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The Shadow Rises: Witch-Hunter, Book 1 Audible Audiobook – Unabridged

K.S. Marsden (Author, Publisher), Jonathan Ip (Narrator)
4.2 out of 5 stars 395 ratings

When a new witch threat rises, only Hunter Astley can stop it....

In the face of dark magic and evil witches, a secret witch-hunting society works tirelessly to keep them at bay. The Malleus Maleficarum Council has strict rules and practises for eradicating magic.

Due to their work, witches have been almost forgotten, relegated to myth; but the rumours are starting to emerge of a new power that will throw the world into chaos.

As the only seventh generation witch-hunter, Hunter Astley is the best the MMC has to offer. With the help of his colleagues, it’s a race to track down this new threat and stop it...in any way he can.

Part one of the Witch-Hunter trilogy.

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  1. Listening Length
    5 hours and 12 minutes
  2. Author
    K.S. Marsden
  3. Narrator
    Jonathan Ip
  4. Audible release date
    March 1, 2018
  5. Language
    English
  6. Publisher
    K.S. Marsden
  7. ASIN
    B07B416KL8
  8. Version
    Unabridged
  9. Program Type
    Audiobook
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Product details

Listening Length 5 hours and 12 minutes
Author K.S. Marsden
Narrator Jonathan Ip
Whispersync for Voice Ready
Audible.com Release Date March 01, 2018
Publisher K.S. Marsden
Program Type Audiobook
Version Unabridged
Language English
ASIN B07B416KL8
Best Sellers Rank #636,344 in Audible Books & Originals (See Top 100 in Audible Books & Originals)
#4,776 in Action Thriller & Suspense Fiction
#7,039 in Supernatural Thrillers (Audible Books & Originals)
#11,069 in Paranormal Fantasy (Audible Books & Originals)

Customer reviews

4.2 out of 5 stars
395 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find the book's story intriguing with entertaining twists and surprises, and appreciate it as a wonderful start to a new series. Moreover, the characters are well-developed, and the writing is well-executed with skillful vocal inflections. Additionally, the book maintains a good pace, and one customer particularly notes its elegant rendition of moral boundaries between good and evil.

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Story qualityReadabilityWriting qualityCharacter developmentPaceMorality
38 customers mention "Story quality"35 positive3 negative

Customers find the story intriguing with entertaining twists and surprises, and appreciate how it moves forward appropriately.

"...to evade him? K.S. Marsden’s has brought together a delightful story that is well written and keeps the reader wanting to know what will..." Read more

"...I particularly enjoyed the idea of the Shadow Witches, even though I'm still not clear on exactly what they are or how they come to be...." Read more

"...There were plenty of twists and turns to keep me on the edge of my seat. Be prepared as the book ends with unresolved questions...." Read more

"...The author, K.S. Marsden used rich descriptions and details to tell the story. The dialog was well done and moved the story appropriately forward...." Read more

31 customers mention "Readability"31 positive0 negative

Customers find the book to be a wonderful start to a new series, describing it as an awesome and fun read that keeps readers wanting more.

"...brought together a delightful story that is well written and keeps the reader wanting to know what will happen next. This one is a good weekend read." Read more

"...But as it is, it still makes for an entertaining urban fantasy read that easily stacks up with most other books in its genre." Read more

"...Anyway I enjoyed the book and now I have to find the next one. Grrr" Read more

"...This was an excellent read—definitely not a cozy mystery! There were plenty of twists and turns to keep me on the edge of my seat...." Read more

17 customers mention "Writing quality"14 positive3 negative

Customers praise the writing quality of the book, noting the skillful vocal inflections of the narrator and well-crafted dialog.

"...K.S. Marsden’s has brought together a delightful story that is well written and keeps the reader wanting to know what will happen next...." Read more

"...His tempo changes conveyed excellent tone and his vocal inflections were skillful. Now for the story...." Read more

"...The dialog was well done and moved the story appropriately forward. When an author does this well, they keep the listener more engaged...." Read more

"...The book is nicely written with details where needed and open to the readers imagination in others...." Read more

15 customers mention "Character development"15 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the well-developed characters in the book.

