a jaunty listen

What the editor's blurb doesn't say is that this is also fantasy plus magic.

Eric does the usual turn-into-a-vampire-wrestle-with-fact-that-now-undead-monster-of-night thing.....and I started out by thinking it was going to be just another version of the same old tale, but then it all kicks off and he ends up chasing the bad guys through a portal into another world.....where there's a well thought out magic system, plus a good amount of sword fighting, knights and armour etc etc and slaying of bad guys etc etc Yes, you can pick holes in the plot, and some of the morality, but on the whole, it's a decent enough listen if you're looking for entertainment.

The tone is relatively jaunty, and Sean Runnette's narration and timing is great. There are some slower sections, and some padding which a ruthless editor might have culled, but it never bored me completely, and I was content to let it unfold in its own time. And I quite like the character Eric.

It does end rather abruptly, requiring one to immediately download the next instalment to find out what happens next.

A reasonable way to spend a credit - especially if you have a long commute and need a bit of an epic to keep you entertained.

14 people found this helpful

Fun opening to a good series, with only one issue

This book begins with your average college professor waking up one morning to a rather surreal set of circumstances that progressively get worse as he becomes a vampire. I thought from there it would become your typical type of vampire novel, but it didn't. Firstly, it introduced magic to the main character, followed not much later by coming into contact with vampire hunters. During one of their attacks they escape through a portal, and our hero tracks them and makes a portal of his own to follow them. Unfortunately what he thought would be a portal to some kind of cult or religious compound somewhere on earth turns out to be something very different than he expected.

I won't tell you anymore of the plot, but it's a tiny part of it and his adventures where he ends up involves magic, swords, monsters, religious orders and a world that utterly hates vampires for good reason. So you follow his desperate attempt to survive, make allies, learn magic, learn his own heritage and much, much more.

The only down side for me is the narrator. Podium books use Sean a lot and I have no idea why. He is average at best. He reads the narrative perfectly finely, with good pacing and rhythm. The problem is he is utterly lousy at character voicing. By lousy I mean he doesn't do any. I can only assume people that gave him 5 stars have never heard a top quality narrator or just give out five stars to everything. And don't get me started on how badly he butchered the English accent. It was so badly I didn't recognize it as English at all, and at one point was more bad Scottish. So again, I have no idea why they use him so much, or why he is rated as a top narrator. Not in my book, and I've listened to about 500 audiobooks.

7 people found this helpful

What an opener!

I'm a fan of Sean Runnette's readings and this seemed like an interesting plot line so I started it. This is a truly a miners ice story, with refreshing twists on previously imagined ideas and characters you care about. Superbly read, thoroughly enjoyed, and waiting for the next!!!

Bravo!!!!!

14 people found this helpful

Vampires with a heart

Would you listen to Nightlord again? Why?

Yes, given the length I'm sure there will be some points I missed first time around! It took me a while to get into the story, but I am so pleased I stayed with it. There were times the story took off in unexpected directions and the pace wasn't even - but that's fine by me. Even with the length, don't expect the story to tie up all the story lines there are a lot left hanging.

Who was your favorite character and why?

The story is all from one view point (Eric), so if you don't like that character don't bother with the book.

What does Sean Runnette bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

His pace of reading is quite laconic - I'm not sure I would have read the voice quite the same way, it added some characterisation I appreciated.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Several - but that would be telling!

Any additional comments?

This is a really long narrative - I listen while I run (so for half marathon training this is perfect!). I loved the world described and will likely listen to the whole thing again pretty soon, if I can't find a sequal!

6 people found this helpful

Great book, but odd ending

Where does Nightlord rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This is a pretty good book, the characters were believable and the main character was easy to connect with. I would rank this among the top books I've listened to.

What was most disappointing about Garon Whited’s story?

Right up until the end the story was great but to suddenly drop a previous chapter from the beginning on to the end confused me completely. It has more loose ends than a frayed blanket and I really hope a sequel is planned otherwise it's a pointless read!

Which scene did you most enjoy?

There wasn't a particular scene that stood out, but the action scene very described well and easy to imagine.

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

There were parts that made me laugh, comments or reactions that were amusing. There were sad parts but not to the point of crying

Any additional comments?

The way the audio was put together, repetition of scenes and the ending... good grief the ending.. please say there is more!

6 people found this helpful

No depth

Everything is accepted to easily. Even the best friend never freaks out really which leave the characters shallow and the story weak. It's not helped by the overly nonchalant narration.

1 person found this helpful

A fun little read

This book has a pretty unique idea. Take becoming a vampire, and chuck it out a window. That alone is fun in on it self. However, the major problem for this book is that the main character - Eric - is a literal saint, with plot armour the size of everist!

The plot armour bit doesn't really bother me to much, but what does bother me is that Eric is just so good that it can become nausiating; and even when he does something bad, he only does it because the situation he is put in dictates that 'he had no choice', or 'he wasn't in complete control of his faculties', and hence, he is completely guilt free from any wrong doing. His pious streak goes so far as to when he is confronted with the plot's main bad guy, he does something so stupid, that I literally face palmed myself.

Furthermore the authour will sometimes decide to take a huge detour from the story and try to answer deep philosophical questions, whilst I am there thinking to myself 'this is a book about a magic vampire, in a medieval fantasy world, filled with a character called Sir Booger... I don't think you can talk philosophical to me!'.

Oh and I have to mention Sir Booger. Why on God's green Earth would you name a character Booger! At first it may a have given an eleven year old a smile, but after the first what - three times, it just becomes cringy and somewhat annoying.

Now apart from all that, if you want a book that has a pretty fun plot, but not much in terms of characters, then this book is the one for you. However, a word of warning whenever the author decides to become a philosopher, just skip it. It adds nothing to the plot, and it honestly will just bore you.

1 person found this helpful

Not getting better

I enjoyed the start of this book - it had a lot of promise but it is just getting tedious now - nothing is happening and it has got repetitive. I tried hard to like the main character - actually I don't dislike him but I have no feel for him at all - so have no interest in him or what he does. A really shame as I was really excited by the potential of this.

1 person found this helpful

Really Boring

Feels like this is about 40 hours too long. By the end I couldn't wait for it to finish.

While there are some entertaining sections on the whole its very slow with a main character that I found irritating and smug.

1 person found this helpful

Not at all what I expected

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

Totally!!

What did you like best about this story?

Involved and funny

What about Sean Runnette’s performance did you like?

His timing is perfect

Any additional comments?

Moved directly on to book two and cant wait until book 3

1 person found this helpful