• Sidroc the Dane: A Circle of Ceridwen Saga Story

  • By: Octavia Randolph
  • Narrated by: Nano Nagle
  • Length: 16 hrs and 48 mins
  • 4.7 out of 5 stars (436 ratings)

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Sidroc the Dane: A Circle of Ceridwen Saga Story

By: Octavia Randolph
Narrated by: Nano Nagle
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Publisher's summary

How the boy became a Viking. How the man became a legend.

A discarded child fated to become a powerful Jarl - here is the story of Sidroc.

Fate guides the path of his father, Hrald, to his meeting with the woman whose son would help change the face of ninth-century Angle-land. An ever-growing rivalry between Sidroc and his cousin Toki defines the boys' early years. Their young uncle, Yrling, knows success as a raider in far-off Angle-land, and trains his nephews in the ways of the warrior. Ahead of them is the perilous crossing of the North Sea, which stands between them and the plunder they seek. Once on the great island of Angle-land, hard fighting awaits, through which Sidroc rises to second in command in the war-band headed by Yrling. Then, at their captured Saxon stronghold, comes the young woman for whom Sidroc will one day change his life....

Dovetailing into Book One, Sidroc the Dane is a new stand-alone entry point into the world of The Circle of Ceridwen of Saga, a book to be savoured at any point on the journey. Enter the Circle here.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2018 Octavia Randolph (P)2018 Octavia Randolph

What listeners say about Sidroc the Dane: A Circle of Ceridwen Saga Story

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Oh, to be a character in this book!

In this, the 7th installment of the Ceridwen Saga, Octavia Randolph has once again taken me on a journey so personal and so alive that I could very well have been unknowingly transported into this book to be along side this character, Sidroc, falling in love with him even more than when I followed him through the first 6 books! One of the main reasons I listen to my books is to have a story told to me and being able to "hear" the experience as if I am there with the other characters. Thank goodness Nano Nagle again narrated, as her voice and ability to multi-characterize herself is a true talent not had by many in this literary form.

I had already decided Sidroc was my "fantasy" after his first appearance in Book 1, and now with his own story being told from his beginnings, I am a little embarrassed to admit that I, the real person, had developed feelings in many ways, for this man, the fictional character, but that just illustrates the power of Octavia's skills as a storyteller and writer! To be able to pull someone in like that is a rare gift, and worthy of praise of the highest degree! Her telling of the history and customs of the Norse people made me proud of that part of my heritage, yes, including the Viking parts! My family was one of the original Norman noble families that invaded Ireland and Scotland, and I was basically hearing my story!

I highly recommend starting with Book 1 and working your way to this book 7 to get the full impact of the Saga!

Tak!

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9 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Don’t end!

Loved it! I wanted to spend all my time with these characters and live in their world, in their souls actually My only complaint is that it had to end - I wanted it to go on & on!

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8 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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more please,

the narrator is just wonderful for this book, can't wait for the next book, this is what great storytelling is all about.

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8 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Excellent

I was slightly disappointed when I saw this book was a sort of prequel to the Ceridwen Series. Disappointed in the fact that I would have to wait a little longer to see where fate leads Sidroc and Ceridwen. However, I was not disappointed long and will say, this book was excellent. We've read of Sidroc throughout the Ceridwen Series but this really delved deeper into where he came from, his boyhood, and the circumstances that shaped him. He is one of my favorite characters and it was great for him to have his own saga.

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4 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

What a man!

I love Sidroc in the other books. Now to hear his story from childhood on was wonderful, Funny how different upbrings makes people handle life different. To be treated badly by a stepmother & to grow to be a loving man. And Nano Nagle narrated beautiful as usual.

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4 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

AMAZING!!!

