Review copy was received from Purchased. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Paladin's Strength by T Kingfisher Narrator: Joel Richards
Series: The Saint of Steel #2
Published by Tantor Audio on November 23, 2021
Genres: Urban Fantasy
Length: 15 hours, 38 minutes
Format: Audiobook
Source: Purchased
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He’s a paladin of a dead god, tracking a supernatural killer across a continent. She’s a nun from a secretive order, on the trail of the raiders who burned her convent and kidnapped her sisters.
When their paths cross at the point of a sword, Istvhan and Clara will be pitched headlong into each other’s quests, facing off against enemies both living and dead. But Clara has a secret that could jeopardize the growing trust between them, a secret that will lead them to the gladiatorial pits of a corrupt city, and beyond..
T. Kingfisher is my favorite new author find this year. I’ve been making my way through her catalog as her books make it to the audio format. Paladin’s Strength is the second book in the Saint’s of Steel series. T. Kingfisher loves to poke a little fun at all the paladin tropes and she doesn’t hold back in this book either.
Istvhan’s god is dead and he is one of the few Paladins to survive. But what do you do with yourself when your god is dead? Apparently you work for a different god’s order and just try to make yourself useful. That is how Istvhan ended up accidentally killing some idiot who picked a fight with him and inherited a nun.
Clara has had a bad month. There were the two times she almost died and now she is on the road with a Paladin. He is trying to figure out where some strange creature who is decapitating humans and roaming around wearing their bodies is now. She is from an order of nuns who have been kidnapped and wants to find her sisters to rescue them. The two of them might just be headed to the same place for different.
T. Kingfisher has a sense of humor I just love, present in all of her books. You can tell she is having a great time playing around with the paladin tropes of other series. Istvhan is having plenty of unpure thoughts about Clara, a nun with some very fine attributes. Clara is very attracted to Istvhan too, if only he can get out of his own way and she can admit he is okay with her special nun power. Also, they are going to need to catch a break and not have another disaster befall them just as things are getting interesting *wink, wink*.
Paladin’s Strength was a creative and interesting tale. There is plenty happening and a few cameos from a couple characters from some of the other books set in this world. I do love Brindle the Gnoll and it was good to have him around since humans can’t smell anything. Always fun working with the followers of the White Rat as well as their sect is devoted to solving problems, if only all worshipers of gods were so useful. I enjoyed all my time with Istvhan and Clara and while they both were a little hesitant to get involved, it fit their characters but my only complaint is it got a little repetitive a few times.
Overall this is a fun and exciting tale full of fun, humor and two people finding their way to one another.
Narration:
Joel Richards has a great voice for what I envision for a Paladin. He did a great job with Istvhan and Clara both. I was able to listen to the narration at my normal 1.5x speed
Listen to a clip:Â HERE
About Joel Richards
One day, when he was 11 years old, Joel realized that he enjoyed sharing stories with his friends as much as he enjoyed all the crazy things they did together. It was then that he knew–although he didn’t have a word for it yet–that he was storyteller. He tells stories on stage, through the written word, with a camera lens, and in front of a microphone. He has called New York City, North Carolina, Texas, Indiana, Utah, and Rhode Island home but has travel to or through most of the fifty states.
While his education as a storyteller began with trading stories with friends as a child, he did his undergraduate studies at the University of Utah graduating with a BFA in acting from their conservatory Actor Training Program and a BA in English. He then went on to receive a Masters in Storytelling from East Tennessee State University–the first, and perhaps only, graduate program to focus on the study and performance of oral storytelling. Joel is an Audible Approved Producer on ACX.
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Another author I need to get reading. I enjoy this narrator.
That narrator was so good. I’ve enjoyed both the books in this series he narrated.