Venator

By: James Bubela

Narrated by: Clint Grayson

Length: 8 hrs and 51 mins

Publisher's summary

A homestead on the border of the Wilds should've been a safe, quiet place to raise a family.

It should’ve been.

Lorin Rhodes is left alone after a brutal attack on him and his family. He failed to protect his land, failed to protect his children, and then, in a near-final act of desperation even failed to kill himself.

Some say that a man with nothing to lose is the most dangerous. And Lorin has lost it all.

©2019 James Bubela (P)2019 James Bubela

Great read

Honestly I really enjoyed this book. This isn’t my normal genre, but it kept me thinking and entertained throughout. I’ll be keeping an eye out for a continuation to the series or wherever the author goes next

Venator - Good start to a dark fantasy series

Venator is a pretty good start to a fairly dark fantasy series. It starts off a bit slow but does pick up and become pretty action packed and interesting. The book follows Lorin who at the beginning of the book is in quite a pitiful state and only wants his own death. You soon learn what has happened to him and his family and then turns to a story of vengeance and justice. I would say the strongest part of the story is when he meets his teacher/mentor and she begins to train and teach him everything she knows. The book can be a bit dark and grim at times and there is a fair amount of death but if that doesn't turn you off that won't be a problem. The story can feel a bit telegraphed at times and the characters can act in unbelievable ways or not see something that seems very obvious to the reader but those are minor issues. Clint Grayson did a solid job with the narration aside from a couple character voices that he did that I found somewhat annoying but the main narration was well done.

Overall it is a solid start to a new series and I am interested to see what comes next.

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

Surprised by how much I loved this one!

I listen to a lot of books on my daily commute and I pick up a good handful of book credits in exchange for honest reviews. I assume these are new authors or narrators and might be more inexperienced so I think I subconsciously adjust (lower) my expectations with that in mind. This book was such a pleasant deviation of the usual book-review experience however. The author has a few notes at the end which endear him to me the listener, even more. I'm shocked he's not an experienced writer (he mentions that at the end). He has definitely dipped into a hidden talent. I hope he continues to dip! His writing in this genre is brilliant. And while I'm not familiar with either the writer or narrator, they're both fantastic. Mr Grayson does a phenomenal job bringing to life the character of Lorin and Ash and the Baron....and well, was just such a pleasure to listen to for this genre. I hope if Bubela decides to write more fantasy, he considers Clint for his narrator again. A successful pairing to say the least.

The story starts out with a man, Lorin, hitting rock bottom. His family was killed and he had nothing left to live for. He tries to take his own life so he can end it all and go be with his family again. He fails. And the next series of events take him on a mission to avenge his murdered family. The elements of fantasy are woven into the story so subtly that you barely aware to suspend disbelief. Of course it goes without saying that there are banshees in the wilds. DUH.

Lorin is convinced the responsible party to his family's murder, is the likeable son of the local Baron, Varin. He must end Varin's life at any cost. But is everything as it seems on the surface?

The characters are rich and well developed and the appropriate ones likeable and the villains hold question marks over their heads. Who done it?! You think you know there must be a misunderstanding but Lorin is so convinced. Who will it be, will he finally get revenge?

While the main story unfolds you're starting to get integrated into the back story on Venators and his prison mate Ash helps him train and feeds him knowledge on all topics.

While some might think the end was predictable, I certainly didn't see the actual twist coming. I definitely think the author left the door open for there to be a sequel OR NOT. It could go either way. And that's a brilliant strategy as a new author. Don't burn any bridges or close any doors unnecessarily. I hope we revisit these characters and the story continues. I dabble in a lot of fantasy and much of it gets a little predictable or played out. This story felt fresh, and original and was just really well written. I want more.

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

The best book I've heard all year.

I listen to 5-10 audiobooks per week, and this is the the best book I've heard all year. You hit the trifecta: Great cover, spellbinding story, and superb narration. I CANNOT WAIT for the sequel.

