The Book of Deacon

By: Joseph Lallo

Narrated by: Karyn O'Bryant

Length: 17 hrs and 15 mins

Publisher's Summary

Myranda Celeste is a young woman more interested in staying alive than being a hero. Orphaned by a continent-spanning war that has gone on for decades too long and shunned for failing to support it, she has been on the move since she was only a child. One can hardly blame her when she thinks that the chance discovery of a fallen soldier's priceless cargo is the moment that will change her life. No one could predict just how great that change would be. It will lead her through an adventure of rebels and generals, of wizards and warriors, and of beasts both noble and monstrous. Each step of the way will take her closer to the truth of her potential, of the war, and of the fate of her world.

©2013 Joseph R Lallo (P)2013 Tantor

I kept waiting to care

The storyline sounded great and Amazon posted an average rating of 4.5, plus I LOVE fantasy novels, so I thought, what could go wrong. About 4 hours in, I realized I just didn't care about this character or what happened to her. She meanders from town to town, and although on her own for years, is so clueless about personal safety, I don't see how she lived 2 weeks on her own. The biggest flaw -- nothing interesting ever happened. I don't understand how a magical, war torn world could be boring, but it was. I decided to give up instead of continuing to plow ahead, hoping I would begin to care.

13 of 15 people found this review helpful

Great Books bad narration. My suggestion is kindle

Would you consider the audio edition of The Book of Deacon to be better than the print version?

No.After I read the book I've come back several years later and decided to give it a shot on audible as I like to do that every-once in a while with an old favorite. After trying to listen then going back and reading the book it's disappointing.

What did you like best about this story?

The story was great still within my favorite 3 books. Although considering this was my bridge to reading/listening to books since it was my first novel maybe I'm a bit biased.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

she seems to emphasize when she should not and just overall is annoying, does not seem to be that good of a fit.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No simply because it's to long. I can't stay still for that long and just focus on it. In the kindle version I was going through 5-6 hours of reading a night at points but I just could not do it with this narrator.

Any additional comments?

Although this might not be one of the best novel's out there it's a very good pick in my opinion and it's well done considering when Joseph Lallo made this he was working mostly as an IT guy I think and this was just a hobby and his first book.If you want to get this book my suggestion is the Kindle Version.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

Good narrator. OK story.

The narrator has a pleasant voice and did a good job of keeping the different character's voices distinctive. I enjoyed this adventure and am looking forward to finishing the trilogy plus extras. I purchased the anthology before I finished listening to this audible eBook. This book had everything including dragons, a foxman, dwarves, elves, some sort of wraiths and other magical creatures. This book begins a sort of quest to fulfill a prophecy to end a century long war. My only issue was that the heroine, Myranda's character is somewhat inconsistent. At some points she balks at the simplest requests such as to cook her own dinner then she has her life completely mapped out without her even offering a complaint or oppinion. Also her sudden perfect ability to learn entire branches of elemental magic in mere days is annoyingly convenient. I prefer to watch a character work hard to gain knowledge and skills.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Normal girl extraordinary circumstances

what starts as a down and out girl ends with her saving the world but never losing sight of where she came from and who she used to be.

miranda's problems, except for the magical ones, could be anyone living in a far north area.

awesome start of series

I love the start of the series and the progression of the characters. looking forward to the rest of the books.

First audio book

Loved it, great emotion from the narrator and fantastically written story. Immediately a favorite of mine.

great book awful narrator

I put the book at 1.3 speed and it was better, it took awhile but the narrator for better around half way, so if you can get that far, you'll really enjoy it.

Good story But got repetitive further in

Loved it at the beginning but struggled to finish it. I don't think I will listen to the rest of the series. The performance was very good.

Could have been done differently

This story is one of my favorites. The only downside was the fact that there was only one person telling the story and not a different person for every character.
That doesn't mean that it was bad the storyteller did a good job of changing voices for the characters.
I would recommend it to anyone that like these types of books.

really good

the book was well written, following a the story arc without tons of tangents to explain things that dont progress the story. The narration was really well done and each voice different enough to discern each character with ease.

Surprised how much I loved it.

This story has been slightly different to my normal choice but I have loved it. Already downloaded the next in the series.

A great introduction to this world

meandering but so interesting. There are many interesting characters and sub stories going on in this book. Love the characterisation and development of the secondary characters and the incidental every day descriptions. Look forward to returning soon.

I do like the story but there are dialogue issues

Would you try another book written by Joseph Lallo or narrated by Karyn O'Bryant?

I would like to read another book by Joseph Lallo but there are some technical issues with his writing. There are far too many 'he said' and 'she said' which spoils the audio book so I think I might read the actual book.Karyn O'Bryant is a good narrator.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Myn the dragon

Which scene did you most enjoy?

They were all very similar.

Could you see The Book of Deacon being made into a movie or a TV series? Who would the stars be?

It could be made into a movie and possibly Keira Knightly could play Myranda.

Any additional comments?

I believe that show don't tell is better than too much dialogue as the 'he said' and 'she said' has driven me mad!Myranda is a little too perfect and although she does have her 'heroine' flaws they aren't quite enough.

The Book of Deacon

Where does The Book of Deacon rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This story is great but could use some work, there is something great about it, but it could be better. Worth listening too, but not as good as some of the others I have in my library.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Book of Deacon?

The time spent in the belly of the beast was great.

What three words best describe Karyn O'Bryant’s performance?

It wasn't a bad performance by Karyn O'Bryant, the voices were all unique and recognizable each time; however, there was times in the narration where it was the exact cadence and pacing for telling a bedtime story and made me a bit sleepy, especially when I listened to this all in one go and this is a long book so been up a long time listening.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes definitely. The story was packed with action like most books wrote by men tends to be, full of fighting, violence, and battles.

Any additional comments?

A few things I find confusing in the plot line, but that's because it hasn't been entirely explained yet. I don't think the sword will be explained fully until a future book.