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    Shadow Prowler
    Shadow Prowler
    Shadow Prowler
    Audiobook15 hours

    Shadow Prowler

    Written by Alexey Pehov

    Narrated by MacLeod Andrews

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    After centuries of calm, the Nameless One is stirring.

    An army is gathering; thousands of giants, ogres, and other creatures are joining forces from all across the Desolate Lands, united, for the first time in history, under one, black banner. By the spring, or perhaps sooner, the Nameless One and his forces will be at the walls of the great city of Avendoom.

    Unless Shadow Harold, master thief, can find some way to stop them.

    Epic fantasy at its best, Shadow Prowler is the first in a trilogy that follows Shadow Harold on his quest for a magic Horn that will restore peace to the Kingdom of Siala. Harold will be accompanied on his quest by an Elfin princess, Miralissa, her elfin escort, and ten Wild Hearts, the most experienced and dangerous fighters in their world...and by the king's court jester (who may be more than he seems...or less).

    Reminiscent of Moorcock's Elric series, Shadow Prowler is the first work to be published in English by the bestselling Russian fantasy author Alexey Pehov. The book was translated by Andrew Bromfield, best known for his work on the highly successful Night Watch series.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBrilliance Audio
    Release dateFeb 16, 2010
    ISBN9781441814418
    Shadow Prowler
    Author

    Alexey Pehov

    Alexey Pehov is the award-winning author of The Chronicles of Siala, a bestselling series in his native Russia. His novel Under the Sign of the Mantikor was named Book of Year and Best Fantasy Novel in 2004 by Russia's largest fantasy magazine, World of Fantasy.

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    Reviews for Shadow Prowler

    4/5

    93 ratings12 reviews

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    • 5/5
      Great book. Different from the usual stuff that's out there
    • 5/5
      This story was a lot of fun. I can't wait to listen to the others.
    • 4/5
      Shadow Prowler
      The Chronicles of Siala, book 1

      Genre: Fantasy
      Published: UK April 2010 Simon &Schuster
      Pages: 400

      After centuries of calm, the Nameless One is stirring.

      An army is gathering; thousands of giants, ogres, and other creatures are joining forces from all across the Desolate Lands, united, for the first time in history, under one black banner. By the spring, or perhaps sooner, the Nameless One and his forces will be at the walls of the great city of Avendoom.

      Unless Shadow Harold, master thief, can find some way to stop them.

      Epic fantasy at its best, Shadow Prowler is the first in a trilogy that follows Shadow Harold on his quest for a magic Horn that will restore peace to the Kingdom of Siala. Harold will be accompanied on his quest by an Elfin princess, Miralissa, her elfin escort, and ten Wild Hearts, the most experienced and dangerous fighters in their world…and by the king’s court jester (who may be more than he seems…or less).


      I love fantasy, I have said it before and I will say it again. it is my true love. So when I read on twitter about Simon and Schuster looking for reviewers for this book I jumped at the chance. And I was not disappointed.

      This book and series is very popular in Russia and has now been translated into English. For that I am grateful. This is great epic fantasy and just what I like to read.

      It is the story about Shadow Harold, a thief in Avedoom, the capital of a Northern kingdom. He lives his lief like he always have when things suddenly change. he has two choices, get the horn or rut in jail. The choice is not as easy as it seems. The horn is hidden far away in caves filled with dangers and magics from different races that have buried their dead there. With him he has an elite band of warriors, a Princess, and a jester.

      This world has all sorts of races, the elves (dark and light) who are not as fair looking as you would imagine. Orcs that wants the world for their own as they are the first race of Siala. Ogres, gnomes, goblins, dwarves and of course men. In the far north there is the danger of the Nameless one, but there are more dangers than just him stirring. This world is heading for a war, and this time the orcs might just win.

      I liked Harold, but then I do have a soft spot for thieves and assassins. He is an unwilling hero, and they are the best. But my fav is by far the jester Kli-Kli, a goblin who is more than he seems. And I can't wit to see what he really is about, until then I will laugh in amusement. Miralissa, the princess most be some sort of love interest, cos Harold is interested, fangs and all. But I just haev to wait and see. The wild hearts are a great bunch too, the constant bickering between the dwarf and the gnome being what i enjoy the most.

      Negative part, I love maps, and there was no map. I like to see where everything is located, and where they are going. It gives me a sense of direction that is useful in fantasy. But I am well aware that many forget about those maps.

