Forging Hephaestus

By: Drew Hayes

Narrated by: Amy Landon

Length: 26 hrs and 58 mins

Publisher's Summary

Gifted with meta-human powers in a world full of capes and villains, Tori Rivas kept away from the limelight, preferring to work as a thief in the shadows. But when she's captured trying to rob a vault that belongs to a secret guild of villains, she's offered a hard choice: prove she has what it takes to join them or be eliminated.

Apprenticed to one of the world's most powerful (and supposedly dead) villains, she is thrust into a strange world where the lines that divide superheroes and criminals are more complex than they seem. The education of a villain is not an easy one, and Tori will have to learn quickly if she wants to survive. On top of the peril she faces from her own teacher, there are also the capes and fellow apprentices to worry about, to say nothing of having to keep up a civilian cover.

Most dangerous of all, though, are those who loathe the guild's very existence. Old grudges mean some are willing to go to any length to see the guild turned to ash, along with each one of its members. Even the lowly apprentices.

©2016 Andrew Hayes (P)2017 Tantor

A Nice Surprise with some Really Fun Characters

I usually find superhero universes really hard to suspend disbelief in, and am thus not a big seeker of of superhero fiction. I did enjoy one of the authors' other series though, and thought the length of the book made for a decent value, so I went for Forging Hephaestus.

As the ratings imply, I am really glad I listened to this book. The story was nuanced and the author was decently skillful at leaving the sources and function of the various powers up to the reader's imagination while still establishing that there were limits. My favorite aspect of the book, though, were the characters. Their personalities were great; they were colorful, and left just enough to the imagination for me to really turn them into believable characters.The main hero suffers ever so slightly from a lack of strong motivation, but beyond that is fun to root for and see what she does next. After listening to this author's writing in different series now, I am really impressed and delighted by his characters.

There are some comments in other reviews about the narrator's performance, but I honestly did not notice any of the negative points about the narration. The voices were distinguishable and clean, and not overacted. I was very pleased with this listen and am interested in listening to the next book in the series.

58 of 59 people found this review helpful

Would a Guild of Han Solos be so bad?

Unlike his Super Powered series, which leans toward the optimistic side, this is more realistic (as much as a book of super heroes CAN be). The "Capes" get caught up in the glitz and glamor while the "Villians" end up doing the good (but not for noble reasons, just because "chaos" is not profitable). I love the characters and the back stories are awesome! Zealous is a personal favorite!

Keep it up and I look forward to Ivan's tiptoe on a razor's edge of power and sanity! Well done!

40 of 41 people found this review helpful

A+++

Being a "Villan", class 101.

I love almost all of Hayes's work and this is one of the better ones.

Great worldbuilding, tons of action, unique characters.

Amy Landon did great as narrator, giving each character it's own voice.

18 of 19 people found this review helpful

A solid story from the villains POV

This is an interesting one in the hero tropes...a book about the bad guys that both exemplifies why they are the bad ones and at the same time, shows you the true human qualities of each one without being one dimensional. Sure there are those who want violence for violence sake but the majority don't head in that direction for some truly logical reasons.
The story is snappy, well put together, and believable in the interactions between the individuals. I particularly like that there is really no true good or bad overall, just an interesting grey of ideals that are dealt with accordingly if crossed (and spectacularly gory in some spots).
And lo to those that bring about the inner demons of some of the big bads and unleash them on others. Fornex can be god damned terrifying when he wants to be.

Highly recommended. Would like to see more of these characters later on in a sequel!

8 of 8 people found this review helpful

Well written and engaging anti-hero story

Would you listen to Forging Hephaestus again? Why?

When the sequel eventually drops I'll likely give this book another listen. I listen to enough books that a refresher is usually necessary. It would be fun listening again, the book was well written enough to be entertaining even with knowledge of the plot.

What other book might you compare Forging Hephaestus to and why?

Super Powereds, also by Drew Hayes. It's a similar story of anti-heroes gaining acceptance and overcoming adversity. They're both well paced and entertaining.

What does Amy Landon bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

The narrator did a great job. The voices were all distinct and memorable. She brought them to life very well.

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

It didn't quite grab me enough to keep me from doing other things, but it was definitely one I looked forward to hitting play on in the morning.

12 of 13 people found this review helpful

GREAT BOOK

Amy does a fabulously great job. Drew has such a good mind for hero's and villains. He adds so much for the reader/listener to see in their mind as the story rolls on.

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

Surprisingly good story and narration

I bought this during the $4.95 sale a couple of weeks ago. The villains side of the super hero genre has been done seemingly to death but since I'd just finished the Sanderson Reckoners series I have this a try. The characters were likeable and had some depth. Since I just finished the Reckoners I was making constant comparisons to that universe and they certainly had similarities but that might just be the genre.

