Wraith Knight

By: C. T. Phipps

Narrated by: Peter Berkrot

Length: 10 hrs and 41 mins

Publisher's summary

The King Below, Enemy of the World, is dead. Will his successor save the world...or rule it? 

Jacob Riverson was once the greatest hero of an age. Cut down during what should have been the final battle against the King Below, he was condemned to centuries of torment as a Wraith Knight in the service of said monster. With the destruction of his master, Jacob finds his free will returning and discovers he is in a world torn by civil war between the King Below's former slaves and the heroes who "saved" them. 

Joining forces with the overly-idealistic but brilliant warrior Regina Whitetremor, Jacob must determine whether he has any place in the new world and whether his destiny is as a hero or monster.

©2017 Charles Phipps (P)2019 David N. Wilson

Solid work

This is a solid piece of writing from a good author. The book starts kind of slow but stick it out. It is well worth the listen. I recommend this as a good listen especially if you enjoy his other work.

Thoroughly enjoyed this!!

I've loved pretty much all the books I've read by this author so was excited to dive into this, and it was awesome, well written, great world setting...but then he added in the dreaded love triangle!! I loathe love triangles and try to avoid books with them in it, and I wasn't impressed to find one here, it just didn't add to the story at all and I wish it wasn't part of it which is why the 4 stars instead of 5.

Anyway, The plot was fast paced and intense. We are thrown into the story right from the start and have to learn the back story of Jacob before we fully understand his character. I loved that fact!! Jacob is awesome and seeing what he went through and where he is now was brilliantly done. I loved the world building and learning all about the Wraith Knights, the Dragon Riders and every other being that's part of the world. I'm a massive fan of Lord of the Rings and the Wraith Knights reminded me of the Nazgul. I also loved learning about the King Below. I actually think the world building in this book is the best one this author has written. It's rich in detail and beings and was just all round amazing.

As I said, I loathe love triangles. I think the blossoming relationship between the other two characters involved in the love triangle (I'm keeping it vague to avoid spoilers) was beautiful and enough, Jacob does not need to be involved! Other than that, the book is filled with what I've come to expect from this author, great characters, strong women, witty banter and laughs as well as tears. I will definitely continue on with the series and try to put away my hatred of love triangles ;)

In all, a well written and developed read. It grabbed me from the start and I was hooked the whole way through. It's the start of what's sure to be an epic journey.

Peter Berkrot read this really well. He has a pleasant voice that was clear and easy to listen to. He had a great range of tones and voices and I thoroughly enjoyed his performance.

I was given this audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review. This in no way affected nor influenced my thoughts.

Wonderfully turns fantasy tropes on their heads

I absolutely love C.T. Phipps' Supervillainy series, and also love books that take familiar tropes and turn them around, so this book is pretty much squarely in my happy-book-sweet-spot. It doesn't take itself too seriously...while also grappling with huge questions of morality, life, death, what it means to be heroic vs evil, all the above. Nothing is ever quite what it seems.

There were definitely some similarities in tone and story to Supervillainy, but while Merciless is a (mostly) decent guy at heart who wants to be a villain and does his best to be evil-ish, Jacob here is a good man who was unwillingly cast in the role of the bad guy, and makes the most of doing good with what he has. The tone is a bit more somber, but there's still a good amount of humor throughout. And I felt right along with Jacob, who got cast a pretty horrible lot in life (or death?). But, he did get some pretty awesome magic along with it!

I'd highly recommend this book! It pretty much hits all the right notes of what a modern epic fantasy should be. The narration was fantastic as well, Peter Berkrot was a joy to listen to.

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

Phipps Does It Again

Having just read and reviewed The Rules of Supervillainy, I was a little surprised at the “non-hero being a hero” similarities in the two books. I know that Phipps wrote them at different times and that they are eons apart but I also thought that the same feeling was in both books. The best part about that feeling is that it’s a “good triumphs evil” feeling even though the characters are supposed to be villains or bad guys. It’s a really good kind of uncomfortable.

Wraith Knight, while being in a genre that I don’t read too often was a really interesting book from beginning to end. The beginning you are thrown right into who the person is, what he fought (and died) for. Along with what he has become, (hint hint, it’s the title of the book).

Phipps doesn’t hold back and there is a lot of battles, gore, and overall action in Wraith Knight. It really kept the pacing up, letting you take a breath only from time to time. I love when a book does that. It’s exhausting as a reader, but also in a good way.

I keep making statements that sound bad but are actually compliments. It might be because this book had a bad guy doing seemingly good things. Hence the juxtaposition. (Woah, I just used juxtaposition in a review… gold star for me).

The things that I’m used to from Phipps were in this book as well sarcasm, incredibly well designed, explained, and thought out worlds, along with characters that were likable (or not) depending on the situation. A well-written action-packed book that I would recommend if you enjoy Grimdark Fantasy type books.

Peter Berkrot’s narration was spot on and really gave the characters a real feeling. I love when a narrator can do that and Berkrot pulled it off in spades.

Waking up as the bad guy

Jacob Riverson is a knight, one of the 'good guys'. But when he dies in battle he finds himself reborn as a wraith knights - one of the bad guys, and the enemies he was sworn to fight. Plus he has a trickster god talking in his ear. Now he must deal with being a bad guy, and the knowledge of what he has done.

