Sanctuary

Roman’s Chronicles, Book 1

By: Ilona Andrews

Narrated by: Chris Brinkley

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Ilona Andrews comes a novella featuring Roman, our favorite Volhv wizard in the always intriguing, colorful, volatile Kate Daniels world.

It’s not easy serving Chernobog, the God of Destruction, Darkness and Death…especially during the holidays; and especially when you’re out of eggnog and one of your pesky, freeloading mythic creatures has eaten your last cookie.

Roman would like nothing more than to be left alone, but when a wounded boy stumbles into his yard and begs for sanctuary, Roman takes him in. Now elite mercenaries are camped out on his property, combat mages are dousing the house with fire, and strange priests are unleashing arcane magic. They thought Roman was easy pickings, just a hermit in the woods, but they chose the wrong dark priest to annoy. For while Roman might be patient, he is the Black Volhv, filled with the love of his terrible god. For his adversaries, it's a fight to the death, but for him, it's just another day in the neighborhood.

©2024 Ilona Andrews (P)2024 NYLA

Fast Paced

Loved the glimpse into Roman’s Life! Way to go to the authors! Definitely recommend either reading or listening ( the narrator is fantastic!!!)

Great story!

Beautiful imagery masterfully brought forth by an excellent narrator. Lots of dry humor as well as poignant moments and wonderful twists in an easy listen that only takes a few hours.

Action Packed & Potential of more stories w Roman

A good short story, lots of folk lore condensed in a small book. More than the other books in the Kate Daniels series. Between the narrator and the folk lore this book was a bit on the dry side, but Roman snarky personality showed through enough to enjoy the story. I look forward to more stories from Roman, hopefully with more interaction with the kid’s sister for the next book. Best if read after Kate Daniels series, although the name pronunciation changed. Narrator was okay.

Looking forward to more

Not what I was expecting, but so much better. Hopefully many more will follow. Thoroughly enjoyed.

Huh- I’ve been spelling Volhv wrong all this time

“Nobody panic!”
Leave it to Roman to give us Xmas … dark and stormy night style.

“He rolled the unwelcome mat out - now all he had to do is wait.”
The monsters. The magic. The gore. The creepy, mercurial vibe of ancient pagan gods and their followers. This side trip leans way into Slavic folklore - as in grimmer than Grimm.

“The softest heart aches the hardest.”
Roman is one of my favorite characters from the Kate Daniels series because he’s dark, dangerous and yet so obviously a noble soul. Part of me wishes there had been more fun; the bigger part of me loved the bitter sweet edge.

“It’s a reckoning I deserve.”
What I know about Slavic mythology could fill a thimble. Mostly, I’ve just rolled with whatever this author duo puts out on Audible, because who cares if it’s accurate when the tale is so fantastic.
This was a captivating 4 hr novella with a small bonus of Slavic mythology extras at the end.