The Last Swordsman

The Last Swordsman, Book 1

By: Benjamin Corman

Narrated by: Marc Vietor

Nikolis’ parents are dead - murdered before his eyes. What’s worse, they were traitors to the crown.

At least that’s what he hears the village folk saying moments before he is whisked away to the castle of Highkeep. There he finds himself before the aged King Alginor, a man brought to a boil by his very presence.

With his fate hanging in the balance, Nikolis accepts an apprenticeship with the castle’s master of arms, a decision that catapults him on a journey fraught with danger, treachery, self-discovery, and burgeoning love, where his wit and the edge of a blade may be all that protects him from a world that is spiraling out of control.

©2019 Benjamin Corman (P)2020 Podium Audio

great listen

overall the author does a great job leading up to the final events which are thrilling to say the very least.

Complex and Intense Medieval Tale

Rich characters, complex morals, unexpected twists, and intense thrills combine in a tale that reminded me of Stephen King's Wizard and Glass. I would love to see further adventures of Blader in future installments.

Great book!

Well written and very enjoyable! Hope more in the series come out soon! Narrator also made it an easy listen!

Meh….

Not the worst but not the best I’ve ever listened to. Story had the opportunity to be great. It’s like all the pieces were there but it wasn’t put together correctly. I’d say if you haven’t found anything else this is ok, but it’s ok only.

Surprise surprise

I always love finding a new author on a random choice. Mister Corman did not disappoint, in fact he knocked it out of the park. You won’t feel guilty wasting a day on this one and plan on it taking the day because you won’t stop listening. The narrator/producer was excellent and may turn out to be the next big fantasy voice. Kudos and keep it up.

Great book

Really enjoyed it. Can't wait for the next one. Really enjoyed the Narrator. Please get the next one out soon.

Not amazing, but good enough to deserve a sequel.

Because of the mixed reviews, I wasn't very optimistic going into this story. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the story had a fair amount of adventure, action, and even some very light fantasy elements. There wasn't as much action as you might expect from a story entitled "The Last Swordsman," but it was still an enjoyable read.

I felt like this story REALLY lacked character development, even for the main character, Nikolis. In the middle of the book there are several chapters devoted to Nikolis pining after a girl, which really killed the story's momentum. I was pretty annoyed by the love story until the very end, when it resolved in an unexpected but satisfying way. So if you can make it through those chapters it does get better again.

I thought the narrator did a decent job. Some people complained about odd pauses mid-sentence, but I only noticed it a few times toward the beginning of the story. It seemed to be a sound editing issue, not a narrator issue.

Can’t wait for the second book

This was a fun book to listen to, I enjoyed the little romance I hope the mc and now the queen reunited n the next book and we get to see how he grows into be a father 😄

This book is horrible

Part 1 was excellent, it followed the adventure of an orphaned boy into an apprentice, just like the summary stated. Part 2 is a teenage love story that drags the story down like a boat anchor. You might think there would be sword fighting, there is very little. Avoid this garbage.

Wasted Credit: Didn't bother to finish

Performance was ok, the odd pause between paragraphs and odd sounding ends to chapters were easy to overlook. The story had a lot of potential but was hard to swallow. I couldn't stand to hear the words, "He just didn't know what to do," one more time.

This was a wasted credit. Did not have the willpower to finish this.