Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read.
Start by marking “Tales of the Left Hand, Book 1” as Want to Read:
Tales of the Left Hand, Book 1
by
In the tropical-island region known as the Frees, magic is growing stronger, and gunpowder is becoming less reliable. Amid this world of "swashbuckling, intrigue and a dash of magic," two adventurers literally run into each other and are forced to fight together against pirates, sinister assassins and powerful merchant families, in the process developing a most unlikely fr
...more
ebook
Published
June 19th 2011
by Smashwords
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
Reader Q&A
To ask other readers questions about
Tales of the Left Hand, Book 1,
please sign up.
Be the first to ask a question about Tales of the Left Hand, Book 1
This book is not yet featured on Listopia.
Add this book to your favorite list »
Community Reviews
Showing 1-30

Start your review of Tales of the Left Hand, Book 1

As an audiobook available for free from Podiobooks.com, I wasn't really sure what to expect quality-wise, but this was an amazing book! Author and narrator John Meagher is an amazing voice actor and this audiobook definitely demonstrates his talents with many characters with different dialects, accents, etc.
Beyond the excellent narration, Tales of the Left Hand Book One is also a fun and intriguing adventure fantasy story. It has witty, intelligent, like-able characters, and does a brilliant jo ...more
Beyond the excellent narration, Tales of the Left Hand Book One is also a fun and intriguing adventure fantasy story. It has witty, intelligent, like-able characters, and does a brilliant jo ...more

I don't always want an action-packed adventure, but when I do, I want a good one. This is a good one.
There are pirates. There's court intrigue. Secret passages, magic, assassins, rooftop chases, sword fights, it's all here.
I listened to the author's excellent reading via Podiobooks.com (and tipped him there, because it's worth some money), so I can't comment on the editing of the ebook version. I did spot a few very slightly misused words in the audio version.
My only other criticism is that th ...more
There are pirates. There's court intrigue. Secret passages, magic, assassins, rooftop chases, sword fights, it's all here.
I listened to the author's excellent reading via Podiobooks.com (and tipped him there, because it's worth some money), so I can't comment on the editing of the ebook version. I did spot a few very slightly misused words in the audio version.
My only other criticism is that th ...more

I have decided that I don't need to listen to the news on my drive to and from work. Too sad. So I started listening to TOTLH.
I found myself taking an extra trip around the block, sitting in the driveway, or hoping for traffic to listen to just a little bit more. What a fun series! One I can listen to with my 10yo son, and have us both engrossed. Definitely excited now that book three is started, but the wait for each weeks chapter to come out is painful! ...more
I found myself taking an extra trip around the block, sitting in the driveway, or hoping for traffic to listen to just a little bit more. What a fun series! One I can listen to with my 10yo son, and have us both engrossed. Definitely excited now that book three is started, but the wait for each weeks chapter to come out is painful! ...more

A nice, original-feeling fantasy adventure. The audiobook is well-narrated by the book's author, with good production values. The author has built a nicely complex fantasy world, with intriguing characters and interesting problems. I'll be checking out the second book in the series.
...more

Outstanding! Castle intrigue in a tropical pirate culture, The Kohaya Quad and The Frees are a wonderful playground; Kohayne is the best city to avoid since Ankh-Morpork. Mr. Meagher's reading is a treat too, it doesn't take long to forget you're listening to one person.
...more

Mar 24, 2018
Emily
rated it
it was ok
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
tropical-fantasy,
i-don-t-need-the-sequel
This was... disappointing. It's hard to be all that mad at a free audiobook, but here we are. It was very clear to me that this was John Meagher's first book as I was listening. There's a very "rookie" quality to the prose that's sometimes very hard to ignore. Most of my issues with this come in spots where the narration focuses in on thoughts, feelings, and dialogue. I felt like there was more telling than showing, that all of the characters were more inclined to speak honestly aloud with each
...more

It started off bland and the left hands character seemed to shift but it remained entertaining and fun. I greatly enjoyed it and for anyone this would turn away. Please listen or read it. By the second book these problems are no more. By the end of the second book I did something I hadn't done since I was in 7th grade. I teared up and even shouted in triumph at one point celebrating the characters victory. Shocked me. Lol I sat there alone in my car cheeks in the middle of the night cheeks feeli
...more

A great novel! Intriguing world, great plot twists and believable characters. I loved everything about the book, especially the author's voice talents! The only criticism is at times the pace gets more detailed (I won't say slow) and I am waiting momentarily for the excitement to ramp up again - I guess I'm a fan of ending chapters on a high note or cliffhanger. I've read book 1 and 2. GREAT FUN!
...more

I really liked this book. The writing wasn't as strong as I would like but it was still good and the narration is was great. The world that Meagher created certainly kept me interested and I can't wait to start the next one.
...more

For a hobby project that started out so the author could send samples of his voice acting to audiobook producers, well, let's just say John Meagher put the cart before the horse. And then somehow got that cart up to 60mph, with the horse holding on for dear life.
Not only is the storytelling top notch, but Meagher is one of the most talented narrators I've ever heard, voicing dozens of characters without ever leaving you uncertain who is speaking. I'm always excited when I hear him narrating one ...more
Not only is the storytelling top notch, but Meagher is one of the most talented narrators I've ever heard, voicing dozens of characters without ever leaving you uncertain who is speaking. I'm always excited when I hear him narrating one ...more

Great, lighthearted but very creative fantasy set in a world of minor states caught in a background of global intrigue. Interesting characters with mysterious backstories, mad fundamentalist religions, vicious pirates and magic slowly seeping back into the world. Very highly recommended either as a read or as the audio version as read by the author.

I can't get enough of this book! I have just finished listening for the fifth time! Love it!
...more

I've really enjoyed listening to the book. Good twists and turns, enjoyable, and colorful.
...more

Swashbuckling and sorcery. What's not to like. The audiobook is well delivered by the author and the whole thing is a lot of fun
...more
There are no discussion topics on this book yet.
Be the first to start one »
John is a graphic designer and voice-over artist, who started writing Tales of the Left Hand as a side project to give himself practice narrating longer pieces of work, such as audiobooks. The demo he put together using excerpts from Book One has led to a number of professional narration jobs, now available on Audible. But he also discovered that Left Hand had taken on a life of its own, and there
...more
Related Articles
Bestselling author Jeff VanderMeer is perhaps best known for his creepy sci-fi thriller Annihilation, which was made into a movie and kicked...
152 likes · 34 comments
No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »