The King of Eridu

Novels of Ancient Sumeria, Book 5

By: Jesse Hudson

Narrated by: Austin Vanfleet

Ammon-shur and his Gutian allies are determined to rid the land of Canaan of the invading Mesopotamian armies once and for all, but Ammon's aspirations don't end there. He senses an opportunity to eliminate the threat from the shadowy conspiracy that has been dogging his steps for decades once and for all.

With his usual flair for combining the divine with the mundane, Ammon takes advantage of his growing reputation to gather a mighty host to retake the cities of Sumeria from the followers of the dark god of chaos, but success brings its own set of challenges.

Even as Ammon fights as never before to end tyranny across the lands of Sumeria, he finds it ever more difficult to maintain order and deal with dissidents in the lands that fall before his army. Taking advantage of the disorder, Ammon's enemies rally and raise a mighty army beneath the banner of a leader so powerful and terrifying that men whisper that he is not a man at all, but something far worse.

©2017 Noel Jesse Hudson (P)2018 Noel Jesse Hudson

Really Charming and Interesting!

So, I'm only about two hours into this book, but I'm already really enjoying it. I feel like I'm missing a lot for not having listened to the last four books in the series, so I'm going to have to go back and listen to those too.

I bought the book because I've listened to this narrator in the past, and he was... meh. I was inclined to give him another chance, though - and I can't say whether it's his long-term involvement in this series, or just time having passed, but I like his performance a LOT better in this. The narration is a lot more interesting, and the characters are much more alive and realistic. I really like Ammon's general - the one with the thick Russian accent. I can't figure out why the main character himself sounds like a whiny teenager, despite seeming to be fairly old, but it suits his character well enough.

Like I said, I feel like I'm missing a lot in the story because I haven't read or listened to the last four books, but that's fairly understandable, for obvious reasons. That said, though, it's a charming story. The dialogue is witty and quick, and a little convoluted, but easy to listen to (kudos to Mr. Vanfleet on that) and understand. The prose feels conversational and descriptive, and it paints a vibrant picture of what's going on.

So far, an excellent book! I would heartily recommend it!