Prince of the Blood

By: Raymond E. Feist

Narrated by: Peter Joyce

Length: 16 hrs and 48 mins

Publisher's Summary

This Author's Preferred Edition of Raymond E. Feist's best-selling coming-of-age saga celebrates the 15th anniversary of its publication. Feist introduces a new generation of readers and listeners to his riveting novel of adventure and intrigue, revised and updated as he always meant it to be written. It is a work that explores strength and weakness, hope and fear, and what it means to be a man - in a kingdom where peace is the most precious commodity of all.

If there were two more impetuous and carefree men in the Kingdom of the Isles, they had yet to be found. Twins Borric and Erland wore that mantle proudly, much to the chagrin of their father, Prince Arutha of Krondor. But their blissful youth has come to an end. Their uncle, the king, has produced no male children. Bypassing himself, Arutha names Borric, the eldest twin by seconds, the royal heir. As his brother, Erland will have his own great responsibilities to shoulder. To drive home their future roles, Arutha sends them as ambassadors to Kesh, the most feared nation in the world. Borric and Erland will be presented to the Queen of Kesh - the single most powerful ruler in the known world - at her 75th Jubilee Anniversary.

But they have not even left Krondor when an assassination attempt on Borric is thwarted. Aware that he is being provoked into war, Arutha does not rise to the bait. His sons' journey will not be deterred, for nothing less than peace is riding on it. Yet there is to be no peace for the young princes. When their traveling party is ambushed, Borric disappears and is presumed dead - sending Erland into spirals of rage and grief as he is forced to navigate alone the court intrigues at Kesh. But unbeknownst to anyone, Borric lives and has escaped his captors. In a strange land, with a price on his head, Borric must use all his wits and stamina to find his way back to his brother.

On separate paths, the two men - one a fugitive and one a future king - make their journey toward maturity, honor, and duty. For every step they take could sway the fragile peace of the land, as those who crave war rally against them - and become ever more daring.

©2017 Raymond Feist (P)2017 Random House Audio

Great book, bad narrator

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Sure I would, but I would warn of the narrator. He sounds the same with all the characters..

What didn’t you like about Peter Joyce’s performance?

Wow, that you had this question must mean you know his performance was lacking. All his mature male chars sounded alike. The empress sounded like a man. The women sounds male. The young males sounds like they smoke and drink.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Poor Suli.

Any additional comments?

This is my first review... I think. Anyway, the performance bothered me enough that I had to say something.

5 of 5 people found this review helpful

Great story; abysmal narrator.

This is a great story, but unfortunately it is nearly impossible to listen to. The narrator is nothing short of dreadful, and that might be being generous. His pronunciation of names from the novels is so obnoxious that half the time you don’t know who he is talking to. I grew up reading these novels and just found them on audible. The other narrators of this series are fantastic. I will avoid purchasing books with this narrator in the future. It is truly a shame, because this is a great story.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

great story

love the book. wish the rest available for audible. I also wish that the narrator would pronounce the names correctly

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Terrible Narrator!

How did the narrator detract from the book?

If I were an employed narrator, I would listen to the previous series (if there was a previous series) and learn the names, places, and how to pronounce them properly (by the author's design,) and other ramifications of the book that required me to engage the reader. Especially with a series that spans SO many books and sagas. Raymond E. Feist has been given an injustice with what is currently presented before us... THE PAYING PUBLIC. This makes me think less of Audible in their talent management and distribution.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

"th"=t?

Why would Arutha be read Aruta? That and other strange enunciating is my only issue with this one. Love your books Mr Feist! this is perhaps my 4th time going through them and I wish the series would never end!

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

narrator's pronunciation is off in a few areas

While some of the names were pronounced badly, AruTa instead of Arutha, his character voices were interesting.
Not the best reading I have heard, certainly not the worst.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Great book not so great narrator.

loved the book but the narrator was a turn off. didn't ruin the experience but wasn't the best it could be.

4 of 5 people found this review helpful

Feist is an amazing storyteller

Amazing series. poor performance by the narrator. I am looking forward to the other books in the series to be released.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Great story, not a great narrator

I didn't really like the narrator. I felt that the voices he did for every character who was the slightest bit roguish was exactly the same half-attempt at sounding like a gritty pirate. The voice for the kid was basically a cross between a cockney and pirate. And the empress sounded like a raspy criminal. And the mispronunciations of names like Arutha... Ugh. Compared to Nicholas Guy Smith, the guy who has been doing the other Feist books this guy is terrible.

The story is great though. So... For what it's worth, it's worth getting for the story.

Terrible narration

I read this book a long time ago and was happy to find the series on Audible. I listened to the Riftwar Saga and switching to this narrator was jarring. The tone and voices didn't match the personalities of the characters (giving a gruff attitude and tone to a character that is supposed to be measured, quiet, and deliberate, for instance) and he mispronounced major characters' names. Granted, there are different ways of saying a name but his way of saying their names didn't make sense and more importantly deviated from the narrator of the Riftwar Saga which was irritating. While it's technically a "new" series it's still a continuation of the Riftwar Saga and characters should flow together if you aren't going to use the same narrator.

Not sure I can finish the book the narration is so disappointing which is unfortunate since I was looking forward to enjoying this book (and the next, also narrated by the same person) as an audio book.