Days Gone Bad

By: Eric Asher

Narrated by: William Dufris

Length: 8 hrs and 50 mins

Publisher's Summary

My name is Damian Valdis Vesik. I am a necromancer, an ability feared and hated as much as the powers my master and I set ourselves against. We've vanquished many evils, but now something is releasing an old darkness, forcing us to hunt an enemy beyond anything I've faced before. I was already busy enough with vampires, fairies, witches, Watchers, weddings, and...damn, I need a vacation.

©2013 Eric R. Asher (P)2014 Eric R. Asher

Great Urban Fantasy

I received a free copy of this audio book from the author when I met him at Coastal Magic Con. My husband and I listened to it on the way home and were enthralled. This story grabbed us from the start. Mr. Asher has built a vivid picture of a world where vampires, fairies, witches, ghosts, Watchers, and others exist side by side with common folk. His is a world filled with magic and mayhem, humor and love. William Dufris did a fantastic job of bringing the story to life. This story is not for the weak of heart. It is often violent and is graphic in its depiction of the violence. But the story is well worth it and would be diminished without the horror of the violence. I will most certainly be checking out the further adventures of Damian Valdis Vesik.

9 of 11 people found this review helpful

Couldn't finish it

The author attempted to make the main character funny and witty but his continuous stream of sarcastic and snide comments quickly become annoying and we never get a clear explanation as to how magic works in his universe.
Another source of confusion stems from the fact that Vesik is supposed to be a necromancer and yet he comes off more as a mage and more akin to Harry Dresden's abilities than someone who deals with the dead.
Furthermore we never get a good sense of the large cast of characters that get introduced far too quickly to the point where it starts to become a little confusing. Indeed, the faeries and the various vampires that Vesik meets aren't given enough of a backstory to begin to care about them and lack any real substance to them.
I will say this though, the narrator's voicing of Vesik's century-old teacher is phenomenal as he gives her a rough southern drawl that is a surprising joy to listen to.

18 of 25 people found this review helpful

Phenomenal Start to an AMAZING series!

"Days Gone Bad," had me sucked in at chapter one. There is a wealth of characters with depth and mystery and wit that make you want to delve into each one of them to see how they tick! Mr. Eric Asher, took a genre that has been written and rewritten so many times and made it new and intriguing. For me the testament of an outstanding book is if when I put it down I'm ready to pick it back up again, well this audio version brought me to whole new level of fandom. The narrator has a way of bringing these outstanding characters to life and I certainly cannot wait for the second book in the series to be ready for consumption.

10 of 14 people found this review helpful

A promising start but not great

I wanted to like this book but somehow I did not feel interested in its characters. I think the book has a potential: a necromancer as the main character, vampires, faes, humour, etc. but then it gets a bit repetitive and boring. I think the main problem is that the writer tries too hard, and eventually fails. There are too many jokes and not enough dynamics. I will not continue the series but I hope that the writing gets better, keeping in mind this is the first book.
I liked the narrator and I think he is perfect for the story.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Narrator hurts the story

Is there anything you would change about this book?

There is a trend in this book with the author making a statement, followed in the same sentence with a "but" or"though" which leads to an attempt at humor. About one in every 5 sentences show this pattern. Only after listening for a while does it take on an aspect of being contrived as well as a habitual pattern of communicating. This process is emphasized by the vocal inflections of Mr. Dufris. Can't change the author. I would strongly encourage a different narrator. I am very close to losing all interest in this piece. I would NEVER consider another book in this series if the same narrator is used. Interestingly, he does a very good job with other character voices.

Would you be willing to try another book from Eric Asher? Why or why not?

Yes, with a different narrator.

Did William Dufris do a good job differentiating all the characters? How?

Good with all but the main character, Vesik (who, wouldn't you know it, has to talk throughout the book, or else there would be no story), comes across with a sarcastic or snide quality to his humor. This quickly becomes painful to listen to.

Do you think Days Gone Bad needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

Why not? Very similar in subject material to the Dresden series.

6 of 10 people found this review helpful

not a great story

What would have made Days Gone Bad better?

Good potential story and character but the author wants to be funny and he is not

3 of 5 people found this review helpful

Don't be fooled by the title and artwork

Firstly, the author did not even remotely represent the consensus of what a necromancer is. Also, the main character was incredibly weak, with the supporting characters doing 90% of the work.

