The Wheel of Osheim

By: Mark Lawrence

Narrated by: Tim Gerard Reynolds

Length: 18 hrs and 59 mins

Publisher's Summary

From the international best-selling author of the Broken Empire Trilogy, the thrilling conclusion to the Red Queen's War.

Mark Lawrence's "epic fantasy" (The Washington Post) continues as a reluctant prince returns from the bowels of Hell to engage in his greatest battle yet - among the living and the dead.

All the horrors of Hell stand between Snorri Ver Snagason and the rescue of his family, if indeed the dead can be rescued. For Jalan Kendeth, getting back out alive and with Loki's key is all that matters. Loki's creation can open any lock, any door, and it may also be the key to Jalan's fortune back in the living world. Jalan plans to return to the three w's that have been the core of his idle and debauched life: wine, women, and wagering. Fate, however, has other plans - larger plans.

The Wheel of Osheim is turning ever faster, and it will crack the world unless it's stopped. When the end of all things looms and there's nowhere to run, even the worst coward must find new answers. Jalan and Snorri face many dangers, from the corpse hordes of the Dead King to the many mirrors of the Lady Blue, but in the end, fast or slow, the Wheel of Osheim always pulls you back. In the end it's win or die.

©2016 Bobalinga Ltd. (P)2016 Recorded Books

A decent end to an OK series

All in all I just didn't like The Red Queen nearly as much as The Broken Empire. As the protagonist, Jalen just could not hold a candle to Jorg. Humorous at times, but I mostly wanted to slap him for his spineless whining. Maybe Jorg ruined it for me. His char was so brutal when necessary that to do a 180 with Jalen was a bit much to take in.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

The perfect narrator

Such great narration is hard to find. Worth a listen for that alona. A fitting end to a good story. perhaps not better than Jorgs story, but is fun, universe building, witty and you have to love Snorri!

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

A fond farwell from the prince of fools.

While it does wander a bit, "The Wheel of Osheim" is a fairly good conclusion to the series, "The Red Queen's War". Being the third book there is a lot of content from the previous books that a listener must remember for most of it to make any sense, but for those who have been paying attention up until this point this book is worth the time.

Prince Jalan is still incredibly cowardly, whiney, narcissistic, selfish and sarcastic, but an audience will love him for the laughter he brings to the story as the main character. The narrator, Tim Gerard Reynolds, made audio magic with the entire series to this final entry and it is hard to imagine another person doing a better job.

The story starts off with a bang and we find Prince Jalan doing what he does best; running away. But soon he is once again tied to another epic quest that forces him to make a stand and face his fears...despite his best efforts not to. He is a liar and a cheat, but if anyone can save the world through a bizarre combination of blind luck and panic it's Prince Jalan.

This book recommended for people who already read the first two books of "The Red Queen's War" series and the entire series is recommended to fantasy adventure fans who would love to be entertained by humorously hypocritical main characters.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

A great finish

What made the experience of listening to The Wheel of Osheim the most enjoyable?

I love Tim Gerard Reynolds..........its what brought me to the book and then I was hooked

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Wheel of Osheim?

How they always find a way out ........

What about Tim Gerard Reynolds’s performance did you like?

I love his ability to give a voice and his on character to each of the people in the book

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

enjoyed it.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Good Finish After a Disappointing Middle.

Would you listen to The Wheel of Osheim again? Why?

Maybe. If I listen to Prince of Fools again maybe I will listen to it for continuity.

What did you like best about this story?

I liked the development of Jal's character arc as well as completion of the plot lines.

Which scene was your favorite?

Jal confronting the Red Queen and the scene where he pays his debt.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Laugh. When Jal attacks the unborn and screams Undereth.

Any additional comments?

Good ending to the overall story. The second book disappointed me but this was not bad. Still some of my criticisms of the second book stand. Kara does not fit in. I feel her character is shoehorned in to include a female protagonist and placate feminist audience. Compare it to the Red Queen's character. She fits right in. Same with Lady Blue and Silent Sister. Kara serves no purpose.

3 of 4 people found this review helpful

Starts out bizarrely but soon comes on full force

When we first venture into chapter 1 we find find our fearful hero Jalan wandering somewhat fracturessly <-(is a word?) between the Sahara desert and the nothingness of Hell, enduring one torment after another just trying to stay alive. Honestly, I was so confused with this unfolding start that I was fearful that Mark had misplaced his muse on book 3.

I'm pleased that I continued since after Jalan found his way out of Hell, the novel took off like a loosed trebuchet going from one exciting scene to the next near-death encounter and finally culminating with one of a rare nail-biting endings that I've experienced.

What is really fascinating is how Mark blended Norse mythology with Snorri playing an uber-Beowolf along Greek Mythology with Jalan playing a farcical Odysseus with bits of Christianity and even added some godless Nietzsche "Will to Power" magic. If that weren't enough, as if an ode to the Bard himself, he even included some welcomed quotes to pull off this fantastic story.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Amazing

This is my first written review ever. I have to say that I absolutely loved this book. It was an amazing conclusion to the story and the performance was great as always from Tim, but more than that I have never laughed so much at an audiobook in my life. I have listened to all of books by Robert Jordan, Brandon Sanderson, Salvator, etc... And this series is now my favorite. The characters are just so well written and engaging. Loved it and will probably listen to it again here very soon.

2 of 3 people found this review helpful

Tim Gerard Reynolds nails it.

Jalan Kendith is so much fun! I laughed out loud more times than I could count.

interesting elements

by end of this book the main character's growth is evident yet he remains of the same nature at heart. then there are other elements hinted at through our the series that come to light. who are the builders what does it all mean. a good read from start to finish. Tim G. Reynolds brings it all to life as usual...

Things happen, quickly

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Maybe. There was a lot that I loved about this book (the main characters and the reader are first and foremost on the "reasons to recommend" list). However, I would caution anyone listening to it that the book very much starts out en media res, and in the story there's a lot of time line jumping around (flashbacks). Plot points often come up quickly, without much transition or description. I found this approach both refreshing, and frustrating. Refreshing, because longwindedness is so much a part of this genre, that cutting to the chase and things just HAPPENING is a nice change of pace. But frustrating, because I'm the type of audiobook listener who is usually doing something else while I'm listening, and often only catch 15, 20 minutes at a time to listen, and then sometimes go several days without listening at all. The result, for me, was that I often had no idea what was going on, and had to keep skipping back to regain the thread of the story. Towards the end I just soldiered through, and while I enjoyed the whole thing, I honestly couldn't articulate exactly what happened at the end, because I was confused about a lot of it. However! I think people who listen more regularly and for longer stretches at a time, like on a daily commute or something, would have better luck with this one than I did.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Snorri. He is a badass Viking warrior with a lot of heart, a great sense of humor, and had a heart wrenching story. Jalen made a great narrator, but I was far more interested in Snorri.

Have you listened to any of Tim Gerard Reynolds’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I actually got this series entirely because Tim Gerard Reynolds was the narrator. He is an amazing narrator, and this story was no exception.

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

Eh, something pithy about going into Hell and back out again. I'm bad at taglines :D

Any additional comments?

This is book 3 of a series, so don't start here: listen to books 1 and 2 first!