The 13th Witch

The King's Watch, Book 1

By: Mark Hayden

Narrated by: Ciaran Saward

Did you know that the gods can use mobile phones?

They can, and Odin has a message for Conrad....

Conrad Clarke, former RAF pilot and alleged gangster, gets a text – and a visit – from The Allfather.

Odin has a challenge for Conrad: Sign up to protect England from wild magick and get a commission in the King’s Watch.

All he has to do is find a missing witch. Simple.

Conrad never could resist a challenge. Before you can say “Ragnarok”, he’s plunged into a world of gods, mages, witches, dwarves, and one very aggressive giant mole.

But the witch doesn’t want to be found, and powerful mages will kill to keep her hidden. Going back isn’t an option. Going forward looks a lot like death.

Armed with nothing but a sense of humor and a willingness to cheat, Conrad has to find the Witch and save his life.

Superbly narrated by Ciaran Saward, the first two books of the King’s Watch are now available in audio format.

Treat yourself to a copy now and experience a whole new universe of magick. And moles....

©2017 Mark Hayden and Paw Press (P)2020 Mark Hayden and Paw Press

Only had one complaint

I enjoyed this a lot, but I really don’t like the love interest. I think she distracts from the main characters and their stories.

Loved it.

I did get a little lost on who was who but really liked the main characters. I'm looking forward to the next book.

Fun new world

I really liked this book. I’m not entirely certain I loved the hero, he’s odd and a bit immature, and he believes strongly in shoot first-talk later. The narrator, however, was brilliant and really made the characters come alive.

Despite the sample, Odin's not that big a part of

(As posted in Goodreads)
Well, I fear that my rating of this does not reflect my opinion of it; that is to say that I didn't really care for it that much.
On the other hand, I think it's probably pretty well written. I like the flavor of Norse mythology, but it was no more than a flavor, and overall, that ended up just being a misdirection. That may well be the reason that I didn't care for it as much as I expected to.
The characters were well defined and consistent. And the plot was pretty good. It was nice to see one of the early important characters show up at the end, as opposed to being totally forgotten. Actually, it may in fact be worthy of an entire series after all…

A great story becomes even better

This is a great series of books, so I was a bit nervous about whether I'd like the audio version or not, but I need not have worried. As good as the books are, the story becomes even better with the narration. Little bits and pieces of the original story come alive under the effects of Ciaran Saward's voice. I was reading the latest book (Six Furlongs), and could almost hear the text in his voice! I can't wait for the next one!

If you're new to this series, it's a great mystery, with a strong urban fantasy element, and a nice romance thread that surfaces from time to time.