This book was very poorly structured. Repeatedly, information which seemed like it would be essential to the plot or character development was introduced and then promptly ignored e.g. the "vampire pit" doesn't like outsiders, but there are outsiders in and out of the house every other chapter. To that note, there was no character development except for that of the comic relief.

This book seems to be told from the viewpoint of a 13 year-old in an adult body with a sailor's mouth. For someone who, by definition, should have control of the dead and the "power of lay lines" Vesik seems incapable of doing any more than letting vampires punch his shield

So, if you have been into a series like the Dresden files where things fit together, make sense and a good plot develops, stay away from this book

Finally, the narration was mediocre. while DuFris has excellent diction, his expression of the characters' emotions seems wholly absent.

I would be willing to give this author another chance, but not if the word necromancer is anywhere in the book

6 of 11 people found this review helpful

It was a poor man's Dresden Files

I was initially interested in this book because the narrator's style sounded a lot like James Marsters performance in Dresden Files and I love fantasy and urban fantasy/sci fi novels. I began listening to the book and it is eerily similar to Dresden Files, so much so that I couldn't do anything but compare the two and this novel just doesn't hold up. I felt like the world was not substantiated and lacked depth or anything novel to make the story capture me. I found that I didn't care if characters were in peril because there wasn't anything about them that made me love them. All in all the story was ok, moved very quickly except for breaks to eat frozen burritos instead of giving characters personality.

It was a nice surprise that the story took place in St. Louis, MO though, I am from StL and have been to some of the places described in the book.

damian rocks my world!

Days Gone Bad is infused with humor and stellar writing. The characters are amazingly well fleshed out - you feel like you really know them. My favorite character is Damian and not just because he's the main character. He talks to you like you're an old friend, he has a great sense of humor, and he's brave. Plus he's a necromancer - a necromancer who isn't evil. He's become one of my new book boyfriends! I also thought it was really interesting that Damian casts spells to fight against demons and rogue vampires.

Damian's vampire sister, Sam, is a close second as one of my favorite characters. She's full of life (haha), spunky, and beautiful. I love that she has this gorgeous, straight black hair. Damian and Sam have a close relationship, and they get along well. Damian seemed to be protective of his sister, and that's one of the many things I appreciated about him.

I really liked how the fairies are bad ass - there is nothing sparkly or dainty about them. Foster, his wife, and his mother Cara are tough cookies - you can tell by the way Cara reacts when she thinks the new employee Damian hired has insulted fairies. They will tear you limb from limb if you aren't careful around them! That's how they should be. ;)

I liked the gore. That makes me sound demented I suppose, but as someone who's a huge horror fan of both gory horror as well as psychological horror, I like to see the "monsters" get splattered. With all of the supernatural creatures running around wreaking havoc, Days Gone Bad couldn't be told as well without some gore - Damian and his friends are battling for their very lives. There are going to be casualties. Gory scenes are just satisfying, especially when a puppet master rogue vampire is after my Damian!

Days Gone Bad is packed with action, humor, and some bloody fun. I highly recommend this for readers who enjoyed the Sookie Stackhouse series, or even if you were disappointed by the series. Asher breathes new life into the urban fantasy genre, and I'm excited to see where the next installment takes us.

I received this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

Like Dresden, but definitely hold's its own.

What made the experience of listening to Days Gone Bad the most enjoyable?

William Dufris. He brought the perfect voices, cadence, etc to the characters.

What other book might you compare Days Gone Bad to and why?

Dresden Files, Alex Verus, Iron Druid Chronicles.
Same type of genre, modern day supernatural.

What about William Dufris’s performance did you like?

Holy crap William was the perfect narrator for this series. I liked him in the Old Man's War series and I wasn't sure how I'd like him in this series, until I finished the first chapter and realized that not even Luke Daniels would be as good as William is for this series.

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

yes, definitely yes. I am big fan of this type of story, but the combo of Eric and William, holy rusted metal Batman!

Any additional comments?

Eric does a great job of creating a world for Vesik and his band of buddies, and he has a great banter between characters that William really brought to life. Looking forward to the next 4 books.

Well developed characters good pacing interesting spin on contemporary fantasy

Loved it listened to it in 2 days downloading next book now couldn't wait for my audible credit

2 of 3 people found this review helpful