Call of the Herald

The Dawning of Power Trilogy, Book 1

By: Brian Rathbone

Narrated by: Chris Snelgrove

Length: 8 hrs and 39 mins

Publisher's summary

Echoes of the ancients' power are distant memories, tattered and faded by the passage of eons, but that is about to change. A new dawn has arrived. Latent abilities, harbored in mankind's deepest fibers, wait to be unleashed. Ancient evils awaken, and old fears ignite the fires of war.

Call of the Herald is book one of The Dawning of Power trilogy.

©2008 White Wolf Press, LLC (P)2013 White Wolf Press, LLC

An enjoyable fantasy adventure

Caitrin, her cousin Chase, and their friends Osbourne and Strom are farmer's kids, living ordinary lives, until events start to close in on them. Their land is about to be invaded by a powerful and expanding empire, and a religious prophecy is about to come to fruition. Uncomfortably for her, Caitrin, it seems, is the Herald of the return of the Comet, which is the symbol or vehicle of a goddess.

With the Comet becoming visible in the sky, Caitrin now has power, and and this teenager who never expected this is quite convincingly inept and clumsy in her first (initially accidental) uses of it. This quickly gets her a reputation as a witch--the dangerous kind that no sensible person wants around.

And of course, no one believes the prophecy about the invasion until the empire's ships are on the horizon.

Caitrin and her friends' efforts to survive the initial invasion while Caitrin struggles to master her new power dominate this first volume, and we begin to get clues to an over-arching story with a longer history than the four friends suspect.

I like these characters. They're good-hearted and fallible. They have some really smart ideas, and they also screw up sometimes. They don't always do the right thing, but they do always try. Even with traumatic events for the kids, and disaster befalling their land, this is, as odd as this may sound, a very good-natured book, and I enjoyed my time with it. I could quibble endlessly on details. Societies with mediaeval-level technology are not going to have rough gender equality. It's just not going to happen because of the birthrate required to keep those societies viable. If the planet (note that there's some suggestion we may not be talking about Earth) really passes through a comet storm every thousand years or so, there are going to be some impacts that are really not good for life on that planet. Who cares? This is a fun book! Go with it!

At least, I had no difficulty doing so, and these are the kinds of things that often make me quite cranky.

Recommended.

Audiobook, so I almost certainly bought it rather than getting a review copy. In any case, I'm reviewing it voluntarily.

Good Book, meh Narration

Any additional comments?

I've already read most of this series, wanted background noise that's better than just music, but less attention grabbing than tv/movies - if that makes any sense. So I like the books enough to want to read/listen to them again. I didn't like the narrator. He was so monotone that it wasn't as enjoyable as hoped. He did well with character voices, and added emotion and inflection there, but the rest of the reading was rather boring, kinda like listening to an automated voice reading. Really glad I didn't pay full price for that audiobook.

4.5 out of 5 stars

Technical stuff:

The good: great quality recording, no hisses, pops, etc.

The bad: the whole book is one track, so listening in multiple sessions can be tricky.

The story:

The good: this is an amazing and amazingly absorbing tale of how the lives of a group of young people become transformed by events totally beyond their imagining. Catrin Volker is a wonderful strong female lead who doesn't fall into the "male" pattern - she remains herself throughout. A great read that I highly recommend for adults and teens!

The bad:

Um, I can't think of anything bad to say about this book.

An okay start, hope the series improves

Is there anything you would change about this book?

It's quite short, which was actually a draw to the book. However, it seems like it's really only a good outline or start to a story. More details are needed - it's as if the author is giving a re-cap summary to the real story.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

Characters need to seem more life-like with greater depth. I'm interested to see what happens next, but not emotionally invested in any characters. Much of the dialog seems aimed at just explaining things to the reader (listener), but does not seem realistic.

Any additional comments?

I'm listening on with the trilogy hoping that this title is just a first effort and the writing and story improves.

Engrossing tale that leaves you wanting more!

Would you listen to Call of the Herald again? Why?

Yes.

In fact, I plan on reading the entire series to date again now that I've been reintroduced in a new way.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Call of the Herald?

At one point, Catrin is chastised playfully by her companions. This literally brought a smile to my face and, believe it or not, a chuckle I could not adequately explain to my wife.

Which character – as performed by Chris Snelgrove – was your favorite?

Simply put, Kenward. I never thought to voice him with a British accent.

Worst? Catrin and Miss Marin... Can't blame him though!

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Of this, I am not certain, though I do know that each trilogy in this series could very easily be made into a film. I would be more than happy to see it in theaters... I normally wait until movies are out for rental via Amazon.

Any additional comments?

Maybe consider another voice actor, if not 2. There are many females coming into the story soon as well as an ever growing cast of males. Snelgrove surely found it painfully difficult giving all of the characters in this opener a unique voice. It would be near impossible to do the same for the rest of the series.

great story

Great story and good storytelling I enjoyed the book from beginning to end I would recommend to anyone

Not bad

It's not a bad story. It kept me engaged but I could put it down. All in all worth the read.

great story, great narrator.

Would you listen to Call of the Herald again? Why?

Yes. It was aan engaging story with characters that had real feeling.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Nat, everyone loves and outcast.

Which scene was your favorite?

Catrin doing a little bass fishing, because I love bass fishing. It was skillfully written, the author must have done that before. You can tell he knows about horses, as a horse owner myself I found his detail accurate. Horses have strong personalities and the author knew how to capture their antics.

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

I liked the cliffhanger with confrontation between Catrin's dad and uncle.

Any additional comments?

Chris Snellgrove is a fantastic narrator, particularly good with multiple voices.

Awesome book - Definitely a must read.

Where does Call of the Herald rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This is my first fantasy audio book so I would have to say #1.

What did you like best about this story?

I loved that the story had really great characters that you could relate to and being able to feel the way they do for some of the situations. The story really brings you in.

What about Chris Snelgrove’s performance did you like?

He did amazing. I loved the voices he gave each character. Wonderful job.

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

The entire book was fantastic, but if I had to choose one part, it would have to be when Catrin decided to stand against the ships and call out to them, giving them a second chance , making them citizens of her homeland. Showing her power by destroying the ships, but also showing the consequences of using so much force without knowing how to control it.

Any additional comments?

If I had to critique this book in anyway I would love a little bit more character development as regards to what they look like. I love having to use my imagination to fill in details, but some small picture should be painted for what some characters look like.

A fine tale!

Great tale. Magic and myth always entertain me. The characters are well drawn and interesting. I really enjoyed the narration and am going to continue reading or listening to the series.