The Shadow Watch

The Watcher Epic, Book 1

By: S.A. Klopfenstein

Narrated by: Stacey Krejci

Length: 12 hrs and 25 mins

Publisher's Summary

 Winner of the 2017 Ink and Insights contest.

In a world where sorcerers are hunted to extinction...

One girl defies a cruel empire.

Slave girl Tori Burodai never wanted to be the Gallows Girl. She never wanted to be looked to as a savior or a revolutionary. But then again, she never knew she was one of the last living Watchers.

Long ago, the sacred order of sorcerers was a force for justice in the world. Now, their magic survives only in myth.

That is, until Tori reveals incredible magic power in a desperate attempt to save the boy she loves from a cruel fate.

This act of sorcerous rebellion changes Tori’s future forever. Her defiance sparks the makings of a magic revolution that promises to restore the world to its former glory, under the guidance of a new army of sorcerers, the Shadow Watch.

But the ruler of Tori’s world has his own dark plans for magic, and he will stop at nothing to end this revolution and bend the Watchers to his will.

Even if it means pitting brother against brother. Friend against friend. And Tori against the boy she loves.

All must choose. But no matter the choice. The world will never be the same. For there can be no magic without monsters.

If you love exhilarating worlds, epic revolutions, and morally complex characters, then you will instantly love this sweeping teen fantasy series that readers/listeners are comparing to Mistborn and Throne of Glass.

Get it now!

©2018 Stephen Klopfenstein (P)2020 Stephen Klopfenstein

Wonderful

This book was fantastic! I absolutely loved Tori and how strong she was! I love a great heroine story and this one totally hit the mark. The setting was magical and the author did an excellent job at keeping the story flowing and entertaining. I really enjoyed that the story wasn’t just a classic good vs. evil, but demonstrated a lot of depth in characters, leaving you vacillating over who to trust, and why characters are making certain decisions. I also fell for a lot of the supporting characters, especially the Chancellor. All together this was a great listen and I would absolutely recommend! I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Hidden Gem

A very well done story that made me feel invested from beginning to end. It's an excellent first entry to an epic fantasy series and I look forward to what this author can do in the future. If you enjoyed the political intrigue of A Song of Ice and Fire but don't want all of the taxing grimdark elements that the series is known for, then I would most definitely reccomend The Shadow Watch. If you like reading epic battles and fantastic monsters, I would also recommend The Shadow Watch.

Great book!

Great book! Entertaining the whole way through. It's hard to put it down. The narrator helps brings the characters to life.

Can’t judge a book by its cover!

I hate to admit it, but when I first saw the cover, I was not wanting to read this book. Once I started though I could not stop! S.A. Klopfenstein stole my breath away with this book.

Shadow Watch is so much more than a book. It all felt so realistic. Like at any moment the monsters of the tales we have heard would come out and flood our world. Astoria is such a strong character. She is naive and weak as well. She is slow to grasp; however, you can tell from her story that it is from her upbringing. I can honestly say for once it didn’t annoy me, but I was screaming “come on” a few times. Believe me she was not the only person I screamed that at either. All the characters and scenes are intricately designed so well.

Klopfenstein did a wonderful job writing this story from beginning to end. It is filled with so much suspense that I am literally on the edge of my seat as I write this review. Stacey Krejci portrayed these characters perfectly throughout the narration. Each character was very distinctive throughout. I loved this journey provided by Klopfenstein and Krejci. The overall production was just great. I didn’t get lost even once. I thoroughly enjoyed the whole story and every aspect that went into creating the entire production.

Honestly at this point, I just want book two. This story took me into a world I didn’t want to leave and cannot wait to go back to. I have fallen in love with these characters and need another glimpse into their lives. This is definitely a must read as far as I’m concerned. If you like takes and myths, you will definitely love this book as much as I have.

I received this audiobook as part of my participation in a blog tour with Audiobookworm Promotions. The tour is being sponsored by S.A. Klopfenstein. The gifting of this audiobook did not affect my opinion of it.

Took me a bit, but... Oooh, this is good

I'll jump right in, as the publisher's summary is the perfect amount of information on the story itself...

There is a lot to like about this book. The main characters are complicated people instead of archetypes, the writing is intelligent and doesn't shy back from discomfort, nor is it brutal for brutality's sake when it could have been. I think labelling this a "teen" or YA series is accurate, but in the same way that, for example, some of Brandon Sanderson's series could be labeled YA. That is to say they lack none of the depth or intelligence of an adult series, only that there isn't graphic sexual content or pervasive profanity to cringe at.

The setting is quite interesting, and I would love to see even more world building in the future volumes. We've got a fantastic base of characters, and I'm intrigued to know more about the world that formed them.

The magic is a little on the softer side (I'm a big fan of hard magic systems), but it works well for the setting. I hope we learn more about what makes the magic work and why as we progress. There is a moment at the end... that's all I'll say. Worth the whole thing.

