
The Tower of Fools
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Narrated by:
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Peter Kenny
About this listen
"A fantastic novel that any fan of The Witcher will instantly appreciate." (The Gamer)
Andrzej Sapkowski's Witcher series has become a fantasy phenomenon, finding millions of fans worldwide and inspiring the hit Netflix show and video games. Now the best-selling author introduces listeners to a new hero on an epic journey in The Tower of Fools, the first book of the Hussite Trilogy.
Reinmar of Bielawa, sometimes known as Reynevan, is a healer, a magician, and according to some, a charlatan. When a thoughtless indiscretion forces him to flee his home, he finds himself pursued not only by brothers bent on vengeance but by the Holy Inquisition.
In a time when tensions between Hussite and Catholic countries are threatening to turn into war and mystical forces are gathering in the shadows, Reynevan's journey will lead him to the Narrenturm — the Tower of Fools.
The Tower is an asylum for the mad...or for those who dare to think differently and challenge the prevailing order. And escaping it, avoiding the conflict around him, and keeping his own sanity will prove more difficult than he ever imagined
"A ripping yarn delivered with world-weary wit, bursting at the seams with sex, death, magic and madness." (Joe Abercrombie)
"This is historical fantasy done right." (Publishers Weekly, starred review)
"A highly enjoyable historical fantasy." (Booklist)
The Tower of Fools is an historical novel set during the Hussite Wars in Bohemia during the 1400s, a period of religious conflict and persecution. Characters in the novel may express views that some listeners might find offensive.
Also by Andrzej Sapkowski:
Witcher collections
The Last Wish
Sword of Destiny
Witcher novels
Blood of Elves
The Time of Contempt
Baptism of Fire
The Tower of Swallows
Lady of the Lake
Season of Storms
The Malady and Other Stories: An Andrzej Sapkowski Sampler (e-only)
Translated by David French
©2020 Andrzej Sapkowski (P)2020 OrbitListeners also enjoyed...
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"Sapkowski's energetic and satirical prose as well as the unconventional setting makes this a highly enjoyable historical fantasy. Recommended for Sapkowksi's many existing fans." (Booklist)
"Sapkowski's love for the period is clear as he touches on notorious historical events and figures.... The carefully painted landscapes and intricate politics effortlessly draw readers into Reinmar's life and times. This is historical fantasy done right." (Publishers Weekly, starred review)
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Story
Two nations at war. One prize beyond compare. For generations, the Hundred Isles have built their ships from the bones of ancient dragons to fight an endless war. The dragons disappeared, but the battles for supremacy persisted. Now the first dragon in centuries has been spotted in far-off waters, and both sides see a chance to shift the balance of power in their favor. Because whoever catches it will win not only glory, but the war.
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Bold and unique with a compelling story.
- By Kevin Potter on 11-12-19
By: RJ Barker
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The Bladed Faith
- By: David Dalglish
- Narrated by: Devante Johnson, Imani Parks
- Length: 18 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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Cyrus was only twelve years old when his gods were slain, his country invaded, and his parents—the king and queen—beheaded in front of him. Held prisoner in the invader's court for years, Cyrus is suddenly given a chance to escape and claim his revenge when a mysterious group of revolutionaries comes looking for a figurehead. They need a hero to strike fear into the hearts of the imperial and to inspire and unite the people. They need someone to take up the skull mask and swords and to become the legendary "Vagrant"—an unparalleled hero and assassin of otherworldly skill.
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lackluster narration
- By Anonymous User on 04-20-22
By: David Dalglish
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Boudicca
- A Novel
- By: P. C. Cast
- Narrated by: Ell Potter
- Length: 18 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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In Roman-occupied Britain, the Iceni tribe crowns an extraordinary new queen. Tall and flame-haired, Boudicca is devoted to Andraste, the Iceni’s patron goddess, known for her raven familiar, her fierceness and her swirling blue tattoos. Boudicca and her two young daughters will carry the tribe forward in dangerous times. Roman tax collector Catus Decianus, expecting weakness in a female ruler, launches a devastating attack on the tribe’s stronghold. Boudicca and her family barely survive—but they refuse to bend the knee.
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Very well written.
- By Sebee on 03-28-25
By: P. C. Cast
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The Long Ships
- By: Frans G. Bengtsson, Michael Meyer, Michael Chabon
- Narrated by: Michael Page
- Length: 20 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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Bengtsson's hero, Red Orm-canny - courageous and above all lucky - is only a boy when he is abducted from his Danish home by the Vikings and made to take his place at the oars of their dragon-prowed ships. Orm is then captured by the Moors in Spain, where he fights for the Caliph of Cordova. Escaping from captivity, Orm washes up in Ireland, where he marvels at those epicene creatures, the Christian monks, and from which he then moves on to play an ever more important part in the intrigues of the various Scandinavian kings and clans and dependencies.
