The Wizard Hunters

Fall of Ile-Rien, Book 1

By: Martha Wells

Narrated by: Talmadge Ragan

Length: 17 hrs and 56 mins

Publisher's summary

Ile-Rien is in peril. A mysterious army known only as the Gardier has surrounded the country, attacking in ominous black airships. Hope is not lost though, for a magical sphere created by Ile-Rien's greatest sorcerer may hold the key to defeating the faceless enemy. But the sphere is unpredictable and has already claimed several lives. When a magical spell goes disastrously awry, young Tremaine Valiarde and a brave band are transported to another world-a world of rough magics, evil mages, honorable warriors, and a secret Gardier base.

©2003 Martha Wells (P)2013 Tantor

Critic reviews

"The subsequent story seems intended to combine elements of high fantasy and cross-time travel, as if it were a collaborative work by Andre Norton and S. M. Stirling. Thanks to Wells' narrative skill and considerably above-average characterization, it largely succeeds in those intentions." ( Booklist)

Great story, awful to hear

I love this author and this series and was looking forward to listening to this book instead of just enduring interminable rush hour traffic. Unfortunately the narrator has made sitting in rush hour seem even longer with her over enunciated and oddly emphasized reading. I an trying to finish this but don't know if I can.

If Siri read a book, this is what you would get

I think this is a good story, but it is difficult… to get over… the narrator’s horribly timed… pauses mid-sentence. Every scene (be it dramatic or general information) and all the characters are read with little differentiation or inflection. Then there is the mispronunciation of words- names of places and people that were featured prominently in the 2 preceding novels. I cringed every time the narrator said “Ile-Rien”. I can only hope for improvement in the next novel, because the reading can’t get much worse!

Fast paced but not lacking in anything

A great start to a gripping trilogy. Well crafted, interesting characters and fascinating world building.

And it never fets boring.

reader over enunciating.

at first I thought the narrator had never read a book before, but after a bit I realised she was just over enunciating. a bit annoying in the long run

Great story, narrator sounds drunk

Martha Wells is an amazing author. This narrator is not. She slurs, pops, sputters and has horrible sibilance and mushy pronunciation despite over-enunciating. She generally sounds drunk and maybe like she has a lot of post-nasal drip. She’s not as bad as John Lee, but that’s not saying much.

Decent but slow starting story, dragged down by narration

I normally enjoy Martha Well’s work, and this story, while slow to get going was no exception. Unfortunately the narration had me grinding my teeth and nearly made me ditch the whole thing. Misspronounceded words, and nextrad letters and syllables, along with peculiar pauses and a strange accent that grated on my non American ears made it very difficult. It may just have needed some direction, and editing, but it certainly needed something. I’m sure Talmadge Ragan is very good in other circumstances, but sadly this is not a something that worked well. Still deciding if I can struggle through the next books, but the story has its hooks in me so ……….

Story is okay. Narration struggles

So far all the Il-Rein books have been slow to move along, but they got somewhere, so I was willing to stay with the story, But the narration is so stilted with odd breaks in words and sentences that it was painful to listen to. I'm not sure I can manage the next two in the series with the same reader

Incredible Saga

I am completely addicted to Martha Wells writing. The Wizard Hunters took me a little bit to really start being immersed in the incredibly creative world where a militaristic society who enslave or kill without mercy invade a country that has been stable for generations. Magic, sorcery, portals through space, Frankenstein-like creatures, and interesting character defending their lives and country all combine beautifully in Wells’s intellectual sci fi drama.
Good narration, perfect for the voice of Tremaine, self described society lark and ruthless bitch. I’m thinking there might be a little romance in the next book in the series, but we’ll see.
I loved this book! Going straight to The Ships of Air, book 2.

narrator sucks!

I like the story a lot but the narrator is really bad. not worth the money.

Poor narration. Hard to find thread of the story.

Struggled. The narrator tended to drone. She sometimes mispronounced words and had an odd cadence in her reading. It was if she hadn't read the story well enough to know it.