The Legend of Uh

De: Aaron N. Hall

Narrado por: Adriel Brandt

Sir Dashing Junior was only knighted because they couldn't knight his father twice. Now he's determined to prove he's worthy of his new title.

With an aspiring ranger, an awkward friar, and a book-loving orc, DJ will venture across the territory of Uh to reach the Amulet of the Goddess, proving that he’s truly worthy of knighthood.

Along the way, he and his companions will encounter a cursed author, a violent noodle cult, democratic goblins, and a whole lot more.

It’s a journey fraught with danger and discovery, and the territory is rich with monsters and magic, so is DJ’s quest for respect really worth the cost?

©2024 Aaron Ned Hall (P)2024 Aaron Ned Hall

Adorable

I’m not quite sure who the target audience is for this. It seemed to oscillate between middle grade and young adult. There was an uptick in cursing later on, which didn’t bother me at all, but it felt a bit out of place. That might be a concern for younger readers. The pace is on the slower side, so I found this easy to put down. It wasn’t boring by any stretch, but it wasn’t written to be action-packed adventure either. I always enjoyed it when I came back to it, though. The story often took unexpected turns—zigging when I thought the plot would zag, so that made a fun reading experience, too. It was also really refreshing to see the active parent in the MC’s life to be a father who is very supportive of his son. The book has a lovely message of “be yourself.”

Fun Read

A fun read, the kind that says this would lend itself well to a movie. tongue and cheek, pop culture references. likeable characters, but serious when it needed to be. characters didn't always solve things with violence which was refreshing. Yet there was plenty of spell slinging and sword swinging,

Phenomenal story. Read it right now!

This was such a fun adventure. It was charming, exciting, hilarious, and maybe even a bit tearful at times. I cannot recommend this book and audiobook enough.

Silly, and Adorable

My nephew (13m also named DJ) listened to the audiobook of Legend of Uh this weekend. It was supposed to be just what we listened to in the car to and from his away swim meet but as soon as he got back to our seats after his first event he asked if we could keep listening. He ended up finishing the whole book in one day😆 I think it's safe to say Aaron N. Hall has a new fan.

What he liked in his words:
"I love how it had it's fun moments but could change really quickly [redacted details about a scene for spoilers], and I loved all the characters, their dynamics and their development."

Why was this so freaking adorable?? This was just such a cozy read and it made me happy.

In many ways this is a very silly book. It's 100% a DND campaign. You've got your adventuring party that is just having a grand time solving problems and being silly. And my personal favorite but of silliness is the fact there are totally NPCs that are purely there for fun fantasy references (keep an eye out for a personal favorite author of mine😆).

While very silly, it also is a very sweet story of growing up, and learning self acceptance. It also has two of the most adorable couples ever and each of them really only gets one chapter of interaction a piece but I was squealing over both (I will defend my interspecies gays with my dying breath).

In the spirit of full honesty I will acknowledge that I find the inviting incident a little weak. However, given my previous point about this being a DND campaign, it makes sense.

This is a book that you have to just accept what it is, and once you do it may become your favorite thing you've read this year. If you liked the Dungeons and Dragons movie you'll LOVE this!

A charming and hilarious take on fantasy tropes that doesn’t sacrifice story or character

Any fantasy fan can recognize the tropes that often get intertwined in a noble quest, but fantasy satire requires a delicate balance to not sacrifice story or character development for silly memery or quick laughs.

The Legend of Uh is a great example of that delicate balance. I found myself continuously engaged in the story and characters while laughing throughout. Reminded me a bit of how I felt watching Shrek the first time.

The performance is seriously so good and I was able to connect more to each character throughout the range of the narrator’s voice acting abilities. It def made it a more fun read (or listen, I guess).