. Sometimes it is hard to find fantasy
audio books. Authors like Moorcock or the Xanthan Novels are just unavailable. Thanks to Mr. Hansen I can read the kind of books I love. Magic and heroism and high adventure. I will buy the next one when it comes out.

Good times

I found this book a good addition to my fantasy library. I've fallen out of most fantasy since my teenage years, but was glad to be able to add this and be able to share it with my kids. The reader's accent sounded a little thick to me, but I am a fan of the accents of the UK, so that was fine for me.

Made me remember my D&D days

I loved the story and the characters. I made me remember all those old Dungeons and Dragons campaigns I participated in years ago.