Master of Crows

By: Grace Draven

Narrated by: Jay Britton

Length: 12 hrs and 36 mins

Publisher's Summary

In an isolated fortress, the Master of Crows battles an ancient god for possession of his soul. Renegade and heretic, he dreams of ways to defeat the god and destroy the priesthood who would execute him. Sent by her masters to betray him, a woman comes who possesses a weapon he can use to triumph over both, but only with the ultimate sacrifice. A tale of love and allegiance.

©2005 Denise Shaw (P)2016 Denise Shaw

Miscast Narrator for a Lovely Novel

Would you try another book from Grace Draven and/or Jay Britton?

Grace Draven has become one of my favourite writers of late. Her luscious prose, unique characters and sharp wit are delightful. Jay Britton, not so much.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Silhara, of course. However, Martise, Gurn & Cael also fit the bill.

Would you be willing to try another one of Jay Britton’s performances?

Doubtful. He turned this unusual, charming, funny yet albeit unperfect story in to part BBC newscast and wildly overacted folly. I laughed outloud a couple of times!

Was Master of Crows worth the listening time?

Yes, but only in that I enjoyed the novel by reading it myself prior to listening to the narration. I only bought the narrated copy because I liked the story so much. I did not end up finishing the narration as it completely destroyed the way I read the novel. Ms. Draven's lovely use of language, lor, and humour to envoke the sensuous, the macabre and the saracstic was completely destroyed for me by Jay Brittons performance.

Any additional comments?

Just curious: why was a female narrator not commisioned for this? Not always certainly, but many times I find that I prefer the way a woman reads a book written by a woman unless the book is exclusively from a man's perspective. While this novel was about Silhara's experiences, it was equally about those of Martise and I believe I would have appreciated a female perspective in this case far more. Will there be a narration prepared for the follow-up to MoC - The Brush of Black Wings (which I much prefferred to MoC)?

12 of 12 people found this review helpful

Amazing and unique!

Grace Draven does it again. Awesome story, great narration, and hot like a thousand suns. At first I didn't understand why The Master of Crows had such a gruff voice, but the plot reveals why. And Jay Britton, I commend you on doing such a difficult voice and pulling it off spectacularly! I can't wait for more!

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

Don't understand all the five star ratings

I thought the characters were flat, the romance unconvincing, and the fantasy, while it could have been interesting, pretty much ignored until the last quarter of the book.

While the narration was fine, there were weird pauses every couple of sentences. I think it may have been taken from a CD and no one thought to take out the pauses between tracks. Made it drag more.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Not what I expected

What did you like best about Master of Crows? What did you like least?

Well, I bought this audiobook based on others custumers review, and I expected something more interesting. The book is almost good, in my opinion.
I dislike the way the author presents the "falling in love" of the two principal characters, is so boring and after a time, very obvious. There is no "growing up" of the feelings...

What did you like best about this story?

I think the author made a good job in describe the time where the events were happening.

How could the performance have been better?

I don't know... the story has interesting moments, but as I had difficulty identifying myself with the text, the narration became tiresome.

Any additional comments?

No

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Sublime

Simply sublime, from the exquisite prose to the amazing narration. A thrilling book filled with love and despair, sorrow and joy, and a triumph sweeter than Silhara's delectable oranges. An epic and unforgettable master-work.

2 of 3 people found this review helpful

Grace Draven is a master of her craft!

Ms Draven’s stories are unique and well written. In both this novel and her Wraith Kings series (which I hope she continues) she steers away from the traditional romance and shows us characters who are imperfect and relateable, while, without being overly detailed or diverting from the story line into explanations, she paints worlds and societies that feel tangible. She is a gifted story teller. I both read and listened to this book, and could not turn it off or put it down.

My heart! Silhara and Martise are perfect!

I loved this book, and starting to call myself a fan of the author, 3 books I've listen, 3 books I loved.
Can't wait for a next book!

enjoyed the story, hated the narration

This was a solid, slow-burn fantasy romance story. Probably better off just reading this one though, the narrator sounds like he's reading the news

Keeps Getting Better!

I have both read and listened to the Audible audio book of this story multiple times and it just keeps getting better (which is a tough feat when I considered it 5* across the board already!)
It is a skillfully wrote storyline that pulls at me emotionally.

Entertaining Story with Great Narration

I loved the story and character development. There was fun humor sprinkled in there that had me laughing. The narration was perfect. I love the grit he added to Silhara's voice.

A wonderful story, beautifully told.

I loved this story when I read it last year and I was so excited to know it was coming out in audiobook format too! The characters are so magnetic and although Silhara isn't easy to grow fond of at first, you soon find yourself falling for him. Jay Britton did an amazing job bringing this particular character to life and his very specific voice was perfect.The growing love between the characters is far from predictable and certainly not cheesy. The narrator did a good job in bringing the female character's voice off the page and I was swept away with the story telling from the word go!
A stunning example of Grace Draven's writing and superb narration by Jay Britton.
I would definitely recommend this and am looking forward to further collaborations between Grace and Jay.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Holy Hera that was awesome!

See heading. I loved it. Amazing characters, flaws and all, Totally believable. The real message and places are vibrant and so well explained!

Voice acting was amazingly spot on! How he managed both the ruined throat of a man to singsong voice of a woman in the same sentence shows his talent.