The Summoner and the Seer

Darklight Universe, Book 1

By: C. Gold

Narrated by: Ulf Bjorklund

Length: 10 hrs and 7 mins

Publisher's summary

He murdered her family; she sentenced him to eternal torture. Now they have to work together to save the world from the coming darkness.

Radcliff was widely known as the most ruthless wizard of all time. Nicknamed Destroyer, his brutal actions forced even the most recalcitrant kingdoms to surrender. When the west defied him, he immolated their entire city and thousands died. But this action was the last straw for many. Betrayed by his lover, stripped of power and memory by his mentor, he was locked up and tortured for 1,000 years.

Amira’s seer talent has always been unpredictable but accurate. So when it shows her the wizard responsible for slaughtering her friends and family is the key to saving the world, she has no choice but to rescue him. But Radcliff is no longer who he was and certainly not what she expected. It isn’t long before she regrets her part in his sentencing.

Radcliff doesn’t know he’s the most reviled person in history. In fact, he doesn’t know anything because when he wakes up each morning, he forgets his past. A journal lets him relearn basic spells, but it can’t help him build a relationship, and he’d really like one with his beautiful traveling companion.

Together, they must evade their enemies and restore Radcliff’s memory before the world is consumed in darkness. But bringing back the Destroyer may not be wise. It may also break Amira’s heart.

This can be heard as a stand-alone fantasy novel set in the Darklight universe.

©2017 C. Gold (P)2019 C. Gold

with impending doom, seer turns to worst enemy

one off story do can be listened to as single novel.
it was a slow start for me. About three quarters into story, did it gain traction with me.
Radliffe the designated bad guy is laden with curse/spell that limits him to a day's worth of memories. Each day is a restart but the magic is bubbling in him.
That foreshadowing leads to a big ending. The last quarter of the book exposes the Big Bad and what scared the Seer do. The nature of the threat could have been another highlighted foreshadowing
Robust ending

Unique story, unexceptional execution

This was a very different story than I'd expected, but I found it surprisingly enjoyable. The narration took a bit of getting used to, but wasn't bad.

The premise is great. Radcliffe the Destroyer, widely hated and feared for his ruthless efficiency in crushing resistance and uniting the world for his Emperor, is betrayed by his lover and sentenced to death. Amira the Seer, whose erratic yet powerful gift shows her things other seers scoff at, knows that her people's greatest enemy is the only one who can save the world, and argues for a different punishment. Stripped of his memory and much of his power, sentenced to live with his memory vanishing with the sunrise, Radcliffe must somehow fulfill his destiny despite these handicaps.

It's also a romance. I wasn't expecting that. The hints of worldbuilding that are there are enough to intrigue me, but the story is very much focused on the day to day interactions of Amira and the adorably ignorant former-Destroyer. It's fun, different, and a bit meandering.

It's almost a standalone; there are hints of a followup book, but it works fairly well on its own.

Definitely not a waste of time, but for such a great premise the execution could've been better.

enjoyed for most part

for the most part I enjoyed listening to this story and will see what else this author has to offer.

A Good and interesting story

I enjoyed this story and there were quite a few colorful characters in this book. The amount of main characters was quite a lot and it totally worked. The Narrator was very good and enjoyable too.

Good story well performed, but not for the young.

Entertaining tale of good versus evil, where determining which a character is, isn't always immediately evident. Everyone is a mixture of both and must ultimately decide which they are. The author chooses an unusual central villain in a fast paced tale of conflicts within conflicts which I would recommend for young and old alike if it were not for a couple brief graphic scenes which I feel are inappropriate for the young. The narrator is easy to listen to and keeps your attention.

entertaining

This story was fast paced, then slowed way down. Was interesting with the whole group, enough heroes? Was good read.

Interesting but didn't quite reach full potential

I greatly enjoyed the beginning and ending of this book, but the middle dragged a bit too much. As a result, I'd have to rate this 3.75 stars rounded up to 4.

The beginning of this audiobook really grabbed me and drew me in. I couldn't wait to find more time to sneak in a listen. I loved the complications that Radcliff's and Amira's past connections brought, how Radcliff had to relearn each day, how Amira dealt with managing that and her own role in Radcliff's torture. I especially loved the byplay between Radcliff and Amira. Radcliff, despite losing his memory every day, is flirty and smooth, often ruffling Amira’s feathers. As for Amira, she was a strong character tasked with teaming up with someone who committed such a grave wrong against her family and thousands of other people. I couldn’t imagine how hard that must be, especially when she clearly liked who Radcliff was despite what he’s done.

Though the beginning and ending were both strong (the scene escaping the cave was horribly awesome!), by the time Amira and Radcliff got to the Shay settlement and stayed there for at least two weeks, I got bogged down. I didn’t understand the pacing or why the stay was completely needed. There was such a rush for Amira to get Radcliff to the Mountain to fix his memory and then they just ... hang out for a while. There was really no progression or even much interaction between Amira and Radcliff. It all made zero sense.

One (small) issue I had was that Radcliff was supposed to come off as this big baddie, but I guess I was expecting a bigger, badder baddie in the prologue. His atrocities, though awful, didn't make him seem to be the most terrible sorcerer to have ever existed, just simply a person with powerful abilities doing the bidding of the person who was actually in charge. I was thinking baddie along the lines of Lothaire from Kresley Cole's Immortals After Dark series. It just didn't quite reach that horrible level for me and I wanted to see that change (though we did see a good comparison of it at the end of the book).

A bigger issue I had was time. Radcliff supposedly was trapped in his tower for 1,000 years, but it seemed as if everyone had some kind of magical ability in order to extend their life span. Therefore, they (mostly) know of him as The Destroyer. So what was the point of 1,000 years passing, especially when it seemed like nothing changed? As a matter of fact, Radcliff could summon a potion from the emperor's stores 1,000 years later, the potion having not moved/crumbled/evaporated/been used in a millennium. There was huge potential here and I feel as if it was squandered.

As for the audio part of this book, the tone of the narrator was really enjoyable, though I don't know that he quite had the voices down. Ulf Bjorklund sounded great for Radcliff, excellent for Spider, and the overall story, but I think he could improve upon his female characters. He did soften his tone a bit for Amira's perspective, though it's hard to tell sometimes when he was narrating the story from her POV and when she is actually speaking. Overall, though, I'd easily give him 4 stars for his narration.

I received a free review copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.

this was good

What spoke to me the most was the mental attack he was having from an "outside" voice. it seems similar to depression and spoke volumes of how people are fighting themselves alot more than most can see or know ty for such a good book

Excellent!

Excellent story, great plot and characters that are dynamic. The narration is excellent and made listening to the story extremely enjoyable. I will definitely listen to the story again and again.

A Great Listen

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request, and have voluntarily left this review. I found it very entertaining. What do you do when the one man that killed everyone you loved is the same man that will save the world. Amira made her choice and saved him from execution and be punished instead. A thousand years later she saves his life and sets him on a new destiny which teaches both them about their past choices and themselves. Well written characters with a fast paced and suspenseful plot that not only keeps you listening, but will make you chuckle occasionally. Well worth the listen and will be looking into the rest of the series.