Sanctuary

Roman’s Chronicles, Book 1

By: Ilona Andrews

Narrated by: Chris Brinkley

Length: 4 hrs and 27 mins

Publisher's summary

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Ilona Andrews comes a novella featuring Roman, our favorite Volhv wizard in the always intriguing, colorful, volatile Kate Daniels world.

It’s not easy serving Chernobog, the God of Destruction, Darkness and Death…especially during the holidays; and especially when you’re out of eggnog and one of your pesky, freeloading mythic creatures has eaten your last cookie.

Roman would like nothing more than to be left alone, but when a wounded boy stumbles into his yard and begs for sanctuary, Roman takes him in. Now elite mercenaries are camped out on his property, combat mages are dousing the house with fire, and strange priests are unleashing arcane magic. They thought Roman was easy pickings, just a hermit in the woods, but they chose the wrong dark priest to annoy. For while Roman might be patient, he is the Black Volhv, filled with the love of his terrible god. For his adversaries, it's a fight to the death, but for him, it's just another day in the neighborhood.

©2024 Ilona Andrews (P)2024 NYLA

Fast Paced

Loved the glimpse into Roman’s Life! Way to go to the authors! Definitely recommend either reading or listening ( the narrator is fantastic!!!)

Action Packed & Potential of more stories w Roman

A good short story, lots of folk lore condensed in a small book. More than the other books in the Kate Daniels series. Between the narrator and the folk lore this book was a bit on the dry side, but Roman snarky personality showed through enough to enjoy the story. I look forward to more stories from Roman, hopefully with more interaction with the kid’s sister for the next book. Best if read after Kate Daniels series, although the name pronunciation changed. Narrator was okay.

Looking forward to more

Not what I was expecting, but so much better. Hopefully many more will follow. Thoroughly enjoyed.

I loved it!!!

I love everything written by Ilona Andrew's answer this was no exception!! I'm so glad Roman got his own story but now I want more!! If you love their Kate Daniels books you will love this!

Worth the wait

Really enjoyed getting to know more about Roman present and past. Awesome, intense, unique storytelling from Ilona Andrews, as usual.

Story

This book was like the preview from an action film. I immediately looked for the next one. Very engaging.

So good I wish it was longer!

Alway they write the most fun stories. I preorder every book they write at this point (no shame). Hopefully they continue to write as many Kate Daniels universe stories as humanly possible! Also hidden legacy! I can’t wait for whatever they do next.

Narrator is very good but his female voices not my favorite. It might be better with a co-narrator.

Good novella

Novella with Roman as the lead. Nice to see this side of him and how he became what he is. Good side addition to the Kate Daniels series.

Holiday story about Roman, priest of Chernobog

Roman is in his home, minding his own business with his creatures when a wounded boy and his dog show up and ask for sanctuary. When mercenaries, mages, and priests show up throwing magic around, Roman's protective side shows up and look out... The Good: I like Roman, I like how his duty protect comes out. I liked getting more back story on Roman, his brother, family. The twist with the boys sister was unexpected, but interested to see if this continues into the next series book. Fingers are crossed. The Not so Good: This is very heavy in mythology and it seems a mix of several cultures and lore. I know this is an area that the authors are passionate about, it became just a bit much for my non-myth loving mind to absorb at times. Full disclosure, I am a BDHer, so I just take a deep breath and listen through until I can grasp the storyline again. I started with the serial on this one and then hit pause and waited for the final book. Thank you to #netgalley and #ilonaandrews for this ARC. Publication date July 30, 2004. I also purchased #sanctuary in audiobook format and it was great. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Huh- I’ve been spelling Volhv wrong all this time

“Nobody panic!”
Leave it to Roman to give us Xmas … dark and stormy night style.

“He rolled the unwelcome mat out - now all he had to do is wait.”
The monsters. The magic. The gore. The creepy, mercurial vibe of ancient pagan gods and their followers. This side trip leans way into Slavic folklore - as in grimmer than Grimm.

“The softest heart aches the hardest.”
Roman is one of my favorite characters from the Kate Daniels series because he’s dark, dangerous and yet so obviously a noble soul. Part of me wishes there had been more fun; the bigger part of me loved the bitter sweet edge.

“It’s a reckoning I deserve.”
What I know about Slavic mythology could fill a thimble. Mostly, I’ve just rolled with whatever this author duo puts out on Audible, because who cares if it’s accurate when the tale is so fantastic.
This was a captivating 4 hr novella with a small bonus of Slavic mythology extras at the end.