Erryn reviews ‘Prince of Death (Lords of the Underworld Book 1)’ by Sam Burns & W.M. Fawkes. The ebook is 306 pages and was published March 7, 2019. The audiobook was released on September 25, 2019 is 7hrs and 41 mins and narrated by Zachary Zaba. A copy was provided in exchange for an honest review.
Why I read this book: I listened to another book by Sam Burns and enjoyed it.
Gifted power over life and death, Lysandros has spent millennia in the underworld, listless and alone. The youngest child of Hades and Persephone, he’s been sheltered from the threats in the world above.
Theo Ward hasn’t been so lucky. After watching his mother wither away, he’d do almost anything to have her back. When a messenger appears at the Banneker College of Magic and offers the young professor a chance to save her, Theo can’t pass it up, even if it means going straight into the underworld and dragging her home. But Theo gets more than he bargained for when he crosses paths with the prince of Hades.
Set against the king of Olympus, they must shed their past burdens and learn to trust in each other, so they can face down a storm that threatens to wipe the nation’s capital off the map.
Book Links: Audible | Amazon | Add to Goodreads
Erryn’s Review:
I wanted to love this book. I’ve listened to Sam Burns’ Straight From the Heart and I enjoyed it. I listened to Hailey Turner’s A Ferry of Bones & Gold that involved plenty of deities, Greek mythology, and plenty of other kinds of crazy adventures. Don’t get me wrong, there were things I enjoyed about this book, but it didn’t reach the level of joy I received from these other books.
Theo Ward is a professor of magic at the Banneker College of Magic. He teaches theoretical classes, not nearly as exciting as the practical classes. He’s in a bit of a rut until he’s presented a book by a courier. He knows he should turn it over to the archivists at the library, but he takes it home with him only to take a different train. The Silver Line to Crystal City, to be exact. He encounters several interesting characters, but it’s the dog who made the greatest impression:
So the underworld was real and there was a huge three-headed dog that would eat you in two bites if you tried to sneak in. Theo hadn’t believed it would be a simple thing to sneak into Hell and retrieve a soul. He hadn’t believed such a place existed at all. But he was sure he didn’t have the wherewithal to sneak past such a creature. Having it consider him with six glowing gold eyes once was more than enough.
He’s made an impression on the Greeks and he’s invited to a Halloween party for the members of the underworld. In particular, he’s interested in Lysandros, Hades’ son. The Prince.
Lysandros, upon meeting this mortal, is taken. Things get pretty hot pretty fast. Good times, eh? I’ll never look at a bookshelf the same way again.
Except there’s a missing Senator’s daughter, Zeus is missing his lightning bolt, and there’s a terrible storm enveloping Washington D.C. The men embark on an adventure to put the world back to rights.
I enjoyed some of the creative turns in the book but it didn’t always hold my attention. Too many Gods. I’m a huge audio fan, but Zachary Zaba’s narration left me a little cold. He doesn’t differentiate voices as well as some other narrators do. He did a decent job, but I suggest listening to the sample first.
Like I said, I wanted to love this book and I know there are people out there who will. Unfortunately, I wasn’t one of them.
Erryn’s Rating:
7/10 Pots of Gold (70% Recommended) – Compares to 3.5/5 Stars
Rainbow Gold Reviews 
I’m afraid that I always think of Cerberus and his having three heads to drool with instead of one, lol. Thanks for the review!
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