Warsworn

Chronicles of the Warlands, Book 2

By: Elizabeth Vaughan

Narrated by: Susan Ericksen

Length: 10 hrs and 51 mins

Publisher's summary

Lara is the Warprize.

A powerful healer, she has sworn an oath of loyalty to Keir the Warlord, and his people. Now the Warlord and his chosen mate face enemies within the tribe and danger lurks on every hand as they journey toward Keir's homeland.

When they reach a village marked with the warnings of the plague, Keir forbids Lara to heal the sick, commanding that she not risk her own life. But both Lara and Kier are strong of will and neither will bend easily, even for love; and when Lara disobeys, she pays the price: both she and Kier are plague-struck... and so is their entire encampment.

In the midst of the dying, Iften, a rival warrior, gathers his followers and challenges Keir for the right to rule their tribe. If Keir, weakened by the sickness, loses -- he dies.

And so does Lara.

To save her love, her life, and her adopted people, Lara must find a cure for the plague -- and fully embrace her sworn role as Warprize to her Warlord.

©2006 Elizabeth Vaughan (P)2018 Elizabeth Vaughan

Great Adventure and Romance

Performance was great. I can’t bring myself to stop listening. I find that the story is balanced with enough romance without being crass, enough adventure and mystery.

Love these books!

I read these books when they first came out years ago and they were one of my favorite series. I am so happy they are finally becoming available as audio books as I rarely have time to actually read. I feel like the narrator is doing a wonderful job, and I can't wait for book 3, and more!

Disappointed...it was long and sad

I loved the first book but this one was just sad and honestly, very boring. The book revolves around a plague hitting the army and how Laura and Kier handle it. At first I thought it would only last a few chapters, but the ENTIRE book is about the plague. I'm guessing the plot was for setting up for the third book, but it was very drawn out and very depressing. Laura crys nearly every chapter in self pity and argues with everyone. It was sad to see various relationships change and deaths on some really cool characters. One death in particular was very upsetting to me, yet somehow underwhelming. The character was killed off oddly and I felt it was unnecessary. Character development seemed very minor in this book and most of the characters from book 1 were not included or only vaguely touched upon. I missed the politics, cat and mouse games, and slight mystery from book 1 and I hope that book 3 is much better.

I have enjoyed these books very much

I I am really enjoying this series I cannot wait for book 3 it had my attention the whole time it hurt everything I look for in a book humor romance action mystery it had it all so happy I found the series I hope book 3 is available soon

Where is book 3?

I read this series a long time ago and loved it. When I saw that it was narrated by Susan Ericksen, I hesitated. See, I love her narration of J.D. Robb's In Death series so much, to me she has become Eve Dallas. It's hard to hear her narrating a different story and not think of Eve. However, I soon got over my prejudice and lost myself in the story. As usual, she did a wonderful job.

loved the story before and love the narration now

loved the book when it first came out and they did a good job selecting a narrator. if you like well developed alternate realities give it a try. the first chapter a little bloody but then the story gets going and the blood eases up.

Cried a lot with this story

Great narration but I cried several times listening. I will listen to the next one but hope it won’t be as sad.

This was hard

This is a continuation of the Chronicles of the Warlands series. This was hard to get through. Not because it was a bad story. But because it was good. I’m invested in these characters story and their lives. Which makes it hard to see them go through hard times. It was painful to see things start to go bad. And not just the loss of life but the obstacles and opposition that is starting to mount against Kier and Lara. That’s the part that was hard to get through. And it’s really only beginning. The next book is where they will face their most opposition I think.

Epic Tale of Love and Loss

Warsworn by Elizabeth Vaughan is a compelling epic tale told in the slow-moving style of Clan of the Cave Bear saga or the Outlander series. This book picks up immediately after Warprize ends, so please read or listen to that book first for context and character development. A two sentence snapshot of Warprize is this: Princess Lara’s country is being ravaged by Fireland warriors, a barbarian tribe that live hundreds of miles way. To stop the war, Lara is offered up as a sacrifice to Warlord Kier by her brother, the King, and Lara agrees to be Kier’s slave to save her country.

In Warsworn, Kier and Lara begin the long journey back to the Firelands with their battalion of warriors. Kier does not treat Lara as a slave or force his way on her. Along the way we learn that the role of a WarPrize is not as a slave, but rather is a position held in high esteem and is extremely rare. Once Lara learns this and that Kier chose to bond with her (but did not consummate it), she immediately decides to trust him implicitly and wholeheartedly.

I will not belabor the sadness that fills the second half of the book, except to quote Friedrich Nietzsche, “That which does not kill us, makes us stronger.” What I really appreciate about this book and the entire series is the sophistication to the culture and the life of these strange barbarian people. In many way, the Firelanders held beliefs and customs that were smarter and healthier than their city-dwelling counterparts in the first book. For example, they honored cleanliness above all else so illness and disease were nonexistent in their people (until they reached the village infected by the plague). Additionally, although their people could not read or write, they were extremely intelligent with an unbelievable capacity to remember — from a long list of ingredients (needed for making medicines) to intricate patterns for dance that were created within days of a performance.

I listened to the Audible version of this story narrated by Susan Ericksen. She did a fantastic job narrating, clearly differentiating between male and female voices and exhibiting the right amount of exhaustion and urgency whenever needed. I cannot recommend this book and the entire series enough!

excellent!

Wow! Wow! Wow! Elizabeth Vaughan is an excellent writer. This is a great second to the series. The Love story further develops and the bond deepens between the characters. Also, this book explores themes about the struggles of leaving home, immigrating into a new culture and racism. This book also explores themes of moral injury during a time of plague. This part of the story resonated with me as we are living through the pandemic and I watched my own friends and family in hospital settings deal with much moral injury. For example, did we make the correct choice? What if we had done things differently? Or, it's my fault... this author has a great understanding of human nature and emotion. I can't wait to start the next book in the series.