Legacy of Light

The Compendium, Book 1

By: C.D. Tavenor

Narrated by: Alix Nicole

Length: 3 hrs and 2 mins

Publisher's summary

If only they knew us as more than accursed.

The Holy Empire hates the People of Light. Maripes, arriving in its capital, seeks to save his people from certain destruction. The Inquisition seeks theocratic justice, and it will stop at nothing to rid the world of those it considers evil. Still, Maripes must try. For, if he fails, doom will certainly befall his people.

Standing in his way? The high inquisitor, the empress, and a million subjects all indoctrinated to believe he is evil incarnate.

Should be an easy task.

Otherwise, his son Mono, a soldier in the legions of their people, will face the fight of his life.

In the end, will Mono's daughter be forced to pick up the pieces of a broken world?

©2019 C.D. Tavenor (P)2020 Two Doctors Media Collaborative

Legacy of Light

I liked the story even though it was shorter than it should have been. The characters were good but needed more detail. The back story is almost non existent. More historical background would have helped the story along and given it more depth. The family conflict within the empires royalty needed background. The conflict between the people of the light and the empire needed more detail to understand the conflict. I n the end a little disappointing.

Fascinating first foray into Fantasy from a friend

Last week I had the pleasure of listening to Narrator Alix Nicole's performance of my friend C.D. Tavenor's first foray into fantasy - Legacy of Light. I thoroughly enjoyed working with Tavenor to produce First of Their Kind last year & its sequel, Their Greatest Game (now waiting for him to listen to it & get me any edits before it goes live on Audible.)

I love when one author can capture such different styles so well. With FOTK & TGG, Tavenor takes in some instances an extreme birds eye view, peppering the story with news bytes from more than 2 centuries. In Legacy of Light, you still get a story drawn out over a more extended period of time, but it is highly personal. The only thing that - were I not already aware that it was the same author - might have tipped me off as to it being by the same author, is Tavenor's again challenging his readers preconceived notions about humanity & what makes us think of something as "normal."

The book is essentially 3 stories & generational in their progression. Each tale is told in first person from the person on whom the People of Light's present & future hinges.

In the first two stories, I found myself wondering, "HEY, Why didn't you call ME to narrate this?" Not that Alix Nicole did an inadequate job as a narrator, but because the person in the story narrating is most definitely male (and, I believe, Orc). Nicole's narration for them is pretty good, and as a male who has narrated female characters, I'm sure some people may take issue with my "female" performances.

When I got to the 3rd storyline in the book, revolving around Ermo, Grandaughter of Maripes (Narrator for story 1), & daughter of Mono (Narrator for story 2), it became apparent why he wanted a female narrator. Ermo is where the story comes to a climax & I'm assuming will be the heroine of forthcoming books in the saga, so it makes sense to have a female narrator.

I enjoy in both this book & in the Chornicles of Theren series, how Tavenor presents his stories in a way that lets the reader stand back & make their own choices about what is right or wrong in the story, though it is apparent that he has his own opinions. In this novel, the usual archetype of Orcs as the bad guys & humans (or elves, or hobbits etc) as the bad guys is turned on its head a little. He teases us in this book with 2 civilizations - the Holy Empire, and the People of Light.

Only one character in this book really has much development, Ermo. The journey she takes is believable & I liked her character progression.



This book is obviously just the start of a series & in some ways really seems more like a teaser than anything else. Some folks may not like that, but I found the world Tavenor has created & Alix Nicole's performance of it engaging enough that I want to know what happens from here & am looking forward to it. Understanding a bit of his writing methodology - I'm sure he's got a long term plan for this world he's created. Maybe I'll even get to narrate some of it. :)

So... Rating it: Plot & General writing - 4.5 stars. It's a little slow at times, but intriguing enough for me to bump it up another half above 4 stars. Narration - 4 Stars. I liked the accents she used for the folks from the Holy Empire. I could have used a little clearer differentiation between other characters, but she still did an admirable job, especially seeing that it looks like this is her first foray into Audiobook production. . I think her first shot beats my first shot. Good luck to her in the future. Maybe we could work together on a dual narration down the road? ;)
And overall... Probably 4.5 stars here too. I was left wanting more! I do kind of wish there had been just a little more in this particular book too. That would have bumped it up to 5

I do kind of think this book might have benefited from dual narration - At least for the first 2 stories, but it didn't really detract for me at all, and Nicole's performance for the Empress of the Holy Empire was excellent. I just wish we got to hear more of her before... well... spoilers..

(I did receive a promo copy of this from C.D. Tavenor, but my opinions are still my own. Thanks. Fun book!)

Enjoyable read, I look forward to the next book

First of Their Kind (Audible Audio) was my first read from author C.D. Tavenor. I never connected to that book, it wasn't bad, just not to my liking. In contrast in this, my second read from the author, all that I didn;t see & connect with in the first read is present. Highly enjoyable! I was given an Audible copy of this book & am voluntarily reviewing it. Narrator Alix Nicole added to the listening enjoyment. I'll need to get the next book in the series, Enemies of Light. (RIP Marley January 20, 2014 - July 24, 2018).

BOOK 1, REALLY WELL DONE & ENJOYABLE

REALLY WELL WRITTEN AND EASY TO FOLLOW.

ACCEPTABLE FOR TEENS AND OLDER.

NARRATOR IS GOOD AND EASY TO FOLLOW.

Great story

I really enjoyed this book. The narrator was very good and brought the characters to life. I am looking forward to more books by this author

alright

it was an alright listen, honestly I almost stopped listening to it but since it was a quick listen I finished listening to it.

An Epic Adventure

This is an epic adventure, a truly magnificent story spanning many years and generations. It's definitely worth the time spent to read (listen) this book.

I listen to audiobooks while working in my studio. This way I can pay attention to what I'm working on and still "read" my book. The narration of this book is very good. Her diction is spot on and she can actually sound like the female or male character she's reading.

This is a great book to listen to in the car, when you're grocery shopping or just relaxing.

A different take.

This is a great audible book. It provides a new (for me at least), look at this genre. I will not supply any answers. I recommend this book. Now for the obligatory: "I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review." "I was voluntarily provided this review copy audiobook at no charge by the author, publisher and/or narrator.”

The People of Light may not be what they seem

Legacy of Light is a story told in multiple parts or sections. It is mostly about one family within the people of light across generations. Each part or section is about a certain generation. The story starts out with one of the people of light, Maripes, trying to find a way towards peace with the other nearby kingdom. He offers his services and to teach them their ways in exchange for trading and passage. But not all want the peace to succeed and some are deadest against it. The later generations all dealing with what happened in the original section.

I like what the author did with the truth behind the people of light and how he turned the tables for the point of view in the story. I think he did a good job. In some cases, the jumps between generations got a little confusing with no background of the current time or situation. I am not sure if this was done purposefully or not. Besides that and a little bit too fast paced, it was a good read. I won’t let stop me from checking out his follow-up to it.

Alix Nicole did a good job on the narration and you could feel the emotion in her voice. She was able to switch between characters without any issue.

Great Story - Well Written & Well Performed!

Great story line! Liked the linking with three successive time frames, building on the history of the previous period. Also really enjoyed the religious undertones throughout the story with the touch of fantasy magic & power. I would definitely listen to the next book in this series!