Ironfoot

The Enchanter General, Book 1

By: Dave Duncan

Narrated by: Tim Campbell

Medieval magic, murder, and mayhem!

It is 1164, and for a hundred years England has been ruled by the Normans. A young Saxon boy named Durwin, crippled by a childhood accident, had caught the eye of a Norman sage teaching at a rural school of magic. Realizing that the boy had promise, Durwin was made stable boy, and eventually allowed to attend classes.

Now twenty, Durwin is proficient enough that he is assigned to teach, but the other sages refuse to promote him and he is hassled by the Norman juniors for his disability. But those troubles turn out to be the least of his worries when he manages to corrects errors in an ancient corrupted spell, which promptly prophesies murder.

Sure enough, word soon reaches the school that one of the local count's house sage has died, perhaps slain by black magic. Durwin is whisked away to the family's castle, only to find that one death was only the beginning. The young sage quickly learns of a dizzying plot to assassinate King Henry. Dropped into the middle of the complex politics of England's royal courts, can Durwin stop them in time?

©2017 Dave Duncan (P)2017 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Interesting angle to take with a fantasy book

This type of book is a bit of an odd duck, but in an entertaining and unique way. It's sort of straddles genres; at time feeling more like a medieval period piece, others more like a time displaced Sherlock Holmes adventure. Very well written story, engaging characters with backstories that just aren't what you'd expect, but fit and engage anyway. I would recommend it to anyone who likes having some historical realism to their fantasy book, anyone who like unconventional detective stories, and anyone who's a fan of fantasy, but needs a gulp of air break from 'random farmboys finding a destiny tied to a magic sword/secret parentage' type stories.

Medieval mayhem of the game is afoot variety.

So much fun and not just the story, the twists or the whodunit. The narration is brilliant and these characters are the kind that you want to meet at some distant pub on a rainy night and just listen to their tales.

Fantastic.

Good story

I had never read the author’s book or listened rather. I also have never heard the narrator before. So, I will now follow then.

Iron foot

Have listened to this book over and over! Am so hoping there will be a sequel! Brilliant!

Cadfael meets Hogwarts…

I loved this book set in historic medieval England. The characters are rich and the plot has many unexpected twists and turns. I am looking forward to the next in the series.