If you enjoy fantasy at its best, this is a must

Stagger and Infidel are bounty hunters searching for highly prized dragon bones.  While chased by pygmies, Stagger accidentally stabs and kills himself with his bone knife,  and is transformed into a ghost tied to his knife, he must go where it goes.  Infidel, the beautiful warrior with impenetrable skin and unnatural strength, mourns his death, not knowing Stagger is still following her.  She joins a strange band of magical warriors and priests to slay the elemental dragon, Greatshadow, to free the world of his control of fire.

This is an extremely complex story with imaginative characters and demons.  Maxey paints a richly detailed world of magic and adventure: impenetrable armor that only exists as long as long as 300 monks pray for its existence, a deceiver who can change reality by convincing others of his lies, a mercenary who can change into an animal from the tattoos on his body, an ice priestess who can freeze anything with a touch and many, many more.  The story’s originality and fresh ideas alone are worth the visit, but it is the richly developed characters that will keep the listener enjoying the ride.

The plot is far too complex to describe here.  Each character has his or her own reason for searching out the elemental dragon, Greatshodow.  One wants to kill it for king and country, others just for the money, another as an enslaved magician and Infidel to bury her grief.  It is an epic adventure that will satisfy fantasy lovers.

Jake Urry performs the story magnificently.  He brings the story to life with his exceptional voice and character portrayals.  A beautiful dance of narrator and story and a pleasure to listen to.

Greatshadow is a thoroughly entertaining action adventure fantasy.  It even throws a bit of philosophy into the mix about when messing with nature is going too far.  It is book one in the series, but stands alone as a complete novel.  You’ll definitely want to listen to book two when it is available.  If you enjoy fantasy at its best, this is a must listen.  Highly recommended.

Audiobook was provided for review by the narrator.

Please find this complete review and many others at my review blog

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15 people found this helpful

Intriguing Fantasy.

Whilst being chased through the jungle by pygmies, Stagger and Infidel have no choice but to jump off a cliff into the water. Unfortunately Stagger accidentally stabs and kills himself with his knife. He then becomes bound to the knife and has to go where it goes. Infidel, is distraught but gathers up his knife and flees. She needs a job so joins a quest to slay the mighty Greatshadow, but the gang of unlikely accomplices have there work cut out for them trying to slay an elemental Dragon.

I have to say that I did not expect to love this as much as I did!! The author has created a very vivid and intrinsic world and one I absolutely adored! There is so much happening within the pages that it was impossible to put down. The world the author created was extremely well crafted and pleasantly unique.

Character wise, we have a wide variety of them but each was well written and developed. We have a warrior whom is nearly indestructible, a priest who can sense lies and other untruths, he is also powerful in his own right, we have a deceiver who can make you believe anything, a man who can bring armor into being just by opening a book and more, plus we have dragons!!! It was amazing to read about them all.

The plot was fast paced and so entertaining. The quest they set out on is impossible because everyone who has tried has failed, plus, how can you defeat the Dragon of fire? I also loved how the story was told!! It was told via Staggers POV, even though he is a ghost!! It was a refreshing way for it to be told and I thoroughly enjoyed Stagger!

In all, an intriguing, exciting and adventurous tale and I'm so glad it seems to be a series. I want to know more about the world and characters!!

Jake Urry surpassed himself with his narration here. Every book I've listened to that he has narrated has been a 5 star narration, but this one was even better. The sheer amount of tones and voices he had was phenomenal! He was goofy and silly when needed (the goons) and tense and serious when called for. His voice for the dragons were amazing and he nailed the performance of the whole book. Amazing narration!!!

I was voluntarily provided this audiobook for free from the author, narrator, or publisher. This in no way affected nor influenced my thoughts.

6 people found this helpful

Awesome!

Fast paced, funny, full of adventure and romance. Great book, great narration, just perfect.

6 people found this helpful

Epic Fantasy

I got this ARC via audiobook boom. Listening to 13 hours of action mixed with humor, zany characters, and tragedy and an awesome narrator was a great way to spend time crocheting. All told through the voice of a dead man.The only problem I have with the whole story is that for 13 hours the story ends in a cliffhanger. I have yet to understand how a mind that can produce such a story can't find a better transition to the next story without it being a cliffhanger. I was able to relate to the characters and enjoy the story until the end. Why?

5 people found this helpful

A truly original epic fantasy

Greatshadow is a truly original epic fantasy. The story it’s self is that a group of unlikely allies get together to try and kill a dragon, and anything that can go wrong, will go wrong. There is a good amount of silly mixed in, but it kept me engaged from start to finish. I didn’t want to pause the book at all, which is hard to say for most 13 hour novels. What really sets this book apart from other epic fantasy novels is the way in which the story was told. I’ve never heard of another story told from the POV of a dead guy, who isn’t really the main character. Plus, there are a few times that he breaks the fourth wall, but it an entertaining and well-done way. There is also large and diverse cast that shouldn’t be able to work together, yet somehow, they do... Kind of. The story has fantastic narration, with Jake Urry performing a huge amount of voices, but keeping them all separated and easily distinguishable. He especially does a great job with the dragon voices. Overall, this was a thoroughly entertaining book and I can’t wait for book two.

This audiobook was provided by the narrator at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review.

4 people found this helpful

Greatshadow

Any additional comments?

A great fantasy book with some really cool additions to the wonderful world of dragon mythology. I loved the story telling devise, thought it worked really well and very much look forward to reading the next in the series.

8 people found this helpful

6 Stars

There are very few books I have enjoyed more. Greatshadow, James Maxey and Jake Urry all get 6 stars. Way to go James!!

This book has action, adventure, romance, characters you want to hate and other you are cheers for. Very well balance story, not too much of any single character that dominates the story. I'm looking forward to books 2, 3 & 4.

"I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review."

2 people found this helpful

An Epic Fantasy Adventure

This was a great book and a must-read for all fantasy lovers. It had just about everything fantasy you can imagine. Dragons, magic, dwarves, elves, ghosts, ogres, necromancers, and much more.

The adventure centers around a group of barely allied warriors, adventures, and thieves who take off on a quest to kill the elemental dragon of fire, Greatshadow. With a storyline that takes many twists and turns, you'll have a hard time stopping before the book is over.

I was unsure about the narrator for the first 20-30 minutes, however, I knew after the first hour that he was the perfect voice for this book.

If you like any type of fantasy story, you will love this book!

I requested and received a free copy of this audiobook from the author, publisher, or narrator in exchange for an unbiased review. I was NOT required to write a positive review and this reflects my honest opinion of the work.

2 people found this helpful

This was a fantastic surprise! Listen 2 this book!

From the very beginning I was pulled into this story. It doesn't follow all the tropes that one can include into a fantasy story. It was original from the beginning. And the narration was as well.

Within a few chapters I began to really appreciate the choice of narrator. Jake captures the main character well. He is a complex character, a bit shady. and the tone fit perfectly.

The other characters were also captured well. And the cynical moments felt cynical. The timing great, and I cracked up a few times because of the performance. GREAT job!

I loved how the story unveils. One might think a character, spiritually tied to a knife, would be a bore... would be limited. But James opened up a whole new world from the perspective of a knife.

GREAT story! Listen asap!

2 people found this helpful

Great writing!

What made the experience of listening to Greatshadow the most enjoyable?

I love how different each character is.

Who was your favorite character and why?

I liked Lord Tower and his holy armor.

Which character – as performed by Jake Urry – was your favorite?

No face was hard to understand at times. Other than that, each one sounded unique and real.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I found myself excited to pick up where I left off. But it did take me a week to find the time to finish it.

Any additional comments?

Great story, great writing, can't wait for the next one!

2 people found this helpful