Enchantress

By: James Maxwell

Narrated by: Simon Vance

Length: 17 hrs and 5 mins

Publisher's Summary

The first book in the epic Evermen Saga.

Ella and her brother, Miro, are orphans, their parents killed long ago in the ongoing struggle against the mad Emperor.

From the day Ella witnesses an enchanter using his talents to save Miro from drowning, she knows what she wants to be. But the elite Academy of Enchanters expects tuition fees and knowledge. Determined, Ella sells flowers and studies every book she can. Meanwhile, Miro dreams of becoming one of the world's finest swordsmen, wielding his nation's powerful enchanted weapons in defense of his homeland.

A dark force rises in the east, conquering all in its path, and Miro leaves for the front. When the void Miro left is filled by Killian, a charming stranger from another land, Ella finds herself in love. But Killian has a secret, and Ella's actions will determine the fate of her brother, her homeland, and the world.

©2014 James Maxwell (P)2014 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved.

Good but ....

this a really good book with great imagery and action and a little romance too. The only thing i didn't like about it is the story had a harry potter/young adult book feel to it but its not for kids because there are some pretty descriptive sex scenes in the book. Other than that its ok. Enjoy

22 of 23 people found this review helpful

Sufficiently advanced technology ....

TLDR: story very good even for hard Sci-Fi lovers, reader spectacular.

I'm usually a hard Sci-fi/historical fiction type person. I chose this book based about 90% on the fact that Simon Vance is the reader, and his treatment of the Aubrey-Maturin series was perfect -- he's a great reader.

I'm usually not into fantasy, though like many, my introduction to Sci-Fi was via fantasy (LOTR). As it turned out, the story was great and the "magic" used here, seems much less like magic and much more like some strange technology left behind by alien visitors. There were some things I think that fell together a little too conveniently, hence four rather than five stars for the story, but I'm already downloading the second book in the series as I type this. It was a thoroughly enjoyable listen.

9 of 9 people found this review helpful

Just missing some spark or link to me

Nothing is really wrong with this book- the plot is predicable but not too baddly; the characters are reasonable and the magic system has a some level of logic (for whatever that worth). I even wanted to know how the author would unfold the story yet nothing really made me enter the world. IT was just a story. I think another might enjoy it yet it had no link to me.

8 of 9 people found this review helpful

An interesting idea...

...killed by sub-par female characters. The main character, for which the title is presumably referring to, is defined by the men that constantly fawn over her . A bumbling idiot. A traitor. A prince. Somehow. For some reason.

The magic system is the interesting idea. Its well done and fascinating. It's sad the world building isn't near the same quality, which is mostly revealed in info dumps, or the plot, or the characters.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Brand new take on Magic

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

Simon Vance narrator. Awesome as usual. Simon Vance can make the phone book interesting. The book had an interesting spin on magic, good characters and an interesting and fast paced storyline. Great young adult series that is enjoyable for all ages, especially for those of us uncomfortable with some of the new "magic-porn" novels that are far too graphic.

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

New and interesting take on magic and magicians. Very interesting and quite frankly, should spawn future series. I would like to see the author write a prequel series.

Was Enchantress worth the listening time?

I finished the series in a week. Fast paced action, good plot, plenty of twists and turns, overall an enjoyable series that is worth every penny.

Any additional comments?

If you have a free credit, its worth it. Change your view on life, it won't. Better than going to the movies any day of the week.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Solid beginning to the series

A good groundwork for a new series. Enough novelty in the magic system to be intriguing. Characters are a little shallow, but likeable. Hopefully they will gain more depth in the other books. I will continue reading the series to find out!

Well narrated, discernable characters.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Couldn't put it down!

There are so many great characters in this book. Male and female leading characters. I couldn't put it down, I had to find out what happened next!!!

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

A little derivitive, but an enjoyable book

What made the experience of listening to Enchantress the most enjoyable?

The narrator made the characters come to life. The best narrators make you forget you are listening to them. He did that. The story was standard kids with unknown parentage and budding ablities grow up and save the world, even so, it was well written and creative.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Absolutely fantastic! Action all the way.

Where does Enchantress rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Rank among my Top 10 List! A must read.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Enchantress?

When Ella magicked a bridge across the waters so that the refugees and soldiers can cross back to their homeland and escape from their enemies. That was really FANTASTIC!

Have you listened to any of Simon Vance’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Yes I have and I do like his voice. His performance of the different characters were perfect. The female voices were good too.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

The Evermen.

Any additional comments?

James Maxwell writes superbly and I hope there will be more books from him.

8 of 12 people found this review helpful

Very good book and audio book.

