Fin Gall - A Novel of Viking Age Ireland

By: James L. Nelson

Narrated by: Shaun Grindell

Length: 13 hrs and 2 mins

Publisher's Summary

AD 852. For centuries the Vikings have swept out of the Norse countries and fallen on whatever lands they could reach aboard their longships, and few could resist the power of their violent onslaught. They came at first to plunder and then to settle, an encroachment fiercely resisted wherever they went.

Such was the case in the southern lands of Ireland. En route to the Viking longphort there, known as Dubh-linn, Thorgrim Night Wolf and Ornolf the Restless stumble across an Irish ship that carries aboard it a single item: a crown. The Vikings eagerly snatch the prize, unaware of its significance to the people of Ireland and the power granted to the king who wears it. Soon the Norsemen are plunged into the violence and intrigue of Medieval Ireland, where local kings fight with each other and with the invaders from the north for rule of the island nation. With enemies at every hand and loyalties as fickle as the weather, Thorgrim must lead his men, the white invaders, the Fin Gall, in the fight of their lives, with both Irish and Dane eager to see them dead.

©2012 James L. Nelson (P)2015 Tantor

Tolerable with this trick

The story is good, not great, but good enough that I've bought the second in series. Narrator is intolerably slow however, not bad, just slow---so I used a trick I read in another audible review and upped the narration speed to 1.25 and it's great! Historically interesting about the Vikings in Ireland as well as Irish history.

9 of 9 people found this review helpful

Hard to hear

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

I didn't listen to the entire book. The narration was really bad. So no the short time I spend listening to this was not time well spent.

What was most disappointing about James L. Nelson’s story?

Couldn't get thru the book b/c of the performance.

How could the performance have been better?

I'm sure the narrator thought he was channeling HBO's Peter Balish, but really he sounded like Ben Affleck's Batman loudly whispering

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

When I read my physical copy I'll let you know.

Any additional comments?

The story seems interesting. I think I'll use my eyes to enjoy it however.

7 of 7 people found this review helpful

Not bad

Overall not a bad book and well researched but the narrator has the Vikings as cockneys and his Irish accents are diabolical... And his pronunciation of Irish names is even worse, they're so badly done that even as an Irish-speaker I can't recognize them!

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

Great Story

Would you listen to Fin Gall - A Novel of Viking Age Ireland again? Why?

Maybe

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

I didn't much care for the narration. It was done in almost a whisper and did not seem to change with the action. It is a good thing the story itself was exciting. Otherwise, I would have stopped listening in the first 10 minutes.

Any additional comments?

I am a huge fan of Bernard Cornwell's Saxon Tales. When I first saw this book I wondered how it would stack up against Cornwell. I can tell you that, while it does stand on its own, if you love Saxon Tales, you will love this book.

5 of 6 people found this review helpful

Well done historical period piece- lots of twists

Good book...seemed to be accurate and the plot was well thought out. Almost like a mystery novel, in some respects.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Enjoyable

I’m looking forward to “reading” the next book in this series. Now time to go Viking...

Whisper Talker

I love this genre, and in other series, I normally start the next book in the same day, but I found Fin Gall tough to finish, and I'm not sure I'll go on to the next book. There are a ton of names, which makes it tough to follow for a while, partly because so many of them are Gaelic and they kind of blend together. Overall, it's a good story, and not what I have a problem with.

The performer is a whisper talker and doesn't capture the right affect for what's going on in the story. His accents aren't great; particularly for the female Irish characters, but I'd get over that too if it wasn't for the whisper talking.

Terrible Narration

I love these types of stories, but the narrator made it impossible for me to enjoy it. Viking stories should be told with a whisper, but that is exactly how it’s done here. Made it to chapter 4 before I couldn’t take anymore. Disappointing, might have been a good story.

outstanding

hard to believe but I enjoyed this more than the saxon stories. an absolute must read

Interesting Historical Fiction Epic

I enjoyed this epic series and could visualize the story as it played out. If you enjoy historical fiction, I think you'll enjoy the series too.

I couldnt finish it

What would have made Fin Gall - A Novel of Viking Age Ireland better?

A different Narrator

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

I couldnt get passed 20 minutes . weirdly at the end of every sentence the narrator sounded like he was touching himself ... Even weirder was the narrators voice acting wasnt bad .. whenever he spoke as a character it was ok but as soon as he went back to the narrators voice he put on a weird pervy voice

Would you be willing to try another one of Shaun Grindell’s performances?

No

What character would you cut from Fin Gall - A Novel of Viking Age Ireland?

the narrator

Any additional comments?

It actually sounded like the story may have been ok .. I couldnt forgive the poor perfomance of the narrator though

6 of 11 people found this review helpful

Excellent

Unlike some similarly themed books, this one has a strong storyline so it's not JUST endless repetitive battle scenes.