      This had everything I need, a quest, danger of war, and war that is surely coming, a bunch of characters that are both amusing and likable. There was danger, there was darkness, and there was history. Which I of course always want.

      Now, oh sighs, why didn't I take that course in Russian in high school instead of German. If I would have I could have read the next book in Russian. Now I just have to wait to get hold of book 2 whenever that one comes out. Because this was a good start to a fantasy trilogy, and it made me want more.


      Blodeuedd's cover corner: What can I say, it looks like fantasy so I like it
      Reason for Reading: Review copy from the publisher
      Final thoughts: I do want to read more Pehov, and especially the next book in the series.

    • 5/5
      Shadow Prowler has been in my to-read list for quite some time. I was hesitant to read it because I knew it was translated from Russian. I also didn’t know what a Russian fantasy novel would be like. I finally decided to read it, and I can say that I am glad I did. Though it’s not as good as some other books I have read, it is still a great and enjoyable read.

      The main story is about Shadow Harold, a master thief, who must retrieve what is called the Rainbow Horn in order to save his land from the evil one known as the Nameless One. The book moves along at a great pace, didn’t seem to be too predictable, and was rather funny. I was impressed by the author’s world building, as well as the descriptions of the different races and their origins. I also loved hearing about the history of the land. There is just enough detail throughout the story to picture where you are, but not so much that it becomes overwhelming. I also appreciated that the book wasn’t too violent, which can be pretty typical for adult fantasy novels.

      I am loving the characters in this series! Harold is the main character of the story. He is confident and witty, is good at stealing, and avoids direct contact by sneaking around and hiding in the shadows. There is also Kli Kli who is a very memorable character. He is the kings court jester, who is rather annoying at first, but you will come to love him later on. He is definitely more than what he seems.

      There are the usual fantasy characters within this story including elves, dwarves, gnomes, orcs, ogres, goblins, and humans. What I really liked is that they seem to be a little different than what you would expect. For example, dwarves would never have beards and gnomes wouldn’t be seen without one. I really enjoyed the alteration of the elves as well. They are related to the orcs, have fangs, and there are both dark and light elves.

      Another element of many fantasy novels is magic. In this series magic is a bit different than you would expect. There is shamanic magic which is slow and ritualistic, and there is mage magic which is faster, but more inaccurate. They both have their advantages and disadvantages and are rather complicated. I have to say that I am fond of this different take on magic and can’t wait to learn more about it.

      The translation wan’t horrible, but I am sure it would flow better in Russian. There are tons of tense switches mainly in the first half of the book and some character names are a little confusing when reading. One person’s name is For, which I was always confusing with the word “for”. The only other thing about the writing that bothered me was that important historical events that had their own chapter were written in italics. Reading entire chapters in italics is not that enjoyable. However, I did like that these events were separated from the main story to make it less confusing with the past and present time jumps.

      What you should know is that this book pretty much sets the stage for the entire series. We are introduced to the plot, characters, and history of the land. Just after the main quest began the book ended, so you will have to read the next one if you want to continue the story.

      Even though this book is marketed as an adult book, I would recommend it to young adults as well. It is by no means the first fantasy book a young adult should read, but anyone who loves fantasy and has read a few others would enjoy this book.

      Overall, I really enjoyed this book (though it’s not as good as the Black Company), and can’t wait to read the next one. I have to find out more about my favorite character (Kli Kli) and the fate of Harold! I just wish there was a map of the land, so I could follow the characters on their journey and better understand the lay of the land.

    • 4/5
      This one took me a long time to get into. In fact up to about 80 pages before the end I wasn't really planning to read the sequel, but somehow it crept up on me and I'm curious about Harold and what his future will be. It sounds like there's more to him than just thief and so curious about what's going to happen to him. Several of the other characters I'm not as invested in but now I have a fondness for him.A lot of this book is dedicated to setting up the world and the people in it and why the quest is so important, and there are also some moments of Harold being thrown into visions of the past which are also there to set up ambiance and do some worldbuilding. I felt that it is possibly a style from Russia but it's not my favourite style of fantasy story. Interesting and I'm reserving full judgement until I finish the next book.
    • 3/5
      This is the first book in a popular Russian fantasy serie. There were times that I regretted that I haven’t read Russian so I could have read the original edition. It started little slow but got better towards the end. Mainly because it took far too long to Harold to actually leave to the quest, but after he does things started rolling smoothly.

