A Looming of Vultures

Ruritanian Rogues, Book 1

By: Richard Storry

Narrated by: Jake Urry

Length: 4 hrs and 57 mins

Publisher's summary

While an ugly war with its neighboring realm continues to rage, the insulated members of Ruritania's upper class laugh and dance their way through their superficial lives. Some people, increasingly disillusioned by the pointless conflict, start to consider how the King might be persuaded - or forced - to end it.

Meanwhile, an increasing number of items of great value are going missing from those attending these high society gatherings. At whom will the finger of suspicion point? Who can be trusted? With so many competing, yet intertwined, agendas, what will be the outcome of this looming of vultures?

©2016 Richard Alan Storry (P)2017 Richard Alan Storry

Highly Recommended!!!

Ruritanian Rogues Book 1 “A Looming of Vultures” By: Richard Storry is a bit outside my normal genre, however, I really enjoyed the story. There’s loads of action and suspense, with enough humor to keep things fun and a twist to keep things interesting. Narrated by: Jake Urry who does an amazing job bringing individual characters to life. Highly Recommend!

double crosses

The games the idle rich play to amuse themselves at the expense of others!! What can one expect? But, more serious crimes are afoot. In the scheme of things Rudy was the lesser of the evils for his deeds and a hero of sorts (along with Willy). The twist at the ending had me on the edge of my seat in anticipation! I enjoyed Willy's spunky nature in dealing with Rudy. Very amusing story. I voluntarily listened to a free copy of this and am giving an honest review. The narrator did a great job bringing it to life.

Great Story, Great Twist.

This story was very interesting. Initially it started out like it was going to be all about royalty and the lavish events they throw. Then it began to morph into a who-dun-it mystery. But it is not a who-dun-it. I can't say more without giving it away, but the plot twists and morphs and in the end, I found myself smiling and anticipating where the flow of the story would go. Very well thought out progression, I am definitely looking forward to book two.

The narration was executed very well. Jake Urry did a fantastic job with the many different voices and characters. His narration really brought the story to life.

I would recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of mysteries or anything with a twisty plot and surprise endings. I also like the short bookend story about the Vulture and his flight for food.

I requested a free review copy of this audiobook and I am leaving a voluntary and honest review.

Entertaining Story

I received this audio book for free in return for an unbiased review.

I enjoyed this book for the most part. I love mysteries and read them often. This plot for this was kind of all over, but the author did a fairly decent job of wrapping it all up.

There was one think I found really irritating. I hate it when otherwise seemingly intelligent people do something really stupid and the rogue thief in this book had one stupid habit that I think an intelligent person would never do. Unfortunately, a lot of the plot hinged on this stupid mistake so I see why the author did it, I think it would have been a better book if the author would have spent more time and figured out a more subtle way of accomplishing the same goal.

The narrator was very good, lovely, velvety English accent, although it probably would have been more accurate to have been a German accent throughout based on the heritage of the people. It didn't bother me as I much prefer listening to an English accent rather than a German accent.

Women didn't add anything

Storry has written a very fun and suspenseful novel! I enjoyed the quirkiness of the two main characters. They have a suave kind of vibe to them and have a lot of fun in this novel! I enjoyed the suspense with the crimes, to see if they would get away with it all. I laughed a lot during this story, which isn't what I was expecting. But I was glad for the laughs. It made the overall experience much better. It flowed pretty well, although I do have to knock a point and a half because of the women. They were very boring and didn't seem to add anything to the story except to exist. I'd like them to be more vocal in Storry's future works. I give the novel a 3.5/5.

The narration is done by Jake Urry! Who is amazeballs! I love his voice. And honestly I could listen to him narrate really anything. Urry has a lot of skill and this story showcased a large range of it. I hope that I get to listen to him in more works going forward. If you're looking for audiobooks just to listen to because of the narrator I highly recommend Urry! Seriously, he can read anything and I will sit for hours! 5/5 stars!

I received this audiobook as part of my participation in a blog tour with Audiobookworm Promotions. The tour is being sponsored by Jake Urry. The gifting of this audiobook did not affect my opinion of it.

A tale of two thieves

A baron with a penchant for taking what he wants in the dead of night as a gentleman’s hobby. A manservant who is along for the thrills and to keep his master safe. Along comes a challenge that can’t be ignored in the form of a safe full of gold deemed uncrackable by the makers. As the crime unfolds a plot to assassinate the king is uncovered, due to his nature he cannot reveal what he knows. What an two rogues do? Listen and find out. I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher.

