The Seer and the Sword

De: Victoria Hanley

Narrado por: Adam Hartshorn

The legendary Sword of Bellandra is believed able to defeat any enemy. Because of the Sword’s reputation, no one has dared attack Bellandra for generations. But King Kareed of Archeld leads his seasoned warriors against the peaceful kingdom, easily overcoming the untrained Bellandran soldiers who attempt to turn him away. When Bellandra is overthrown, Prince Landen loses his father, his kingdom, his sword, and his freedom.

Captive and alone in a strange country, Landen vows to learn all he can about the ways of the conqueror. Princess Torina knows nothing of darkness until her father, King Kareed, returns from invading Bellandra and gives her a crystal of exceptional purity that ignites her power to see the future. When her grandmother warns her to keep her visions to herself, Torina confides in only one other person—Landen, the lost prince of Bellandra.

©2000, 2021 Victoria Hanley (P)2022 Victoria Hanley

Excellent story and narration

I loved this story since I was a kid; it was magical getting to listen to it as an audiobook as an adult. The narrator did an excellent job with the different character voices, emotions, and even a bit of singing. I really enjoyed it.

Seer and the Sword

This has been one of my favorite books since I was a teenager. The only thing that I found annoying in this audiobook is that at the beginning of every chapter, the narrator begins with "The Seer and the Sword by Victoria Hanley Chapter X". This constantly destroyed the flow of the story of threw me out of it.

Surprisingly excellent!

Initially my expectations were low: The book’s title is so similar to “The Sword and the Stone,” that I thought it might be predictable and unoriginal. But it was neither of those. This is a compelling story with a complex plot and memorable characters. The setting is timeless and convincingly real. The reader’s versatile voice made me forget there was just one reader. He even sings a haunting song of mourning with an ancient quality. This book would make an excellent movie. I hope Adam Hartshorn will record the next books in this series.

Great story

This was engaging to listen to and I loved the story. The performance was good.

Beautifully done!

The story was great. I want to see it in movie form. The reader was amazing. A beautiful telling of a timeless tale.

Like a hug from an old friend

I loved this book as a kid and hearing it was such a treat. The narrator was perfect for it, his voice was soothing and really matched the feel of the story for me. It was a brilliant adaptation to a beloved book in my eyes and the story itself is like a more approachable version of the fantasy epic series in a standalone package.

Familiar favorite, let down by production

Really happy to see this book in audio format! I think unfortunately a few hiccups prevented this from being an outstanding audiobook. In particular, I think the narrator needed a director, and the audio editor should not have re-inserted the title and author at the front of every single chapter. That repetition is really tiring and just isn't how audiobooks are made - I can't tell if this was a specific Choice, or if there's a lack of experience in listening to/producing audiobooks.

I did like the narrator's tone and delivery style, he's very pleasant to listen to. However, the character voices felt very out of place in some areas. His female voices veer far too falsetto, and honestly felt like an insult to the characters after a while (specifically Torina). Other key characters felt far too casually delivered, and Vesputo sounded like just some guy instead of the ruthless, crafty, cold villain that he is. As a result, the characters aren't as unique and distinct in voice as they should be. There's no particular strength, personality, or cleverness in the way the dialogue is delivered between characters, which is a shame since I think this is one of the story's biggest strengths. The pronunciations of some locations and names felt very off as well, maybe this is a result of having two and a half decades to have my own pronunciations set to heart, but also... I just firmly believe Vineda and Bellanes are not pronounced the way chosen in this audiobook. But this is the risk of picking up a new iteration of anything nostalgic. For all I know that's how they author wanted them pronounced. And if so, great! It just felt too jarring to me, personally.

I'm always grateful to see an old favorite available on audio, but I wish the production had taken a bit more care with this gem.