"...There's some decent character building, though much of it doesn't make sense until a lot later in the book...." Read more

"...The characters were well developed, and the plot had some very interesting plot twists...." Read more

"...James, by far, has proven to be my favorite individual in the book itself...." Read more

"...Hunter is such a well-drawn character...." Read more

7 customers mention "Pace"7 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the book's pace, with one noting how the plot moves quickly.

"...Things move pretty quick...." Read more

"...Well-Written Piece: Five Stars. Fast-Paced Feel: Four Stars. Attention-Grabbing Scenarios: Six Stars...." Read more

"...To my delight, the pace picked up and once the plot was fully revealed, I found the twists and surprises very entertaining...." Read more

"...There is some action to move things along at a good pace. Some of the sentence structure is "odd"...." Read more

5 customers mention "Morality"5 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the book's moral themes, with one review highlighting its elegant portrayal of good and evil, while another notes its intense emotional content.

"...action and large scale witch problems, but it's more about personal and ethical issues. There is a worldwide organization dedicated to witch hunting...." Read more

"...The well-directed challenge to morality, perception, and authority left me enthusiastic as to what was coming towards the end of the story, but just..." Read more

"...There is romance, intrigue, emotion and buckets of action that push the plot along quickly and seamlessly- you won't be able to put it down, and the..." Read more

"...rises she becomes the Shadow witch, unlimited magic and fighting to subjugate all humans and kill all witch-hunters!" Read more

An absolutely riveting read!
4 out of 5 stars
An absolutely riveting read!
I was pleasantly surprised by this one! The Shadow Rises was a fast paced adventure, with enough twists and turns to leave me constantly wondering what could possibly happen next! I loved the concept of the secret witch-hunter society and I definitely enjoyed puzzling out the mystery of of the Shadow Witch. I thought the plot and the setting were well-developed though I did have a bit of a problem with "you-are-a-witch-you-must-be-evil" schtick. I would have liked to have a bit more backstory to why being a witch makes you automatically evil and whatnot. Though, I have to admit, my absolute favorite part was the dynamic between Hunter and his mother. "This suited Hunter to have his mother seated as far away as possible, and he often employed the use of candelabras or a vase to block her from view completely." There's just something about overbearingly snobby mothers that just gets me every time - they had a hugely enjoyable and hilarious dynamic throughout. I'm really excited to see where this series goes
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Top reviews from the United States

  • JC Brennan
    5.0 out of 5 stars Get Ready for Some Wich Hunting Fun!
    Reviewed in the United States on April 29, 2015
    Verified Purchase
    K.S. Marsden's The Shadow Rises
    It is about a witch hunter who has been called Hunter, though this is no his true name; his name is George. He is a 7th generation witch hunter which makes him powerful, witty, and sharp-edged to a witch and their influences. He is hardcore, staying away from emotions, though he still has them. He is human after all but shrouds his in his work. He protects a girl, Sophie, in the begin of the book but she will come back to haunt him. She ends up wanting to become a witch hunter. She is a strong willed girl and is not going to take no for answer. Though he doesn't like the idea much, he puts in a good word and she is being trained by his old trainer, Brian.
    Brian is a long-standing which hunter, one of the elders, which is blessing and a curse. He is set in his ways, and comes off rough but makes no excuses. Brian is killed but Sophie survived. There's something about her I didn’t like from the very beginning but that is something I will not dub into. They find the location of a group of witches, teaming up with a couple other which hunters—one of which, rubs Hunter the wrong way. One of the witches is killed by a gun happy idiot along with one of the witch hunters being hurt. Then they find out about The Shadow Witch about to appear again.
    Trying to hide his feeling for Sophie…well that doesn’t work out so well. It is Hunter's responsibility to protect humans, keep all witch hunters around the world informed, and create attack proposals. With all this responsibility falling for some woman is just a distraction. Is that what Sophie is a distraction to catch Hunter off guard? Will the Shadow Witch continue to evade him?
    K.S. Marsden’s has brought together a delightful story that is well written and keeps the reader wanting to know what will happen next. This one is a good weekend read.
    7 people found this helpful
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  • Kevin Potter
    4.0 out of 5 stars Some really cool aspects, some disappointments
    Reviewed in the United States on September 2, 2019
    Verified Purchase
    I'm really struggling to rate this book. It has so much going for it, but it also has a lot that I have serious, fundamental issues with.

