Battle

The House War, Book 5

By: Michelle West

Narrated by: Eva Wilhelm

Length: 33 hrs and 54 mins

Publisher's Summary

The weeks since Jewel Markess ATerafin has been acclaimed ruler of her House have not been peaceful; four assassination attempts have been made on her life, and one of the most important members of her House Council has been forced to retire, leaving a seat empty at a time when she requires trusted allies.

The war in the distant South has ended; the armies, victorious, have returned to Averalaan. During the victory parade of the Kings' armies, the fifth assassination attempt occurs - in full view of the Ten, the Kings, and thousands of spectators. To survive, Jewel takes to the sky on the back of a winged cat; she returns to the Terafin Manse, leaving demonic destruction in her wake, the demon itself in pursuit. In the forest behind her manse, she has the power - barely - to stand against the demon; she does not have the power to destroy it.

In the aftermath of the Terafin's funeral, the Kings have demanded an audience with the newest ruler of House Terafin. A single, careless command given to the elemental earth on the day of the funeral has caused unexplained and disturbing changes to the palace itself. But before Jewel can answer the summons, she falls prey to the strange sleeping plague that has felled citizens across the city of Averalaan - from the poorest of holdings to the wealthiest of mansions across the Isle.

It is there - in the uneasy land of dreams - that Jewel discovers the reason for the sickness, and there that she begins to understand the forces arrayed against both her House and the Empire; if she can survive the traps set by the Warden of Dreams and by her deadly, former allies, she will wake to a changed world - if she wakes at all.

©2013 Michelle Sagara (P)2013 Audible, Inc.

A fantastic addition to a great series

Battle is a book that will delight dedicated Michelle West fans. She is back in top form with this book and the story really starts to move forward. My only very minor complaint is that Avandar is a mostly missing in action from this story. I, for one, would have read the extra 100 or so pages it would have taken to weave in a larger more balanced part for him, but that's simply a small complaint. On balance, Battle pushes the story arc forward at a satisfactory rate and sets up the next book perfectly.

If you are not already addicted to the work of Michelle West I recommend starting the series with Hunter's Oath and Hunter's Death. They are small books by West standard and they are where most of us first became life long followers of the adventures of Jewel Markess. Follow those with the 6 books of the sun sword series and then read Skirmish and Battle. I'm assuming of course that Audible will finish up the series now that the books are available on Kindle. Michelle West has written such a rich and colorful world that it would be impossible to not want to hear these stories over and over again.

Beautifully told

I love every book in this series and can't wait for the companion series (the sun sword) to be recorded, and for the next book in this series to come out.

This is a book I've read twice and listened to take, and I still can't get enough.

Battle

Great book but it starts at a later date and I kept searching for what I missed in the previous books! Found out that there is a whole other series of books called the Sun Sword Series. That story takes place between book 4 and 5 which are not on audible. I do hope that audible will add them in the future.

adbenture keeps building

before i listen to the last one, im gonna listen to them all over again. amazing very creative and different story! the author is brilliant!!

Very Disappointing :-((

If this book wasn’t for you, who do you think might enjoy it more?

Someone who enjoys long boring discourse to no good purpose, and unfathomable plots, which lead nowhere.

Would you ever listen to anything by Michelle West again?

After this, I think not.

Have you listened to any of Eva Wilhelm’s other performances? How does this one compare?

I haven't had the pleasure of listening to anything else narrated by Eva Wilhelm. In my opinion she was the one bright spot in an otherwise dreary landscape. She did a masterful job, with, again in my opinion, very poor material.

You didn’t love this book--but did it have any redeeming qualities?

The narrator. Eva Wilhelm.

Any additional comments?

I have awaited this series with great anticipation, and the first three books were, if not as good as I'd hoped, at least not terrible, though I admit to feeling a little bit cheated, as some of the action seemed to be a reiteration of what had been offered in "The Sun Sword" series. Then we came to book four, "Skirmish" :-(( If you have not read "The Sun Sword" series, book four will be a complete mystery to you, as it almost completely departs from the story line in the first three books of "The House Wars" series. I have read "The Sun Sword" series, but it was many years ago, and I found it difficult to pick up the story line after so long a pause. After listening to book four, I came to realize that it makes no difference whether you have any knowledge of "The Sun Sword" series, as the apparent continuation of the story in "Skirmish" devolves into gibberish, and boring nonsense. I really wanted to finish listening to this series, but I think I've suffered enough. I've made it to part three of book five, "Battle", but I just can't continue any longer. I will be returning these books, and will hopefully find something, which will salve the raw wounds, left by this series. As I have said, I am very disappointed. I may not remember "The Sun Sword" series with perfect clarity, it was after all a long time ago, when I read it,, but I remember that I enjoyed it. This one, not at all. :-(( :-((

Most disappointing follow on series ever

What did you like best about Battle? What did you like least?

I loved the Sun Sword series of books so much and was so excited for this series. Disappointed by the first book, missed several out until series caught up with events at end of Sun Sword, then tried again. Nothing happens. Jewel whinges on and gets dressed endlessly. Won't be reading or listening to any more of these. Don't know how editors let this go so wrong. Rant because I'm so disappointed. To make matters worse found the narrator intensely annoying.

Would you be willing to try another one of Eva Wilhelm’s performances?

No.

Was Battle worth the listening time?

No.