Storm Raiders: Age Of Magic by P.T. Hylton & Michael Anderle
Narrated by Gabra Zackman
Series: Storms of Magic #1
Publisher: LMBPN Publishing
Publication Date: July 27, 2017
Date Read: September 12, 2017
Length: 6 hours 28 minutes
Source: Audiobook Access
★★★★☆
In a time when magic rules the sea, she only trusts her sword.
Abbey has always been an outsider in Holdgate. While the people of her adopted city dominate the seas with their weather-controlling storm magic, she prefers the work in her father’s blacksmith shop – besting any foolish enough to question her skills with a sword.
But when her father is falsely accused of murder, she has to sneak aboard a stormship and take to the seas in a quest to clear his name.
Teaming up with a young storm mage and a no-nonsense Captain, Abbey sets off on a swashbuckling adventure.
She’ll soon learn that the legendary Storm Raiders – a terrifying group of seafaring pirates – are all too real.
Set on the foundation laid by the Kurtherian Gambit series, Storm Raiders tells an entirely new story in the Age of Magic – and of the heroes and villains who battle for control of its destiny.
This audiobook was a rather entertaining listen. This was my first experience with the writing pair of P.T. Hylton and Michael Anderle and I was pretty impressed with it overall. I decided to listen to this book because the premise appealed to me and I have really enjoyed Gabra Zackman’s narration in the past. I was hooked really early in the story and listened to the book in just a few short days. I had a lot of fun with this entertaining story.
The book is focused on two main characters. Abbey is the daughter of the local blacksmith. She is tough, smart, and has a little bit of magic. Abbey and her father are very close and many in their city consider them to be outsiders since they come from another area. Dustin has been training to be a storm caller for years and is facing the final test as the book opens. Things don’t go exactly as Dustin hopes in his test but he plans to make the most of the situation.
I really enjoyed the world that was created in this book. The magic is really interesting and I liked how Abbey questions it. The book had a bit of a pirate feel with the ships and some of their actions. Each of the ships has their own storm caller that can shape the weather in their own favor. The ships were very important to the towns and ruled by the captain and storm caller in most cases.
The book was exciting from the beginning. There are a few battles and fights spreads through the book that provided plenty of action. The mystery centered around Abbey’s father was very interesting and I really enjoyed learning more about his past. I loved watching Abbey and Dustin both deal with the reality of what they learn about their world.
I enjoyed Gabra Zackman’s narration of this book. She handled a fairly large cast of characters very well by using a variety of voices. She was able to put a lot of emotion into her voice and made the exciting scenes seem a bit more thrilling. The dialogue in the book flowed very well and I thought she was able to really bring the story to life.
I would recommend this book to others. I had a lot of fun listening to this action packed story filled with wonderful characters. I would love to learn what happens next for this group.
I received an review copy of this book from LMBPN Publishing via Audiobook Access.
Wow, I love the cover and your review has me quite intrigued. Great review!
Thanks, Barb! I do love the cover and the story was very well done.
That is a cool cover and awesome review, as always 🙂
Thanks!
there is a ship on the cover, oh exciting, pirates? 😀 battles? great book flow, hummm checking it out on amazon
I hope you enjoy it if you decide to grab a copy, Lily!
I have yet to try fantasy on audio 🙂
This one wasn't hard to follow. It was a lighter fantasy.
I like the cover. Sounds like an interesting story.
It really was enjoyable.
Ooooh, this does sounds really good. The mystery especially!
This book had a lot of great elements, Jenea!
I'm going to have to try her narration. I don't recall seeing her name mentioned before.
I loved Gabra Zackman's narration of Spectacle by Rachel Vincent so it made it easier to take a chance on this book.
This story sounds really great, but I know I wouldn't be able to keep track of all the details on audio. I only listen to contemporaries, because the world is more straight forward and I don't get lost in the story the way I do with SFF books.
This one wasn't too hard to follow but I have had that issue with more complex books in the past.
Great timing! I just finished a fantasy and got back in the mood again. This one sounds like a good match for me. I had not heard of your narrator so I'm interested to try her.
I hope you enjoy it if you decide to give this one a try. I have only listened to two books narrated by Gabra Zackman so far but have enjoyed both of them.
I think I would like this Carole. Glad to see you enjoyed it
It was a lot of fun!
GORGEOUS cover! I'll need to look into this one. Nice review. 🙂
That cover is what initially grabbed my attention.
Just looking at the cover I did not think this would be the book for me but reading your review and the blurb makes this one sound like so much fun! I'd definitely give this a listen. Thanks for sharing.
Something about this book made me take a second look and it worked out for me.
I am adding this to my Audible wish list. It sounds really different and fun. I already like the sound of Abbey.
It was different and fun, Wendy! I think that is what made me what to listen to it myself.
Pirates? Battles? Count me in! Great review! ~Aleen
Thanks, Aleen!