    Let's start with the narrator.
    I like Jonathan Ip's voice, it's very smooth and easy to listen to. Which is also part of the problem, however. Every character voice had some variation of that same smoothness and in some cases it just didn't feel appropriate. Apart from that his voices were reasonably varied and even his female voices were at least somewhat believable. His tempo changes conveyed excellent tone and his vocal inflections were skillful.

    Now for the story.
    There are definitely some interesting things going on, and some interesting elements in the world. I particularly enjoyed the idea of the Shadow Witches, even though I'm still not clear on exactly what they are or how they come to be.

    There's some decent character building, though much of it doesn't make sense until a lot later in the book.

    Which leads me to a major point. I don't feel that Hunter being the main POV character was a good choice for this story. The fact that he already knows so much about the world he lives in makes a lot of the world building feel like extraneous exposition. Whereas if the book had been from, say, Sophie's POV then most (if not all) of those explanations would have felt a lot more natural.

    Also, and this is very much about me rather than the book, I disagree with Hunter as the front-and-center character because I simply don't like main characters that have automatic unfair advantages over their peers.

    I fully understand that Hunter's advantages are part of both the world building and his character and are a good portion of what makes the story work, but it's not something I'm fond of.

    Now, the Christian dogma here is rather heavy-handed. Particularly as it pertains to the Malleus Maleficarum. Perhaps I'm being overly harsh, but I don't believe that such a piece of (discredited, I might add) propaganda should be used in a modern piece of fiction without some very heavy emphasis on it NOT being the same piece of nonsense that was written in the late 1400s.

    Tying in with this is the insistence by every "good" character that all Witches are evil purely on merit of being Witches. While I can get behind the idea that Witches are not actually human but a completely different species altogether, what I cannot get behind is the idea that a species can be inherently and irrevocably evil with no chance for redemption. In many stories and mythologies, even Demons and Devils can be redeemed.

    And adding insult to injury is the fact that there is a strong implication that these Witch-Hunters believe the magic is what makes them evil, yet they have no issues with using objects enchanted by Witches. It seems like a ridiculously massive inconsistency and/or double standard.

    My final critique is about the writing itself. It isn't bad, but there are a few verb tense inconsistencies early on and a few clunky sentences throughout.

    Now, all that being said, there is a decently interesting story here once we get into it. Things move pretty quick. One might almost say too quick, as there are numerous jumps in time where no detail is given on what it happening in the interim, and the writing is rather sparse on details at the best of times.

    We have an interesting mystery spinning throughout the book, with several twists that reorient much of the story.

    While I freely admit that I saw most of them coming, that does not speak ill of the book at all. It's a rare book that can catch me off guard with an unexpected twist that doesn't feel like a Deus Ex Machina.

    Which brings us to the ending.
    Although a great many things simply go too smoothly and come together too easily and work out entirely too conveniently for my tastes, the ending is still well put together and comes to a reasonably satisfying close.

    I wouldn't call it a cliffhanger, per se, as the main point of the book is settled. But there is still much to come and its pretty easy to see where things are headed.

    In the end, I think this story could have benefited from greater depth, more detail, more complexity, more tension, and a less powerful, less knowledgeable hero. But as it is, it still makes for an entertaining urban fantasy read that easily stacks up with most other books in its genre.
    6 people found this helpful
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  • hasafran
    3.0 out of 5 stars Witches and warlocks oh my
    Reviewed in the United States on April 25, 2019
    Verified Purchase
    I totally hate it when I am enjoying a book/story and all at once the book is finished and if you want more you have to pay for it. I do understand that the authors are trying to earn a living from this but....Is there anyone else out there who remembers serials in the movies? Just when the heroine was tied on the railroad tracks and the train was coming!!!Well it is similar to that. Anyway I enjoyed the book and now I have to find the next one. Grrr
    10 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

  • Lorraine
    5.0 out of 5 stars An awesome start to a new series
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 7, 2016
    Verified Purchase
    I read the three books in the Witch-Hunter series back to back.
    The Shadow Rises drew me in after the first few pages and wouldn't let go so I moved straight onto The Shadow Reigns, quickly followed by The Shadow Falls.
    These books now make up one of my favourite trilogies!

