Three Wells of the Sea

By: Terry Madden

Narrated by: Senn Annis

A forbidden spell, a resurrected king, and a portal to epic adventure . . .

When a druid resurrects her murdered king, she steals the soul of Hugh Cavendish, an English teacher, and takes him back to the land of the dead . . . or is it the land of the living?

Hugh finds his killer sitting on his throne and invaders at his shore. He must raise an army and retake his throne or lose his kingdom to a power unseen in a thousand years, an immortal who will put an end to the cycle of living and dying forever.

But he soon realizes he wasn't the only one who crossed the well between worlds. Someone has followed him here, and they are set on taking him back. But first, Hugh vows to set things right with his land, his people, and his own soul.

For fans of Sarah J. Maas and Tad Williams.

©2016 Terry Madden (P)2024 Terry Madden

A portal fantasy that feels like actual history

I might be slightly biased because I'd originally thought this book was YA, which, despite a young main character, it's definitely not--there's a fair bit of graphic violence/situations that startled me a bit until I figured out what was going on. So if you're looking for a YA adventure, this might not be your cup of tea.

That said! The story was superb. Gorgeously written, this felt to me like if George R.R. Martin had written Narnia, with shades of Guy Gavriel Kay. It's a portal fantasy, divided between our world and a world that's deeply Celtic in its feel, and both worlds have a truly interesting set of characters that aren't your typical fantasy fare. Like Ned! I loved Ned. I really liked that the story was set on the West Coast of America vs East, which seems not to be the case with a lot of American portal fantasies. And the Celtic world especially felt very realistic, magic and all, almost like watching the show Vikings.

I have to be honest that the intensity and vivid brutality of some of the scenes hit my too-squeamish buttons, especially toward the end. If you can read Game of Thrones, you should be fine (I, unfortunately, can't).

The narration was overall pretty good, though some of the voices felt a little off. I so much loved how the narrator really went over and above to use some super tricky pronunciation in the second world, though. That was a treat!

Overall, I really enjoyed this. I can't say I enjoyed it 100% because I am a bit squeamish, but if that's not an issue, this is an excellent, character-driven and truly original novel. I'd definitely recommend.

I requested a free review copy and voluntarily left this review.

Excellent listen!

This book brought the feels...

You have no idea from the opening paragraphs of the different twists and turns this listen will take. It was glorious. There are druids and time travel. There are evil kings and queens. There are battles and first loves. There are family rivalries and hidden agenda's. There is teenage angst and more teenage angst. Oh, and there is water.

I had no idea this was the first book in a series. The ending was complete and the dust settled with the best possible outcome. I thought the little wrinkle at the end was going to leave me having to figure out what happened. Now I don't have to!

The narrator was great! Absolutely. Great. With all the twists and back and forth in time, things could have gotten confusing. That did not happen, I always knew who was talking, male or female, current day or ancient. druid or king. There was a lot of emotion and fear and wonder in this listen and that was performed incredibly well too.

Nice Depth

Terry Madden brings a surprising amount of depth with Three Wells of the Sea. The story takes you on a captivating journey through hardship and emotion. As folks cross over between words, there's plenty of hints that something bigger in play and guiding things below the surface. This first installment will likely make your heart ache at times, and it certainly won't tie everything up in a neat bow for you. But isn't that a good thing?

Narration by Senn Annis is solid, and her voice adds a soothing quality to the listen. Certainly fine for binge listening without reducing the enjoyment.

I received this audiobook for free in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.