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Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful story
- By Kindle Customer on 08-28-18
By: Frans G. Bengtsson, and others
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Song of the Huntress
- By: Lucy Holland
- Narrated by: Kristin Atherton, Lucy Holland
- Length: 18 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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Britain, 60AD. Hoping to save her lover, her land, and her people from the Romans, Herla makes a desperate pact with the king of the Otherworld. But years pass unheeded in his realm, and she escapes to find everyone she loved long dead. Cursed to wield his blade, she becomes Lord of the Hunt. And for centuries, she rides, leading her immortal warriors and reaping wanderers’ souls. Until the night she meets a woman on a bloody battlefield—a Saxon queen with ice-blue eyes.
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Worth it
- By Gloria on 05-10-25
By: Lucy Holland
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Velocity Weapon
- By: Megan E. O'Keefe
- Narrated by: Joe Jameson
- Length: 18 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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Sanda and Biran Greeve were siblings destined for greatness. A high-flying sergeant, Sanda has the skills to take down any enemy combatant. Biran is a savvy politician who aims to use his new political position to prevent conflict from escalating to total destruction. However, on a routine maneuver, Sanda loses consciousness when her gunship is blown out of the sky. Instead of finding herself in friendly hands, she awakens 230 years later on a deserted enemy warship controlled by an AI who calls himself Bero. The war is lost.
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Romance Novel with a Science Fiction Setting
- By T. Van Valkenburgh on 07-23-20
By: Megan E. O'Keefe
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Assassin
- Darkblade, Book 1
- By: Andy Peloquin
- Narrated by: John Lee
- Length: 26 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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All in Voramis know the legend of the Hunter. Relentless. Immortal. Death walking. The greatest assassin who ever lived. Pay the master killer his due and the Hunter will execute any target, carry out any contract, no matter how impossible. But when the Bloody Hand crime syndicate harms the innocents under his protection, they foolishly make an enemy of the one man they can't afford to anger. The price of the Hunter's vengeance is high-paid in blood and eternal damnation. Not even an army of crooks, cutthroats, and demonic creatures of nightmare can stand in his way.
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Way over done
- By T. Guerrier on 11-12-24
By: Andy Peloquin
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The Sword Defiant
- By: Gareth Hanrahan
- Narrated by: George Weightman
- Length: 19 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
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Many years ago, Sir Aelfric and his nine companions saved the world, seizing the Dark Lord's cursed weapons, along with his dread city of Necrad. That was the easy part. Now, when Aelfric—keeper of the cursed sword Spellbreaker—learns of a new and terrifying threat, he seeks the nine heroes once again. But they are wandering adventurers no longer. Yesterday's eager heroes are today's weary leaders—and some have turned to the darkness, becoming monsters themselves. If there's one thing Aelfric knows, it's slaying monsters. Even if they used to be his friends.
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Below average
- By Jacob dale clifford on 07-21-23
By: Gareth Hanrahan
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The Lost War
- The Eidyn Saga, Book 1
- By: Justin Lee Anderson
- Narrated by: Euan Morton
- Length: 20 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
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With a ragged peace in place, demons burn farmlands, violent Reivers roam the wilds and plague has spread beyond the Black Meadows. The country is on its knees. In a society that fears and shuns him, Aranok is the first magically-skilled draoidh to be named King's Envoy. Now, charged with restoring an exiled foreign queen to her throne, he leads a group of strangers across the ravaged country. But at every step, a new mystery complicates their mission.
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Holy Cow!
- By Lisa M. Perkey on 05-11-20
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Revenger
- By: Alastair Reynolds
- Narrated by: Clare Corbett
- Length: 14 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
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Revenger is a rocket-fueled tale of space pirates, buried treasure, and phantom weapons, of unspeakable hazards and single-minded heroism...and of vengeance...Adrana and Fura Ness are the newest crew members of the legendary Captain Rackamore's ship, using their mysterious powers as Bone Readers to find clues about their next score. But there might be more waiting for them in space than adventure and fortune: The fabled and feared Bosa Sennen, in particular. The galaxy is filled with treasures...if you have the courage to find them.
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Great story, crap Mastering/Post work
- By C.Dale on 03-23-17
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The Emperor's Wolves
- The Wolves of Elantra, Book 1
- By: Michelle Sagara
- Narrated by: Khristine Hvam
- Length: 17 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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Multiple races carefully navigate the City of Elantra under the Dragon Emperor’s wing. His Imperial Wolves are executioners, the smallest group to serve in the Halls of Law. The populace calls them assassins. Every wolf candidate must consent to a full examination by the Tha’alani, one of the most feared and distrusted races in Elantra for their ability to read minds. Most candidates don’t finish their job interviews.
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Excellent and long waited for
- By Wendy on 10-16-20
By: Michelle Sagara
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A Flame in the North
- By: Lilith Saintcrow
- Narrated by: Saskia Maarleveld
- Length: 15 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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The Black Land is a myth: Centuries have passed since that Great Enemy was slain. Yet old fears linger, and on the longest night of the year, people in the South still light ritual bonfires to banish the dark. In her village, this duty falls to Solveig, a girl favored by the gods with powerful fire magic. But when her brother kills a Northern lord’s son during the ritual, it is Sol who faces punishment, by being weregild—part hostage, part guest—in the North for a year and a day.
