• Going Rogue

  • Spells, Swords, & Stealth Series, Book 3
  • By: Drew Hayes
  • Narrated by: Roger Wayne
  • Length: 15 hrs and 19 mins
  • 4.8 out of 5 stars (6,811 ratings)

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Going Rogue  By  cover art

Going Rogue

By: Drew Hayes
Narrated by: Roger Wayne
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Publisher's summary

Adventuring is a costly affair, and while the tolls are often paid in blood, gold can drain away just as quickly. The party's trek out of Solium and across the lands of Alcatham has left them with only a handful of gold between them. Fortunately, they have drawn near Camnarael, Alcatham's capital, where all manner of quests - and rewards - await. But all is not as expected in the capital. Unusual occurrences have been happening throughout Camnarael: figures in the shadows making unsavory bargains, attackers harassing innocent parishioners, and adventurers from all over the land gathering to partake in a Grand Quest offered by the royal family. Most curious of all are the rumors that speak of a strange artifact serving as the reward for this rare and legendary quest...an artifact that sounds just a bit too familiar to the former NPCs.

©2016 Andrew Hayes (P)2017 Tantor

What listeners say about Going Rogue

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Never a Full Moment

I must admit, I wasn't expecting the tale to go this far. I was not only surprised, but pleased as well. Hayes has put together a group of characters that you can identify with. My fear, as the series went on, they they would become just another group of adventurers. I was not disappointed as the characters maintained their solid backgrounds and proved true to their core.
The other side of the fantasy role playing coin was just as exhilarating. Although it was roughly reminiscent of the book series, Critical Failures, it departed sharply from the vision of ALL players being foul-mouthed jerks, to show most are actually heroic and caring without being overwhelmed with hack and slash mentality. As a gamer, I applaud the author showing a more realistic view of great gaming.
What can I say about Roger Wayne? He is a joy to listen to and his portrayals of each of the characters brought a gleaming, brilliant light to the printed word... like magic! He could actually teach a few things to many of the audiobook narrators out there about character separation, distinction and actual performance.
Not only do I recommend this book and the series of which it is part, but the author and narrator. They seem to work very well together as a team. Wayne is also highly recommended by me and I suggest seeking out the many other books he has done.

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10 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Great continuation of the series

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes, but only if they listened to the 1st two.

What other book might you compare Going Rogue to and why?

none really. This is the continuation of a great series and it feels like it could be ongoing thing, which is great because there's so many aspects they could explore or pathways they could go down.
I don't really listen to fantasy books, but Drew Hayes is such a great author which is why i gave this series a try. Was glad i did, however it means i haven't really got much to compare it too.

Which scene was your favorite?

No particular scene, just the overall plot construction. For example why does the mage selling stuff along the way purposefully give Gabrielle the axe that takes blood and life?, the girl that sells Russell & his sister the latest module of the Spells Swords & Stealth game, and the company behind it all. It all sounds really intriguing and i will look forward to the next instalment.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

No extreme reaction. In fact at the start i was reluctant to listen to it because the genre of this book is more pure fantasy. Whereas the last few books i listened to were Sci-fi fantasy, and i wasn't quite ready for the change. But once i got back in it was great. There's little explaining of what happened in previous books, each character has well developed back stories that so far we have just heard the tip of the iceburg... and it's just overall a great story.

Any additional comments?

Drew Hayes is now my favourite author. I would highly recommend anything by this author, including even listening to him in podcasts and interviews talking about how he writes or constructs all the different books he's writing.
Every single book i've listened to of his is fantastic. I normally don't like fantasy books, but this one is intriguing and even exciting. The twists and this latest plot directions.. even though you could see coming was great!

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8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Drew and Roger crushed it again.

Loving this series. Nice balance of humor, RPG tropes and fantasy. Can't wait for 4!

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7 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

3rd book in my favorite guilty pleasure series.

Can't wait for the next book! Perfect fantasy escape. Entertaining and fun. Makes me want to play DnD again.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

AWESOME

What did you love best about Going Rogue?

THE QUEST THE CHARACTERS ALL OF IT

Which character – as performed by Roger Wayne – was your favorite?

ALL OF THEM BUT I'M FALLING FOR THISTLE

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

ALL OF IT

Any additional comments?

WHEN'S THE NEXT!!!!!!!!!
HOW MANY PIECES OF THE BRIDGE ARE THERE? WHAT'S WITH GABBY'S AX? WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN TO RUSSEL AND HIS PARTY? AND WHO IN THE HELL IS BROKEN BRIDGE PUBLISHING? N*E*E*D T*O K*N*O*W!!!!~!~!~!!!!!!!!!!!!

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Reads like a gaming manual.

The whole series has a tremendous drawback, which is quite common amongst beginner/niche writers - zero differentiation between character vocabularies. If not for a brilliant narrator, it would have been impossible to tell who speaks. Because ALL characters share the author's vocabulary and style.

Also, no "gamer" is speaking in character, everyone refers to their "character" in third person - which is incredibly weird and jarring.

Due to these 2 main shortcomings I could not follow the storyline, and quite literally kept falling asleep for over two weeks, despite really wanting to like the series and purchasing three books in hopes that the style improves. Alas.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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A fun series ramps it up!

The funny, intriguing, and engaging tale that started with NPCs continues beautifully in this third installment. The unfolding of the background plot drew me forward and left me eager for the next volume. The great cast of characters gains depth and becomes even more delightful. The writing keeps a great pace with Drew's particular turn of phrase. The narration is excellent and just plain fun. Highly recommended.

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I love this writer and narrator

I cant wait for the next one. Great humor that i can listen to around my kid

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    5 out of 5 stars
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A continuation of a GREAT D&D adventure!

I have to admit right off that I am a big Drew Hayes fan-girl.

These books, honestly everything he writes is fantastic. He has a way of turning the typical tropes of any setting on their head and makes you rethink what you though you knew about being a nerd, gamer, geek, dweeb, whatever. Being a lover of fantasy for decades now, and devouring so many creations from that setting, its fantastic to see a new perspective, or old perspectives made new and different.

His characters are always believable, relatable and engaging. You can actually see some character set in their old ways while their fellows progress and grow. The story is rich and wonderful. The reader does a good job on this series as well, pacing, voices, timing, all good.

I would highly recommend any Hayes novel

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    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Good narration.. and parts here and there...

While the naration was good, the mystery of the "bridge" and the power balance of the gods were the only interesting things about the story. The rogue theme became overly used, forced, and convenient. The mission to resolve the temple quest was exciting and rewarding. But the second half of the book, the grand quest, lacked any real development and urgency. "Stuff" just happened in order for the characters to proceed and intersect with the bridge. And that "stuff" implies exactly what "stuff" is; bland, boring, meaningless, and uninteresting. Lastly, two things. First, it is annoying to be reminded of everyone's classes again and again. We get that Gabrielle is the barb and must do barb stuff - that Tim/Thistle is a paladin and can't back down - that Eric is a rogue and must do rogue stuff. We don't need a reminder everytime someone does something little or big. Secondly, is it just me or is the elf rogue in this book the same character as the human merchant from the previous book!?

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