    The Shadow Rises is an awesome start to an original and exciting series, that has a new take on witches. It's a fast-paced, fun and enjoyable read, with action and intrigue plus an unexpected and surprising twist.

    Hunter is a strong character, he is arrogant but also shows enough fear and doubt to not be unbearable. James and Sophie's characters are well developed and well suited to their roles within the story.

    There wasn't a huge cliffhanger at the end of book 1, just a satisfying ending that made me want to continue with the story!
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  • Carol 27
    5.0 out of 5 stars An intriguing start to the Witch-Hunter trilogy…
    Reviewed in Canada on April 26, 2019
    Verified Purchase
    This is a very entertaining paranormal tale about a secret society of witch-hunters who work to eliminate black magic and prevent witches from gaining power over humans. We meet Hunter Astley, a 7th generation witch-hunter and his side-kick James Bennett, the researcher of their team. I enjoyed their interactions as they went about the day-to-day business of tracking down and capturing witches. When surprise attacks bring chaos and destruction, the witch-hunters realize they’re dealing with a powerful entity with limitless magic. As the battle for world domination begins, will Hunter have the necessary skills to take up the gauntlet and lead the charge against the witches? Maybe – if the rumours of his ancestry are to be believed. This is a well written story with interesting and well-defined characters. The plot is well-paced with plenty of drama, intrigue, suspense, and action along with a couple of twists I hadn’t anticipated. I look forward to the continuation of this story in The Shadow Reigns.

    I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
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  • Veronica Strachan
    3.0 out of 5 stars A witchy story
    Reviewed in Australia on December 23, 2019
    Verified Purchase
    The Shadow Rises introduces some interesting characters and has the makings of a great series. It's a sound plot that races along. At times I wanted it to slow down so we could get to know the cast a little better anx enjoy their interactions.
    A good read, I hope book 2 allows us to see the witches in a better light.
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  • Trey Stone
    4.0 out of 5 stars Fun and captivating!
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 5, 2020
    Verified Purchase
    Hunter Astely – witch hunter extraordinaire – is the best at what he does: hunting witches and keeping humanity safe. It’s not by choice however, it’s his heritage.

    When he saves a young girl from a pack of witches in Italy, his life is turned upside down when she demands to be brought into the fray and trained to be a witch hunter herself – as his apprentice.

    This book was surprisingly good. It’s fun, it’s easy, and it’s damn gripping. It reminds me a lot of Buffy and Angel, two shows that I both loved when I was younger and which I find myself really wanting to watch again now.

    I felt like the book maybe fumbled a bit in the beginning, starting out on unsteady legs, but as soon as it found its footing it was awesome. Cool characters, great pace and a very intriguing plot. Also, Marsden does a great job at setting up the rest of the series. I’m intrigued!

    If you want a fun, captivating witch-hunting mystery that isn’t too long, look no further than this! Chances are you’ll love the characters as well
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  • KS the Dreamer
    5.0 out of 5 stars a good read
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 3, 2014
    Verified Purchase
    I really enjoy reading a book with a well thought out plot and well written dialect and this work did not disappoint, whilst not my preferred genre I found this book compelled me to continue reading. The plot is set at an excellent pace and I really love that dialect plays an important role, not only in character discovery, but in driving the plot forward.
    The author does a wonderful job at setting the scene and building up suspense and tension, I found her writing style friendly and easy to read. It would be ideal for young adults and pre-teens, but is written in such a way that adults would also enjoy it.
    I imagine the author's portrayal of witches in this light may ruffle a few feathers, but it is important to remember that this is a work of fiction and the casting of the witches in this manner is essential to the plot, it really is no different to the way the TV series Supernatural casts its monsters on the dark side, inclusive of witches. Please don't let that stop you from picking it up, this author has clearly devoted a lot of time and effort into their work
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