Lion of Senet

Second Sons, Book 1

By: Jennifer Fallon

Narrated by: Joe Jameson

On the world Ranadon there is no night as both suns shine brightly. The intervention of Belagren, High Priestess of the Shadowdancers, and the sacrifice of a child of royal blood, has banished the Age of Shadows from the skies. Belagren's position is unquestioned...until circumstances begin to tip political rivalries into a deadlier game altogether.

A volcanic eruption rocks the seas separating the Kingdom of Dhevyn and the mainland Kingdom of Senet, and a mysterious sailor is shipwrecked on the island of Elcast. Badly wounded, his arrival stirs up old hatreds and unravels old secrets. His presence is enough to even bring Antonov, the powerful Lion of Senet, to the island and fear to the Keep of the Duke of Elcast.

A strong friendship develops between Dirk, second son of the Duke, and Kirshov Latanya, second son of the Lion of Senet. But will they, and their friendship, survive the chain of events set in motion by the ambitions of the ruthless High Priestess of the Shadowdancers and the domineering Lion of Senet?

This first book of the Second Sons Trilogy establishes Jennifer Fallon as one of the most unique voices in fantasy fiction, as she creates full characters, and takes intelligent plotting to a whole new level in order to establish unparalleled complexity and tension.

©2002 Jennifer Fallon (P)2014 Audible Studios

Critic reviews

"A complex, epic adventure that leaves the reader entirely immersed in another world. There are many threads woven through the story, including a huge cast, but Fallon keeps them from tangling with deft plotting, strong world-building and stand-out lead characters." (Book Reviews)

So excited! One of my favorite fantasy writers

Would you consider the audio edition of Lion of Senet to be better than the print version?

Read the books and they were great and I am also loving listening!

What did you like best about this story?

This series is extremely intricate and the twists and turns all come together perfectly at the end.

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

Only stopped listening to sleep.

Any additional comments?

Excellent writer, excellent story!

Inconsistent character personalities

I found myself breezing through the first half of the book, throughout the second part I started losing interest in the characters since they started acting less and less like humans and more and more like tools the author used to progress the plot, doing things that aren't really what I'd expect them to do based on my 10-15 hours of acquaintance with them and all of their previous actions. The ending wasn't as bad as the climax of the book, which I think I generally disliked.

I find that there were a bit too many coincidences and out of character actions for me to make the story believable.
The writing and narration themselves are good, which is important to note.

All of that said, I'd lie of I'd say I'm not invested in the plot, and chances are I'll pick up the sequel and listen to it as well. Though I don't entirely feel like it.

Joe Jamison makes this book come alive!

The narration is diverse and makes the characters come alive. I cared about the struggles of each of the people who are trying to do their best against the evil that has become pervasive in their world..

Pleasureable Read

Great performance by the narrator. There are a lot of characters to keep up with and he does a great job separating them out.

This is one of my favorite series and being able to listen to it while driving was a great pleasure.

Really enjoyed it

This book started out a little slow, it took me a while to get into it. But then, somewhere towards the middle, it picked up pace and I could hardly "put it down". There's no magic or dragons in this book, mostly characters and politics. But as someone who doesn't enjoy politics-driven plots, this book has a rather different approach to it. While the storyline is being driven by politics and events, you're taken onto this ride with the characters rather than with the plot. You feel their pain and frustrations, their friendships and their losses. Overall, the book is well written and compelling. Most of the characters feel round and believable.
As for the narration: Joe Jameson did an outstanding job with this. He is an amazing actor, and he has such a skill for storytelling, he really makes the story come to life. He's one of the best narrators I've listened to.
On to the second book in the series. ;)