      A thief called Harold is framed into stealing an object before being recruited by the king to the most dangerous burglary in his life. He has to steal a Horn from Hrad Spein. He gets help from people from different races; dwarf, gnome, goblin, elves and human warrior group called The Wild Hearts. The elves are no Tolkien-elves but are nearly as ugly as orcs with fangs.

      I liked the snarky, quirky Harold. The story is told from his point of view in first person so we get good look what goes on in his head. It reminded me of David Edding’s Belgarion-serie.

      All in all, I found the book good and I’ll definitely read the next one!
    • 3/5
      A debut novel from a (talented) Russian author, Pehov demonstrates enough in this first book to ensure he is one to keep an eye out for and enough to get excited about for the follow up books in the trilogy. Intially, the book appears to be a classic, cliche filled fantasy epic trilogy that has all the conventions of usual fantasy series. The quest for an object that could save the world, an age old prophecy that appears related to the main character and the quest, the involvment of Elves, Orcs, Dwarves, Ogres, Goblins and other such beings, however, do not underestimate and let this put you off. The style is brilliant, the main character Harold, a master thief (always a favourite occupation of mine) is well written and thought out. The book is told in first person narrative through the eyes of Harold, who often refers to himself in the 3rd person during his exploits. He provides a witty & humourous account, filled with subtlety and you can't fail to like the anti-hero and his talents. It did make me think of the Lies of Locke Lamora (a favourite book of mine) in terms of the master thief but PEhov although ticks a lot of cliche fanatasy boxesm delivers them in a unqiue and creative way. I'd highly recommend the Shadow Prowler, not just for the book itself, but also for the potential for the series that Pehov is delivering. For a debut novel I thoroughly enjoyed it, and there is still plenty of time for Pehov to surprise and provide an exciting trilogy that could rate very veru highly.
    • 4/5
      A fairly enjoyable read that just pleasantly whiled away a long journey for me. It's a mixture of high and low fantasy, though inclining upwards as the story progresses. I found the thief protagonist good company and the setting had enough novelty to keep me interested. Harold's criminal nature makes him a bit more fun than many heroes, and even partly justifies his habit of keeping things secret, though it does still seem to be for plot convenience at times.In many ways it's fairly tropish fantasy: Dark Lord rising somewhere, kingdoms squabble, Only You Can Save Mankind. There's a motley band of soldiers from the key races, a dotty jester who may be more than he seems, and a prophecy that seems to indicate the protagonist is a destined hero. To be honest those are not especially novel, but they're done competently and didn't fill me with boredom. Elements like the Hrad Spein and the Stain seem promising, and so far I've enjoyed the way magic and monsters are handled. Pehov's world isn't all clean-cut and noble; on the other hand, despite focusing on a thief and his exploits, it doesn't plummet into depressing grimdark. There is crime and betrayal and unpleasantness, but he doesn't dwell on suffering or on squalid and miserable things. It's a pragmatic take on things, which seems fitting for Harold, whose eyes we see through.The book has the common problem of quest fantasy in including few women, but does better than some; while there's only one woman in the Merry Band, there are at least a couple in flashbacks who play significant roles, and one (who may or may not be important) on the other side. From Harold's musings, I have a suspicion that Miralissa might end up as a love interest, which would be disappointing, but it hasn't happened so far. As the main magic-user of the group, I'm hoping she'll get more attention in future books as things (hopefully) get weirder.There are some issues with the writing / translation. At times it's interestingly quirky, while at other times it just feels clunkily translated. "Pardon me for the foolish pun, but the Street of the Sleepy Dog was sunk in a deep sleep." So... did you just forget to insert a pun, or..? There are also some names (especially army regiments) that I suspect worked a lot better in Russian. One chapter includes a poem or prophecy, which doesn't either rhyme or scan well; I wonder whether it did in the original (and was simply translated without rewriting it). It's possible that even in the original Pehov didn't see any need for it to rhyme, as in the story it's been translated from ancient Orcish, and maybe he didn't just feel the need include a comment about it - it's so hard to know with translations. Various sections feel uninspired, but it's not a case of consistent blandness that I'd tend to blame on Pehov, so I suspect it may be a translation issue. Typos are scattered lightly through the book, including 'explained' for 'exclaimed' at one point; it's a bit irritating but not a major problem. In general the book feels like it could really have done with a decent English editor and maybe another translator to help smooth things out; given