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Title: Hearts of Iron

Subtitle: A Foreworld SideQuest (The Foreworld Saga)

Author: Scott James Magner

Narrator: Luke Daniels

Format: Unabridged

Length: 3 hrs and 6 mins

Language: English

Release date: 08-08-13

Publisher: Brilliance Audio

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 14 votes

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

When The Italian Job meets the Knights of the Round Table, the ultimate medieval heist caper is born.

It is the summer of AD 1035, and three sons of Tancred de Hauteville are in ambivalent service to Guimar, Prince of Salerno. The three men, who have been trained by their father in the art of war since childhood, spend the sweltering afternoons practicing swordplay, trading barbs, and thinking of how many men they would need to take the prince's poorly fortified castle for themselves.

But when a mysterious agent asks the prince for the brothers' services in obtaining a gilded chest, eldest brother William recognizes an opportunity to strengthen the Hauteville legacy. When he assembles a crew of skilled mercenaries, loyalties are tested and truths revealed. Among the group, there is a traitor, a spy, and the carrier of a long-held secret. The trust William places in each of his men will decide the future for himself and his family.

A bold new SideQuest in the Foreworld Saga, Hearts of Iron shows a different side of the Middle Ages, but with all the deft-sword play, historical accuracy, and political intrigue you would expect from the series that brought you The Mongoliad trilogy.

Members Reviews:

A promising entry from a new author....

I recently finished reading Scott James Magner's first Novella, Hearts of Iron. I had no previous exposure to the Foreworld Saga, or any SideQuest offerings, but in the end it did not matter. As a voracious reader of most things Fantasy, it was very refreshing to come upon an author who put time and effort into the finer details of their writing. Far too often Fantasy writers gloss over the technical aspects of warfare, and it was a relief to see that Scott provided quite a bit of information within each encounter.

As a reviewer, I won't bore you with a duplicate synopsis of the story, or potentially spoil things you wish to discover for yourself. Instead, let me emphasize that this Novella displays a strong grasp of unique and memorable character creation, undoubtedly honed over the years of working within the gaming industry, and an eye for descriptive detail. I am a visual reader, and while being a Novella does limit the overall descriptive length, I found a visually rich story being spun before my eyes as I cycled page after page.

Is it all songbirds and singalongs? No. As noted, this is a promising first entry by Scott James Magner. Rarely do you find someone who hits a home run on their first at bat, but the Author displays instincts and understanding that with time will be honed further. I can only hope that he continues to receive opportunities, because I feel it would be a shame to let someone with such promise escape the grasps of wanting readers. Specifically, for me, it was a single character. In hindsight, it could very well be chalked up to the length limitations dictated by the format (Novella). I wanted some conclusions to be reached at a slower pace.

I've already recommended this book to my inner circle of fellow Fantasy readers, and now I do so to the greater public. If you're a Prime member, you've got your freebie to use.