Great storyline and action. Excellent narration. Barnaby Edwards is a master at different accents and voices for the different characters. This book would have been great in a series but it appears that it is a single book.

I got this book to fill in a bit of time, but it turned out to be one of the best I’ve read in quite a while! It was an exciting romp through a time we don’t read a lot about. Well written, well researched, and well read, this is a good catch!

The story and narrator just draws you right in. It goes so fast cause you don't want to set it down. Highly recommended.

So well read, voices, accents, characters! And the historical tale was great, with a very informative author note at the end about the facts and inspiration for the story.

light on historical events. but extremely well written and extremely well read. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

I normally do not care for books set in this time frame, but this one was EXCELLENT! Enjoyed the book from the first word to the last. Narrator nailed every single voice for the characters. He compliments the book perfectly with his narration. Definitely worth the read!!

Everything I enjoy in a historical novel!

Action packed fast moving story well narrated. Hard to put down.

Good narrator and story.

easy listen

Nice little story, a bit confusing with Dunstan's wife's name and the other lead character being so similar. Good narrator

Excellent story, well written, flowing, and interesting.

I was surprised and impressed. I purchased this book on the fly with an expiring credit, during an 80-hour work week. Think Bernard Cornwell, but with a keener eye on historical minutiae (in a good way). The historical minutiae might be a tad confusing, what with historical references and archaic pronunciations/spellings. But, I had a lot of that in hand — on a functional level, anyways. It’s educative in a way that’s comparable to hard sci-fi. You don’t have to let the details bog you down. The author is a good storyteller. So, the book works on multiple levels. The story quickly grabs your attention, whisks you away at a fast pace, and keeps you engaged. The narrator did an excellent job. Perfect embodiment of the main character. All other characters done well enough not to cause a hitch in suspension if belief.

Great action.. suspenseful... narrator did a great job

I enjoyed it

I didn’t know what to expect with this book not my usual choice but I found the story very well read with great characters and very descriptive landscapes of how things used to be

Great find

Absolutely amazing book and the narrator did a great job. Great character building, very fluent and well put together storyline. All in all 5 stars across the board highly recommend listening to this book

Liked the historical relevance combined with fiction

Keith K’s review below/above says it all! Agree with him 100%!

Absolutely loved this book, great narration as well

Great story and loved the narrator.

Great book

I enjoyed this book.

Good read. Not what I usually go for, but I enjoyed it. The names were sometimes confusing, since some were very similar, but I would definitely recommend!

Enjoyed this book

Great adventure story well narrated.

Light hearted, lovely

Excellent!I loved the story, characters and production of this novel. The narrator was amazing. Highly recommend giving this a listen!

I really tried but the narrator was awful. I stopped listening after 10 minutes. The tone was just boring and sounded almost like it was coming from a computer.

Excellent story and narration. Very well written and I loved how the author took the time to explain how he wrote the book and the historical facts that inspired it.

A simple story told well. The narrator paints the characters beautifully.

I really enjoyed the historical setting of the book. Although, I thought the ending was somewhat predictable and underwhelming. Probably 3.5 stars if I am being honest. All in all I liked it and would listen to other books by this author.

I enjoyed the narrator very much. Really did a great job at making the story more lively. Story was decent but predictable in a sense but I appreciated the details that made it a close resemblance to historical fiction.

Good listen overall. Great story line set in a time period I haven't read a great deal about. The narration was excellent!

Really enjoyed the book. Simple story well written and narrated.

I thoroughly enjoyed listening to this period story. A very different time and place. I was unfamiliar with some of the vocabulary and enjoyed learning some new words.

Exciting, captivating and strong plot development.

Narrator did a great job.loved the story and the accents. The names were confusing . I kept up with the names pretty much but at the end they were all thrown in and I forgot who was who.

Not my typical fare, but nice enough to listen to with other family coming and going through the house

Fantastic listen!

Gripping tale that had me listening at every available moment. Refreshingly well narrated!

I only write reviews for poor audio experiences it seems.. Generally I love almost everything I listen to, but this was tedious, it could easily have been condensed as the author repeats every plot line 10 times just incase you couldn't somehow follow what is a very thin plot line, it was good to see this time period explored in fairness, but it was presented in such a way that my intelligence felt insulted.. I think his editor needs to step up their game as there could have been a decent story in there.. I don't know how I made it to the end but I did, to say that I could have confidently predicted everything that happened from half way in would be an understatement.. the style of story telling is very akin to Sarah J Masse, constantly repeating everything, I'm not sure if it tells something about the modern attention span or what, but I personally can't abide it.! It reminds me of being at school & needing to bump up the word count. :-)

A decent yarn

This was a VIP choice and it was very good! Check it out

Not really into historical fiction, but this was a very good read.

Interesting particularly the historical contect given at the end.

Different. But a good read.

Loved the story and the narrator did a great job with the different voices without getting too theatrical.

This book was excellent, the narrator was flawless and breezed through the old English pronunciations. the story was gripping from the first page until the last and I loved the historical contexr added at the end!

Loved it! Well written and well narrated.

Liked the history content, good plot. Very good variation of voice for the characters

Great fun to listen to.

This book has come up repeatedly on my monthly VIP free book offers. I finally selected it and really enjoyed it. Narrator also gave a very good performance. Appreciated the authors notes at the conclusion outlying the historical background for his novel.

Loved it!!! Kept my attention and made me want to find out more about that time period. Loved the names! Would like to read something else by this author. I hope there’s a sequel.

I could not put this down. Very exciting and gripping. Definitely worth the read or listen!

