The prologue of Aaron Hodges Oathbreaker really drew me in, and made me suspect I would enjoy the rest of the book – and I was correct. The narration quickly drew me in and I found myself caring about what happened to the main characters. As the story developed, my empathy for Devon grew as his character unfolded through the story, and Alana’s character arc was intriguing. Hodge was meticulous in how he conveyed the latter, allowing him to setup a bit of a surprising reveal at the conclusion (I’ll admit, I kind of saw something coming, though not exactly what was revealed).
I appreciate that even while Hodges was creating a larger-than-life warrior in Devon, the character is not unrealistic. Amazing and insanely powerful warrior, yes – invincible, unstoppable war machine? Nope. The characters make good decisions and bad decisions and the consequences of those decisions feel very realistic (and sometimes rough). I found the story very engaging and am eager to learn what comes in the next volume.
As for the narration, David Stifel did a great job. I really felt like I was sitting down with my grandfather or an uncle (okay, a “older male” person) and listening to them tell the story. His was just an easy voice to listen to. Though the individual character’s voices were not hugely different, Stifel personified each character clearly, giving each his or her own nuances that set them apart. His voice was easy to listen to and I wouldn’t hesitate to listen to more stories narrated by him.
As this was the first in a series, I think it is good to note that there was a solid amount of closure at the end of this book. I won’t quite say it ended on a cliffhanger—there are some big conflicts left unresolved—but there is definite sense of resolution, at least to some degree. For those who care, the writing was largely clean of cursing and the romantic elements were kept to a minimum, and nothing explicit was detailed (nor did anything along that lines really happen…). I’m not sure if Hodges was aiming this at a YA or even pre-teen audience, but I would consider the subject matter appropriate for such an age group. That’s not to say the story is simple or the violence is mild (it would probably get a PG-13 rating as a movie) – as an adult I enjoyed it, and I’m sure most adults who enjoy fantasy would like it as well.
[Note: I did receive a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review]