Forging Hephaestus

Villains' Code Series, Book 1

By: Drew Hayes

Narrated by: Amy Landon

Gifted with meta-human powers in a world full of capes and villains, Tori Rivas kept away from the limelight, preferring to work as a thief in the shadows. But when she's captured trying to rob a vault that belongs to a secret guild of villains, she's offered a hard choice: prove she has what it takes to join them or be eliminated.

Apprenticed to one of the world's most powerful (and supposedly dead) villains, she is thrust into a strange world where the lines that divide superheroes and criminals are more complex than they seem. The education of a villain is not an easy one, and Tori will have to learn quickly if she wants to survive. On top of the peril she faces from her own teacher, there are also the capes and fellow apprentices to worry about, to say nothing of having to keep up a civilian cover.

Most dangerous of all, though, are those who loathe the guild's very existence. Old grudges mean some are willing to go to any length to see the guild turned to ash, along with each one of its members. Even the lowly apprentices.

©2016 Andrew Hayes (P)2017 Tantor

Good story, but not the best fit for the narrator

What made the experience of listening to Forging Hephaestus the most enjoyable?

It is a fun story.

What did you like best about this story?

I liked the play on the villains being heroic and the heroes being somewhat villainous, the grey area between moralities.

Would you be willing to try another one of Amy Landon’s performances?

Here's the thing, Amy is a good narrator, but she's not good for this kind of book. The problem is that there are so many strong characters in this book and the perspective changes often. Sometimes this causes confusion as to who is talking or who is having what thought. Given the large amount of disparate characters in this book I would have loved for it to follow the style of say "Ex-Heroes" and have multiple narrators, it would have lessened the perspective confusion and allowed someone like Amy to do a great job on the strong female characters while not having most of the male characters sounding essentially the same.

Any additional comments?

It's a really fun story that has many great moments.

I wish the author would do less perspective hopping and stay in one frame longer. I also don't like the "Later she would realize .." type thing that he often does in his novels.

The grey areas of morality are always fun to explore.

GREAT BOOK

Amy does a fabulously great job. Drew has such a good mind for hero's and villains. He adds so much for the reader/listener to see in their mind as the story rolls on.

not drews hayes best

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

in the top 100

What other book might you compare Forging Hephaestus to and why?

superpowered without the great characters

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

not really.reason i did not engage with this book

Any additional comments?

if you loved superpowered this one will help with the wait for year 4 to be released.

Outstanding story and narration!

I've listened to / read other works by Drew Hayes (Super Powereds, Fred, the Vampire Accountant) and thoroughly enjoyed each one. This book did not disappoint, especially if you are coming off of the Super Powereds series (and want more super hero action). If those books/series were enjoyable for you, you'll love this book too!

This book takes place in an extremely interesting world, with great characters (both main and side) and sets a great pace. My only complaint would be that even some of the side characters are interesting enough that you'd like to have heard more about them! I think the most interesting part of this book is system of 'Villians' vs. 'Capes' and how that clashes with good vs evil morals in the world.

Narration by Amy Landon was excellent! Great character voicing and pace throughout this book. I hope that Drew Hayes manages to get Amy narrating book 2 when it comes around. I will definitely be adding Amy to my list of narrators I keep an eye on.

great

Another fun one. I truly can not wait for the next one to come out.

Good listen

It was a good story, kept me interested but a bit simplistic. Narrator was wonderful.

Phone read and likable characters.

The characters were fun without being over the top cheesy. I really enjoyed the idea of the 2 different guilds working towards the same purpose in many ways. That the lines aren't always black-and-White. A fun read for a young adult or adult.

take a chance!

I was hesitant at first but very glad I took the time to listen, to be honest the last few hours I could not stop.

Great book

If you are a fan of Super-Hero fantasy this is a must read. Very entertaining

Looking forward to to the next one.

I love comics. This book gave me new characters. I was afraid that it would not have enough action but I was extremely wrong. So much happens. Some things that the author seemed to be trying to keep secret were obvious. I don't really mind, and I'm glad the author didn't just do things for shock value like many of the TV shows and comics today. Story really wrapped up too.
Some of my favorite moments were when the author really let the badasses be badasses. I hope some of the apprentices get way stronger. Hephaestus being one of them. She got better but I want her to rival the older generation by the end of this series.
One pet peeve was that in a guild of people with sociopathic tendencies most of the characters had no grudges. The young adults seemed to have a sense of self control with each other that was borderline ridiculous.
All that being said. I really got used to the style and enjoyed Forging Hephaestus. This book has me wanting more though and I'll definitely read the sequels.
Note for the voice actor. Try to give a little more life to people in stressful situations. Emotions were sometimes a little too bland and cartoonie.