Season of the Raven Audiobook
By: Denise Domning
Narrated by: Gildart Jackson
Published by Tantor Audio 03/12/2019
Servant of the Crown Series #1
7 hrs and 56 mins
Season of the Raven Audiobook Sample
Season of the Raven Audiobook
4.0 Hearts
A twisting murder mystery set in Medieval 12th Century England along with new to me author and narrator had me eager to put in my earbuds and settle in to listen.
Sir Faucon de Ramis has just returned from the Crusades fighting under King Richard the Lionhearted’s banner. He’s a second son and his family can boast only a moderate wealth. So, when his mother’s uncle, a Bishop offers him a newly created position as Keeper of the Pleas of Warwickshire which comes with the living from the estate of Blacklea and a stipend while he is in the office, he leaps at this opportunity. Little did he know that this would have him saddled with the most annoying stickler monk who seems to forget who is the assistant and now the task of working with a forbidding sheriff. And, that was before a body was found in a nearby village…
I liked Sir Faucon right off the bat. He’s young, but not lacking in intelligence or a willingness to work hard. In spite of being trained in the art of war or in being a Crusader, he is not without kindness and understanding even to the lower classes. What really struck me was that he didn’t get tetchy when he was in over his head since investigating murder was obviously new to him. He had no trouble admitting ignorance and learning like when an herbalist monk shows him how to better examine a dead body for evidence or his annoying clerk gets up on his high horse. Oddly enough, the infuriating Brother Edmund who started as a thorn in Sir Faucon’s side, grew on me. I will look forward to seeing this pair continue solving mysteries together throughout the series.
The historical setting and background of the characters was fleshed out fabulously. I had no trouble seeing with my mind’s eye this little corner of Warwickshire or taking it in through all the senses as the author describes sounds, scents, tastes, and visuals so they were in technicolor for me.
All in all, this first outing with author, narrator, and series was a resounding success. I can’t wait to continue on with the rest of the series.
Season of the raven Audiobook Narration
4.0 Hearts
Gildart Jackson did wonderful well for his male voices and not badly on his female ones. He was a good match for a medieval era story. I thought he did well with the emotional tones, too, particularly when the suspense rose a few times.
What can I say? I’m single and over sixty, I write and I farm on eight acres of slowly improving red earth (it originally looked like Mars had exploded!) on Oak Creek in northern Arizona. I started with chickens, then there were turkeys and Jersey milk cows. But with livestock came the predators: coyotes, bald eagles, black hawks, mountain lions, and, worst of all, raccoons. Dang those nasty creatures! They kill just because they can; think dogs with opposable thumbs. (Five chickens in one night–they reached in through the chain link and killed the birds with no expectation of being able to eat them.) They are the reason I have my two amazing dogs, Moosie (an Akita/Sharpei mix) and Bear (a Hungarian Kuvasz). Moosie just loves to take on (and kill) the raccoons. As for the cats, I have 7 and they’re supposed to eat the gophers but, being cats, they prefer cat food, thank you very much.
In 2016, I turned yet a new page on the farm. Earlier in the year I sold the last of my Jersey cows in favor of Dorper Sheep, a South African breed that doesn’t need to be sheared and gains all their weight on grass alone, after an acquaintance informed me that they are “stupid simple” to raise. Stupid simple I can do! I have since learned that although these sheep are capable of gaining all their weight on grass, they far prefer pig food. Rascals!
I’ve also become a committed (committable?) pastured pig farmer. I presently have 6 little gilts (female pigs) who are gaining most of their weight on my pastures and cleaning my gardens for me. Dogs with snouts! And they love Peanut, my orphan and hand-raised lamb, who loves them back.
If you’re interested in keeping up with the farm antics, you can visit my blog at denisedomning.com or thefarmonoakcreek.com
With acting credits that span stage and screen, Gildart Jackson is most often recognized for his role as Gideon on Charmed. Other notable TV roles include Jackson Palmer on Providence and Simon Prentiss on General Hospital, as well as guest appearances on Stargate: Atlantis, Las Vegas, and CSI. Theater roles include Trigorin in The Seagull, Henry Higgins in My Fair Lady, and Adrian in Private Eyes at the Old Globe.
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