My prior knowledge of CT Phipps work is from the self aware Supervillainy series.A series that is full of knowing winks to other, more mainstream, comic worlds. This is not that. This is a series take on the fantasy genre. While it is built on the works that have come before (Tolkien's Ring Wraiths do come to mind at times) it doesn't have that fourth wall breaking wink-wink to the audience going. If you are looking for more of that from Phipps, this isnt it.

But it is enjoyable. Like the Supervillainy series Phipps has a strong emphasis on character and relationships. How the characters work together and grow together is important. There are not short sections of the book devoted to discussions about feelings and relationships. There is also magic, and war and battle.

The writing is clunky in places. One example is at one point the main character literally asks everyone else to 'tell their backstory'. Backstory is a term very much used by writers and readers around characters, but coming form an actual character within the story it felt really out of place. It might have worked in the more meta Supervillainy books, but here it does not.

Narration by Peter Berkrot is good. It took me a bit to get used to the voice. He sounded much older than I expected for the way the character presents at first, but I adjusted (as did the character) and in the end I enjoyed it. Well paced and engaging, he varies throughout to keep it clear what is going on and who is talking.

This book was given to me for free at my request and I provided this review voluntarily.

Fun and Surprisingly Thought Provoking

C.T. Phipps spins an engaging tale, centered around a protagonist with more depth than you might expect. Sure, Wraith Knight can be simply a fun adventure it it's what you want. Yet there's even more to offer if you seek depth. What defines good and evil? Do ends justify means? Can power bring redemption for one who has done horrifying things?

Peter Berkrot does a nice performance here. He may not have the range of voices some narrators offer, but he reads with feeling and adds a dramatic touch.

I received this audiobook for free in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

An epic battle between good and evil

This is a story of growth for Jacob and the many twists and turns taken to be true to oneself. An epic battle between good and evil finds an unlikely hero. Jacob was turned into a dark knight for the beast below, until his untimely death brings about Jacob’s freedom centuries later. Now Jacob finds himself in a quandary – does he continue in darkness or can he truly become one of light again? If he can truly silence the “trickster” and focus on helping Serah, a witch, and her sometimes love Regina.

CT Phipps vividly describes the characters and storyline clearly. For me, I found this book very well done. I enjoyed his change in writing style – I enjoy his pop culture references in the Villainy series, but this book demonstrates with clarity his true skill at writing. I found his switch in writing styles to be refreshing.

The storyline was well done and the characters each had depth. I enjoyed (ok, weird I know) the struggle Jacob had in rediscovering himself and making the journey to become good. His struggles were well written, and the dialog also flowed smoothly.

I do not remember ever hearing Peter Berkrot narrate before, but he was good. He has the tone of voice and cadence I think Jacob would have. The drama of the story was easily translated by Berkrot’s performance. His narration performance was well suited and fit this book very well.

I did not encounter any difficulties with the production or quality of this audiobook. I also want to say that this could have easily become one of those books where they could have added music and sounds, thank goodness they did not! The quality of this audiobook was perfect!

Audiobook was provided for review by the author/narrator/publisher.
Please find this complete review and many others at my review blog.
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Great fantasy!

Wraith Knight is an excellent fantasy that had me hooked from chapter one. Fantasy isn't my normal genre, but Phipps never disappoints! I've listened to a few of his books and have a few others on my list to be listened to soon. I've loved them all so far. Great narration by Peter Berkrot.

Well Done Fantasy

While I'm a HUGE fan of Phipps' snarky Weredeer and Supervillains, this story really showcases his massive talent as a writer. If it weren't for the paranormal aspects, this might be viewed as a coming of age story. It certainly embodies certain aspects of figuring out a new identity (child to teen, teen to adult, or in this case, righteous knight to evil overlord) and how the protagonist handles it. Yes, there are moments of excellent humor and sarcasm, but this story also deeply resonated with me. I hope, if I ever have to make decisions like this, my heart is as pure. Berkrot did a first class job with the narration.

Really liked it

I don't normally gravitate to these kinds of storylines, but this one has a great story line, and kept my interest throughout the book. Will be getting the second in the series soon.

Excellent story!

I loved the unusual nature of the characters, the intellect of the conversation and the interesting developments of the goodvsevil mechanics of the world and how they aren't as simple as they appear.
Definately worth the listen!

P.S. I recieved a free copy of this audiobook and have left this honest review of my own accord.

“F**k them and the ass they rode in on”

Me Phipps never fails to satisfy with his writings! This dark fantasy is no exception and I enjoyed every page of it and I’m looking forwards to the next instalment.
I’ve never heard anything Peter has narrated before, but I was really impressed and wouldn’t hesitate to pick up other books he’s narrated.
This is my honest opinion of a free review copy.

Clever nd of underworld and upperworld

Brilliant book really enjoyed the mix of realms and the main character 's leads looking forward to the next book

An original take on fantasy

The characters you meet are brilliantly written, the lore is artfully constructed and the story... just wow. C T Phipps has out done himself with this original take on the fantasy genre. Dark humour, a conflicted mc with a past forgotten by history and op protagonists vs op antagonists. I loved this story, voiced perfectly by Peter Berkrot and can’t wait for the next one.