I Don't Want to Be the Hero, Vol. 1

By: M.E. Thorne

Narrated by: Robert Bradvica, Alyssa Poon

Length: 8 hrs and 31 mins

Publisher's summary

Beat the Demon Lord and save the world? No thanks!

People always said demons and dragons were horrifying monsters. They didn't warn me they were gorgeous, too.

My name is Mal, and ever since I was a boy, I've been treated as a malcontent because of my ability to see magic. For everyone else, magic is proof of the Goddess’ love. To me, it is just a colorful spread of enchantments, cantrips, blessings, and hexes. And any spell I can see, I can break.

I had always expected to grow up to be a ditch-digger. Instead, I was dubbed a hero. Heroes are sent out in the wasteland, to slay monsters and to challenge the Demon Lord. It’s a suicide mission. But once I was exiled, I found that the outside world was drastically different from what I had thought. The beautiful women I meet, demons, dragons, and orcs, might be my best shot for surviving the insanity I’ve been thrown into.

Warning: This novel is not appropriate for all ages; it contains descriptions of violence, unconventional relationships, and limitless adventure.

©2021 M.E. Thorne (P)2022 Podium Audio

Awesome

Okay first what an amazing performance by the narrators and for the MC he is not the typical mc of the genre, he has a unique ability but that's it he is kinda weak but working to get better

good begining book

This is my first book from this author. It was a totally new style of book to this genre. sure sword fighting mythical characters and humans are the bad guys. the mc is the weakest member of group. but it all works . I am getting volumn 2 now.
I was very familiar with the narrators and they did a great job as always.

Super funny, outrageous adventure

This was an outrageous, I’ve the top adventure yarn about an outcast young man and the knight and squires he meets up with. Very funny. Enjoyed this romp through fantasyland

What an outstanding start to a series!

"I Don't Want to Be the Hero" by M.E. Thorne is an engaging and action-packed volume that will keep readers hooked from start to finish. With well-written dialogue, and a thrilling plot, this book is a must-read for fans of the fantasy/harem genre."

A Typical Story, Written in an Atypical Manner...

An odd (not)hero embarks on a difficult journey with interesting characters with humorous quirks and fun personalities, but there are a lot of growing pains one will have to endure, as the story develops, if you're a fan of progressive fantasy and/or harem literature.

The MC starts off very weak, in EVERY aspect imaginable (granted, he is confident in being lazy), which wouldn't be too terrible if he wasn't "leveling up" in the bedroom more than he was in his skill, abilities, and character development as a whole. The friends he makes along the way, truly carry the story (which is further emphasized by great narrating) as they are common fantasy races, but utilizing completely different classes: Goblin Dragoon Warrior, Orc Plant Spellcaster, Dragon Archer, and a Demon...that's a knight.

The story, itself, is simplistic but well defined. Action scenes are very well written and the dialogue between the companions had me chuckling on several occasions.

Overall, the series has a lot of potential, but can't honestly say if it's worth investing in.

Great LoTR-like

I didn’t quite know what to expect when I downloaded this book, but was incredibly pleased with the twists on a mor e traditional Tolkien inspired fantasy! Great listen, and will be keeping an eye on the author in the future :)

Even better on audio.

Excited to listen to book 2 and hope it comes out soon. I won't spoil anything, give the book a try!.

Finally on Audible

Been waiting for this to make its way to Audible for a while, great book!

Good foundations, really bad MC

Really an unfortunate, wasted opportunity here. Side characters are interesting, world is interesting, history is interesting, and the overall conflict is interesting. Yet who are we following? By far the least interesting character with no will of his own, no power, and few to no redeeming qualities. Slight spoilers ahead:

MC is basically a useless corpse. His two sources of import for the rest of the characters are the fact that he can see and break magic and that he has info on the "other side" that they do not. That's it. He's a whiny, weak pushover (literally gets walked over multiple times) that basically has few to no goals, ambitions, drive, or free will. He's just the passenger that gets to be pushed around, stepped on, and treated like a slave. If you're into that, you'll love this I guess.

As for the narration: Alyssa Poon is great as always. Robert Bradvica's characters barring the MC are good, as always. Not sure why but this dude can't seem to do a normal/non-whiny and annoying voice for any of the main characters he narrates to save his life. Feels like almost anything I've ever listened of his has a main character that has almost a slightly nasally voice that will sometimes scream/yell in a high pitched, super whiny and annoying fashion. It's genuinely cringe worthy at times. Maybe it's the authors, I have no idea if the MC is actually meant to come off this way. Like I said though, his other characters are really good.

Feels like this could have been infinitely better with a different main character or a main character that has aptitude for literally anything other than "Look at this mildly useful ability I was born with".

one great narrator, one meh

Alyssa Poon is terrific! Fun, many easily distinguishable voices, and great in the sex scenes. Robert Bradvica is meh, not injecting enough emotion,. especially in the sex scenes.