Priest of Gallows

By: Peter McLean

Narrated by: David Morley Hale

Gangster, soldier, priest. Queen's Man. Governor.

Tomas Piety has everything he ever wanted. In public he's a wealthy, highly respected businessman, happily married to a beautiful woman and Governor of his home city of Ellinburg. In private, he's no longer a gang lord but one of the Queen's Men, invisible and officially non-existent, working in secret to protect his country.

But when the queen's sudden death sees him summoned back to the capital, he discovers his boss, Dieter Vogel, Provost Marshal of the Queen's Men, is busy tightening his stranglehold on the country.

Just as he once fought for his Pious Men, he must now bend all his wit and hard-won wisdom to protect his queen - but now he can't always tell if he's on the right side.

Tomas has started to ask himself, what is the price of power? And more importantly, is it one he is willing to pay?

©2021 Peter McLean (P)2021 Quercus Editions Limited

Fun addition to the series, narration a bit slow

It to about an hour or so to adjust to the new narrator and right from the beginning it felt to slow but after bumping the playback speed to 1.25 that made the pace more enjoyable.

The story itself was good if not a bit repetitive throughout. They there were certainly a few times they gave the same information over and over but you have to wonder if it is just the main character saying these things to himself in his own mind to remind himself. All in all a good read and I found it enjoyable and worth the listen in the end.

So So

Not nearly as action packed and engrossing as the first two books. Couldn’t put the first two books down, but caught myself wanting this one to end.

So Damn GOOD!

Thomas Piety is a straight G!!
I love this book and Characters. Amazing story telling and if I’m not wrong some dead on symbolism to current events.
So excited for the next book already.

So Good! And David Morley Hale Is Great!

I have really enjoyed listening to the War for the Rose Throne series. I know many were upset about the change of narrator in Book 3 from John Lee in Books 1 and 2. I thought David Morley Hale was outstanding. I love listening to John Lee; he's the main reason I have purchased some of the audiobooks in my library. However, David Hale was also an excellent reader, and aside from a slight disorientation from having moved directly into book 3 from book 2, I found his narration very fluid and immersive.

Regarding the story itself, although it's difficult to warm up to an amoral anti-hero like Tomas, I really like that even he is struggling with the House of Law and Dieter Vogel's evil machinations. The main characters are multi-dimensional and are truly interesting people, even though I would hate to meet any one of them in a dark alley.

I'm looking forward to the final book in the series, and will definitely look up other Peter McLean and/or David Morley Hale audiobooks. It's definitely worth a listen, especially if you like the grimmer side of fantasy.

Yes

A great third installment


This series just gets better and better

Highly recommend all three books in the series and look forward to the fourth book

Stunner of a third act

Peter McLean follows up Priest of Lies with more intrigue, more unrest and more distrust. A fun journey to the coast to bring back the son of a duke. Another abhorrent underground venue vanquished and cleansed, many arrests and riots. what a load of fun.

David Morley Hale does a fantastic job taking over for Jon Lee. His voice is quite similar in my opinion. His voices aren't the same but it's still immersive. Peter McLeans chapters are short and leave you wanting more. I greatly enjoyed the performance and cannot wait to start the next one.

There were good parts, but it struggled in others.

Very good book overall, but had pacing issues. Author used writing tropes, such as, "I won't bore you with the details," of an event he had spent 2 chapters building up to, just so that you could get the gravity that the certain characters are tyrants or crazy, or both. Our anti-hero also pines for, while aknowledging that the main female lead is using him, but their relationship doesn't go any further sexually or chemistry or friendship wise. But even with the holes, I enjoyed this book and am waiting to see how it ends.

Great addition to a great series

The story and characters are interesting and draw you in. This was a great continuation of the story. I am finding myself extremely pleased that I stumbled upon this author.

Another great entry in the saga

Peaky Blinders meets a Joe Abercrombie story. Gritty characters, language, and worlds with a combination of political intrigue, humor, and action. The narration was better at 1.2X for me. Otherwise, absolutely perfect fun! Can’t wait for book 4.

And now we know what the series title means

NOTE: This is not a stand-alone book. You should read The War for the Rose Throne series in order. This volume ends with an event that leads into the next and final book in the series, rather than with any kind of a conclusion.

Priest of Gallows, the third volume of The War for the Rose Throne, brings Tomas Piety, Bloody Ann, Rosie, Billie, and a few other members of Tom's Ellenburg organization to the capitol city of Dunnsburg, summoned by the Provost of the Queen's Men, Vogel. The queen has died, leaving her insane, young daughter as heir, thus setting the stage for the political machinations in which Tom becomes entangled.

There are few reviews for this book, given it was only released two days ago, and some may be concerned about the change in narrator. Don't be. This is as seamless a transition as I've ever experienced. All charaters are unchanged and are masterfully voiced by David Morley Hale with the same inflection and personality as they were rendered by John Lee. You may not even notice the difference--high praise, indeed.

Peter McLean is an excellent author and storyteller. His dialogues are believable and consistent with the characters voicing them. His descriptions of places, characters, and situations are interesting, complete, and yet concise. His grammar is impecable. I can't tell you how much it adds to my enjoyment of a book, when it just flows. I don't remember rolling my eyes even once, due to a clunker of a simile or an inept quip.

Priest of Gallows is not quite as strong a book as the previous two in the series, but it's still head and shoulders above most books in its genre. My quibble with it is that it's just hard to believe that Tom Piety goes along with what he is asked to do as a Queen's Man and takes as long as he does to catch on to the big picture. Nevertheless, there were still lots of intrigue, action, and well-drawn characters to experience, and we're all set up now for the big finale in Book 4: Priest of Crowns. I'd put it on pre-order, today, but it won't be out until 2022, Ah well.

You may want to think twice about reading this series only if you're squeamish about cursing, drinking, gore, grit, filth, murder, torture, etc. I'm not. Perhaps I should think about that.... But anyway, as to torture, for the most part, we aren't immediate spectators. We are informed it has happened, rather than being required to experience it in detail, There are no explicit sex scenes in any of the books,

Unless you are offended by the above-mentioned indelicacies, I highly recommend this series to you. It's hours of adventure with Tom and the Pious Men. Just remember to take time to eat and sleep.