A lot of words...

This story felt like I needed a lot more information to enjoy. It was clearly an attempt to pull me into a greater series, but it was just a bunch of names and places and words that I had no context for and quite frankly, didn’t enjoy.

3 people found this helpful

Excellent short story

I really enjoyed this story , i actually found myself laughing out loud when he was trying to work out what the best gift would be .

1 person found this helpful

Great narration and story!

Great short story introduction into this series by the author the narration was excellent! Will check out the rest for sure!

1 person found this helpful

Short story but brilliant!

Escape from Bythos
By: Phil Tucker
Narrated by: Noah Michael Levine
Series: Chronicles of the Black Gate, Book 0.5
This is a short story about morals, courage, right and wrong, slave and master, a cave dwelling monster, and fate. It is short but has a lot thrown in there! It has all this and more!
The narrator has the perfect voice for this story!

1 person found this helpful

Engaging intro to this series.

My Rating: 4.25 of 5.0 Overall; Story 4.25; Narration 4.25.

Bythos is a slave city, the bottom (subterranean) of the classes in the Ascendant Empire. Zekko is a worker who has lived under the oppressive regime wondering how his gods can allow this system. Zekko’s children, Asho and his younger sister Shaya, will soon be of age to face the Choosing process where they will be evaluated to be sent to a life of servitude in the next level or contemned to remain as a slave in Bythos.

The children seek adventure by going into a forbidden mine, where legends tell of a killing monster, the cavekiller. They are frightened back to their father to let him know that there is a living cavekiller deep in the shaft. This will require action by the Ennoian knights who are serving their year in the loathed city. Zekko seeks out Lord Kyferin who agrees to take a small force to face the cavekiller even though legends indicate that only a large group of fighters should face the monster. Kyferin directs Zekko to be the guide into the depths of the mine.

Zekko has been approached by his work friends who are recruiting to rebel against the higher realms. This has pushed Zekko into a mindset of confusion and he has to contemplate his faith and tradition. He has choices to make as he could lead the knights with protective or deadly motives. When they face the battle, Zekko makes a sacrifice that will change his life and the lives of his family.

I know (knew) nothing about this series but I like fantasies with class battles and dangerous creatures. This is a short novella that explains how Asho ends up where he is for the following books. The characters were well developed, and the world building was displayed through the lifestyles and actions of the characters. I found the story engaging and I would be willing to listen to more in the series.

Audio Notes: Noah Michael Levine does a nice job with the narration. He portrays the characters with appropriate voices and emotion. The audio enhanced my enjoyment of the story.

1 person found this helpful

Escape from Bythos [Chronicles of the Black Gate]

I prefer to listen to books in published order. I completed this excellent short story after finishing the series, Chronicles of the Black Gate. However, this book can be completed where ever the listener prefers. There are no spoilers in this book to ruin the other books in the series.

The story is a plus to the series, giving a bit of background to some of the main characters.

Noah Michael Levine does a fine job with the narration.

1 person found this helpful

Narration was too robotic

The story is good, but the narrator is very robotic between dialogs, and its hard to engage in the story when it's read off like Microsoft Sam.

Not bad

I loved this story but couldn't stand the way it was being read. If it wasn't for the action it would have felt like a very long clear eyes commercial.

it's alright

quick listen for a free book. nothing of any important but it was enjoyable non the less.

Tedious

Some people have dull conversations, perfunctorily fight a monster, and then have longer, more boring conversations. Perhaps if any of them had personalities beyond “groveling slave” and “vulgar warlord” I might’ve been able to summon an interest.

Narrator does his best with mediocre material.