The Champion (I): Blood and Steel
The Champion, Book 1
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The Champion (I): Blood and Steel
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Narrated by:
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Mark Elstob
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By:
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David Pilling
About this listen
1296 AD: the whole of Western Europe trembles on the brink of war. South of the Pyrenees, the Christian and Moorish kingdoms fight and scheme against each for control of Hispania. To the north, the rival kings of England and France feverishly enlist allies as they battle for supremacy on the Continent. Even as the armies clash, spies and double agents fight their own bloody war in the shadows.
From the safety of old age, En Pascal of Valencia recalls his own exploits in this brutal and treacherous era. As a poor country knight of Aragon, he sets out from home to restore the glory of his famous grandfather, known as the Knight of the Falcon. After winning fame in battle against the Moors, he is forced into exile. With just one loyal servant for company, Pascal is forced to carve out a new life as a mercenary on the battlefields of Aquitaine and Flanders. There he will find love, fame and endless danger...
The Champion (I): Blood and Steel is the latest historical fiction thriller by David Pilling, author of the Leader of Battles series, Caesar's Sword, The White Hawk, Longsword and many more novels and short stories.
©2020 David Pilling (P)2022 W F HowesListeners also enjoyed...
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 9,999
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 9,036
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 8,984
The story is seen through the eyes of Uhtred, a dispossessed nobleman, who is captured as a child by the Danes and then raised by them so that, by the time the Northmen begin their assault on Wessex, Alfred's kingdom and the last territory in English hands, Uhtred almost thinks of himself as a Dane.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Great series of books
- By Joshua on 10-02-15
By: Bernard Cornwell
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Sword for Hire
- Border Knight, Book 1
- By: Griff Hosker
- Narrated by: Marston York
- Length: 9 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 98
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 85
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 85
When his father is killed at Arsuf protecting King Richard, Thomas is knighted. His hopes of inheriting his family's manor are dashed when Prince John takes power in his brother's absence. With a handful of men, Sir Thomas is forced to travel to Sweden where he joins the Jarl Birger Brosa fighting the Estonians, Karelians and Slavs. Fighting in the harsh environment of a Baltic winter makes Sir Thomas and his men stronger. There he learns of further treachery and dishonour among Bishops, Kings and Princes who value thrones more than men.
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4 out of 5 stars
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A rollicking ride through the 13th century
- By Sasha the book eater on 07-16-24
By: Griff Hosker
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The Serpent Sword
- The Bernicia Chronicles, Book 1
- By: Matthew Harffy
- Narrated by: Barnaby Edwards
- Length: 12 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 519
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 460
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 459
Beobrand is compelled by his brother's almost-certain murder to embark on a quest for revenge in the war-ravaged kingdoms of Northumbria. The land is rife with danger, as warlords vie for supremacy and dominion. In the battles for control of the region, new oaths are made and broken, and loyalties are tested to the limits. With no patronage and no experience, Beobrand must form his own allegiances and learn to fight with sword and shield. Relentless in pursuit of his enemies, he faces challenges which transform him from a boy to a man.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Amazing story, needs a warning in the description.
- By Lisa Schilling on 04-12-17
By: Matthew Harffy
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Blood on the Crown
- Struggle for the Crown, Book 1
- By: Griff Hosker
- Narrated by: Marston York
- Length: 10 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 150
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 129
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 128
Will, son of Harry, is about to join one of the freebooting mercenaries who serve the Black Prince in Gascony and Spain. Soldiers of fortune, they fight for pay and for loot. Circumstances mean that he comes to the attention of the heir to the English throne, Prince Edward, and is chosen as the bodyguard for his sons, Edward and Richard. When the Black Prince dies before his father and his elder brother, Edward, also dies, a young Richard of Bordeaux becomes heir to the throne, and Will has a greater responsibility than he expected.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Held my interest
- By Yvonne T, Griffin on 06-10-20
By: Griff Hosker
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The Mercenary Code
- The Shattering of Kingdoms, Book 1
- By: Emmet Moss
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 19 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,039
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 936
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 932
Centuries ago, the murder of a beloved king tore apart the Kingdom of Caledun. The land was plunged into chaos and thousands perished. A new order was established in an attempt to return Caledun to its former glory. It failed, but in its place rose the beginnings of the Code. During this same period, the mystical caretakers of the Great Wood retreated from the world of Kal Maran, their disappearance an ominous harbinger of the suffering that was to follow. The Great Wood now grows out of control. Cities, towns, and villages have fallen before the relentless march of the forest.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Quite Impressed
- By Maclane on 07-27-20
By: Emmet Moss
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Sir Nigel
- By: Arthur Conan Doyle
- Narrated by: James Joy
- Length: 11 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 34
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 31
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 31
"Sir Nigel" is a historical novel by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, set in the beginning of the Hundred Years' War, spanning 1350 to 1356. It is the background to Doyle's novel, The White Company, and describes the early life of that book's hero Nigel Loring, a knight in the service of King Edward III. The character is loosely based on the historical knight Neil Loring. The tale, at its outset, traces the fortunes of the family of Loring of the Manor of Tilford in Surrey, many of whose scions had been prominent in the service of the Norman and Angevin Kings of England, against the backdrop of the Black Death.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Captivating
- By Ben S. on 04-25-23
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Battle of Kings
- By: M. K. Hume
- Narrated by: Steven Crossley
- Length: 17 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 97
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 78
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Story4 out of 5 stars 79
In the town of Segontium a wild storm washes a fugitive ashore. He brutally rapes the granddaughter of the ruler of the Deceangli tribe, leaving her to bear his son, Myrddion Merlinus (Merlin). Spurned as a demon seed, the child is raised by his grandmother and, as soon as he turns nine, he is apprenticed to a skilled alchemist who hones the boy’s remarkable gift of prophecy. Meanwhile, the High King of the Britons, Vortigern, is rebuilding the ancient fortress at Dinas Emrys.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Underrated book author and narrator!
- By Zachary on 04-15-22
By: M. K. Hume
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Taliesin
- The Pendragon Cycle, Book 1
- By: Stephen R. Lawhead
- Narrated by: Wanda McCaddon
- Length: 19 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,454
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,125
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,120
It was a time of legend, as the last shadows of the mighty Roman conqueror faded from the captured Isle of Britain. Meanwhile, across a vast sea, bloody war shattered a peace that had flourished for 2,000 years in the doomed kingdom of Atlantis. This is the remarkable adventure of Charis, the courageous princess from Atlantis who escapes the terrible devastation of her land, and of the fabled seer and druid prince Taliesin, singer at the dawn of the age. It is a story of an incomparable love that joins two astonishing worlds....
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5 out of 5 stars
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A Classic interpretation of a Classic tale
- By John on 08-11-03
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In the Region of the Summer Stars
- By: Stephen R. Lawhead
- Narrated by: John Lee
- Length: 12 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 236
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 216
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 216
Ravaged by barbarian Scálda forces, the last hope for Eirlandia lies with the island’s warring tribes. Wrongly cast out of his tribe, Conor, the first-born son of the Celtic king, embarks on a dangerous mission to prove his innocence. What he discovers will change Eirlandia forever. For the Scálda have captured the mystical Fae to use as an ultimate weapon. And Conor’s own people have joined in the invasion.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Loved this!
- By Robin on 05-22-20
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Mage's Blood
- The Moontide Quartet, Book 1
- By: David Hair
- Narrated by: Nick Podehl
- Length: 26 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 3,040
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 2,791
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Story4 out of 5 stars 2,788
Most of the time the Moontide Bridge lies deep below the sea, but every 12 years the tides sink and the bridge is revealed, its gates open for trade. The Magi are hell-bent on ruling this new world, and for the last two Moontides they have led armies across the bridge on "crusades of conquest". Now, the third Moontide is almost here, and this time the people of the East are ready for a fight... but it is three seemingly ordinary people that will decide the fate of the world.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Nick Podehl
- By Logan on 01-05-15
By: David Hair
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Under the Eagle
