The Dark Thorn

By: Shawn Speakman

Narrated by: Nick Podehl

Beneath the streets of Seattle, a long-forgotten war is about to be renewed...Richard McAllister, a spiritually destitute homeless man and Knight of the Yn Saith, protects one of seven portals linking his world to that of Annwn, where the fey Tuatha de Dannan of antiquity have been relegated by a long-running religious war. Unknown to Richard though, powerful forces are aligning against him and all he stands to keep safe.

In the wilds of a discarded world, Philip Plantagenet, son of Henry II, moves to claim a birthright nine centuries in the making, one that drives him to eliminate the Tuatha de Dannan - at any cost to both worlds. In the halls of Vatican City, Cardinal Vicar Cormac Pell O'Connor schemes to control the Heliwr - the Unfettered Knight - one who possesses the great power known as the Dark Thorn.

The three men are on a collision course with history - and their futures. For in the wilds of Annwn, death comes as easily as magic. Haunted by a past he can't forget and a knightly responsibility he can't shun, Richard is drawn into levels of machinations - and two worlds - far darker than any he has prepared for.

©2012 Shawn Speakman (P)2013 Audible Inc.

Critic reviews

“The Dark Thorn is one exciting book. From start to finish, there are strong characters, dangers lurking around every corner and cliffhangers that will leave you breathless. A fine tale by a talented writer.” (Terry Brooks)

Wonderful Mix of Mythology with Fantasy

If you could sum up The Dark Thorn in three words, what would they be?

An outstanding read/listen

What other book might you compare The Dark Thorn to and why?

The Iron Druid Series, not in a similar way, other than the fae mythology both authors use in their stories. The Dark Thorn has a darker take on the mythology, that intertwines with a hidden side of catholicism. The Iron Druid series has a lighter take on the mythology, and brings in the mythologies of other cultures, including Christian.

How could the performance have been better?

I was not impressed with the narrator. I felt his performance was very bland and though it worked for one or two characters, the fact that it was maintained throughout every character and the descriptions and narrations left me wanting more. Several times I wished I had just read my copy instead of doing the audiobook, but with my drive to and from work, the audiobook was better.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I did not want to listen to this all in one sitting because of the narrator. Not until the end did I feel a push to listen to it as long as possible, and that was because the story just held me so much that I didn't want to leave the world.

Any additional comments?

The Dark Thorn has a grim, dark setting, but it is believable and one I wish I could visit again very soon. I can't wait to read more by Shawn Speakman, but if the narrator is the same for his future works, I will choose to go with the book.

A book well worth your time.

The author is a great guy who obviously pours his heart into his work. The book if full of plot, world development and great characters. Don’t let any time go by. Give your imagination the great opportunity it deserves!

Excellent new Author

Excellent Book for a new Author Shawn has great charactor development, wonderful story telling will read his other books he puts out big fan

Don't like how this review is set up.

Great read hard to put down or turn off. Good story full of the unexpected .open there will be a sequil.

story was good, dialogue was awful

it wasn't a bad story, but the dialogue was unbelievable and constantly the me out of the story. narrator was awesome though.

Enjoyable, but nothing groundbreaking

I liked this story, and it has a lot of promise. It wasn't anything particularly special, but it was an enjoyable read, hence 3 stars. It feels a lot like older fantasy story, where the language is more formal and the interactions feel rigid and constrained by expectation, and I think that is where the book fell flat for me. For some characters, that type of language made sense: the residents of Annwn are from an older time and society when that type of embellished speech would be more popular, but Richard and Bran are from present day America, and Bran even grew up on the streets, but they use the same overly formal language which felt contrived and pulled me out of the story. I believe this is Shawn Speakman's first novel, so I am interested to see how he develops as an author, as the story itself is complex and very promising. Therefore, I found this book perfectly passable, and am interested to see how the series develops.

Good book, last 6 hours made up for a slow start.

The first 11 hours or so didn't have a whole lot going on. I didn't really care about the characters all too much. However, after hours of character building the last six hours was fast paced action with sorrow, and triumph feeling as the cherry on top. Surprised some of the main characters were killed. Richard cared nothing for the girl who poured her heart to him. I wish there was something more to it as it built they might be a point of contention between Brand and Richard.

With that said Nick Podehl voice acting was top notch. He's my number 1 voice actor with Luke Daniel's a distance 2nd. I wish there was a part 2 to this book now that character building is out of the way. Anywho, well written, a 4.5 out of 5.

Really great!

I so enjoyed the short story by Mr. Speakman in the Unfettered anthology that I decided to listen to this novel too. I was not disappointed.

Any fan of the Merlin television series should love this book, though this story is set in modern day.

The reader portrays each character well and helps you see that movie in your head (always a goal of mine).

Richard McCallister protects the secret Seattle portal between our world and Annwn--the world to which all of the fey creatures (fairies, leprechauns, centaurs, and the like) had long ago been transported to protect them from extinction. The Knights protecting the portals use magical items but so do the forces of evil on both sides of the portal. Without giving anything away, some of those magical items are ones that you are probably familiar with. 'Nuf said.

The book is full of action and adventure as a small group tries to reunite the fey creatures to battle the forces of evil. Any war in Annwn threatens both worlds. In the meantime, the forces of evil are also after Richard and another character he is trying to protect. Can evil turn these two or bend them and/or their weapons to their nefarious purposes?

Which creatures are on which side (if either)? Can war be averted and, if not, can good triumph? Which men of our world are simply trying to protect the portals and which really have their own agenda? Can the two worlds be saved?

A minor disappointment for me that these knights are supposed to be Knights of the Word here on our side as defined by a certain church (i.e. the Word of God). But when people try to defend their actions in the name of the Word, no one actually uses any of the actual Word to refute them. That would have been fun!

That's a small objection though and it did not prevent me from giving this book 5 stars. I couldn't stop listening and that's one sign of a great book. I look forward to the next one!

Was not for me

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

Was this book time well spent? Well, seeing I was listening to it while doing other stuff it is kinda moot. The problem I had with the book is there was very little character development or world development. I'm still not sure if this was the first book or not.

Any additional comments?

I would have like to have know more of the books world the relationship between the fay and the church. I guess I was very lost within the first 6 chapters and started to wonder why I should care about these people.

The plot was OK, and the reading was good. All in all I wouldn't recommend unless you don't care to know the characters,

Don't let The fact Podehl read it influence you!

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

The main character was nothing short of God Awful!

Would you ever listen to anything by Shawn Speakman again?

Never ever ever ever

Which scene was your favorite?

None. Couldn't make it through it.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Annoyance. The author made all of the characters so distasteful they ruined a pretty fair storyline.

Any additional comments?

Hard to slog through this - I bought it because I love these types of stories and I love Nick Podehl as a reader... but this abomination of a main character... ugh... was there ever a more disrespectful, unpleasant, and utterly unlikable character ever created?