War God, Book 1
By: David Weber
Narrated by: Nick Sullivan
Series: War God, Book 1
Length: 14 hrs and 49 mins
Unabridged Audiobook
Release date: 03-27-12
Publisher: Audible Studios
Genre: Epic Fantasy, Fantasy
My Rating: 4.25 of 5.0 Overall, Story 4.25 and Narration 4.25.
Publisher's Summary
Bahzell is no knight in shining armor, and besides he has too many problems of his own to be messing with anybody else's problems - let alone the War God's. Unfortunately, the War God has other ideas for him.
©1995 David M. Weber (P)2012 Audible, Inc.
Review:
Bahzell is a Horse Stealer Hradani, a race of men who are bigger and stronger than normal men and subject to uncontrollable rages. Bahzell is one of the biggest warriors. The Hradani tend to stay to themselves as they frighten men, elves and dwarves… well maybe not the dwarves so much and not those who rely on magic. Bahzell is living in an enemy stronghold as a form of control. Bahzell should be staying quiet and out of the limelight. Instead, he keeps coming to the aid of the abused and oppressed…starting with a young woman who has been physically and emotionally attacked by a perverted prince. After rescuing the young woman Bahzell needs to find a way out of the castle and to safety.
That is only the beginning of Bahzell’s journey with the evil prince sending assassins after him. Bahzell is joined by a good friend who refuses to let him face his troubles alone. Brandark has the heart of bard and the instrument to go with it. Although he can write the ballads he doesn’t have the voice to go along with it. They lead the first set of assassins away and into a trap, but more dangerous assassins are sent to follow up.
Bahzell is (sort of) trying to stay low in a town, when he again steps in to rescue a damsel in distress. This leads to adding more enemies after them as Bahzell and Brandark are joined by the woman and her servant on the next part of the journey.
The God of War is trying to get Bahzell’s attention even while he and his companions are dodging arrows, swords and black magic. Bahzell doesn’t want to listen as the God repeatedly asks him to be a Knight for good. Bahzell doesn’t see himself as a knight especially considering he comes from a race of Horse Stealers known for angry rages. Still he does seem to be a warrior for the downtrodden wherever he goes and he has learned to mostly control his rages. There may be some conditions to giving his oath to a God, but maybe the aid and support he could get in return will be worth the commitment. Bahzell will have to make a decision soon as black wizards and creatures of black magic draw close.
I found this to be a fun adventure story. Bahzell is clearly a reluctant hero, more in the line of a Robinhood than a St. George. The traveling companions add their own quirks and troubles. The reading is easy and flowed well. There were even some interesting philosophy points in the good and evil face off. I will keep this author and series in mind for future listening. I recommend this for fans of fantasy adventure.
Audio Notes: I enjoyed the energetic and creative narration by Nick Sullivan. He provides voices that fit the characters. The narration made this a fun, easy listen.
Source: 2012 Audible. This qualifies for 2019TBR, 2019Audiobook and 2019Alphabet Goals.
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