Clever plot and endearing characters

Ruritania, a country described as laying somewhere East of France and the North of the Mediterranean, has been for a long time at war with Germania. In the midst of this tumult, the upper class is worried about some thefts occurred recently, and the best way to prevent them.

It is not specified when the events in this book occur, but the mention of electricity as a novelty and only within reach of the king, it could translate into late 19th century or early 20th. Being Ruritania an imaginary country, I couldn't help by try to guess in what countries it was inspired. Some names sounded Russian, but other could also have been Prussian. I know this is not relevant to the story but I always wonder about these things!

This book was really enjoyable. The characters were very well depicted, and each one had their own quirks. I especially liked the weird pair formed by Baron Rudolf and Wilhelm, with their never-ending arguments to the point that they resulted really endearing. I didn't share the motivations of the characters but I could understand them and I think Storry did a really good job in creating very vivid characters with down to earth imperfections that made them real.

The plot was cleverly exposed and had a nice pace. The book had me really entertained for more than the first half just to be surprised with interesting twist. I guess this is exactly what happened to the upper class of Ruritania, too busy with meaningless things (but important to them) to be able to see what was really in front of them.

Some things were not explained, like how the bad guys managed to do what they did, but this is part of the charm of this story, which feels sometimes like a fairy tale. I loved every moment of this it, and I enjoyed being distracted by a clever plot, like the people from Ruritania.

Jake Urry's performance was, as always, wonderful. He really brought the characters to life giving the impression of facing real people. He set the right atmosphere with his poweful and velvet-like voice, transporting me to a far away country. Urry has become of of my favorite narrators!

I received this audiobook as part of my participation in a blog tour with Audiobookworm Promotions. The tour is being sponsored by Jake Urry. The gifting of this audiobook did not affect my opinion of it.

A looming of Vultures

Don't judge a book by it's cover and this one falls under this category. I was pleasantly surprised by this book, it was not what I expected at all.
It had plenty of action and suspense which had me turning the page. but it also had some humour, something I love in a book and a twist that kept things interesting.

Brilliant!

This book!!! This surprised me so much. I didn't read the blurb fully and was expecting a high fantasy kind of book filled with war and fighting etc, but what I got was a fun, story that's filled with mystery, murder plots, theft and highly likable characters. I really think you should go into this book blind, it's such fun!!

I adored the duo of Rudolph and Wilhelm. Rudolph is the rich master, but he also has sticky hands and Wilhelm has made him promise not to take anything again. But when one of his friends tells Rudolph about an uncrackable safe he recently got, Rudolph just has to take up the challenge and try to crack it! It helps when his friend entrusts Rudolph with some of the code for the safe. 2 others have the other parts of the code. This is to ensure that nobody other that the owner will have access to the code should he ever forget it. So Rudolph sets off to get the parts of the code and crack the safe! But he finds out something along the way... there is a plot to kill the king! Rudolph has to twart the plot before it's too late.

Rudy and Willy were such great characters!! I know you shouldn't root for the thief but it's hard not to when he is such a lovable rogue!! I was hoping he wouldn't get caught. I loved the dynamics between the two too! I laughed out loud a good few times while listening to it!! Willy threatens Rudy with not making his favourite treat if he keeps stealing, but Rudy wants this last big score to earn more than enough to keep them both comfortably! The author has created some unforgettable characters!!

In all, this is a gem of a book and one I urge everyone to try!!It's extremely well written and entertaining and I can not wait till book 2 comes out!!

Jake Urry was exceptional!! He has such a distinctive voice and it worked so well here. I know he has experience in theater and it shows because he brought the atmosphere and characters to life effortlessly. He didn't just read this, he performed it! He immersed me in the world the author created and I can't recommend him enough!!

Wonderful Tale of Thievery and Treachery

What an entertaining listen! An aristocratic thief, a treacherous murder plot and scrumptious baked goods - sounds like fun to me. Will Rudy finally learn his lesson or is he beyond redemption? Will the assassins succeed or will an unlikely hero save the day? Listen and find out!

I really enjoyed this story. The dialogue between Rudy and his manservant was hilarious and they definitely had an interesting relationship. The action and suspense had me captivated. As for the narration, you can always count on it being great with Jake Urry as the narrator. I would recommend this.

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review. This review is my honest opinion.