Great start! Can’t wait for more

The story pulls you in from the very beginning, and has you wanting more when it’s over. The author has done a fantastic job and you would never know this wasn’t his day job. Congrats and I hope you’re inspired to do more.

The narrator is equally as talented. He’s very well spoken and was obviously very familiar with the story and it shown in his reading.

Thanks for the opportunity to review this book that I received free at my request.

Great start for a new author!

Venator was a good book. You can tell from the description that Venator is going to be a dark and grim tale of vengeance, but it also contained bits of humor, some memorable characters, and a good overall plot. The story is about Loren, who believes he’s lost everything and is driven by a deathwish and a quest for revenge. During the book, my favorite technique was the way that Loren’s storytelling was woven into the plot -- as he interacts with various characters, he relives flashbacks from his past as he tells the tale of what took place before the novel begins. I also thought the story had excellent pacing, events moved along at an even pace, quickening at the end as the plot came to a climax and something of a resolution (leaving a nice segue for a sequel).

But Venator also had a few flaws. Most of the supporting cast of characters were either superfluously detailed and quirky or completely flat and uninteresting. A lot of the interactions and dialog felt odd or awkward and some of the characters didn’t behave in believable ways -- even for a fantasy novel. The psychology present wasn’t deep and Loren frequently flipped from seeming perfectly normal to deeply traumatized and psychotic (but maybe that was intentional). The plot did have some twists and turns along the way, but I honestly thought the foreshadowing was a bit overdone and because of that, most twists seemed fairly predictable.

All-in-all, Venator was a good book but due to a few flaws, not a great book. I was torn on the rating between three and four stars, but I’m going to settle on rounding it up. From what I understand, Venator is James Bubela’s first book and its pretty outstanding work for a first novel. Bubela showed great promise with Venator and I really think he’s going to be an author to watch.

For the audiobook, Clint Grayson did a decent job. His performance wasn’t my favorite, but neither did it turn me off from the book. Some characters, such as Loren and a few of the ‘extras’ were great and really made the book come alive. But then some other supporting characters were performed with voices that were odd, annoying, or flat and indistinguishable from others. But I think this is also one of Grayson’s first narrations and I think he has some potential as well. At this point, I wouldn’t pick up a new book just because I see his name as the narrator, but I certainly wouldn’t avoid getting an interesting sounding book just because he’s narrating.

Special thanks to James Bubela, who provided me with this book at my request.

Extraordinary!

Meet Lorin Rhodes; a man who has lost everything, a man with nothing to lose. Witnessing his family tortured and killed, Lorin seeks to end his anguish. Failing miserably, all he accomplishes is to wind up in prison for a year. His mind now firmly set on revenge. Meeting Ashmere, he is offered training while in prison. Ashmere is a Venator; a hunter, a guardian, and a judge. Thus begins Lorin’s tale of deception, betrayal, torture, death, and ultimately, discovery. The account is a bit of a mystery with several twists and turns before all is made clear. As an author’s first book I think this is quite amazing, as well as a wonderful story. I wish James the best of luck and many more successes. I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Excellent Potential

I was given a free copy of this book at my request in exchange for a fair review.

I would recommend this book to others. Heavy trigger warning for suicide.

Spoilers:





I really liked the way that the author opens the book and deals with suicidal thoughts throughout the book. He has one of the best mentor deaths I have seen in a long while, and while the twist is a bit predictable, I still enjoyed it.

The negative. The start of the book is rather slow. We learn the characters back story in conversations with three different people before we get to the mentor in jail, where I think the book should have started all along.

Overall I gave the book 4/5 stars because I enjoyed it, and would listen to the sequel or another work by the same author. James has lots of story potential and is one to watch.

Promising!

When first starting this audio I was drawn in by the narrator. His voice just keeps you listening. This is the author's first release and he's on to a great start. Yes, there were some brief moments when I was not sure if I was going to like the MC. Yet, I was still immersed in this complex story. In the end I felt he finally found his calling.
This audio was given to me free and I voluntarily gave this review.