The Child Prince

The Artifactor, Book 1

By: Honor Raconteur

Narrated by: Cheridah Best

Length: 19 hrs and 48 mins

Publisher's Summary

Sevana Warran, reigning prodigy Artifactor of the age, has absolutely no desire to selflessly serve her fellow man. She wants, in fact, to be left alone so that she can putter about in her workroom.

But her efforts in avoiding other people prove to be in vain. The reigning family of Windamere is no longer sitting upon the throne and the Council has instead taken power. The sole hope of avoiding the evil machinations of the Council is Bellomi Dragonmanovich, Prince of Windamere. As a 21-year-old cursed into the body of a perpetual eight-year-old, he lacks the power and ability to stop the Council.

Sevana, after a judicious review of the situation, decides that she cannot let things continue. If she did, she'd never be left alone and would instead be buried in paperwork if the Council has anything to say about it. So she kidnaps the prince from where he was locked away in the palace and sets about breaking his curse.

Prince and Artifactor quickly realize that simply breaking the curse won't be enough to free Windamere from the Council. It will take training, cunning, allies, information, and more than just a little magic if they are to reclaim the throne.

©2013 Honor Raconteur (P)2014 Honor Raconteur

Too many....hesitations....in...speaking.

What did you love best about The Child Prince?

Who was your favorite character and why?

Sevana, I enjoyed her rebelliousness.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Cheridah Best?

Not exactly, see below comment.

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

No

Any additional comments?

Enjoyed story but was constantly put off by the hesitations of the narrator. Once I noticed the pauses I could not stop hearing them. A good audio editor should have given Ms. Best guidance.

A good story

I was looking for a new author. I've had this book on my Wish List for awhile. I was hesitant to get it due to its length. The cover art seemed to imply a novel for teens and younger. I also have too many audio books that get tedious with such a long duration.Well, I finally decided to give this book a try. I was pleasantly surprised. The book is well done. It has appeal for adults as well as teens. I enjoyed hearing a story were bedroom scenes real and implied were absent for a change. I found the characters interesting and fun. The development of the cursed prince is kept a part of the story. I also enjoyed Cheridah Best reading and character interpretations. There was predictability and surprises. A new world with magic and a touch of steampunk, magical and mythical creatures and a sentient mountain home for added interest. These complimented the main characters. I hope there will be more books from this author. I recommend this book.

Another great start to a 100 star series.

It is official Honor Raconteur has a new series that is as good as the first. There is one very small cloud on my horizon though, the narrator of this one has a speech problem that pulls me up short each time she utters two particular words. Now you may think me hard with it only being two words, but oh dear how it grates on my nerves. These words are ask and else, or if it is said by this narrator, axts for ask (when did they add a T let alone an X?) and elts for else (again with the T?) I mean if you are going to be a narrator it really is important to speak correctly, Yes? Still I cannot blame the author, she is still a great fantasy writer, and I hope she keeps writing for years to come. I cannot say I have wasted credits by buying this one. J

Took me awhile to get through...

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Cheridah Best?

Not sure. Perhaps a male narrator. She just read in a really drawn out fashion, that drove me a little crazy. Luckily I was listening on my Droid app so I could put on speed read at 1.5x. That seemed to work much better, making her sound like she was speaking at a normal speed. I did really enjoy some of her voices. BUT Bel's grown up voice sounded like his childs voice. His child voice was quite good, for a child, but for an adult it was really bad. This made it very hard for me to picture him as grown up when he sounded like a four year old. All in all I think she was an OK narrator, but could have used a better editor/ producer to guild her. And perhaps this book just wasn't aa good fit for her...

Any additional comments?

This is a long book. Honestly it could have been shorter but it wasn't. Which I'm still debating with myself about. I kind of just viewed it as a TV series, with multiple episodes and the length worked in its favor then. I also enjoyed it much better with that mindset.

Well crafted story, but for younger audience

This is a well written story, with a solid storyline and good world-building. Very family friendly. I think it's probably best targeted at 10-15 year olds. The plot is fine, but a bit shallow for adults. The narrator speaks VERY slowly, however, after playing back at 1.3 - 1.4x it sounds almost normal. Yes, THAT slowly.

Protagonists actually practice problem solving!

I appreciate that the characters actually work through problems with critical thinking, brain storming, and other real problem solving techniques rather than letting other people think for them.

Fun but a bit longer than needed

This is definitely not an epic fantasy adventure but it is a clean (no gore, sex, or language) fun read if you are not in hurry. I think it would have benefitted from an editing chopping it down to more like 10 hours. The narrator is fine.

A bookworm addicts dream IF one enjoys this genre

At first I was hesitant due to one review said this book was 'too long' or 'lengthy' and I was afraid that meant the story was not up to the length it took to tell. But what I wanted was a book that would last more than a week. I took up audible due to I read through books so fast that it coast a lot (2,000 pages in less than 28 hours) plus it is hard to read and do chores while cleaning or cooking.

This book goes into clear details of rules of the magic and is rich in detail alone in written part to see the world also this acting for the book immerses you to enjoy the drama, comedy, and such you could see it like a movie.

Tedious

What would have made The Child Prince better?

Better dialogue, and less of it.

What do you think your next listen will be?

Cress

What didn’t you like about Cheridah Best’s performance?

She did a great job at the young prince's voice as a young child, but as an adult I didn't want to listen to baby talk.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

disappointment

Any additional comments?

I wish I had paid attention to what some of the other reviewers said and not purchased this book/audio. I haven't listened past chapter 7 (drudgery the entire way) and when I skipped ahead to see if anything actually happened I came across the same dull conversations. Just not bored enough to continue; this was a disappointment. I read a lot of juvenile fiction and this was still too baby for me. If I ever finish the book and change my mind, I'll repost.

An Excellent Adventure

A delightful fantasy adventure with a practical minded character. A story worth enjoying multiple times!

A good story wrecked by narration

I enjoyed this story but Oh, how I wish I'd read it rather than listening. The narrator's Jackanory style, poor pronunciation and inattention to emphasis seriously spoiled the story. The unusual plot and many loveable characters leave me wanting to know the sequel. That, though, will be the Kindle edition.

A bit drawn out

Not nearly as good as other series of books like Henri Davenport and others. Too long and often too wordy with unnecessary descriptions or padding.