If I had to voice any negative at all, it was that Stacey Krejci's narration was so darn chill for the first 2/3rds of the book that I stuggled to listen for more than 15 minutes at a time without my eyes drooping. I suspect the narration would be most reviewers' lowest point, but I actually really liked Stacey's voice and narration. The higher-pitched characters are a bit cartoonish, but I really like his lower-pitched characterizations and his main narration voice. There is something important to be said for unique voices in voice acting. If you have some of the same issues early on, I strongly suggest stepping up to 1.25x - 1.5x speed. I found it cleared the fog perfectly, without making the details fall out. There was also a random moment where the whole thing clicked for me even before I sped up and from that point on I was over the chilled out narration and fully invested in the story, so even at 1.0x speed you are bound to get there eventually.

In the end, I really enjoyed this book and I'm looking forward to the rest of the trilogy.

Edit: Having listened to this a second time in preparation for Rage of Saints, I can comfortably say none of the hesitations from my first listen carried through to my second listen. I'm leaving them up for perspective, but don't get distracted by them because this series is great!!!

Amazing epic fantasy!!

Strong character development and multi-thread plot lines make this book hard to put down. Great balance of female and male characters, including a pivitoal character with fluid sexuality, create an inclusive world. Diverse tribes and old-world monsters inhabit this well-constructed fantasy realm that includes two dimensions. So excited to read the sequel and follow the adventures of the "Gallows Girl!"

overall

over all it seemed like a decent story but I couldn't finish listening to it due to the narration (to me) seemed monotone and just a little hard to listen to.

The Shadow Watch

The Shadow Watch is a pretty entertaining Fantasy novel. There are a lot of similar aspects of other fantasy novels but it has a enough new aspects and twists to keep things interesting. The world and magic in the book are interesting, more so later on in the book when you start to really learn what is going on. The book follows the journey of Tori/Astoria as she grows and begins to learn some of the mysteries of her past and what she must do and become for her future. The book has interesting characters both good and evil and many in between and enough intrigue to keep things interesting.

The narration is pretty good, I rather like the narrator main narration voice though it may be a bit monotone for others but my main issue with his narration is when he does female or young character voices, they are so high pitched and quite annoying that it really hinders some of the enjoyment.

Overall I would recommend it, I really like some of the characters and story aspects.

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

whoooooooooh this was so much of the good stuff

Whooooooooh. Vivid. Stirring. Insightful. Intriguing. Fanciful. Steady. Balance. Magic & mystical. Twist & turns. Good vs Evil. The deed of one was all by mistake. She had a will so strong that it triggered something deep within. The ins and outs of this world was not one dimensional. The characters had layers. The direction of this one was clear that it would be a good one and that it would need more time to explore all of the possibilities. I will admit to a slow start for me but stick with it and it grows/evolves.

The narrator took some time to acclimate to. I found adjusting the speed of the audio allowed for more auditory change of pace. The story was the holder of my thoughts.

Fun, good, but a little basic

It was fun, it was good, but it was a little basic. Tori is our main character and she could be any girl really. She’s nice, sweet, but other than that, she’s lacking personality. From a tragic past to a destined magical future, complete with a power she doesn’t really understand, she’s a standard character type for many fantasy tales. She gets swept into a group of other kids her age all learning to use their powers. So it’s kind of like magic school, but less formal. Then there’s the two romantic interests, which seems to be a necessity in YA fiction of any genre. I want to fall in love with this story, but right now it’s a little too cookie-cutter.

The world building was a little more interesting. There’s one big baddie who wants to use Tori to open a door into a grey, dreary world and thereby wreak havoc. There’s dragon-like beings, vampire-like beings, and a wicked sorcerous named Medea (like from the Greek tragedies). On one hand, they are deadly dangerous! Yes! I want to fear my enemies! But on the other hand, they are too much like so many other bad guys in other fantasy tales. I need a little something more to really get into it.

For me, the most interesting character was Darien. He grew up with Tori but then tragedy strikes and the two are separated under tragic circumstances. In order to survive, Darien has to give up a bit of his humanity. His character arc has the most change and also the most potential for further change going beyond this book into the next one. Will Darien regain his good side? Will he go full Darth Vader? Darien’s the one to keep an eye on.

Overall, the story has potential. It was easy to get into this story because it does mirror so many other fantasy tales. The world building holds potential to become really interesting since the bad guys are so deadly. 4/5 stars.

The Narration: Stacey Krejci gave a really good performance. I was a little leery of a male narrator pulling off a teen female lead character, but Krejci did a great job. He also performed several different accents for the various characters. All the characters had their own unique voice. While the pacing was good, sometimes Krejci needed just a bit more emotion. For example, many of the fight scenes are told in a quiet news reporter voice. I wanted a little more action reflected in the voice. There were no technical issues with this recording. 4.5/5 stars.

I received this audiobook as part of my participation in a blog tour with Audiobookworm Promotions. The tour is being sponsored by S.A. Klopfenstein. The gifting of this audiobook did not affect my opinion of it.

Loved it,

I was hooked and basically couldn't put it down I finished it in record time

fantastic

wow what a fantastic audiobook from the pen of S A Klopfenstein and brilliantly narrated by Stacey Krejci. I really want to hear more of this adventure xxxxxd