Saturday 10 June 2023

THE 12 DRAGONS OF ALBION


The 12 Dragons Of Albion by Mark Hayden
Book 2 in The King's Watch series
Narrated by Ciaran Saward
Genre: urban fantasy crime fiction
Format: ebook & audiobookAudiobook


My name is Conrad Clarke and I claim my reward…

You’d think that staying alive and saving the girl would be enough for now.

After proving himself in a desperate magickal battle, Conrad is admitted to the King’s Watch.

And what does the world of magick do? It laughs in his face.

At least Conrad now has a partner with some serious magickal firepower.

Vicky Robson joins him on a mission to investigate rumours of a Dragon’s egg, and to get him through his entry test for the Invisible College.

But the Invisible College won’t play ball, and that Dragon’s egg is all too real.

Conrad grits his teeth and reminds the magickal world that he who laughs loudest laughs last…
Source: Info in the About The 12 Dragons Of Albion was taken from Goodreads at https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36533404-the-12-dragons-of-albion on 31/05/2022.


Buy Link(s):
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Welshfire
My Thoughts:
I've been looking forward to this book because, hey... dragons!

In book 1, The 13th Witch, there was a mention of the Invisible College. In this book, we are taken inside Hogwarts. But, the Dean is a highfalutin Oracle. Definitely not Dumbledore. At all!

Here also I can see the distinct British culture of delineating people between a naff and somebody posh. I wonder if the author is racist?... I don't mean that in a bad way. Some people are just brought up in certain ways. I am not going to take that against them. It's what they decide to do about it that makes the difference.

I'm not white, just in case you are wondering.

So, in this story we encounter one egg. The title, as well as the narrative along the way, indicated more eggs, i.e., 11 more dragon eggs. So, the question is, where are they?? Would we see more dragons in this series?

I like Ciaran Saward's attempts at Welsh accents! Especially at the start of Harry Evans' first few lines. It almost sound authentic! I don't speak Welsh, but I live in Wales.


Empirical Evaluation:
Story telling quality = 4.5
Character development = 4
Story itself = 4.5
Writing Style = 5
Ending = 4
World building = 4.5
Cover art = 4
Pace = (13 hours and 28 minutes listening time)
Plot = 3
Narration = 4.5


Overall Rating: 4.5 out of 5 cherries


Books In The King's Watch Series:
Book 1: THE 13TH WITCH Book 2: THE 12 DRAGONS OF ALBION Book 3: THE 11TH HOUR Book 4: TENFOLD Book 5: NINE OF WANDS Book 6: EIGHT KINGS Book 7: THE SEVENTH STAR Book 8: SIX FURLONGS Book 9: FIVE LEAF CLOVER Book 10: FOUR ROADS CROSS Book 11: THIRD EYE


Meet The Author

About Mark Hayden:
Mark Hayden is the nom de guerre of Adrian Attwood. He lives in Westmorland with his wife, Anne.

Adrian has had a varied career working for a brewery, teaching English and being the Town Clerk in Carnforth. He is now a part-time writer and part-time assistant in Anne's craft projects.

He is also proud to be the Mad Unky to his Great Nieces & Great Nephew.

His current writing project is the King’s Watch series of urban fantasy novels, from 13th Witch all the way down to Zero Hour. If he can keep it up.


The Narrator

About Ciaran Saward:
I’m a London-based voiceover artist who loves discovering new things.

From small businesses and indie video games, to big publishers like William Collins and big authors like Wilbur Smith, I’ve worked with a range of clients to get their stories heard.

If you need a flexible & enthusiastic voice to bring your project to life, you’ve come to the right place.

Please have a listen to my voicereels, read some testimonials and see how I could help you!



FTC Disclosure:
The ebook and audiobook were bought with private funds.
No money received for this review.

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