This entire Saga is AMAZING!!! With minute details for the era it represents... These Characters are very well developed... Real to the Reader. Loved by the Reader... and become a precious jewel to the Reader. I anxiously await the next gift from Octavia! As for the Narration.... Nano is the perfect one to bring us into thr Saga. She is now such a valuable part of it all. I always look forward to Nano, like a long known and very Dear Friend... She brings so much to Octavia's Saga! Very well written and narrated! <3

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

The most tedious book I've listened to in months:(

I'm very sorry to write this, but this really was the most tedious book I've listened to in many, many months... The premise sounded great, the times in which it is set one of the most fascinating eras in human history (for me at least), Sidroc himself an intriguing hero... and yet I've never felt so exhausted after listening to a book before. And not in a good sense; I was just totally bored and irritated that I'd lost like a day from my life - and I had to listen to the end because I had received the book for free and promised to write its review, and I always keep my word in such a situation...

So what was it that made me think the book so dreary? Unluckily for Ms Randolph I had just finished another book, by a historian specializing in the Middle Ages (who also happens to be an acclaimed Polish fantasy writer) who wrote a historical book about different aspects of life (of women in particular) in the 16th century Europe. She wove into the strictly historical essay, with a lot of references to historical events and figures from all over Europe, the fictional story of the life of a real historical figure of a dwarf-girl servant of the last princesses of the Royal House of the Jagiellonian Dynasty - a figure we know existed, but that's all we really know about her as there are no records of her life other than mentions of her name in official documents, manuspcripts and letters. What the author did was use the character of Dosia as a starting point for her tale, as a mirror through which she showed us what life was like then, in all its aspects: brutality and violence but also beauty, love and loyalties. And that made for a breathtaking read, a book I just couldn't put down. Dosia made the book and the times described relateable to the reader. (For anyone interested, the book is called "The Daughters of Wawel. The Tale of the Jagiellonian Princesses" by Anna Brzezinska).

That spark, that emotional involvement on the part of the reader/listener is something that "Sidroc the Dane" definitely lacks - at least for me. I just couldn't feel myself in any way attached to any character in the book - or care about what really happens to them, I was so tired of listening to the overload of mundane details of mundane life, details that I didn't feel added anything to the main story and the life of Sidroc, the presumed main character of the tale. I don't really know why there's so much talk of Sidroc's father, Hrald, his journeys and his marriage, all in minute details and related not as if it was happening here and now (as a good saga - or any book that is considered fiction - should, I think), but as if it was a third or even fourth-hand relation by someone who is not at all emotionally involved in the story they tell because it happened so long ago that they don't really care any more... And that part takes like 4 out of 16 hours of the listening time and Sidroc is not even born yet! And then suddenly there is a scene or two that definitely happen here and now, are full of action and could finally mean something more - but their impact is lost in all that mash around... And don't take me wrong - I usually like to learn those historical backgrounds, those bits and pieces of what life was like then, what the customs were like, and so on, but they have to feel like an essential part of the life of the characters, things they experience first-hand, not as encyclopedic citations from a history book, kind of a sideway thought added to make the book longer... Unfortunately, that's what they felt like for me in this book.

Narration by Ms Nagle was the best part of this book - and yet I didn't like it so much as in the previous book narrated by her that I listened to. She is very good at doing voices and reading dialogues, but she was extremely, well, sad (or even sorrowful) in narrative parts this time. And she definitely read the book too slowly - I sped it up to 1,25 at first, and then to 1,5 to finish it faster...

DISCLAIMER: I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

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3 people found this helpful

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    2 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Wanted to Love This

I'm 8 hours into this, and after a pause, decided to take a break. Not sure I can finish it.
Only likable characters are Sidroc and Oddi, and Hrald.
Toki, Yrling, Ingirith, Ful, have little to no redeeming qualities.
Nano Nagle voice is okay, but something about the speed in which she narrates is hard to follow, the words just jumble together and I have to rewind and re-listen to find out what I missed.

Really wanted to love this, but really am struggling with the thought of finishing it.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Captivating Performance and Thrilling Storyline

This first (prequel technically) book in the “A Circle of Ceridwen Saga Story” is a wonderful backstory to one of the most mysterious and loved characters in the Saga Story. This book is narrated magnificently by Ms. Nagle and the plot and character development is nothing short of immaculate. My only regret is that I discovered this book after reading the original Saga Story. I hope the talented Randolph continues this story with more books to come.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Sidroc

Loved this story about Sidroc and where he began. It completed the Circle for me!

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2 people found this helpful