The Case Files of Aldicus Vescard

De: Mark William Chase

Narrado por: 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

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…

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.

Great performance and story

Absolutely loved this blend of Sherlock Holmes and fantasy. I wasn't sure where it was going at first, but it really came together and referenced back to everything along the way in some good "aha" moments.

Steampunk Sherlock Holmes.

Loved the Sherlock Holmes style characters though the steam punk terminology can get a bit overwhelming at times.

Steampunk Sherlock Holmes

Aldicus Vescard is a detective. Some time ago, in a magical accident, he got turned into a magic infused monster, but another mage managed to put magic-nullifying Severite bracers on his arms. Aldicus is now normal, but he's cut off from magic now. When things get really grim, he can remove the cuffs.

Initially, it seems like these case files are all short stories with the same characters. But they are pretty good, lots of nice stories with a Sherlock Holmes vibe. One difference: Magitech explanations all over the place.

After a few chapters, it becomes obvious that the case files are interconnected, mainly due to the "shadow man" character and the organization he represents. Phil Thron is a top notch narrator. Highly recommended.

I greatly enjoyed this. As a writer, I'm often looking for sources to steal from, and the writing here is great.

A really good book!!!

Thanks so much for doing in narrated book. Great character development rich in detail very steam punk.

Uneven but enjoyable

Inspired by Sherlock Holmes, but set in a steampunk universe, the story seems to also follow the shape as a short story collection. Over time both the world and an overarching story take shape - similar to a TV show - for the story to escalate in a grand third act.

The format is interesting, giving us time to get know the characters, but it also leaves me with a feel of a collection. While short stories are nice to build a universe over time the pacing doesn't work as well as a first arc. To make things enjoyable I had to adjust me.listening pattern within the book l, which is odd for a single book.

As long as you are aware and don't mind the format, you get a well written book in an interesting world that is exceptionally well read.