Fatemarked

The Fatemarked Epic, Book 1

By: David Estes

Narrated by: Derek Perkins

Winner 2018 SOVAS Award for Audiobook Narration - Teens, Best Voiceover

They are the fatemarked. Misunderstood. Worshipped. Hated. Murdered at birth. Their time to step into the light has come.

An ancient prophecy foretold their coming, the chosen few who will bring peace to a land embroiled in a century of mistrust and war. When kings start dying, that hope and belief swiftly turns to fear. Roan Loren is one of the fatemarked, but has hidden his mark of power his entire life, fearing the damage it might cause to those around him.

A great evil is coming. He can't hide anymore.

In the spirit of fantasy epics like Throne of Glass and The Lord of the Rings, enter a world of magic and dragons, kings and queens, and victory and defeat, during a time when honor and valor still meant something.

©2018 David Estes (P)2018 Podium Publishing

Good storytelling

This was a nice break from the typical nonfiction books I listen too. Enjoyable storytelling and good storyline.

Amazingly well written story - Worth the listen

Loved it from start to finish. For such an underreviewed book.. this one caught me by surprise. Well worth the listen. And for the performance - anything by Derek Perkins is straight quality. Enjoy!

You will not regret reading this!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I would (and actually have) recommend this audiobook to several of my friends so also enjoy epic fantasy. This book reminded me of the Game of Thrones series (without the excessive amounts of murder and sex scenes). The plot goes so far beyond what each individual character sees and is experiencing, but it isn't hard to follow as long as you are paying attention.

What did you like best about this story?

In my opinion, the best part about this story are the characters. David Estes is a master at developing characters and making sure that, even if you don't like certain parts of them or certain actions that they take, you can't help but still sympathize for them. There are so many fantastic characters in Fatemarked and I love each and every one!

Which character – as performed by Derek Perkins – was your favorite?

My favorite character would have to be Annise. Though she is plagued with doubts about herself, she ends up stepping forward in the end and is such a strong female character.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I couldn't put this book down! Normally I only listen to audiobooks in the car when I'm driving to work or on a long trip, but I found myself listening to Fatemarked whenever I had free time.

Any additional comments?

Fair warning: the story switches character point of views fairly frequently, but the transitions are very well done. Each new point of view is preceded by the narrating character's name and location.

Disappointed

Read the reviews and was hoping for better. Multiple story lines. Decent character development. Lots of potential. It may get better. The problems. With the exception of one character what do these marks really do? Lots of moving parts but few of them actually connect until very late in the book. Unfortunately by then I was getting fairly bored with the whole premise. LOTR this definitely isn’t. I may give book 2 a try but not anytime soon.

Very enjoyable!

Firstly, I must say thank you to the reviewers who were complaining about "pushing a political agenda" or whatever nonsense that triggers those types of "sensitive" people, because thanks to them, I was able to discover a truly enjoyable story. I was honestly going to give this a skip until I saw their reviews making me aware that there were some lgbt elements involved. It's not often to come across fantasy stories like this.

Anyways, this story is a lot more than just that. It is filled with amazing world building and interesting characters. The premise and power system also feels very fresh and makes me excited to just get to the next book already! So yeah, I wish my review could be longer, but I'm pretty much in a rush here! Later, and I hope you read!