The Case Files of Aldicus Vescard

By: Mark William Chase

Narrated by: Phil Thron

Crime ever turns in the Clockwork City...

Detective Aldicus Vescard knows all too well the monsters and madmen who prowl the fog-veiled streets of Corradon. He is, after all, a monster himself.

Cursed in his errant past, his body now harbors an infernal fiend of pure elemental chaos. Yet none are more suited to investigate those sinister deeds of criminal sorcery than the city’s greatest detective magus.

Aided by his loyal apprentice and the science of forensic alchemy, Aldicus must unravel a deadly string of sorcerous crimes menacing the Clockwork City. But in the decaying depths of the Underworks far below, there festers an even greater evil—a darkness rising to consume not only Corradon, but to ravage their entire world.

The Case Files of Aldicus Vescard recounts a series of interconnected investigations, leading the way to a diabolical mystery more terrible than any Aldicus has faced before.

©2022 Mark William Chase (P)2022 Podium Audio

I enjoyed listening to this because

This kept me entertained while I was busy. I would stop and focus in on what was happening several times.
The world was vividly described and characters were believable.
Occasionally, I wished for more inflections during the narration.
I enjoyed it, and would recommend it.

Enjoyable story, but. . .

I wanted to share a tiny bit of constructive criticism with the narrator who does an otherwise excellent job. The word "automaton" occurs so often that it's repeated mispronunciation becomes oddly distracting. Apologies if the author intentionally put a steampunk "spin" on the word that didn't survive translation from written page to audio.

Bad Magic.

Half the fun of a detective story is trying to determine who the villain is
was before the detective does. in this book there's no hope of that. The magic is convoluted and the magic words are long and arduous, and repeated frequently. Kind of a dull book. The concept has potential, but is executed poorly.

recommend to all who enjoy fantasy

I usually don't like books written with all the flourish put into this one. It works in this case. In fact, I think the story would suffer without it. From clearly made up derivations of real words to the maudlin ending that gives a nod to pulp crime fiction of the 1920s to 1940s, this story entertains. I particularly like the author's methods, setting the stage with chapters more like short stories, then converting to real chapters to tell the story. He also delivered a supurb cadence, tempo, and the right amount of time to each scene. The voice actor interpreted the book well and provided an easy listen. Adding this author and voice actor to my favorites.

Sherlock with a magical twist

Solid story, interesting characters in a clockwork dystopian setting. Worth the read. Some may struggle with the language twists designed to sell the world view…