The Sword and The Sunflower

by Mark Bradford

Poignant and Not Your Run of the Mill Fantasy Book!

The Sword and the Sunflower takes place in the far distant future following a catastrophic change that thrust the world back into what resembles the dark ages, the choices one makes demonstrates the fragility and uncertainness of life.  A man grieving his dead daughter, killed in a most horrific manner has one more job to do.  Upon his arrival, the assassin encounters the young daughter of his intended victim.  Anticipating something wrong the assassin and the young girl set off, on their travels, they encounter another traveler.  Listeners are given three different versions of the hardships, failures, and successes.

 With each step of the journey the author, Mark Bradford, keeps his audience entertained while also on the edge of their chairs.  His descriptions are rich and vivid in details, he leaves nothing to chance.  The story flows smoothly with creative energy that keeps the listener enthralled.  His words are powerful as he leads his audience through each step of the journey. 

Bradford wove a strong story around equally strong and deep characters.  Bradford expertly gives his audience an insider’s view into the thoughts and emotions of the assassin from the beginning.  The connections between the characters were rich and vital to the story.  The story is very poignant and moving.

As a writer, Mark Bradford is excellent.  Authors that serve as the narrator can be a dual-edged sword.  For Bradford, it was evident from his narration that he had not done voice acting before.  The repeated words/sentences and some pauses indicated he had lost his place.  While his voice was pleasant and smooth with just the correct amount of passion, his words became rushed at times messing with the rhythm of the story.  This did not negatively impact the audiobook at all, I was still intrigued by the story and characters whom he had created.  I suspect with practice Bradford will grow as a narrator as well.

I look forward to hearing more from Mark Bradford.

Disclaimer: This Audiobook was provided free of charge by the author, narrator, and/or publisher in exchange for a non-bias, honest review.