Wendigo Fever

Warden, Book 1

By: Kevin Hardman

Narrated by: Mikael Naramore

Length: 2 hrs and 55 mins

Publisher's summary

Part lawman, part tracker and part magician, the Wardens are monster-hunters - tasked with protecting the people from the various, nightmarish creatures that have invaded the world of men. However, despite being descended from a long line of Wardens, 16-year-old Errol Magnus believes it to be the absolute worst job on the planet: How could a single occupation simultaneously be the most boring, abominably stupid, and extraordinarily dangerous profession imaginable?

But when his older brother Tom - the current Warden for their region - goes missing, Errol has no choice but to enter the Badlands, where monsters abide in mind-boggling numbers, to find him. During his search, Errol crosses paths with - and finds himself stalked by - the legendary Wendigo, a monster with preternatural strength and speed, as well as enhanced senses of sight, smell and hearing...and an insatiable hunger for human flesh.

Now Errol must do the impossible and not only escape from the monster (something no one has ever done before), but also avoid the unearthly legacy it leaves on all its victims - a terrifying curse known as Wendigo Fever.

©2013 Kevin Hardman (P)2017 Kevin Hardman

Great Start to a Series

What made the experience of listening to Wendigo Fever the most enjoyable?

I quickly was drawn into the story of Wardens and their dangerous jobs fighting monsters.

What did you like best about this story?

The MC, Errol Magnus, was a very believable character. Typical for a teenager, not quite sure what he wants to do with his life. And as a younger sibling, Errol had a difficult time finding his confidence in himself. I found it very applicable to real life.

What about Mikael Naramore’s performance did you like?

His male voices were great. Female a bit harder, making them sound older and less attractive than I would believe. Overall, great emotion in the narration. Really felt like I was a part of the story!

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

no, nothing extreme. It was an action story, so it was thrilling, but no tears. There were funny parts, showing wit and sense of humor. There was a "Ha" here and there, but not a guffawing type of laugh ;)

Any additional comments?

I received this audiobook for free in exchange for an honest review

Enjoyable quick read!

This was an enjoyable novella length story. It's kind of an urban fantasy YA. Really well done and engaging from start to finish. The narration of the audiobook was excellent!

4/5 ⭐

What a great adventure!

This was a really well told adventure story! Some of the elements of the setting and the creatures reminded me of the book The Talisman by Stephen King and Peter Straub, but this was definitely not as bleak or depressing. Errol is a great character and Kevin Hardman captured the essence of a frustrated teenager tasked with duty beyond his years perfectly. I loved the length of this and getting exposition into it so that we know what is going on, as well as being able to tell a story without the whole thing being *only* explanation, in that amount of time took a lot of storytelling skill. I can't wait to find out more about what happened to Tom, to learn more about this setting and to get to know more about Errol as he matures.

Entertaining

Two brothers show what true family is all about. The action was fast paced and kept the story going.The narrator did a fine job with the story that was well developed and complete in less than three hours. As a side commentary, all of those authors who drag you through hours and hours some even ten or twelve hours and end their book in a cliffhanger. You should listen to this one and follow suit. Cliffhangers make readers like me angry. When one brother goes missing the other seeks to find him. I got this book via audiobook boom. I voluntarily reviewed this story.

Great mystical story updated

I was gifted this audio ARC for a honest and unbiased review from the author/narrator
Kevin Hardman knows how to write a great book about magic, I loved the different creatures that made appearance. I was actually a little surprised at the ending.
I loved Mikael Naramore's narrating of this book. He did a great job with the different male voices fell a bit flat on female voices making them sound old.
This book was rated as a YA fiction but I feel anyone could listen to it. Use your credit towards this book.

from my husband he also says 5 stars all around

The basis for this story is a very interesting one. The idea of having a police force to protect you from magical being, was refreshing. The narrator brought you along in a fascinating and enthusiastic way. This allowed you to live the adventure and not just listen to it. There were several twists in the plot line that kept you guessing as to where the story was going. This made the listening that much more enjoyable. I look forward to the next book in the series.

A portal to a world of monsters

Man's hubris sees him searching for parallel worlds, only to open a portal to a world full of monsters and magic. Those monsters come streaming into our world, causing the collapse of civilisation as we know it.

Wendigo Fever, the first book in the Warden series, is set years after that collapse, as humans pull themselves back up in a changed world. Wardens are magical rangers, acting as game wardens for communities. Errol is the younger brother of a warden and in training to become one himself. When his brother goes missing Errol must step up into the role, at the same time as a dangerous Wendigo appears in the area.

Wendigo is a short novella, but a good introduction to the world. It may have actually been hurt by it's shorter length, because there is a reasonable amount to set up with the world and how it works - the history or how the monsters came about, what happens in the cities, what the wardens are, what each monster encountered is etc. And that's before we get into the characters or the actual plot.

Errol, the main character, is fairly fleshed out but pretty much all of the other characters don't get the full treatment. This is likely due to there just not being the space in such a short story.

The plot here is enjoyable, although not particularly strong. It's a "monster of the week" type story, with Errol chasing down and stopping a monster. The strongest and most interesting parts are those hints and ideas that push at wider world and that else is going on, rather than the main story. It is well told, and it hints at more in the future, but it's not super engaging by itself.

With the ground work done with this book, and the hints and setups provided, future books should have a very good basis to work off of and I think would be promising.

Narration by Mikael Naramore is good. He performs the book, imbuing each character with emotion and personality to pull them off the page. He is clear and well paced and enjoyable to listen to.

I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher.

A Very Enjoyable Short Story.

From the writer and narrator combination that brought us the Kid Sensation novels comes a new series. Wardens are magic users that protect rural towns from all manner of supernatural beasts and predators. Sixteen-year-old Errol Magnus came from a long line of Wardens. Yet Errol had no interest in being a Warden. He much preferred to go live and work in a big city far away from Warden work. Of course, with Errol's older, strong-willed brother being the current Warden, Errol had no choice but to be trained in the family business.

Learning the family trade was one thing, but When Tom never comes home from a mission that should have only taken a few days, the townsfolk eventually begin to treat Errol as the new Warden. Errol wants no part of the job, but soon enough, he finds himself performing dangerous Warden duties.

Between the writing and the narration, “Wendigo Fever” is a wonderful fantasy story that’s worth your time. My only complaint is that it was a short story instead of a full-length novel.

good start to series

hooked from beginning with older brother's variant of courage is getting done what needs to be done when you are afraid

Supernatural tv show as a book

I absolutely love the tv show Supernatural and the main characters in it. This book sort of reminds me of this especially since it does start with two brothers and one is in charge of keeping supernatural forces at bay and out of the realm of the everyday human life. There are obviously differences as they can use magic to hunt these things but it’s definitely a great fast action read.

I really enjoyed the story. I started with the KS

I started​ with kid sensation and really like that series, so I thought I'd try this series since it has the same author and narrator.
I was not disappointed