My favorite books have always been first person fantasy books, like Assassin's Apprentice or more recently The Name of the Wind. It was always hard for me to get into third person fantasies, I've tried Mistborn, Blood Song and other well reviewed novels, bit none of them really made me want to continue with their series. Somehow, Enchantress does. At the beginning I thought I was in for a couple weak protagonists, but as I continued reading they progressed very well. The story was rather week written and I enjoyed Simon Vance as narrator. 4.5/5

4 of 6 people found this review helpful

Better than mediocre, less than brilliant

Hmmm, I'm at a bit of a loss as to how to rate this story as I think there are some things that could be better (more 'oomph' in the narration; it was quite flat at times, and better handling of the passage of time in the early part of the book; there were parts where the story had moved on by years, but as the reader, it didn't really feel like it had and it was a bit jarring), and some bits which were excellent (the magical system and it's 'Achilles heel', the Primate and his role in the story, the world itself and description of the cities).
I'm a fantasy fan, this being virtually the only genre I listen to, and it just felt like there was something a bit lacking, even though it was good enough to keep me listening through to the end.
I have to be honest and say that the narrator, whilst not annoying or irritating, didn't really being the story the life. There wasn't really a great deal of different accents so I couldn't identify a character as soon as they 'spoke' and they weren't imbued with their own personality, and at the points where the character was meant to shout or scream, or perhaps sound very desperate, it wasn't conveyed in the voice, it was just spoken. This let it down I feel.
A decent story, but something left to be desired

19 of 20 people found this review helpful

Good imaginative story

Well narrated, good story and I liked some characters and hated others, I cared. and am looking forward to the other books.

8 of 8 people found this review helpful

Enchanting characters

Loved it, can't wait to get going with the next part. Mixture of all you wish from a book, nail biting moments and rising excitement. I would most certainly recommend this series.

8 of 8 people found this review helpful

Slow start

I nearly turned off a few times but now first book finished I'm gripped.
The narrator lacked something for me ,please record with Steven pacy

6 of 6 people found this review helpful

Only sad to wait for the next one now!

A clever story that lulls you into your own assumptions only to surprise you at each turn. Well written and well narrated, would recommend to all fantasy lovers!

5 of 5 people found this review helpful

An Epic Tale

I loved this story, it moves along at a good pace.

The narrator that's a good job at conveying the story.

I can't wait for the next instalment as this has left me wanting more.

I did this story five out of five!

5 of 5 people found this review helpful

Great listen

What about Simon Vance’s performance did you like?

Simon Vance is a great story teller

Any additional comments?

Great first book, and as the story unfolds and the plots thicken , i was drawn more and more into this world that has been created.. the other three are just as good , with strong characters and world class narration.

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

You need stamina

Found this a bit wordy tbh, what I mean by this is as it's a fantasy story there are so many strange names and place names it gets a bit hard to follow at first. having said that it does roll along when you get used to it but half way through the heroine started to annoy me, supposedly a highly intelligent girl but starts to do stupid things that only a naive person would do. I've stopped reading halfway through so maybe it's unfair to give an opinion..maybe I'll go back to it and give it another go. But you decide for yourself.

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

A good start to a good series

Enchantress is a book I saw rated very highly on both the internet and in real life. So naturally it had to go onto my listening list.

To start with I had that dreadful feeling that, due to the main character having to go to college/university to learn to be an enchantress, it was going to be a Harry Potter style book. Thankfully, that wasn't the case as the whole learning to be an enchantress thing (despite the title of the book) doesn't actually take up too much time. It's one of those things that works better because it's almost been glossed over

The system of magic in Enchantress is rather different to what most series offer. Instead of spells and fireballs Maxwell implies a far more delicate and subtle method to get much the same result. Very interesting magic system with a well thought out limitation that could see the entire system fail.

Maxwell uses descriptive writing to bring you into the story and feel for his characters. At times you genuinely feel despair for Ella and I constantly found myself pulling for Miro (he was totally the star of the show for me).

Enchantress is one of those books that doesn't seem to have a target market like other books do. Whereas some might aim for a male 19-30 demographic and others young women, this seems like it wants to be greedy and aims for both. I could be entirely wrong but it feels like Miro's parts are geared seriously towards men whereas Ella's have an almost 'chick-flick' feel to them. This is in no way a bad thing. It brings two halves perfectly together to make a wonderful whole.

This is one of those books that will give you just enough story by the end of it to make you want to take a chance on the rest of the series.

18 of 21 people found this review helpful

Can't wait to listen to the next in the series

An enchanting tale and I can't wait to find out what other adventures Ella and Miro have.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful