The Black Hawks cover art

The Black Hawks

Articles of Faith, Book 1

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The Black Hawks

By: David Wragg
Narrated by: Colin Mace
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About this listen

Dark, thrilling, and hilarious, The Black Hawks is an epic adventure perfect for fans of Joe Abercrombie and Scott Lynch.

Life as a knight is not what Vedren Chel imagined. Bound by oath to a dead-end job in the service of a lazy step-uncle, Chel no longer dreams of glory – he dreams of going home.

When invaders throw the kingdom into turmoil, Chel finds opportunity in the chaos: if he escorts a stranded prince to safety, Chel will be released from his oath.

All he has to do is drag the brat from one side of the country to the other, through war and wilderness, chased all the way by ruthless assassins.

With killers on your trail, you need killers watching your back. You need the Black Hawk Company – mercenaries, fighters without equal, a squabbling, scrapping pack of rogues.

Prepare to join the Black Hawks.

©2019 David Wragg (P)2019 HarperCollins Publishers Limited Action & Adventure Epic Epic Fantasy Fantasy Fiction Humorous Military Royalty Comedy Dream Witty

Continue the series
The Righteous cover art
The Righteous By: David Wragg

Critic reviews

‘Reminds me of Abercrombie’s THE BLADE ITSELF’
Nicholas Eames, author of KINGS OF THE WYLD

‘Refreshing and entertaining, like a cross between Nicholas Eames and Joe Abercrombie; THE BLACK HAWKS is simply a joy to read’
Peter McLean, author of PRIEST OF BONES

‘Wragg captures the classic fantasy spirit of adventure and exploration, wraps it with stabbed backs and cannibals and gifts it to you on a bed of action’
Ed McDonald, author of BLACKWING

‘Everyone loves a good mercenary tale, but THE BLACK HAWKS offers more besides: a protagonist who's refreshingly rubbish at fighting, a supporting cast who'd be fascinating if they were just standing around in a supermarket, and an author who knows when to dodge cliches, and when to jump in and splash like a kid in a puddle’
Nate Crowley, author of 100 BEST VIDEO GAMES (THAT NEVER EXISTED)

‘Check out THE BLACK HAWKS – it’s full of fun characters, mercenary antics, twists, turns, and contains my favourite fantasy lemon’
Peter Newman, Gemmell Award-winning author of THE VAGRANT and THE DEATHLESS

‘A remarkably assured debut…I can’t wait to see what happens next’
Anna Stephens, author of GODBLIND
All stars
Most relevant
Really enjoyable with great characters & a good story. Can’t wait for the next instalment!
Great narration by Colin Mace bringing the characters alive with great accents & personalities.

Very good!

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Story is good, performance is good, could have just done with being a lot louder

Why is it so quiet?

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STICK WITH IT!
When I first started listening to this audiobook, the first hour or so was oppressively slow, but soon enough I started to really enjoy the characters and their interactions. This culminated especially with the arrival of the titular 'Black Hawks', who are some of the most endearing and likeable characters in any book I've ever read. The story is also good, engaging and fun throughout with nice twists. When I finished the book, I was actually sad it was over, eagerly anticipating the sequel.

Colin Mace does a stellar job at narration and really shines when voicing the Black Hawks.

I cannot recommend this book enough!

A promising start to an interesting new series

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We need more fantasy like this. Very well written and performed and the second book is even better.

Brilliant

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Firstly, the story itself. Wragg is clearly a solid and talented writer and has created a band of likeable and well developed characters, in a world I was keen to explore. The story progressed a little slowly, but kept me interested.

Secondly, the narration. Mace gave life to these characters and for the most part I enjoyed the narration. This is the first narration I have listened to by Mace, and I will try more. However...

The main reason I am writing a review is because of the quality of the production. Sound quality et al is fine, but I could not possibly recommend this audiobook unless you are fine with having your hand on the volume dial constantly, as Mace (or the production, I honestly don't know which is to blame) goes from too loud to too quiet almost constantly throughout the book, particularly when voicing characters. This was particularly prevalent in the final quarter of the book.

This made for an incredibly frustrating and uncomfortable listen which I just could not enjoy and I found myself wishing it would just hurry up and end.

I recommend a different format for this book as I'm intrigued by any sequels and will be continuing, just definitely not with audio.

Frustrating

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