Brandon Thighmaster and Some Other Guys

An Authors and Dragons Tale

By: Steve Wetherell, EM Kaplan, Authors and Dragons

Narrated by: Wally Schrass

Sometimes, there are stories about other people. But if you read between the lines, you'll find that most stories are about me: Brandon Thighmaster.

And why wouldn't they be? You can have your tales of daring-do and double-crossing rogues, sure, but that's kind of the story bread, you know? Useless carbs. You want to get to the meat of the story, that's where the rich protein is.

Hi, I'm Brandon Thighmaster.

I'm the meat."

©2020 Steven Wetherell (P)2021 Steven Wetherell

Steve hits it out of the park

I really love Brandon and his adventures.

I came to Steve through the Authors and Dragons podcast.

Steve did a wonderful job telling Brandon’s pre A&D adventures. He threw in a few Easter eggs from the podcast and some really great long burn jokes.

This story is completely worth your time and credit.

And, if you haven’t listened to A&D, I strongly recommend the podcast too.

My only complaint about the book was initially, I was jarred by the American voice actor. However, he was able to give Brandon the beautiful British accent we all love. He was also able to bring all the other characters individual voices.

Well done.

Find your center, self center.

The totally self centered monk is back! And so fatally awesome he needed TWO authors to survive the splendor. Fans of the Authors and Dragons podcast already know, you should too.

Oh and F U Marc.

A New Spin on an Old Tale

Brandon Thighmaster and Some Other Guys, written by Steve Wetherell and EM Kaplan is the second book of the adventures of Brandon Thighmaster. It's part of the larger Authors and Dragons podcast universe, but being familiar with the podcast isn't a prerequisite for understanding what's happening in the books... though it might explain a few things for you!

There is little (if any) connection between the first book (The Totally Legend of Brandon Thighmaster) and this one. This book finds Brandon Thighmaster, sexually attractive monk from the Temple of the Many Fists, wandering in the desert whereupon he is captured and enslaved for the entertainment of a master thief and his... two-score band of thieves.

There are plenty of clues along the way about what story is playing out here, but just in case, I'll remain a little vague. I'll admit, it took me a little longer to work out the "two-score" thing... mostly because 1) I've never used "score" in my life to describe a quantity, and 2) I thought it was a different number entirely.

Compared to the first book, though, this was a little bit of a letdown. Sure, it was a fun tale well told, but Brandon in this one came across as unrealistic. His portrayal in the first book was as the narcissistic, dimwitted, but overall well-intentioned monk as he's played on the podcast. In this book, he was more of a parody of that character with a touch of "Mary Sue" where he seems incapable of doing nothing wrong. Brandon never seemed to be in any real danger.

Narration again by Wally Schrass was as enjoyable as the first book. The quality of the was a bit weaker, sounding... not tinny, but feeling like it lacked depth. I couldn't shake the feeling of the narrator in a booth without enough sound-dampening. I'm not a sound engineer, so I don't know how to best describe it... hollow, perhaps?

Overall, while I've re-listened to the first book a few times, I'm not so sure about this one. It was a decent retelling of a classic tale, but ultimately I think it fell short of the standard set by the first book in the series.

I was given this audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review. I have not let this gift affect nor influence my opinions of this audiobook and have left an honest review.