Noble Roots

Spells, Swords, & Stealth, Book 5

By: Drew Hayes

Narrated by: Roger Wayne

For generations, nobles have gathered at a scenic estate once per year to compete. What transpires there is spoken of only in rumors, save for the prizes. Potent, powerful, and precious; the winners are said to receive a gift from magic itself.

Reeling after their loss to Kalzidar, the adventurers from Maplebark can only press forward, following advice imparted by the gods. Their divine directions will lead them on a series of twisting paths, branching between old friends and new challenges, before ultimately pointing at a particular estate on a specific evening.

Thrust from the familiar comfort of the wilds, the party will have to navigate the perils of noble society while keeping themselves in the competition. Between scheming nobles, a hidden high priest, dangerous challenges, and too many familiar faces, just making it out alive will be a challenge. But surviving alone won't be enough; not with a vengeful god scheming in the shadows, and a stolen soul waiting for rescue.

If the party wants their chance to strike back, they'll have to find a way to emerge victorious.

©2022 Andrew Hayes (P)2022 Tantor

Good, disappointing after such a long wait

I had been eagerly awaiting this book since the end of the last one. So far I've loved this series. Drew Hayes is quite good at crafting a story that keeps me wanting to know what happens next. The first four books in the series developed rather slowly as well, but Hayes has been expertly crafting his world, giving the magic an incredible depth that I've greatly enjoyed. This fifth installment improves on the depth of this world as well, describing new aspects of the world's magic, deities, and characters. In that regard, I'm well pleased with this new entry. However; the bigger story, that of the Bridge and its connection to what's happening in the "real world" gets no further expansion. The Bridge didn't even really play any part in this book, and the real world characters didn't get any development either. Their personal characters were explored a bit more, which was nice, but story-wise they played some game sessions, and nothing unusual happened, and they got no answers; they didn't even ask any relevant questions.

The narration by Roger Wayne was excellent as always, though the space between scene changes was remarkably short. Wayne sometimes sounded like there wasn't a break at all; one moment he's talking about one set of characters, and seemingly in the same paragraph he's talking about other characters a world away. It was confusing until I realized there must have been a scene-change break there that he skipped over. Having another half-second or second of pause in between these scene transitions would have helped a lot. I'm not sure though if that's the narrator's issue or the audio editor's doing (if there is one that would handle that).

Overall, I was pretty happy with this fifth book, just disappointed I didn't get any answers I was looking for. The first four books were released about a year or two apart, this last one took nearly four years. I was excited to get more answers about the Bridge and the connection to the real world, but got literally no answers at all in that regard, that part of the story was seemingly put on hold. This could be great depending on subsequent books, but for now it left me disappointed and I find myself not eagerly awaiting the next book in a year, or four, or six, who knows. His other series clearly have his focus, which is fine of course, he should tell the stories he wants to tell; but I'm a big fan of this series and don't want to see it drawn out unnecessarily. Another popular sci-fi series I'm listening to keeps dragging things out book after book after book with little "big-picture" development, so the fans keep buying book after book hoping for a decent resolution. I'm hoping Hayes isn't going that route with this series. Time will tell I guess.

Things changed in this one.

It's not bad, but there seems to be a bit of a departure from the first three books. The same characters are there and there are some very cool aspects to this novel, but it does not have the same feel as the first four books. This feels like halfway through, the author changed directions on how the characters should act. It's not necessarily bad, but it is DEFINITELY not written in the same atmosphere as how we got to know the characters, or as the first four books. . If you read the first three, read this for yourself and decide if you like it. I will not continue following this series and I have read everything single other thing Drew Hayes has written. This book isn't bad, but it's not the same series I started reading. I hope y'all enjoy it.

The author has a deep and abiding love of gaming

you can feel it in every word. The story itself plays its tropes surprisingly straight, but thats not an insult. These characters exist within their archetypes, but are not defined by them. Every word from beginning to end is steeped in quality, and I cannot WAIT for the next installment. the voice actor does a very good job too, he was more expressive this time around than the last few books in the series, and I think it paid off.

amazing book it was worth the wait!

i like the extra length,and the story was really compelling but deji voice was changed?

Exciting lore drops

Surprised Pikachu face at the reveals in this installation. I want the next book now!

Wow Another Fantastic Book

This is one of the best book series on audible. Fantastic series that just keeps getting better. The Voice actor does a wonderful job bringing the words to life. 5 stars all the way.

Worth it

The summary is best give as the answer to the correct question of “is it worth it?”

Just a great book

Some of the voices have changed slightly but great overall! Love the narrator and Drew Hayes for putting so much effort into this story.

Great Tree Story

Very well done. Story was well done and I enjoyed it. Looking forward to the next book.

So good.. This series never disappoints!

I love this series. It just keeps getting better and better. You should seriously just buy these audiobooks now.