The Hungering Saga Complete

By: Heath Pfaff

Narrated by: Paul J McSorley

Length: 37 hrs and 29 mins

Publisher's summary

Three complete full length novels in one well-priced package!

Twisted by black magic and driven by soul-crushing loss, Lowin Fenly, a young scribe turned knight, struggles to hold on to his humanity as he battles to rescue that which he values most in the world. Along the way he will be forced to make friends of his enemies and enemies of his friends. He will grow from a boy no one has heard of into a man destined to leave the land forever changed, but how will he be remembered? Will he be Sir Fenly, hero of the people, or will he be Lowin the Dread, a monster to terrify children?

The Hungering Saga is a sweeping story that begins in familiar fantasy territory and quickly twists many of the genre staples back upon themselves.

©2012, 2015 Heath Pfaff (P)2016 Heath Pfaff

Poorly performed, poorly written.

What would have made The Hungering Saga Complete better?

This is the first review I've written on an audio book from Audibles, and I'll tell you why. After reading the only previous review I decided to give this book a go and see if it was as decent as some written by other authors I was unfamiliar with but now adore. I don't recommend you take the plunge. Save your credit or money for something by Brandon Sanderson or Patrick Rothfuss.

This writer cannot begin to attach a reader to a character and I'm not exaggerating. If you're used to a world filled with love for your main protagonist, with detailed imagery and an insatiable need for the next title, this isn't it. It's difficult to discern what the point of the books are at all, in fact, because so little cohesion exists as you blur from one character experience to the next in a large cast of characters without distinction and poorly executed plot exploration. As if this wasn't enough, you add in the tailored sexual encounters and child-like vocabulary of the writer and you're left puzzling over how this was published and became an audio book at all.

I'm not going to relent on the performance, I'm sorry. I've not been so displeased by a performance in all of my audio book history, which spans several years. The actor here does not enunciate. He has an accent that's difficult to listen to constantly, and he mispronounces several words. Without a written copy to compare to, I also believe he adds words or phrases into the performance that (trying to give some credit here in hopes it's not true) make the author sound ridiculously unfamiliar with the style of writing he's trying to convey.

Please, PLEASE proceed with caution. There are a great number of books I would give outstanding praise to (and probably should after writing this), but this isn't one of them.

Excellent story & characters

What made the experience of listening to The Hungering Saga Complete the most enjoyable?

I've already read the books before getting the audible version and the story itself IS the most enjoyable thing regardless of the format it is delivered in. For me personally, the narrator didn't add much to the story itself really. Not to sound crazy but I think I preferred the voices in my head as I read it to myself to be honest. That doesn't mean I'm not enjoying it though. The story and writing is great and it's nice to actually get work, cleaning, etc done while listening to it.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Lowin of course was my favorite character, but the thing about this series is that you get to know a LOT of characters. They are all well developed and they all stand out in some special way. I ended up liking ALL the characters, even the ones you wanted to hate, you just can't help yourself. (Well, I couldn't).

What three words best describe Paul J McSorley’s voice?

The narrators voice is gruff and baritone with a bit of a drawl/dialect, he reminds me of Phil Harris (an old voice actor).

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

I'm not good with tag lines, but I'd be first in line to see it.

Any additional comments?

As of this posting I haven't listened to the -entire- series yet, but I have read them all. I believe I've listened to enough at this point to make a review though (and will finish it up later of course). I've reviewed the story itself on Amazon, and I loved every second of it and found it hard to walk away from. If you are not into fantasy genre, magic or intelligent beasts, then go elsewhere. You will be missing out though! The story is thought out, fast paced, and I can't say enough about the characters, they are all well done and enjoyable. (My full review of the books alone can be found on amazon. I'd C&P but it is huge.)

horrible!

I normally don't write reviews unless a book is especially good or bad. this one was the later. I have listened to several hundred books and this was the absolute worst by a long shot. the story didn't make since half the time and the other half the story was bad. the narration was monotone and grating. I finished it somehow but what a waste of a credit!

Sad tale

The story it self is very interesting, but it is just too sad all the time.

Nothing goes the way you want it to, but it is still a captivating story.

very good books

It was a good series, had a little more sexual action then I prefer, but past that, if your an adult and enjoy a good Sci-Fi/Fantasy novel, you'll like this. Not for those under 18.

"The MACHO-MAN Randy Savage" reads you a story!!!!

What did you love best about The Hungering Saga Complete?

Paul's reading! That's why I bought this audio book. Because Paul J McSorley's voice sounds exactly like this Epic Fantasy Adventure is being read to you by the famous 80's pro-wrestler The MACHO-MAN Randy Savage!!! Oh YEAH!

What other book might you compare The Hungering Saga Complete to and why?

Several of the many, many. fantasy epic adventures, but none are read with such gruff gusto like "The MACHO-MAN Randy Savage" can deliver! "Oh YEAH!"

What does Paul J McSorley bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

IT's ALL about Paul's reading!!! He's AWE-SOME!! That's why I bought this audio book. Paul J McSorley's voice sounds exactly like "The MACHO-MAN Randy Savage"!!! That's right, this book is an Epic Fantasy Adventure read to you by Famous 80's Pro-Wrestler "The MACHO-MAN Randy Savage"! who's trade mark was his over-the-top growling and screaming SUPER-MEGA-ULITMATE-COOL-dialogue! "Oh YEAH!"

