The Shadow Rises

Publisher's Summary

When a new witch threat rises, only Hunter Astley can stop it....

In the face of dark magic and evil witches, a secret witch-hunting society works tirelessly to keep them at bay. The Malleus Maleficarum Council has strict rules and practises for eradicating magic. 

Due to their work, witches have been almost forgotten, relegated to myth; but the rumours are starting to emerge of a new power that will throw the world into chaos. 

As the only seventh generation witch-hunter, Hunter Astley is the best the MMC has to offer. With the help of his colleagues, it’s a race to track down this new threat and stop it...in any way he can. 

Part one of the Witch-Hunter trilogy. 

©2013 K.S. Marsden (P)2018 K.S. Marsden

Horror of the Witch Variety

I love horror content in all shapes and sizes, but I don't often come across a story about witches! I was excited to see that 'The Shadow Rises' was of the witch variety and the story delivered in a delightful way! While the tale felt just a bit slow to me at particular times, it was well worth listening to all of it and I think it's a very solid start to a new series! I would continue to listen to this series and I would recommend this book to friends who enjoy horror, but particularly.. witches! Jonathan Ip gives a good performance.

I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

The hunter hunt begins...:)

'The Shadow Rises' is the first book in the series - and you can feel it. It has all the elements I like in a good story about the paranormal/witchcraft/magic, but it also has some flaws that are often unavoidable in a first of any series...

The strength of the book are definitely the main characters - Hunter, James and Sophie. They are intriguing, deep, with some well developed background stories, and yet still not so obvious to the reader/listener that you'd say 'I already know everything there's to know about them'... The world of witches and witch hunters is also very well explained, and the idea of the importance of which generation a hunter belongs to and the consequences of that fact gives it a twist not found anywhere else, I think. Another strong point? The description of the development of relationships between different characters is very good - we feel that development, we see the relationships evolving, changing, tightening or loosening...

The weakness of the book, then? There are so many things that have to be explained for the reader/listener to understand the realities of the world created by the author, that the plot itself and the pace of the tale take the background seat and kind of feel slow... There are some scenes of action, good ones (no doubt about that), but there's also so much talk about the world of hunters and their fight against witches that there's not much room left for the actual fight...:)

But that one weakness shouldn't be used as an excuse for you not to give the book a chance. It's a really solid introduction to the series, and it definitely makes you want to read or listen on to find out what happens to Hunter and Sophie and other characters we met...:) Overall, I'd say it's a 3.5 star book - definitely more than 'pretty good' but a bit less than 'great':)

As for the narration, it's very good. I like Mr Ip's interpretation of the male characters, I also like the fact that he doesn't try to sound too feminine when reading females' parts. He adds quite a bit of emotions to the dialogues and makes the whole experience very relaxing.

DISCLAIMER: I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Solid story, really enjoyed it

Really enjoyed this story. It was engaging and kept me interested. Jonathan Ip's British accent gives the story a refined feel and he does a very good job in narrating the story. Definitely a fan and I'm looking forward to book 2..

"I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review."

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

So well-written and entertaining

My first read from author K.S. Marsden was so well-written and entertaining that I've already begun Winter Trials, another book by her! Since I own both the audio & Kindle editions I was able to follow along as excellent narrator Jonathon Ip added to my reading enjoyment with his accent & voice inflections.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Not bad.

Hunter is a witch hunter, not fancy sparkly wiccans but real Grimm’s style witches. He and his partner James meet a new lady after Hunter rescues her from sacrifice. As the three go about their work a new dark threat emerges. I found this book to be a little slow but still enjoyable. It is book one in the series and I think I will seek out the next one to learn the fate of the three hunters. The narration was very well done. I received a free review copy of this book at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Witches versus Hunters

I really enjoyed this take on the theme of witches versus hunters and the concept of a super (or Shadow) witch. The audiobook has its share of action, violence, twists and turns, and betrayals on all sides. The human witch hunters seem outgunned and outmanned. You wonder if they even stand a chance despite Hunter's skill, leadership, and bravado. Then...BOOM! I have to admit I didn't have any inkling of either of the big surprises that came near the end. I was completely captivated, and I am eager for more of the story. Oddly enough, James was my favorite character. Sophie was too cold and stand-offish, and Hunter was too arrogant. James was loyal, steadfast, bold, and a little snarky. I think his line could produce some quality hunters in the future if he survives, and he's just a good friend.

The narration is excellent. Mr. Ip really captured the mannerisms of the characters from Hunter's arrogant aloofness to James' concern and charm. Even the secondary characters like the General and the nervous Sargeant are clearly depicted.

