A Rumor of Kings

Kingdom of Ghosts, Book 1

De: Victor Gischler

Narrado por: John Lee

He's a gambler, womanizer, opportunist, and inebriate . . . and the kingdom's only chance.

Greymond, the Scattered Kingdom, has been without a king for hundreds of years, a place ruled by squabbling barons and dukes. Occasionally, rumors arise: a king of the old blood has returned to claim his throne. These days, such claims are met with groans and eye-rolls. Pretenders abound . . . and are generally ignored.

But scheming powers are plotting, machinations that have been in the works for years, and this time . . .

Enter Merrik Niles.

A thief hired by dangerous people to steal a map, he instead keeps it for himself, hoping to follow it to some mysterious prize.

The treasure turns out to be an ancient artifact connected to Greymond's last king, and when Merrik touches it, he triggers long-dormant magic. Now, three ghosts have taken up permanent residence inside his mind: A cunning, smart-mouthed jester. A master swordsman. And a powerful wizard.

At first, Merrik believes he's going mad, but at times, these troublesome ghosts lend him their powers . . . for good or for bad.

Merrik is swept along in a scheme to put a fair-haired pretender on the throne of Greymond, making him the target of powerful enemies across the Scattered Kingdom who prefer the realm as it is.

All the while, a new army rises across the mountains . . . and they're coming.

Follow Merrik's exploits as a reluctant hero in the next epic fantasy series by Victor Gischler, the bestselling author of Ink Mage. It's perfect for fans of Mark Lawrence, Brent Weeks, and Jay Kristoff.

©2021 Victor Gischler (P)2022 Tantor

marik the main character

marik getting what he wanted & what he had to do to get it. it was well narrated.

It was rather comedic but some of the characters I feel like had much more potentiall then what the writer created

Some of the character development was rather mediocre but overall I enjoyed the book and will listen to the second

Looking forward to the next one

In short.
A great story, made better with good writing.
As for the performance I can only say this.
I have never had a bad thing to say about John Lee.
Though after this I may have some more good things to say about him.
Looking forward to the next one.

Fast paced and fun

Anti-heroes need to have heart for me to like them, and this one has heart.

great story line, humor, and narration

as the title says it's a great story, flows well, MC is relatable, magic system isn't complicated and makes sense. MC isn't over powered yet. a fun read, bought 2nd and 3rd in series. the story line is great as it's not one of those young kid character builds nor a LitRPG which has flooded the market recently. as a 50yr old adult who enjoys SF&Fantasy, listening to a book which doesn't have a whiny indecisive MC is a real pleasure

Great next book alternative…not a robot

This is a great anti-hero hero story with great characters and a wonderful reader. I had not heard of this author before and thought I would try this book. I was pleasantly surprised and glad I found a new author with a number of books to explore.

Brilliant!

What can I say? The writing is smart and entertaining, the main character is redeemable, and the plot unfolds brilliantly. I'm starting the second book today!

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story line is too long. narrator tries to tell story with enthusiasm. jumps from one scene to another with no blending. story gets boring.

Not for me

I couldn't make it past half way through this. The characters just all felt so cowardly and lacking in agency, aimlessly flitting through set piece to set piece as if by the strings of fate - no ambition other than survival on their mind.

It made for a frightfully dull read. It's also not what I'm looking for in a fantasy tale.

I maybe could have been persuaded to hang around a bit longer, but the main protagonist is just such an annoying coward with nothing about him.

There's just nothing here that grabbed me.

I'll be returning this.