Narrated by Kirk Griffin
This lighthearted fantasy romp is a compilation of six novellas (each designated Miracle: 1-6) and a short story detailing the romance between the not-completely-evil Black Sorcerer of Grimslock, Tanawat (Tan) Ritherong Shinawathra, and the definitely virtuous First Knight Devante (Devan) Salveno. (Note: There are 6 additional novellas plus a short story or two in the Villainy series that continue the adventures after this “Complete Works”. Each installment for the newer How I Took the King novellas are designated Bone: 1-6. Yes, it’s confusing.) The blurb for first novella, Miracle 1, gives an idea of how (not) serious the story is:
What’s a white knight to do when his princess wants to sacrifice a town to barbarians? Go to the famous Black Sorcerer of Grimslock for help, apparently.
What’s a black sorcerer to do when the white knight comes to him for help? Keep him, naturally.
Devan does not approve of this payment plan. Tan does.
The entire series is fluffy, often giggle-worthy, and very entertaining – just right for unplugging and de-stressing. The author has developed wonderful main characters and a load of fun, unique side-characters to add to the enjoyment. (And cats, we can’t forget the cats.) Devan is First Knight to spoiled brat Princess Serenity who cares not a whit about her people. He has spent over ten years running interference trying to mitigate the damage caused by her actions, while the palace works overtime to present her as a benevolent ruler. When the story opens, Devan is approaching Grimlock, the forbidding abode of the Black Sorcerer, because Princess Serenity has decided to let invading barbarians overrun a border town and then destroy the town by fire to prevent the invasion from advancing . Devan is here to beg for help to move the townspeople even knowing that given the sorcerer’s reputation for killing anyone approaching his gate, he’s unlikely to live long enough to even ask. After encountering two (delightfully dumb) gremlins at the gate, he is surprised to be admitted to the castle by the house manager, an imposing kobold named Hans, and given tea and scones while he waits. Devan is even more surprised when Tan turns out to be an energetic young man who literally pirouettes into the room a few moments later. The shocks keep coming as Tan agrees to help Devan and asks only for a night of “cuddles” in return since Devan neglected to bring the required kitten. As they spend time together Devan becomes increasingly intrigued by the confusing Tan, and Tan decides he’s definitely keeping Devan for his very own.
Each additional novella details a new story about Devan and Tan working together to defend the kingdom and save lives. These adventures often involve delightful secondary characters and have plenty of very funny banter. But even though the subplot is wrapped up in each of the six novellas, they do not stand alone. The main plotlines – including the growing slow-burn romance between Devan and Tan, as well as the problem of what to do about Princess Serenity, whose ever increasing volatility is running the kingdom into the ground – are developed throughout all six stories.
Kirk Griffin is a new-to-me narrator and this seems to be his only audiobook, though a quick trip to his website indicates he’s done some voice-overs for commercials. His bio shows he’s been involved in several fantasy, sci-fi and gaming conventions, like Dragon Con in Atlanta, GA, and plays Dungeons and Dragons. This all makes sense after listening to his narration. He has excellent character voices for all the magical and mundane creatures we meet, reminiscent of many D&D games I’ve played where a good Dungeon Master enhances the game by voicing all the non-player characters. These novellas have a relatively large cast of characters and Mr. Griffin gives each one a unique voice which remains consistent throughout. His often quirky and inventive voices help bring out the humorous dialog and immerses the listener in the story. Unfortunately, Mr Griffin is not as successful in the narrative sections. His delivery feels a little flat and there is an occasional, almost imperceptible, stumbling over words or phrases. That, along with several jarring mispronunciations, shows a lack of polish that brings the final grade for the narration down. The disparity between the excellent characterizations (A-) and dialog passages and the less than ideal delivery of the narrative passages (C/C-) makes it difficult to give an overall grade. Other reviews I’ve looked at suggest most people seem to enjoy the narration, with a few who didn’t like it. I waffled between a C+ and a B- and settled on a B-, but YMMV. I suggest listening to samples if possible.
(I also want to note that there are some production issues such as obvious editing of sections of the narration and occasional chopping off of partial words, especially in chapter headings, that should have been smoothed out in post production.)
How I Stole the Princess’s White Knight and Turned Him to Villainy is irreverent, unexpected, at times laugh-out-loud funny, and definitely not to be taken seriously. You need to go in willing to roll with the humor. At the same time it’s a good story, with real obstacles to overcome and hard decisions to be made, even if those tasks are surrounded with a bit of silliness. I can recommend this lighthearted book on audio with the above caveats but as my husband will attest, it’s delightful in print as well.
Carrie
Buy How I Stole the Princess’s White Knight and Turned Him to Villainy by AJ Sherwood on Amazon
