Author: Aaron Bunce
Narrator: Matthew E. Berry
Length: 10 hours 3 minutes
Publisher: Autumn Arch Publishing⎮2019
Genre: Fantasy
Series: Overthrown: Chronicles of Denoril, Book 1
Release date: Dec. 24, 2019
It rests deep in the ground, they say, an ancient burial treasure of unimaginable wealth. Riches to humble even the most prosperous men, locked away from time itself. But the Council’s edict was clear - keep the tombs of the ancient dalan closed. Keep the past sealed. But where there is wealth, there is greed, and nothing stays buried forever.
Thorben Paulson is an ordinary man, trying to raise his family the honest way. Unfortunately, the Council’s tax collectors demand more and more each thaw, taking in both coin and food. For a branded man like Thorben, his checkered past means the burden is always greater. With hungry mouths to feed and winter on the horizon, Thorben’s desperation grows. A visitor appears unexpectedly in town, a man from his past, carrying a map and a promise - enough coin to feed his family for the foreseeable future, in exchange for a single job. Not just any job, however. Thorben must delve once again, leave the sun behind and enter the underground crypts, the realm of the dead, and find priceless dalan relics. And yet, more lies in wait than things that sparkle and glimmer, and in Denoril, some things never truly die.
I received this audiobook as part of my participation in a blog tour with Audiobookworm Promotions. The tour is being sponsored by Matthew E. Berry. The gifting of this audiobook did not affect my opinion of it.
"The Delving" was really fun! While I feel the story was a little more YA than I expected, I enjoyed both it and the narrator as a nice change of pace from my usual reads. I definitely plan to continue the series so long as the narrator stay the same!
It takes a master to keep up the pace of a purely adventure-focused story without something else (romance, for example) to shore them up in the middle. However, that was not the case here; the action kept the reader riveted from beginning to end. The author gave us just enough world history and character backstory to make the reader want to know more. Jezz, Iona, and Thorben were likeable, even without a lot of character growth, and their motives were quite relatable. I found myself rooting for them very early on, and though the things that surprised them didn't surprise me (the villains are a bit predictable), I wanted to see them bounce back. The sotry wraps up nicely, but leaves just enough mystery to prompt proceeding to the next book in the series, which I plan to do.
Matthew Berry was a fantastic choice to narrate this story. He voiced the charactrs, both male and female, beautifully. It was easy to discern who was speaking at any given time without their voices being overdramatized. His pace was perfect and the audio quality was flawlessly professional. This guy is a master craftsman at his bestwith a good adventure tale, and it showed in his reading of "The Delving".
Bottom line: Awesome, if a bit predictable, adventure story performed by a great narrator. If you're looking for a pure adventure with very little in the way of genre-bleed to muck it up, "The Deliving" is highly recommended!
Author Aaron Bunce started his academic career in criminal justice, but eventually connected his life-long love of literature with his passion for writing. He attended and graduated from Southern New Hampshire University’s English and creative writing program. His first novel, The Winter of Swords, is an introduction to his lush and dark fantasy world, Denoril, and the first entry in the six-part series, Overthrown. The second and third installments, Before the Crow and A March of Woe are now available, with the fourth, The Prince of Orphans due next. 2019 marked the release of The Delving, the first book in an all-new supplementary series, helping to build the lore and world showcased in Overthrown.
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Beyond fantasy, Aaron also introduced readers to his new science fiction horror series, NecroVerse. Detailing the struggle of miners extracting ore from the asteroid belt, Unleashed (August 2019), and then Exodus (December 2019), tells a delightfully dark story, weaving together strands of rich science fiction, gruesome horror, and adventure along with some beautiful, kick butt ladies. The third novel in this science fiction series, Titan, is due out first quarter 2020.
Besides writing, Aaron is constantly searching for a portal to other worlds, working to keep his two daughters from taking over the world, and supports his wife’s desire to vacation in Skyrim. Check out his website www.aaronbunce.com for information on current books, series, as well as news on upcoming releases.
Matthew E Berry began his audiobook career in 2017. “The Delving” is his 12th audiobook performance. His recent credits include “Lovesick” by Jon Athan, “Dreamscape Adventures Inc.” by C.A Gray, and “Trail of Blood” by Keith Latch and Steve Wands. Check out www.mattheweberry.com for all current information.
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