Pehov's already doing well with the Watch series (which I haven't read, but is mentioned on the blurb) I'd have thought they could justify the effort. One particularly unfortunate line reads: "Elves look like people, except for their swarthy skin, yellow eyes, black lips and ash-grey hair. And those protruding fangs[...]". Firstly, it should probably say "like humans", because generally "people" makes more sense as a catch-all for intelligent races and "humans" is used elsewhere. Secondly, it implies that humans can't have swarthy skin, dark lips or grey hair, which obviously they can. Indeed, at least one human in the book is described as having swarthy skin, and grey hair is really pretty common. Though the book in is first-person narrative, there's nothing else to suggest Harold has such a narrow view of humanity, and lacking any such justification it's really best not to include sentences that can come off as a bit racist. I really feel like someone should have picked up and changed this sentence.The worldbuilding is mostly interesting and Pehov handles it fairly well, without huge infodumps. The dream sequences sometimes feel a bit overdone, or like excuses to tell the reader what's going on rather than necessary parts of the story, and unless there's a really interesting explanation in the end, I might be irritated.On the whole, though, it's reasonably written, has plenty of enjoyable scenes (I have a particular soft spot for thieving sections), monsters and magic I haven't seen before, and the protagonist is a reasonable companion. I had fun reading it and I'll be looking out for the sequel.
    • 3/5
      A fairly standard epic fantasy that's supposed to be quite big in Russia. This is a starter book of a trilogy which is being translated by Andrew Bromfield who did an admirable job of the The Night Watch series by Sergei Lukyanenko. The Nameless One is raising an army of the bad guys (giants, ogres and other fell creatures) and intends wreaking havoc on the divisive lands of the good guys, picking them off one by one until world domination is complete. The king of the first of those realms recruits master thief Shadow Harold to save the world, after he's passed a quick test to prove his worth that is. Harold accepts the commission, as the alternative is to rot inside of a prison that no-one has ever managed to escape from and gets busy making his preparations for the journey. It's obviously not quite as simple as that and by this time you're two thirds of the way through the book and the real quest hasn't even begun.After various adventures within the city, Harold and the chosen companions which include a princess of the Dark Elves along with two other elves (one Dark, one Light), a company of warriors from the Wild Hearts and the captain of the King's personal guard. They are soon caught up by the king's goblin jester who provides the light relief on the trip.After having said all that, Shadow Prowler is not a bad read but neither is it a very good one. There is nothing here to make it stand out from the crowd of dark fantasy novels currently available. The characters are well drawn and Harold is likeable enough and this is probably the book's most redeemable aspect along with the interplay of the group once assembled and set on their way can be quite fun. It does show promise and I'll read the second in the series and see how it goes from there. 3★'s
    • 3/5
      This is the first book in a popular Russian fantasy serie. There were times that I regretted that I haven’t read Russian so I could have read the original edition. It started little slow but got better towards the end. Mainly because it took far too long to Harold to actually leave to the quest, but after he does things started rolling smoothly.A thief called Harold is framed into stealing an object before being recruited by the king to the most dangerous burglary in his life. He has to steal a Horn from Hrad Spein. He gets help from people from different races; dwarf, gnome, goblin, elves and human warrior group called The Wild Hearts. The elves are no Tolkien-elves but are nearly as ugly as orcs with fangs.I liked the snarky, quirky Harold. The story is told from his point of view in first person so we get good look what goes on in his head. It reminded me of David Edding’s Belgarion-serie.All in all, I found the book good and I’ll definitely read the next one!
    • 3/5
      Pretty typical fantasy. Not a bad read, but not great either
    • 5/5
      Shadow Prowler by Alexey PehovPehov may be well known in his native Russia but I had never heard of him until I read this book. I think the quality of this book will insure that Pehov will be known far and wide as well as in Russia. Shadow Harold, a master thief, finds himself enmeshed with the establishment to save the world as they know it. Shadow Harold is an enjoyable rogue. Harold is a master thief of exceptional skill and a healthy interest in avoiding heroics. Pulled into quest to avoid the doom precipitated by The Nameless One, Harold finds himself surrounded by highly unlikely allies. The interplay between the allies, their likes, dislikes and individual peccadilloes provides both amusement and tension. Pehov provides suitable mystery and excellent action. I highly recommend the book and am looking forward to the sequel.