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The Black Sparrow

The Little Folk Saga, Book 1

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The Black Sparrow

By: R.K.J. Sprock
Narrated by: Hugh Weller-Poley
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About this listen

Axel's life was simple: He lived with his father in a small township, worked hard, and planned to be a respectable man just like his father. Then, he met Florence, and his small world suddenly spun out of his control. Accused of crimes and shunned by a family secret he never knew about, Axel is flung out of his small, sheltered life into a world of the unknown.

Mythical creatures, wars, friendships made and lost - Axel has to grow and become a man in this new and scary place. He becomes strong, is trained as a warrior, and learns just how harsh the world can be. Follow Axel on his journey, laugh with him, cry with him, and fight with him.

©2020 Rachel Sprock (P)2022 Rachel Karen Jude Sprock Action & Adventure Epic Epic Fantasy Fantasy Fiction
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A fascinating, unique story which I enjoyed listening to; well-narrated and an intriguing read/listen. Hopefully more to come.

Compelling

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I'm required to state that I received a free copy of this audio book in exchange for my honest review. So, here we go:

Okay, I can see where some of the confusion is coming from. I, like the reviewer of a particularly scathing review, went back and read the description because I was confused that none of the characters were the same and the story was different. Unlike that reviewer, however, I had been in correspondence with the author and knew that the characters in the description would show up eventually, so I kept going.

It does take a good couple of chapters for the story in the description to begin. The reason for this is that there are actually two stories, and one is being told by a character in the other. For example: We meet the characters in Story 1, follow them through several chapters, and then they sit down for storytime so that one character can tell us Story 2, which is the tale of Axil and his adventures. This can be a bit confusing at times, but probably could have worked well with the help of a good editor.

It's a unique story with a lot of potential, but it really would have benefited a lot from a round or two of good editing. It reads like something from a college creative writing class, which isn't a bad thing. The concept and the world the author has created are very unique and imaginative, the writing itself just lacks refinement. I'm also something of a writing nazi in general, so clunky writing like this tend to pull me out of even really good, interesting stories, so take everything I say with a grain of salt.

Good, but lacks refinement

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the narrator is good enough but the story just isn't engaging. My mind kept wondering even in the "exciting" parts. It's also strangly written like a children's book but had snipits of adult content and swearing. I'm not entirely convinced there is a plot (as opposed to just a narration of what two groups of people are doing). Without giving too much away there's supposed to be a link between the two groups but it's a weak thread (not the actual link the way it's written). Maybe there was a plot and I missed it as I did zone out alot. The writing is MG level, could probably have done with several more drafts.

I really wanted to like it but I didn't.

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