By Angus Watson

Narrated by Sean Barrett

Reviewed by Gabby

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[Average: 4]

Age of Iron Overview:

Legends aren’t born. They’re made.

Dug Sealskinner is a down-on-his-luck mercenary traveling south to join up with King Zadar’s army. But he keeps rescuing the wrong people.

First Spring, a child he finds scavenging on the battlefield, and then Lowa, one of Zadar’s most fearsome warriors, who has vowed revenge on the king for her sister’s execution.

Now Dug’s on the wrong side of the thousands-strong army he hoped to join – and worse, Zadar has bloodthirsty druid magic on his side. All Dug has is his war hammer, one small child, and one unpredictable, highly-trained warrior with a lust for revenge that might get them all killed

Age of Iron Audiobook Review:

STORY

CHARACTERS

NARRATOR

STORY

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The Good:

Age of Iron pulls you in from the beginning with a battle and doesn’t let go until Sean Barrett utters the final word. I especially loved the opening which makes the audiobook seem like an account of true events. In a word: intense. Whenever I thought that the story had calmed down for a bit, there would be a spanner thrown in the works and everything would fall apart. I loved this. It kept me interested, it kept the story moving and i certainly wasn’t expecting some of the plot twists. A round of applause to Watson who has managed to create some amazing fight scenes and some unique trials for the characters to face. There were so many things that I just didn’t see coming and I was kept guessing most of the way through. I loved the action and I loved the characters.

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The Bad:

This is such an unbalanced review, but that’s the way it is sometimes. I only have 2 complaints. The story was a little too predictable towards the end, I had a good idea of how it would end, even if I didn’t know exactly how it would happen, it detracted from the story a little bit for me

Sword

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CHARACTERS

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The Good:

Dug comes across as a loveable but gruff mercenary. He’s not your typical warrior, slightly overweight, not too keen on hard work and full of badger related swear words. ‘Badgers bumholes’ is a personal favourite of mine. Dug is extremely likeable, he’s a good man, terrible at reading women (which is hilarious) and has a big a heart. I liked that even though Dug had experienced cruelty and loss in the past, he was still trying to be a good man.

I particularly liked Spring. She easily could have come across as extremely annoying and precocious, but, for some reason she’s not. Watson has written her to be clever and witty, but not bratty and that’s a fine line. She has a little bit of sass in her which I enjoy and she comes across as being a child who is wise beyond her years, unafraid of anything and seemingly indestructible. It was great to have a story set in this time and place: Britain in the Iron Age. It was a brilliantly imagined world, the women were as badass and ruthless as the men, everyone walking around with huge axes and skimpy leather outfits. The women were a pleasant surprise for me. They could be leaders, fighters, advisors, even blacksmiths. It was pretty cool to imagine a world where women were just as valued as fighters as men. Made me want to get into archery and martial arts and all that good stuff. Not that it’s really necessary anymore.

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The Bad:

I wish that Lowa hadn’t been so perfect and beautiful. I did note that Watson did attempt to make Lowa ‘unconventionally beautiful’ – as in the type of beauty that only some men would be attracted to. But honestly. Long white- blonde hair? Smooth, clear, porcelain skin that never burns i? Light blue eyes that are the colour of ice? Plump lips that are a beautiful natural red? Urgh. She could have had a scar or something! If I wanted more unrealistic standards of beauty then i’d pick up a woman’s magazine. At least she was smart.

All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed this audiobook and if not for it being a little predictable towards the end, I would definitely have given it 5 stars!

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NARRATOR

[columns] [span6] The Good:

The Age of Iron Audiobook was narrated by Sean Barrett. Barrett is an English actor, well known for his excellent narration of crime novels. Although Barrett mainly narrates crime fiction, he does dabble in the realm of fantasy. Barrett’s low, gritty tones are perfect for the bloodthirsty and rugged universes of fantasy novels. He also does a fabulous Scottish accent. Barrett becomes deeply involved in the story he tells, racing along with the action and emphasising the excitement of a scene.

Barrett is highly regarded amongst voice actors and the majority of the books he reads are rated very highly, particularly the fantasy novels.

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The Bad:

Nothing of note, Sean Barrett did a great job.

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