A Quest of Heroes - Morgan Rice
Book 1 in 'The Sorcerer's Ring.'
Audiobook version uploaded to Spotify 18 September 2013.
Narrated by Wayne Farrell.
Elise found this book when we had finished Sense and Sensibility and were looking for a new audiobook. The appeal was a) it was fantasy and b) it was a free audiobook. With only those two pieces of information we decided to give it a go. I have since also learned that c) it was Morgan Rice's first novel, and to be honest d) it shows.
The book is very cliché - not necessarily a bad thing. Our protagonist, Thorgrin (often just Thor) is the youngest son in a small village, working as a shepherd for his unloving father and bullying older brothers. He wants to join the king's legion, but is forbidden to due to his age and standing within his family. When he comes of age Thor refuses to be overlooked and leaves home, journeying to King's Court in order to prove himself. This he does, making some strong friends, some sworn enemies, and also winning the heart of the beautiful princess.
We enjoyed the book for what it was, but also both were very aware of its limitations. It feels like a book written on the fly, with certain phrases being overused (characters often "scream" when they need to talk loudly, even when "scream" feels a bit out of place, and Thor often encounters "the most ____ he had ever seen/felt/tasted"), or character motivations shifting abruptly and with little motivation. Thor is also a classic 'over-perfect' protagonist - any problem he faces is quickly overcome with incredible rewards for him. Within a day or two (it seems) he has won the respect of the legion, been hired as squire to the best knight in the kingdom, won the heart of the princess, befriended the king's son and been 'adopted' by the king, saved a companion from certain death, been gifted an hawk (that only reappears when needed for the plot), rescued and bonded with a white leopard cub (that we only remember is being carried down his shirt when relevant) and also begun to be semi-trained by the wizard Argon.
Other plots, including the machinations of the king's evil son Gareth, seem to be forgotten in places, although considering this is Book 1 out of 17, may be revisited in a later installment. Of course, being such a long series and with the first book being free, it seemed very likely that Quest of Heroes would end on a cliffhanger, and it does, although it does seem slightly contrived - if any of these plot developments had happened earlier in the book it seems likely people around Thor would have brushed them off without a second thought, but the book needs to end on a cliffhanger and so Thor needs to be doubted in this moment!
The narrator, Wayne Farrell, has a fun (Welsh?) accent and does an okay job.
It was an enjoyable listen, made more so because it was free. Would we pay to listen to a sequel though? Guess we'll find out, but at present it doesn't seem too likely.
Completed, with Elise, 2 September 2023.
(Elise Books)
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