Grendel's Labyrinth

John Decker Series, Book 4

By: Anthony M. Strong

Narrated by: Jet Malakai

Length: 7 hrs and 19 mins

Publisher's Summary

A terrifying force unleashed on the Irish countryside.

Under a ruined monastery near the quaint village of Clareconnell, a labyrinth of caves hides a dark secret. The remains of Grendel. Defeated by Beowulf and entombed there by the Danes, he has remained hidden for 1000 years, guarded first by warriors, then by monks, and finally by the villagers themselves.

But nothing stays lost forever.

A team of archaeologists are excavating the monastery and searching for his grave. Because Grendel’s bones may hold the key to a medical breakthrough that could change the world.

When John Decker, newly recruited to the shadowy organization called CUSP, arrives in the Emerald Isle to retrieve the bones, he discovers that there’s more to this idyllic village than meets the eye. For Clareconnell has a dark and shameful past, and now that the caves have been opened, the villagers must pay for their sins...

This is book four in the John Decker series, but it can be heard as a stand-alone novel. If you are a fan of James Rollins, Douglas Preston, Lincoln Child, and Steve Alten, you will love the John Decker series. 

©2020 Anthony M. Strong (P)2020 Anthony M. Strong

John Decker chasing monsters in Ireland

Ireland is known for its mystical lore and assorted magical creatures. Yet somewhat strangely, Decker and company are there chasing a traditionally Scandinavian beast... Grendel of Beowulf fame.

As we begin the story, John is now a member of CUSP and on his first official mission. An archeological dig, sponsored by CUSP needs looking into. Sure enough, not long after they arrive in a semi-creepy little neighboring village, things at the dig go bad. The rest of the book is mostly the team trying to get a handle on things while butting heads with the locals.

The story was fine, and moved along at a decent clip, but seemed a bit... light, for lack of a better term. Kind of like an idea for a story stretched to fit a novel length when a novella might have been a better fit. Why is CUSP looking for Grendel? The answer seems like kind of a long stretch to me. Still enjoyable, just not great.

The narration...Jet Malakai does a decent job on the most of the voices and gives, what I expect is, a good Irish accent when needed. But... his voices for the local women of the village were...umm... not good. Everytime I heard one of them, I was pulled out of the story and vividly reminded of numerous Monty Python sketches of...they all sounded like the sketches. I found this somewhat odd because his non-local female voices were just fine.

I do recommend this book as light reading. It's pretty much standalone, with only a few references to previous adventures. Language is pretty clean. Sex is suggested but not gone into. Drinking... it's Ireland in a novel...of course there is drinking. Violence... yes, of course. Should John Decker be in therapy for PTSD rather than galavanting around fighting monsters? Probably, but where is the fun in that?

Narrator for Grendels Labyrinth

This narrator has caused me to send one book back so decided to soldier on with this one. He is horrid! Female characters are a joke! I’ll not listen to another book w him as narrator.

A Good Story With a Lousy Narrator

This is an entertaining story, albeit somewhat predictable. It's spoiled by one of the worst narrators I've ever heard.

First, he reads as if he's reading to schoolchildren. His voicing of the women characters is just plain awful. He uses a screechy falsetto that hurts the ears and is totally devoid of nuance or emotion. All the women are voiced in the same screechy falsetto, no differentiation at all.

Finally, Decker, an American, sometimes speaks in an Irish brogue.

I'll never listen to another book from this narrator.

Another Home Run

Another great book. Got in the prologue. I like the way he pulls characters from myth & spins a mystery

Honest review even though I received book free

loved it

i loved this. The story is captivating and the use of myths and legends is amazing. I'm hoping for the next installment soon.

Definitely some of the worst accents ever

Definitely some of the worst accents I have ever listened to
But the story was quite good