Spellmonger Audiobook By Terry Mancour cover art

Spellmonger

Spellmonger, Book 1

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Spellmonger

By: Terry Mancour
Narrated by: John Lee
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About this listen

Nominee, Audie Awards - Fantasy, 2018

Minalan gave up a promising career as a professional warmage to live the quiet life of a village spellmonger in the remote mountain valley of Boval. It was a peaceful, beautiful little fief, far from the dangerous feudal petty squabbles of the Five Duchies, on the world of Callidore. There were cows. Lots of cows. And cheese.

For six months things went well: He found a quaint little shop, he befriended the local lord, the village folk loved him, he found a sharp young apprentice to help out, and, best yet, he met a comely young widow with the prettiest eyes.

Then one night Minalan is forced to pick up his mageblade again to defend his adopted home from the vanguard of an army of goblins - gurvani, they call themselves - bent on a genocidal crusade against all mankind. And that was the good news. The bad news was that their shamans were armed with more magical power than has been seen since the days of the ancient Imperial Magocracy - and their leader, a mysterious, vengeful force of hate and dark magic, is headed directly to Boval Vale, along with a massive invading army of gurvani. The good people of Boval and their spellmonger have only one choice: To hole up in the over-sized Boval Castle and hope they can endure a siege against hundreds of thousands of goblins.

When the people look to him for hope, Minalan does his best, but the odds are depressing: There are multitudes of goblins, and they want Boval Vale as a staging ground for a vengeful invasion of the whole Five Duchies. Add to his troubles a jealous rival mage, a motley band of mercenaries, a delusional liege lord who insists victory is at hand despite the hordes at his door, a dour castellan, a moody, pregnant girlfriend, and a catty ex-girlfriend who specializes in sex magic - all trapped in a stinking, besieged castle with no hope of rescue, and you'll understand why Minalan is willing to take his chances with the goblins.

All that stands between the gurvani horde and the people of the Five Duchies is one tired, overwhelmed baker's son who wanted nothing more than to be a simple village spellmonger.

©2011 Terry Mancour (P)2017 Podium Publishing
Action & Adventure Dragons & Mythical Creatures Epic Epic Fantasy Fantasy Fiction Funny Scary Magic Users

What listeners say about Spellmonger

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Engaging Premise Unique Magic System Excellent Narration Witty Protagonist Detailed World-building
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Spellmonger

Minalan is a Spellmonger, otherwise known as a local magician, in a small rural farm community, when his local town is attacked by a horde of Gurvani (called Goblins, but not your traditional goblins). He and his apprentice jump into the fray to protect the townspeople. It soon becomes evident that these Gurvani are strangely armed with magical items and are bent on destroying humanity.

The Pluses: Terry Mancoeur has created magical creatures that are unique and quite frankly, hilarious. The goblins are small hairy little man-like, unintelligent creatures, not at all like any goblins I've run into in stories. Minalan's descriptions are very funny, but he also has a sensitivity for these creatures that I found touching, until they started trying to kill all of mankind, then, he was a little less kind...but that's to be expected.

Minalan has a sarcastic wit that is entertaining and strangely balances his egocentric voice with his honestly about his own insecurities.

While he's a bit cocky, it does turn out that he does have quite a heroic background giving him a little credibility for some arrogance. He jumps right into helping the village and surrounding peoples by grouping them in the liege lord's castle for protection when the goblins overrun the valley.

The minuses: Rating this book was difficult for me because I almost gave up on this book so many times. The story was fine, but over and over I kept thinking I'd rather read this myself rather than listen to the voice/persona chosen by the narrator. All I could think was how pompous and self-aggrandizing he was, but he seemed to think he was self deprecating. It really rubbed me the wrong way. But I stuck with it and over time I got used to it. If you're sensitive to narration, make sure you listen to the sample because it's a long book.

“AUDIBLE 20 REVIEW SWEEPSTAKES ENTRY”

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Fantastically comical!

do yourself a favor and pick this up. I was thoroughly surprised with how enjoyable this book was and the narration was also great

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Ummmmm?

If you’re 12 or fantasize about magically enhanced sex, this book may be for you. The book starts out ok, but flails miserably with each successive chapter.

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awesome

love it great narrating for a great story can't wait for 2nd book to come out

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Awesome story and great narrating.

Although there are many fantasy novels and all have quite the same ingredients, Terry delivers it with sarcasm and humor which is unprecedented in this area. The lore is interesting and the main character is hilarious. Enjoyed this very much, can't wait for the next book in the series.

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Good but not great

This was an alright book. I think a lot of the reviews are a little misleading. The reviews I read made this book seem like it was much more interesting and funny than it was. Comparing the main character to Harry Dresden is a stretch. However, the story was good enough for me to finish the book. The story was mildly interesting and overall it wasn't a waste of time or credit.

The performance was ok. Again, it wasn't the best or worst I have experienced. The only thing that really bothered me was that the voices for the female characters were over exaggerated and "airy". It didn't take away from the story but it was just a bit annoying.

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A wild ride..

Magic? Check.
Sex? Check.
Sex magic? Oh yes.
Despite some people’s view that this book is a bit misogynistic or sexist, I found it to be a enthralling story and a thrilling ride. The main character has a tangible personality and a elegant wit. I have enjoyed John Lee’s performance and growling.

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Its good, but its using some cheap elements

Any additional comments?

If it wasn't for the sex magic and the general randy-ness of the book, I would have rated this book much higher...so if you like that, its a good listen. John Lee does an excellent job in narration and the book lends itself to his style. The writing is well done and things flow fairly well. I did feel that the timeline of events was often skewed and distorted, somehow he would describe events that should take a day or half day, but only a few hours passed...and then other days one event would take days. Since I listened to the this book on a long drive, it felt more obvious, so it may not matter to someone listening for an hour or two. My other nitpick, is that about 3/4 of the way through the book, I knew where things were going. I also feel I have a pretty good idea where the second book will go. The main character is funny and enjoyable, but like I commented earlier....why sex magic. Seriously. Its just cheapens the book. With all of that, I don't think I will be getting the second book, just not my style, and not inventive enough to warrant the time to get to the end.

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AN EPIC JOURNEY

Just finished the last book in this series and I was hooked from the start with this book. For those of you looking for a long and epic journey look no further than this series.

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worth a spare credit.

an all around good book, just not a must read. please finish the series

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