The action is well told. The author doesn't get tied down explaining every nuance of the world despite it being a long book. The character development has a good pace. There are plenty of plot hooks despite having a pretty good resolution. I hope Drew Hayes continues this series.


The reader felt to be a good fit to the female lead in the story.

10 of 12 people found this review helpful

Solidly entertaining

If you've ever read Brandon Sanderson's The Reckoners series - YA superheroes (anti-heroes) super villain - this is basically an adult version. Not that the plots are the same, or even similar, but the core concepts are familiar. There are elements of D.C. and Marvel comics, and just a whole lot to like in this book.

If one were to look for the weakness in this book it would be character development and world history. Not so much that we don't come to understand the characters, because we do, but that it stretches even superhero credulity that superhero or metas could master their skills and be inducted into their 'roles' (being deliberately vague to avoid spoilers) in a matter of weeks of training and testing.

This book was good. Really, good, actually. But it's missing the carefully thought out and meticulously obsessive structure and revision of the kingkiller chronicles or the deliberate almost frustratingly slow training and growth of understanding in the wheel of time.

Of course this isn't high epic fantasy, and this isn't Patrick rothfuss, Robert Jordan, or Brandon Sanderson; its Drew Hayes. But this prolific young author has published an astonishing selection of fiction and they only appear to improve with practice.

While this book could have benefited from being 30% longer and a better developed and less predictable plot; it was nevertheless good enough for me to write a real review - which I'm very rarely inspired to do.

Great book. Great start to a new series, and hopefully a sign of more goodness to come.

Whether you like fantasy, comics, or just want to lose yourself in a good book, Forging Hephaestus is a an excellent option for your next read.

10 of 12 people found this review helpful

Ok, good enough value

To keep it short, it was kind of like a Chinese buffet. Neither the story, nor the narration were particularly great. It was rather predictable, and the characters were a bit flat. But there was a lot of it, and all of it was at least OK. If the next book is as long, I would probably pick it up. If I had credits and nothing else I was really craving was coming up.

5 of 6 people found this review helpful

marathon it! trust me!

an awesome new series by Drew Hayes.
Amy Landon narrates spectacularly. I turned on the audible and didn't turn it off until it was finished. I wish there would have been more jobs and even though the book was a great length as the chapters ticked away I kept wishing it would not end, as I feel about every Drew Hayes novel.

18 of 24 people found this review helpful

Yet another masterpiece

Thoroughly enjoyed this book. Can’t recommend it high enough pace throughout and a great story line

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

Excellent! Enjoyed much more than expected!

Great listen, very interesting to hear from a villains' viewpoint. Loved the humor twined through.

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

An awesome Supervillain book

A great Supervillain book showing nicely the trials without being ridiculous. the sorry flows well and the characters feel believable with no one being excessive 2d. Credit to the Narrator for a brilliant performance that pulls you into the book.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

A brilliant story, good narration.

Brilliant book, some of the voices sound the same and the men's voices especially sounded old even when they weren't old characters necessarily, but it was a brilliant story and Amy Landon did do a good job at narrating it despite those two small little issues. It really is worth a read/listen. I can't wait for the second installment, keep up the amazing work!

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

You are simply missing out if you don't listen to this.

The start of what I hope will be a long running story. A origin story of a morally flexible but loveable lead, building through the trials finding their feet to a most entertaining end with great hope for more to come.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Brilliant

I enjoyed the super powered series by the same. author this is set in a similar but different universe and is even better. Great characters and we'll paced story.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

If powereds was avengers then this is daredevil :)

Any additional comments?

after listening to drew hays other books (which where quite good) i was expecting the modula and episodic writing from his web series powereds, but i was happily surprised. this felt a lot more cohesive than his other works.

the story is excellent the characters relatable and the powers unique and interesting. for me it hits the perfect mix of light heartedness and large epic superheroes/villains both with dark motives.

the performances was well done and very immersive and i hope if the series is continued that Amy Landon will continue to narrate.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

simple pleasures

Different take on the world of supers. entertaining way to cover a lot of driving miles.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Utterly utterly Awesome!

Been ages since I was gutted to reach the end of a book but I was unbelievably gutted to each the end of this

What a great listen, characters were well rounded and compelling, the story was a rollercoaster ride and the narration was perfect

Come on Drew get your Pen out and get the sequel out NOW!!!!!

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

A nice look at superheroes and supervillains

an enjoyable story from start to finish. I look forward to the next book when it comes out.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful