Urban fantasy at its finest!

I love the mindset that being a Tory is automatically the functional equivalent to being a Nazi... Sigh... Conrad is at least upper middle class, with the privileges that go with that as an upbringing, in terms of wealth, education and social experiences. And he moves in a world where a lot of others are at least equally privileged, and occasionally even more so. That doesn't preclude him from being a man who understands duty and honour, and who is willing to put his life on the line for them...

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First class “urban fantasy” brilliantly read

Everything about this series of books is fantastic - I’m halfway through this one and dreading finishing book 5, unless Audible can pull off a miracle (perhaps needing a touch of magic) and get Eight Kings out in the next few days. The plotting is great, love the characters and Ciaran Saward’s narration is out of the top drawer. It’s particularly refreshing that Mark Hayden trusts his audience to keep up with the plot and avoids the unnecessary exposition and recap that plagues some otherwise excellent examples of the genre.

Keep Ciaran hard at work!

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love every book in this series!

I enjoyed this book and the other books in the series. The narrator is also very good, I am looking forward to the next.

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Great story again

Good follow on from last story, already downloaded the next book, Narrator brings the characters to life

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another great story

another great read by Mark Hayden
I found myself chuckling with the laughter
Conrad is a funny man

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Really enjoyed this

I’m enjoying this series more and more. Excellent characters and storyline. Will certainly buy the next in the series.

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Fabulous

I absolutely love this series so well written beautifully drawn characters and really exciting to boot if you like magic and mayhem give it a go you won't be disappointed

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So worth it

I have enjoyed all four books so far. Initially I really didn’t like the character Meena, but she seems more pleasant and kinder to Conrad in this book - I know it’s a book but I couldn’t feel the chemistry between them.
Ciaran Saward is a fantastic performer, so versatile and believable. With Mark’s imagination and penchant for writing, they make the best team.
So worth investing in this series.

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Hannah for president!

The stories are reasonable, but Ciaran Saward is a masterful narrator and it’s worth listening to the books for his performance alone.

Someone else said - and forgive me because I can’t recall if it was in a review for this book or the one previous - that Mina is ghastly, and honestly, I couldn’t agree more. If anything stands out as off-key in these stories it’s the notion that someone like Conrad could fall for someone as inane as Mina. I really hope her character improves, but I have my doubts. She’s whiny, entitled, and astonishingly selfish - I know the old Opposites Attract idea, but she comes across badly and it has spoiled my enjoyment of this somewhat. Hence the four stars over all.

Thankfully , the book is saved by Hannah, Vicky, and Myfanwy who are all excellent characters with heart and courage. Conrad is still there as our dubious hero, saving the day with his quick brain and insight.

Overall, these are entertaining books, but I’m painfully aware that I’m only listening because I’m waiting for more from Ben Aaronovitch and Jim Butcher.

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Fairly sure the protagonist is a tory…

I haven’t come across a series of fantasy novels that are quite so brazen about their investment in British conservative tropes. The military. The police. The country pile. The ancestor worship of the aristocracy. Princess Ann even makes an appearance. Unfortunately, I am an anti-royalist who is allergic to tories, so I have been feeling increasingly itchy and uncomfortable from around book two. Hayden has tempered / disguised these tendencies with an ensemble cast of ethnics and strong women, but by the royal medal presentation ceremony at the end I’d had enough.

Shame, as the world building is pretty good and some of the characterisation is tangy too. The fantasy series for those who think the British Empire was a jolly good thing.

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