The Spirit War

Eli Monpress, Book 4

By: Rachel Aaron

Narrated by: Luke Daniels

Length: 17 hrs and 31 mins

Publisher's Summary

Eli Monpress is vain. He's cocky. And he's a thief. But he's a thief who has just seen his bounty topped, and he's not happy about it. The bounty topper, as it turns out, is his best friend, bodyguard, and master swordsman, Josef, who has been keeping secrets from Eli. Apparently he's the only prince of a rather feisty country, and his mother (a formidable queen who is every bit as driven and stubborn as he is) wants him to come home and do his duty, which means throwing over personal ambitions, such as proving he's the greatest swordsman who ever lived.

Family drama aside, Eli and Josef have their hands full. The Spirit Court has been usurped by the Council of Thrones, and someone calling herself the Immortal Empress is staging a massive invasion. But it's not just politics--the Immortal Empress has a specific target in mind: Eli Monpress, the greatest thief in the world.

©2012 Rachel Aaron (P)2015 Tantor

why, Luke?

Best book of the series yet, marred only by a baffling choice of the narrator to suddenly use a different reading voice for the primary narration (much deeper, ponderously slow, and slightly twangy), and different voices for some of the main characters. Got used to it after a few hours, and after increasing the playback speed to 1.20x. Like once of the other reviewers, I at first thought a completely different person was reading, and found the new voice really unpleasant and hard to listen to. Later on in the book, Luke starts to sound more like his old self from Books 1-3, and I was able to decrease the playback speed to 1.10x.

Eli Montpress grows up.

I started this series long ago. I was distracted by the Dresden files and then came back to the wizarding world of Eli. The swordsman companion Josef unwillingly returns to his homeland (spoiler alert) Osera with Eli and Niko trailing. Their jaws drop to discover Josef is a prince and all his ailing mother wants is an heir. Drama builds in Osera while back at the council, hints of Eli’s real parents comes to light.
Osera prepares for war against The Empress, a leader from across the ocean who thinks she can win back favoritism from all powerful enchantress in the sky. The enchantress is the true villain in this story as she goads the empress to conquer Osera and the mainland just to win back her true favorite. You got it. Eli Montpress. He disdains her favors and tries to avoid calling on his true power to save Osera. Needless to say, Eli is put between a rock and a hard place. Miranda figures out part of the story and lays the guilt heavy. Eli comes through but at great sacrifice.
Love this story as heroes come in many forms.
What really sold me is the narrator LUKE daniels. His variety of voices helps to really distinguish the characters. He is the amazing voice of Kevin Hearne’s Iron Druid Tales.

Good series that gets better

I am not much into fantasy, but this series has got me hook.I love all the characters and their quirks. Luke Daniels does a superb job making the voices unique. I can't wait for the next one.

Good, though some of the voices irk me

The story was excellent, however, I really didn't like some of the voices the reader used, mainly Eli's and the servants.

cliff hanger

be sure to get the next book along with it because you'll want it right away!

BEST OF THE SERIES SO FAR!

What made the experience of listening to The Spirit War the most enjoyable?

The story was relentlessly engaging, dragging me through the drama irresistibly. Rachel Aaron is a master story teller! And, Luke Daniels brought the voice of every character to life flawlessly. His performance is awarding winning!

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Spirit War?

The entire story is memorable and filled with magic.

What does Luke Daniels bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

I have listened to more than 500 audio books, and produced half a dozen myself. Luke Daniels is a masterful voice talent. He breathes life into every character and performs every sentence flawlessly.

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

The Spirit War

Great all around series.

The characters, action and how it's told really draws you in and keeps you drawn in. though I didn't like how mid way through the series the voice actors changed.

Amazing Series Just Continues to Get Better

When I first started reading this series I thought there was no way the reviews could be right about their quality. I was wrong. This series somehow just gets better as it goes on. The plot is awesome, character development amazing and the narration of this series can't be beat. Love it. On to the next one!

Finally!!!

No spoilers, except that finally we learn who Eli really is, how Joseph becomes the best swordsman and who he really is. great fights. great drama. Excellent book!

The characters you love; slightly different setting

This book was more compelling to me than the last one. It has the same familiar characters but its emphasis is on some of the characters that were more minor in previous books. Not that Eli is ignored or a minor character. You'll get plenty of his pleasant ebullience in this one too.

You learn more of their backstories and you get to see some of them develop. And you like them all. (If you have read some of my other reviews , you'll know that I need to like at least some of the characters or I just cannot enjoy the book. That can include the villains. You can like the character and still think he is evil, even unspeakably so.)

You will learn some very surprising things about some of the characters. I like being able to think of them now in more 3-dimensional terms.

I like the way that Luke Daniels portrays the characters. He really brings them to life. And he isn't afraid to use a very unusual voice when the character is, for instance, a water or wind spirit.

I wasn't sure I was going to like these books as much as the previous ones but the author really expands the universe this time. That feels just fine!