Acts of War, Volume 1: Flashpoint

By: Aeryn Rudel

Narrated by: Noah Michael Levine

Length: 9 hrs and 29 mins

Publisher's summary

Forged in the fires of conflict, the Iron Kingdoms is a fantastic realm where the combined power of magic and technology thunders across a landscape shaped by war. Dominating the field of battle are rare individuals who have mastered both arcane and martial combat and who boldly lead mighty armies in the ongoing struggle to claim victory over these ancient lands.

An untrustworthy ally is more dangerous than a known enemy.

Lord General Coleman Stryker is one of the greatest heroes of the Iron Kingdoms. As a warcaster, Stryker leads the armies of Cygnar and commands the power of the mighty steam-powered automatons known as warjacks.

Chosen by his king to liberate the conquered lands of Llael from Cygnar's long-standing enemy, the Empire of Khador, Stryker finds himself forced to work with one of his most bitter enemies - the exiled mercenary Asheth Magnus, a man to whom Cygnar's king owes his life. Unchecked, Magnus could easily betray Stryker, undermine the mission, or even bring Cygnar to its knees. But to claim victory for his king, Stryker will have to find a way to put his faith in a man he can't trust.

As the war against Khador and its own fierce commanders looms, Stryker's success or failure will become the flash point that determines the fate of all the Iron Kingdoms.

©2016 Privateer Press, Inc. (P)2016 Audible, Inc.

another ok warmachine story

after blood of kings I was knashing my teeth waiting for this book. that said the performance in the early part of the book was difficult to listen to to the point of making me want to return it. I pushed on and as the voice of each charecter became more distinct the book became much easier to listen to.

you don't need to read blood of kings to jump into this story but it does help frame the events of Flashpoint.

my big issue is the same as with all other warmachine stories if there is a modle of the charecter for the minis game then they are not in any real danger bad stuff may happen to them but they will come out the other side ok if not stronger. I have been an avid Cygnar fan for sometime and I'm pretty much asking them to pull the trigger on some of my favorite characters or at least make me feel like that could happen.

over all not a bad continuation of blood of kings and The advancement of the Magnus story line is pretty cool.

Stryker is lame

good book overall just wish magnus was the main character instead he's much more interesting

For fans of the Iron Kingdoms only

Would you listen to Acts of War, Volume 1: Flashpoint again? Why?

I might not ever listen to this book again. Stories set in the Iron Kingdoms are great additions to the game I love, but as stand alone stories they tend to leave a lot to be desired. Because of the nature of the game Warmachine, conflict *must* arise no matter how foolish or silly. This puts the narrative fiction in a precarious spot, constantly having to create conflict out of thin air.

Would you recommend Acts of War, Volume 1: Flashpoint to your friends? Why or why not?

I'd recommend the book to my friends who play the game Warmachine, sure. It's a decent piece of fiction considering the setting.

What about Noah Michael Levine’s performance did you like?

Michael Levine's performance is utterly fantastic. His pacing is spot on and his voices are some of the best I've heard in the audiobook format. Levine's performance was a joy and seemed to be totally natural.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I listened to this book over the course of week. The story line didn't keep me coming back for more. The IK stories lack a lot of tension because characters frequently do not or can not die. The fiction lacks suspense.

Any additional comments?

Maybe this book isn't for you, check out Michael Levine's other narration. He's splendid.

Great performance but the book is dry as a bone

unless you are an absolute die hard Warmachine fan I would take a hard pass on this book. The characters are rigid and stiff and the story is both predictable and cliche.

a good book for the series

overall a very good story it was nice to see how some of the characters come together. the ending I think was somewhat predictable but overall I liked it.

always love iron kingdoms books.

definitely worth it. I wish the second book was on audible they are so good.

BAD narrator.

I could only listen for a brief time. The narrator sounds like a machine, there is no flow to his voice, each word said as if disconnected from any other. I recommend against this narrator. this makes me sad as I am very interested in this story.

I side with magnus

I enjoyed this book. The narrator got some getting used to at first but by the end he was fine. I high rly recommend it. I sided with Magnus through almost the entire book...Striker seems like he would rather let his friends die than kill without honor. Just my opinion though.

5/5 but not 6/5

This is not my favorite book in the Iron Kingdoms but it's pretty darn good. The narrater does a lot of voices that dont match the setting exactly but match the personalities of the characters so well that I look past it, maybe even enjoy it. All the characters make you mad at one point as only characters so well written are worth. several favorites die and then the have an actual funeral service to kill them twice, but the real emotion is what you want in a book right? I look forward to the next one and the third being written at time of post. 5/5

Nice story to catch up on the mk3 fluff

Well written for a wargame fiction novel. Was great to be brought up to speed on how the Cygnar world has changed in the fluff. looking forward to book 2!