This book grips you from the first page to the last. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

I liked the narrator

This is an easy book to follow. Though a bit predictable it still makes a good read! I found it following the line of truth/fiction and history of one man fun and interesting.

A good story, if somewhat predictable. I felt that there was a lot of foreshadowing and little surprise. The historical notes were excellent though and gave a lot of context to the novel. Overall a good listen.

This whole novels reeks of ages long past, and this author captures it perfectly! The narration is among the highest levels of the hundreds of audiobooks I have enjoyed. I was immersed in the plot, the characters, and the outcome of their stories!

Engaging story of a bit violent in parts but perhaps an accurate reflection of the times. Great narration.

Excellent story…. Narrator gripped me from the start

This was a great book! Everything I heard was perfectly said and perfectly timed. I could hardly ever put it down. From start to finish it help my attention! I look forward to the next book with these same characters!!

Truly compelling and relatable characters in a faithfully portrayed historical setting. Matthew Harffy’s words and Barnaby Edwards’ voice transported me to Anglo-Saxon England and swept me along this adventure with the protagonists. Highly recommended - I have already downloaded more from this author and narrator.

This book was an unexpected surprise. If you aren’t won over by the relationship between man and dog, you will be by the gruff old man and young girl who needs a hero.

Enjoyed this audiobook. The storyline and narrator were very good.

interesting story about old England. felt accurate and narrator added a good feel to the story.

Great book

Fantastic!I listened to this book on reading the reviews of other listeners. I could not stop listening. The characters are super as well as the story and plot. The narrator wss absolutely brilliant and would say he is probably one of my best narrators I have listened to so far. I have already got another title from same author/, narrator in my library.

Really enjoyed the story and the story telling. Was very pleasantly surprised as I had done no prior research.

Superb. Highly entertaining, good pace, interesting characters. Very well narrated.

I usually only read and listen to documentaries and non fiction, but decided to try something else for once and boy am I glad I did! Great storyline with just enough historical background and realism in it to make it believable and also intriguing enough to have me listen non stop to the whole book! This is very much also due to the fantastic narrator who effortlessly switched between not only a soothing British narrating voice and different dialects and tone for each male character, but also did the female voices in a believable manner. I will be looking out for more from this author as well as from this narrator!

A good yarn set in the dark ages.

It kept my interest and the narrator was very good

I usually don’t read this genre, but I really enjoyed this book. It had a “True Grit” feel to it and I loved all the characters. The narrator was amazing. Great story.

Great story right from the start. Appreciated the character development a lot as well as plot. Was the first book I listened to from this author and will seek out others from him.

A well written, and well read book. I'd love to see this made into a film; the story, landscapes and Dunston's fighting skills could really come alive on a big screen.

A fantastic tale; gripping plot, wonderful characters, no excess of unnecessary description, well told with a delightful narrator. For those who want an epic historical novel that has great expanse but only have time for the story of one experience. Truly enjoyable!

Good story, good narration.

I had high hopes for this read. Sadly, I find the young girl (I never saw it written, so I many say her name) an insipid and ungrateful dolt. Dunston repeatedly took care of her needs and guarded her, and she had the temerity to call him a craven when he didn't attack 5 armed and ready men. In fact, SHE got *mad* and wanted to attack them on her own, but her butter knife! Later, she disregards his explicit instructions and does whatever SHE wants, and puts him at great risk. I understand that she is a story convention the author uses to let Dunston converse, and share his wisdom. Did she have to be such and unmitigated ingrate? This author is off my reading list...there are better ways to unfold a story.

Great story, based on excellent research. Fast plots with lots of action, quite cruel at times, but it reflects the time in 838AD. Good narration. I look forward to the next book in this series.

Great story

A great story and trip into the past. Great characters and great setting made this a wonderful listen but more importantly the narration was amazing. A different voice for every single character!

Enjoyed. the story. Loved the characters. The narrator was excellent.

I enjoyed the reading, good historical analysis and an interesting plot

Thoroughly enjoyed it and want to read a following book. Great narration.

A well written story with excellent narration. A very enjoyable audio book.

Really like this book, narration was done well

Really enjoyed the story and narrator.

Easy listen , good narration.

Good story and fast moving I will look forward to the next book by this author

I enjoyed the novel. I felt it was fast paced and had a great storyline. I enjoy Anglo-Saxon history and the author did a wonderful job of putting the listener right into the middle of the 9th century. This is the first book I've read from this author and will be reading another.

A thoroughly engrossing novel.

Really good Historical fiction. Recommended for anyone who Enjoys The Last Kingdom

sometimes the exactness of the narration got in the way of the story. but otherwise, a very fun tale!

loved it, the characters,the theme, the narration

story is very slow, I never got into this one

Lots of action and great details. Loved this book and could not turn it off. Well worth a listen!!

great book. I enjoyed story abd historical background.

Loved this story, interesting time period.

Great narration and captivating story. Based on historical background but with lot of authors own take on things. I enjoyed it a lot.

Well worth the listening to.

Wow! What a great tale and the narrator was amazing! Loved it! I highly recommend.

Though I enjoyed the book, it was drawn out in places, especially the ending.

Very good storyline.

Good read I do indeed say

If I had heard this story whilst younger I might have paid more attention in history lessons,a great insight far too late.

This was a fantastic book and the narrator was excellent! I absolutely loved it and was sad when it was over.

Really good book. The first I’ve read from the author, and I am now a fan. The Narration was excellent as well.

Great story. I would love to read more stories with these characters. Good mixture of action and description. The naration was Top notch. The reader did a great job of using different voices.

Excellent work.