The Man of Nightstone

By: Devon Drake

Narrated by: Devon Drake

Sometimes the lesser evil is the crazier man.

A daring bounty hunter, Althadis, has come to the city-state of Pallos announcing that he's hot on the trail of the Whisper, the world's most infamous assassin.

No one has ever escaped the Whisper's blade or seen his face. And if that didn't make his job difficult enough, the day he arrives in Pallos, a gruesome encounter involving a victim of viral necromancy puts Althadis firmly under the suspicions of the city guard. Especially after he claims to be one of the most skilled sorcerers in the world.

Adding to the obstacles in his path, word of the large bounty on Whisper's head spreads through the criminal underworld. And it attracts the attention of an ambitious arms dealer who confronts Althadis and decides to chase after the prize himself.

After learning the Whisper's next victim is a member of a clandestine group called Darkest Hour, Althadis must find a way into their next gathering if he's to have any hope of catching the killer before it's too late.

However, what both the lawmen and the criminals of Pallos will come to find out is that, while he may be crazy, Althadis was not lying about his uncanny skill.

And what Althadis will eventually discover about Whisper's identity might be the most shocking secret of all.

©2013, 2018 David Gazoul (P)2022 David Gazoul

"Fear me!"

Althadis, a powerful sorcerer, is a fun, kooky guy, who many can't take seriously, but beneath his clothes he has lots of wisdom and a secret of his own. There's plenty of mystery revolving around him, like is he undead, why is he looking to kill the Whisperer, is he an assassin?

And why is he in the city of Pallos? What seems like an ordinary visit to the city leads Althadis into several undead person's murder mystery, with a thriller as the Whisperer seems to be attacking guards within the city walls and targeting him.

There's a change of events when Althadis unmasks the Whisperer. This person is not who he thought it would be; his search continues. I like how student now becomes master and he will teach the next pupil his knowledge.

Trigger warnings: lots of swearing - using the F word multiple times, tales of rape told in the past tense - still could be a bit graphic, and the whole novel revolves around sorcery - but no actual spells are ever stated.

Devon Drake did a good job narrating his own book. He used different voices for the characters. At times, they seemed to meld together, but overall I was able to follow who was talking. There were some minor volume issues with the chapters starting out loud and then getting softer as they went on. And it was a bit jarring when pickups/edits were placed in the narrative and the sound quality was different than the other narration around it. But none of these minor concerns altered the story or my enjoyment of it!