- Eagles of the Empire, Book 1
- By: Simon Scarrow
- Narrated by: David Thorpe
- Length: 12 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 880
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 805
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 798
The first novel in Simon Scarrow's bestselling Roman series. It is 42 AD, and Quintus Licinius Cato has just arrived in Germany as a new recruit to the Second Legion, the toughest in the Roman army. If adjusting to the rigours of military life isn't difficult enough for the bookish young man, he also has to contend with the disgust of his colleagues when, because of his imperial connections, he is appointed a rank above them.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Enjoyable Roman Military Mystery
- By Marie on 10-25-13
By: Simon Scarrow
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Macbeth: A Novel
- By: A. J. Hartley, David Hewson
- Narrated by: Alan Cumming
- Length: 9 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 3,660
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 3,225
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 3,218
Macbeth: A Novel brings the intricacy and grit of the historical thriller to Shakespeare’s tale of political intrigue, treachery, and murder. In this full-length novel written exclusively for audio, authors A. J. Hartley and David Hewson rethink literature’s most infamous married couple, grounding them in a medieval Scotland whose military and political upheavals are as stark and dramatic as the landscape in which they are played.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Narrator choice inspired
- By Beverly on 07-10-11
By: A. J. Hartley, and others
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A Shadow of All Night Falling
- Dread Empire, Book 1
- By: Glen Cook
- Narrated by: Stephen Hoye
- Length: 9 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 104
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 94
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Story4 out of 5 stars 94
Across the mountains called the Dragon's Teeth, beyond the chill reach of the Werewind and the fires of the world's beginning, above the walls of the castle Fangdred, stands Windtower. From this lonely keep the Star Rider calls forth the war that even wizards dread, fought for a woman's hundred-lifetime love. A woman called Nepanthe, princess to the Stormkings…
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5 out of 5 stars
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Nothimg like Black Company-good in a different way
- By Zap Rowsdower on 10-02-21
By: Glen Cook
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Harlequin
- The Grail Quest, Book 1
- By: Bernard Cornwell
- Narrated by: Andrew Cullum
- Length: 14 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,707
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,527
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,522
Thomas of Hookton is one of these archers. But he is also on a personal mission: To avenge his father's death and retrieve a stolen relic. Thomas begins a quest that will lead him through fields smeared with the smoke of fires set by the rampaging English, until at last the two armies face each other on a hillside near the village of Crécy.
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5 out of 5 stars
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A Masterful Tale Told by a Truly Gifted Narrator
- By Syphi on 11-27-14
By: Bernard Cornwell
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Betrayal
- The Centurions I
- By: Anthony Riches
- Narrated by: Mark Noble
- Length: 14 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 70
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 62
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 62
Rome, AD 68. Nero has committed suicide. One hundred years of imperial rule by the descendants of Julius Caesar has ended, and chaos rules. His successor, Galba, dismisses the incorruptible Germans of the Imperial Bodyguard for the crime of loyalty to the dead emperor. Ordering them back to their homeland, he releases a Batavi officer from a Roman prison to be their prefect. But Julius Civilis is not the loyal servant of empire that he seems.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Wordy, but great stuff!
- By Brent Nielsen on 05-04-18
By: Anthony Riches
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Empires of Bronze: Son of Ishtar
- By: Gordon Doherty
- Narrated by: Jonathan Keeble
- Length: 15 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 54
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 49
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 49
1315 BC: Tensions soar between the great powers of the Late Bronze Age. The Hittites stand toe-to-toe with Egypt, Assyria and Mycenaean Ahhiyawa, and war seems inevitable. More, the fierce Kaskan tribes—age-old enemies of the Hittites—amass at the northern borders. When Prince Hattu is born, it should be a rare joyous moment for all the Hittite people. But when the Goddess Ishtar comes to King Mursili in a dream, she warns that the boy is no blessing, telling of a dark future where he will stain Mursili’s throne with blood and bring destruction upon the world.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Great story!! Cant wait for book two!
- By David Stansbury on 09-24-19
By: Gordon Doherty
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Dragon's Child
- The King Arthur Trilogy, Book 1
- By: M. K. Hume
- Narrated by: Steven Crossley
- Length: 18 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 105
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 89
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 89
The future of Britain is at stake. In the turbulent times of the Dark Ages, the despotic Uther Pendragon, High King of Celtic Britain, is nearing death, and his kingdom is being torn apart by the squabbling of minor kings. But only one man can bring the Celts together as a nation and restore peace - King Arthur. Artorex (Arthur) doesn't yet seem like the great man he will grow into. We meet him as a shy, subservient twelve-year-old living in the foster home of Lord Ector, who took in Artorex as a babe to protect him from murderous kin.
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1 out of 5 stars
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A Dry, Dull Tale, Marred in "Realism"
- By Steven on 09-21-15
By: M. K. Hume
What listeners say about The Champion (I): Blood and Steel
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Casey
- 06-04-24
Excellent narration and prose
Highly recommend this sorry of a knight errant. Mark Elstob's narration really breathes this story to life. This is a great adventure that is enhanced by Elstob's wry and witty delivery.
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