Udo the Warlord

Worldship, Book 2

By: Joshua Gayou

Narrated by: Michael Kramer

When war comes to the Worldship, all bets are off.

Udo is chosen to be named count. The title comes with the wealth and privilege he's always wanted, but he has a nagging feeling it will be more trouble than it's worth.

Things become complicated as Hanman, counselor to Ditmar the King, coerces Udo into informing against Gerold of the Four Fires, Ditmar's chief general in the war with Walhaz. Udo resolves to play this part to the best of his ability but is soon horrified when that same general convinces Udo into informing against Hanman. Even worse, both of these men seem openly aware of the other's scheming and each seems pleased to play Udo against the other, with the newly elevated count ill-equipped to handle all the intrigue.

A surprise assassination carried out in the Ditmar's very own fortress causes the king to act fast. The army launches with all haste for Walhaz, including Udo, the giant Riese, Gerold, Hanman, and thousands of other soldiers and nobles. Landing in enemy country, Udo must now navigate a war he does not understand along with all of the earlier troubles, and in the meantime, he remembers the commandment from the goddess Ing: He must look after his brother Riese even though Riese seems to have very little interest in being looked after.

Experience the brutal and unforgiving sequel to Udo the Digger, a science fiction and fantasy into a wild adventure that will amuse and surprise even veterans of both genres. It's perfect for fans of Arthur C. Clarke's Rama, Horizon Zero Dawn, Aurora, and Book of the Long Sun.

©2020 Aethon Books (P)2021 Audible, Inc.

Bring back bray.

Bray brought life to this series and I feel baited and switched that he didn’t read this one.

Good and Dark with a Sprinkle of humor

I'm gonna miss this. Kramer's narration fit perfectly with this book. Gayou's style could be heard throughout. I'm loving the direction that this journey is taking. Since Joshua Gayou said he's already completed the third book, I'm patiently waiting for more. This universe and character just keep expanding. Gotta say it put the wheels spinning in my head about our rulers and why certain things happen.

Joshua Gayou Continues to Evolve: Very Well Written!

This a a great book, and I love seeing how Joshua Gayou continues to hone his craft. The book itself is dark, and I am a sucker for the interplay between science fiction and mythology.

The characters are amazingly written and believable.

It was a bit jarring that the narrators changed. If I had to choose, I would say that I felt that RC Bray's Udo was truer to the character, but Kramer eventually found a voice for Udo that was just as good--give it a chance, it just takes awhile to really hear Kramer's Udo.

That said, my advice would always be for publishers to stick with the original narrator for audiobooks, especially if you manage to get RC Bray to narrate the first book in a series.

The best you will ever do is get someone as good as Bray, and the most likely outcome is going to be the opposite. So while Kramer worked out--for me--you can very easily lose your audience by not using RC Bray for further books in a series he started.

Be patient, my son

I ended up enjoying the change in narrator. It's hard to follow Bob, but I kinda feel like the way the story is evolving, it suited. Maybe following the second merge, there should be a third narrator?

Needless to say, enjoyed Josh's approach to story telling, I think this would be a very flat book on its own, but as the middle act, it does a great job of conveying the meat of the story, lots of reflecting on beginnings, glimpsing the future.

Love Michael Kramer but not for Udo

The title says it all, have to agree with the other reviewers. Michael Kramer is a master of his art for sure but Udo is a beer kinda story and you don’t want beer served in a chalice. R.C Bray had Udo down, he was Udo and it was human. All well