The Dwarves

By: Markus Heitz

Narrated by: Matthew Wolf

Length: 22 hrs and 32 mins

Publisher's Summary

For countless millennia, the dwarves of the have defended the stone gateway into Girdlegard. Many and varied foes have hurled themselves against the portal and died attempting to breach it. No man or beast has ever succeeded. Until now...

Abandoned as a child, Tungdil the blacksmith labors contentedly in the land of Ionandar, the only dwarf in a kingdom of men. Although he does not want for friends, Tungdil is very much aware that he is alone - indeed, he has not so much as set eyes on another dwarf. But all that is about to change. Sent out into the world to deliver a message and reacquaint himself with his people, the young foundling finds himself thrust into a battle for which he has not been trained. Not only his own safety, but the life of every man, woman, and child in Girdlegard depends upon his ability to embrace his heritage. Although he has many unanswered questions, Tungdil is certain of one thing: No matter where he was raised, he is a true dwarf.

And no one has ever questioned the courage of the Dwarves.

©2012 Markus Heitz (P)2012 Hachette Audio

Welcom to Girdlegard

I actually started to listen to this a few months ago and set it aside but boy am I glad I gave it another shot! It is seldom that fantasy stories revolve around Dwarves, in fact they are usually just background characters or a token drunkard or some other cliche. In this story we get to explore dwarves as a race. I cheered for them, I laughed out loud and I even teared up. For me it was about the characters that I couldn't help but want to hear more about them.

It is an adventure story and there are several points of views that you need to keep track of but I believe it was done very well and I eagerly await the next in the series.

If you are interested in high fantasy, this is definitely worth listening to with a clear resolution to it. Yes there are more books in the series but you aren't left hanging.

The narrator was good, giving different voices for the various characters and not once was he distracting but instead pulled me in deeper into the story.

All in all I do believe I will even give this another listen in the future.

Amazing

A lifelong Tolkien and Lewis fan, I’ll say the Dwarves series is the equal of Lord of The Rings. Having read the books in 2015, I’m now listening through the Audible versions. The performance is dramatic and compelling. I’m an avid reader, and Audible user, this is the first review I’ve written. Can’t say enough good things about Heitz. If you like taking a stroll through the pages of Middle Earth or Narnia this is for you. If you’re a Robert Jordan fan, you’ll apprecIate the detail Heitz uses to describe the world and circumstances. A MUST for the fan of adventure.

Like a fantasy action movie

let's get this out of the way, the narration is ASTOUNDING on this one. He really brings each character to life with a myriad of accents and voices.

Like the title suggests, this is an action packed adventure with some slightly clichéd characters. When I say cliché I need you to understand that it isn't necessarily a negative. Yes the archetypes have been done before, but the reason they get retold is because these archetypes are enjoyable to follow on journeys. It's a good read/listen that a recommend to any fan of high fantasy action adventures.

P.S. My kids loved it so if you're looking for something to listen to in the car on a road trip or just as something to enjoy as they slip off to dreamland, this is a kid safe book.

I probably rewound and re-listened 30 times

There was something about this book that was very difficult to listen to. I found myself constantly re-winding the same sections over and over and over again. I don’t know if it was the flow and how it moved from storyline to storyline but I could not keep track of the story. It probably took me at least 20’times to get past the first 45 minutes.

The narrator was great. The story was good - just difficult to follow.

Universally Appealing Bread and Butter Fantasy

The first entry in Marcus Heitz's "The Dwarves" series is a simple sword and sorcery tale that could appeal to everyone who has ever loved The Lord of the Rings, World of Warcraft, or any other fantasy story of similar themes. In a world where fantasy stories are often caught up in sociopolitical messaging or overly technical world building, The Dwarves is much like its subject matter, rational and traditional. In the world of Girdleguard, the power dynamics are easy: dwarves good, elves bad, humans good, sorcerer's bad. It is just the right level of geeky fantasy to appeal to the inner Dungeons and Dragons fan.

In trying to explain the plot of the book, I found myself saying things like, "Tungdi Goldhand, the long lost heir of the dwarves, has to travel with his intrepid companions to the lost Fifthling Kingdom to forge Keenfire in order to stop the evil wizard Nudin the Knowledge Lusty from turning the other magi to stone and taking over the realms of Girdleguard with the power of the Alfar and the Perished Land."

Honestly, after slugging through a parade of modern science fiction and fantasy works caught up in crafting ludicrously complex new worlds and promoting some kind of message, the comparatively simple dwarves eschews technicality for pure story. In this work, the story is at the center, not the world. The narrative takes precedence and all details about the world are tastefully introduced via the conduit of the characters who are experiencing it.

Chief among them, Tungdil, is a great character who provides a fine fence for the audience as his curiosity about the realms of Girdleguard translates flawlessly to the reader. The rest of the cast is equally fantastic, providing us with a diorama of battle hardened dwarves, mysterious giants, wise wizards, flamboyant showmen, and devious dark elves, all narrated quite impressively by Matthew Wolf.

This book holds true to every fantasy trope I could have asked for, and I couldn't love it more for that very reason. Hours and hours of dwarves facing down improbably sized armies of orcs, Alfar and wizards was a truly fun experience, which is the main appeal of the novel in general; it is fun. The reader doesn't have to get lost in stony philosophizing and world building. You just sit back and have a good time. In a landscape of heavy handed modern fantasy, The Dwarves is a breath of fresh air.

Please Get the Next 2 Books on Audible!

I love Dwarves! Always a fixture in fantasy, yet mostly a side character. Finally they get a series of their own....and guess what!?!...it is awesome!

Fun

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

Creative tale with enjoyable characters. not a deep read read but a very pleasurable summer read. This is a good fantasy book.

just bad

Couldn't make it out of the prologue. Everything is extremely cliche. To make matters worse the author clearly doesn't have military mind. It is a shame the dwarves in this world cower on top of walls rather raining down missiles upon their foes. Hell even hurling rocks would have worked.

Don't bother with this tome.

Tell Me The Bad Guy Is Bad One More Time

I have given up on this book after many hours of listening. Horrible tragedy is reported like the weather, monumental revelations made by random strangers in one sentence is accepted as fact... And the narrator tells us the bad guy needs to be stopped SO MANY TIMES that I started to root for him.

Essentially, beyond the prologue, this book languishes in a prison of overused tropes (dwarves like beer so much, they cannot ever seem to stop talking about it) and blatant Deus ex Machina. You just stop caring.

Amazing Narrator

Bought this book just because Matthew Wolf is the narrator. The man should be doing A LOT MORE audio books.