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amazing
- By BAMA J on 08-12-24
By: Lilith Saintcrow
Overall I just couldn't get into it.
Good story, just couldn't get into it
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Using the time till the third audiobook is released to listen again, the good thing about audio is no reading glasses, but you can miss things.
What an amazing work and performance
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A lot of this story isn't translated, and I'm not very familiar with that part of European history, so much was hard to follow.
I had fun with the first half of the book, but Reynevan was a character that I soon grew tired of, because of his constant stupidity. A couple of his supporting characters saved the day, as far as keeping my interest in the story with humor and common sense. I think if I could have read the original version and have known something of the historical characters and time period, I would have enjoyed this book more. Peter Kenny was spot on brilliant with his narration, as usual.
Wild journey of Reynevan
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To help me better appreciate the novel, researching Medieval terms and the names for clothing. military weapons and armor was helpful. I also found it helpful to study maps of Bohemia in the mid 1400's.
Peter Kenny nails it again
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Historicity
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The Tower of Fools is more akin to Neal Stephenson's Quicksilver (the first book of The Baroque Cycle) or Susanna Clarke's Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, in that it's a dense fantasy tale firmly embedded within true European historical context. Whereas The Baroque Cycle transpired in a fictionalized version of the late 1600s to early 1700s, and Clarke's novel took place in the 1800s, Sapkowski's trilogy inserts itself into Eastern Europe of the 1400s.
We are introduced to Reinmar of Bielawa, an unlikely and peculiar hero, as unwanted adventure is thrust upon him by virtue of Reinmar caught in the process of a different sort of thrusting--with the wife of a member of a wealthy and powerful family. On the run from vengeful aristocrats (and those working on their behalf), the inquisition (for being a magician and heretic), and sinister forces with unknown motives, Reinmar finds himself on a meandering scramble across the Eastern Europe of the late Middle Ages.
Populated by an almost intimidating cast of additional characters, while not as bad as Pynchon's Gravity's Rainbow--a book I've never been able to finish--it becomes challenging at times to keep track of precisely who is who. Strange acquaintances along the way become friends, friends become enemies, and enemies become victims of the peculiar sort of charmed life Reinmar seems to live. With the familiar wit and subtle comedic writing Sapkowski brings to the narrative, we witness an extreme example of fortune favoring the fool. As Reinmar stumbles from one bit of trouble to another, dragging unfortunate allies with him as he careens from frying pan to fire and back again.
Densely packed with historical events and figures of the Hussite Revolutionary period, The Tower of Fools is as much a history lesson as a tale of fantasy. Though Sapkowski's novel incorporates elements of magic, witches/sorcerers, and supernatural beings aplenty, the narrative is so deeply fixed in a foundation of historical veracity that it all feels more textured and real than it might otherwise. Of course, those familiar with The Witcher are well aware that the author is capable of fleshing out a fictional world without the benefit of drawing the fine details from real-world history. It's a nice touch, though, being able to explore a historical period many of us aren't familiar with.
The titular Tower of Fools--though referenced at numerous points throughout the story--makes an appearance in Chapter 26, at almost the end of the book. It could be argued that the wider world we witness in the book is the real Narrenturm, and the whole of Eastern Europe and the Holy Roman Empire makes up the real Tower of Fools.
Though the story is not one that I can praise in more than peculiarly specific ways, the narration provided by Petter Kenny is spectacular. This narrator is impressive, to put it mildly. He successfully tackles various accents, dozens of characters, as well as songs and chants performed in Latin and other languages, all with a clarity and quality that almost astounded me.
Good Enough I'll Continue the Trilogy
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Decent
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Its not the Witcher, but there is something here
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The Witcher this is NOT but it is still written like typical Sapkowski. It is VERY dialogue heavy and slow. Sapkowksi often uses the dialogue his characters speak to tell the story rather than the usual descriptive heavy Curtains Are Blue style like other authors. its not a bad thing but i can see how it turns people off of his work.
This is SLOW as well. i find it funny people try this book then find it slow, meandering, boring when The Witcher series is also this. Boring, slow, tiresome BUT its still good. Nothing happens in the first Witcher book Blood of Elves and the same goes for here.
Tower of Fools feels Episodic so i suggest a chapter a day instead of binge listening to avoid burn out. It has the main character and crew going somehwere, talking and then repeating while hijinx ensue or nothing at all happens.
its a historical fiction so bring your wikipedia and youtube video essays along as well as maybe the PDF to translate the loads of latin in here.
as always Peter Kenny does a great job and what makes an OK book into something Alright if that makes sense.
I enjoyed it but you cant go into this expecting The Witcher . It is not.
Typical Sapkowski. Not The Witcher.
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the outcome is interesting and has me looking forward to the next book in the trilogy once it's available in U.S countries.
Crafted world building along with Witty writing
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