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

"Oh YEAH!" How can you NOT want to hear EVERYTHING the "The MACHO-MAN Randy Savage" can growl and scream at you all in one SUPER awe-some ULTIMATE amazing MEGA story telling session! OH YEAH!!!!

Any additional comments?

Paul's reading!!! He sounds EXCATLY like the Famous 80's Pro-Wrestler "The MACHO-MAN Randy Savage"! "Oh YEAH!"!!! This is an SUPER -MEGA-AWE-SOME Audio Experience! OH YEAH!!!!!! Because Paul J McSorley's voice sounds EX-ZACT-LEE like this MEAG -SUPER Epic Fantasy Adventure is being read to you by the ONE and ONLY World Famous Pro Wrestler "The MACHO-MAN Randy Savage" !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! "OOOOh YEEEEEAAAAAAH!" I wish all super mega Fantasy adventure epic adventures were red to us by Paul J McSorley …. I could not get enough of his voice! I saw Randy Savage holding a book and waving his huge muscular arms around, glaring out from under his coy-boy hat, his crazed eyes burning at you through his custom sunglasses! OOOH YEEEEEAAAAAAH!!!!!!!

Just ok, weak story

narrator was decent if you cna get past accent. Story is weak, dont want to ruin it. Mostly a lot of pointless bloody batles with some soft love scenes. Kept me listening but overall a pretty disapointing amd depressing listen. would not recomend

Almost....

This story had such potential. i picked this story up because i needed something to read while in the waiting room for a series of doctor visits i had during the week.The first book was actually really good. The world building, characters, magic system etc was believable and enjoyable. The second book however, will leave you wondering if you just imagined that these people actually had real emotions, dreams, or original thoughts at all. The situations that our main character is faced with and the lengths this author goes to convince us that a specific path the main character takes to further the plot was of course the only path he could have taken is absurd.

I will conclude this review with a few comments.
Could these books be better? yes
Did i find the first half of the plot in book two so ludicrous that i decided to write a review on audible as soon as i got home? yes
Do i hate these books so much that i will choose to wait in the doctors waiting room listening to nothing but silence? no
Have i learned anything from reading this latest catastrophe that calls itself a book series? yes, never ever buy three books offered for a single credit because it IS to good to be true.

My hat is off to the book narrator, the female voices were cringe worthy sometimes. Overall I give Paul J McSorley 4/5 stars.

Sad but wonderful

I loved this story, though what took away from it was the narrator - I could not get comfortable with the way he read, breathless and like he was late for something. On the positive note though, he kept true to his voices so you could distinguish them.

The plot was easy enough to get hold of, and the end was no surprice but that is usually how things are with me, I find that the way I get to the end is the most interresting thing, not the conclusion of the story. I loved that I got all three books at once am soo sick of waiting for the next book in a series. The main character was as expected though I lacked information about his past, I would have liked to know what he was like before he became a Knight. We have no reference points to the character of the main person so could not know if he had changed a lot or not. Except for these little things I loved the book and the story, highly reccomended if you like this kind of book.

You'll be starving for more after reading this!!!!

This book has a great big worm in the middle of it.

Because the moment that you start in on it, you are hooked.

Yeah, it's that good. Imagine you are just doing your thing as a teenager, and suddenly, for the benefit of the realm you are forced into a military career. One that inspires fear in all of your family and friends, one that will warp your body, and reshape your mind! And that, my friend, is only the beginning.

This book has a lot of characters, a great sweeping George RR Martin style cast, that is full of real people. They are all flawed, and behave just like real people do. The betray, lust, lie, cheat, and do things generally because they are selfish individuals. And that is just the good guys! The best part is that they all show character development. Yup, not just the MC and a few of his pals. Everyone shows some sort of change, some for the better and some for the worse, but change and grow they do.

The world building is just phenomenol, too. It feels like a real place. I don't know that I'd visit there, but you can see it and practically smell it. It comes off like total immersion. You are there, which is pretty cool.

McSorely does an impressive job here. This is an expansive cast, and most other narrators would have struggled to keep up, but he knocked every obstacle down. I also attribute the richness and vitality of the world and its characters to McSorely. He painted the pictures and gave life to each character with nothing more than his voice. As I understand it, this is one of his earlier works, but you'd never know it to listen to him. He really makes these books his own. Even though I did receive a promo code for this review it in no way influenced my considerations of the material, and in fact, inspired me to be more honest. In fact, getting a code generally makes me harsher as a reviewer as I am more often concerned what someone like Me will decide based on my review.

This is a great collection of novels, performed in an outstanding way by a deft narrator. You don't know good lit when you see it if you don't read this book.

Terrible writing, repeats the same past events.

Repetition used as a device to lengthen a short book. Awful writing and average performance

The narrator isn't great, but the story is worse

The narrator isn't great he does add much to the story and puts the emphasis in really strange places often not reading ahead so not finishing the sentence properly. But it may not be all his fault as quite frankly the story is awful, childish, poorly written, with no time taken to build character or even create believable character depth.

Great book

I Enjoyed this audio book very much
Hopefully they will be more audio books
Must read on your list