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

I'm very interesting first book for a series

I loved it I think I need the second book right now in this second but I will wait because I enjoyed this book so much I can't even describe how much the story was absolutely captivating OMG!!!
it was a dark kind of Tail and I loved it so very much
I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

A solid start of a fantasy series

I was given this free review copy audio book at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

This was an interesting and entertaining fantasy story geared towards the "don't judge a book by it's cover" idiom. All in all, this was a good book with excellent narration. Well worth the credit, in my opinion.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

A dark tale of witch hunting

A tale of a man who is a 7th generation hunter of witches which makes him uniquely powerful. With him is a society of witch hunters and trusted friends. Against him is arrayed a witch of unique and deadly powers and a plan that when set in motion will bring the society and the entire world to its knees. Get ready for a wild ride. I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Punished for being born

According to the witch hunters all witches are born evil and it's just a matter of time until they commit terrible crimes. Therefore even before they commit a crime they can be captured and have their magic taken. I really didn't like this concept, to me the witch hunters are a type of racist and that's never OK. Since this is a fundamental part of the story it kind of spoiled the whole thing for me.

However, it is well written, the characters are well developed and if you're willing to accept the above then they story is well developed with some great twists.

The narration is very good, with clear character voices and a well paced delivery.

I received a free copy of this book from the author and/or narrator and/or publisher and I voluntarily wrote this honest review.

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1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Witch Hunter

I highly enjoyed listening to this book which I received a copy in exchange for an honest review. With the way it ended I can't wait to listen to the rest of this series

5 of 5 people found this review helpful

Thoroughly enjoyable.

Hunter is a 7th generation witch hunter for the Malleus Maleficarum Council. Most witch hunters are only 3rd or 4th generation so Hunter is a bit of an anomaly. When he comes across two witches trying to sacrifice a woman for their magic, he saves her and ends up recruiting her to the life. She is apprenticed to a witch hunter, but when he is killed and Hunter hears whispers that the Shadow Witch is rising again and has her sites set on the woman he saved, he has to team up with Sophie to find the Witch before she becomes all powerful.

Every so often you open a book with no expectations at all, you hope said book will entertain you but that's about it. But said book does more than entertain you!! It enthralls you, grips you and just about blows you away. Well this is what happened here!! I had no idea what to expect when I started, but I know I didn't expect to fall in love with the world the author created. It was fantastic!!

I loved the plot. Usually the witch hunters are portrayed as bad guys, but here they are the good guys. To them, all magic is bad and witches are to be stopped. I also loved how they stopped the witches, which I won't say here because I'd consider it a spoiler ;) The whole plot was fast paced, entertaining and amazing. The author not only created a fascinating world, but they managed to throw a few extreme curve balls into the mix and had me gasping out loud because I did not see it coming!!!

The characters were all well developed. It took me a little while to warm to Hunter, but he grew on me! I loved seeing him interact with Sophie and seeing their relationship grow. I'm really looking forward to seeing where the author takes the story!!!

In all, this was an awesome read. Reading it was like finding the diamond in the rough!!! I hope book 2 comes to audio soon as I'm dying to see what happens next.

Jonathan Ip read this really well. He was easy to listen to and had plenty of tones and voices to bring the story to life. I really enjoyed his performance.

I was given this audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review. This in no way affected nor influenced my thoughts.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Loved it from the start!

What can I say except I loved it!?
From the start both the author and the narrator set the tone of the story which keeps you hooked right until the end.
I can’t really find any faults with this book except to say I saw a few things coming (no spoilers!), but through no fault of the author!
Wait, yes, I can find a fault; the other 2 books aren’t yet released on audio and I’m dying to see where the story leads next! :)
Buy it and listen to this immediately under peril of death!
This is an honest review of a free review copy.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

An excellent adventure

In my opinion a good fantasy novel needs 3 things a well realised world, a compelling story and engaging characters.

The shadow rises delivers all 3.

When we are introduced to the protagonist Hunter I initially rolled my eyes and expected an arrogant hero in a contrived story, however while the story doesn't offer anything necessarily new or challenging it was nevertheless entertaining throughout and there is certainly more to Hunter than meets the eye.

The narration is also excellent handelling different characters well and giving the whole story the very English atmosphere the author intended.

A great opening to the trilogy!

This book was given to me for free at my request and I provided this voluntary review.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

The Shadow Rises

Excellent first book to a series!I loved it! Narration by Jonathan ip was perfect. I was given this book by the narrator,author or publisher free for an honest review.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful