Wielder

Soldiers and Swords, Book 1

By: Margaret Couplet

Narrated by: Dan Levy

Hundreds of years after a race of magical beings called dindeary have taken over most of the world Corporal Clark Jameson is graduating from the Human Empire’s military academy after four years of grueling work. As a common born orphan from a small town too close to the border for anyone’s comfort Clark knows that he doesn’t have many prospects until, on the night before his future unit is to be decided he meets a strange pair of men who belong to the infamous Squad 42: Adam Milson, a sexy blonde that makes Clark’s blood run hot, and Harry Browning, the mysterious swordsman carrying one of the 13 magical swords which the dindeary will do anything to reclaim.

He never expected to see them again, especially considering Adam Milson was the heir to one of the most wealthy provinces but the next day he is called before all three of the members of Squad 42 and is offered the opportunity to try and wield Harry’s sword, Linsgarum. But Clark was a commoner, he couldn’t wield a sentient blade that burned any who were deemed unworthy, could he?

©2022 Margaret Couplet (P)2025 Margaret Couplet

The concept was really interesting, but that’s it.

The concept was super interesting, but this felt almost painful to listen to. The narrating was honestly pretty bad. None of the voices were believable, or enjoyable. I gave this book a second listen only because I wanted to give the story more of a chance since I was so put off by the narration, and I think it was worse the second time around.

Uncomfortable

The dialog felt disingenuous to the point it felt ick. Voices sounded silly and some even childish.

Fascinating Concept, Missing Details

Wielder has a wonderfully unique concept involving a futuristic alien conflict and sentient swords that choose their wielders. I also loved the focus on consent and the open, supportive relationships between Carter, Adam, and the members of Squad 42.

Unfortunately, the worldbuilding and characters weren’t very fleshed out. I struggled to visualize the setting or the people, and I’m still completely lost regarding the conflict between the humans and the other race.

There were also moments when Harry simply appeared, said or did something random, and then vanished from the narrative again. I need someone to explain the Harry logistics!

I’m intrigued enough to continue, but book two will need to start filling in some blanks if I’m going to make it to book three. Dan Levy's performance didn't help, but didn't make it worse either.

Exciting Military Fantasy

Intelligent military MCs are thrown into an m/m fantasy world with sentient sword magic and class struggle. I could not wait to dive into the next books in the series. Some parts are confusing when backflashes or dreams occur, as the audio does not ID them as such. Understandable for an author who does not anticipate their story to be made into an audiobook. Looking forward to this author’s future work in m/m fantasy.