A Man of Honor, or Horatio's Confessions: A Historical Adventure Story

J. A. Nelson

Mar 2020 · Quill Point Press · Narrated by Alex Knox

About this audiobook

Finalist, Literary Fiction – 14th Annual National Indie Excellence Awards (2020). Double Silver Medal Winner – Best First Book, Fiction & Best Cover, Fiction awarded by the IBPA (2020). Top 100 – 2020 Notable Indie Books awarded by Shelf Unbound.

Rated 4.4 out of 5 stars by IndieReader Reviews. "Nelson has developed a timeless story.... Like a train, A MAN OF HONOR's narrative builds speed and takes off into an often gripping adventure of love, war, and discovery."

A Man of Honor tells the fictional tale of how one man’s oath gave birth to the legend of Hamlet.

How far would you go to keep a deathbed promise? Surrounded by the bodies of slain monarchs, a dying prince extracts a promise from his friend, Horatio: "Tell my story."

Rival kings of warring nations strive to lay claim to the throne, now vacant, but what will happen to the people who live there, at Helsingør's Krogen Castle? How will Horatio preserve his honor and the prince's legacy while surviving this murderous kingdom and the men who would rule it?

Despite the odds and threats against him, Horatio persists, weaving the story of his dear friend into the fabric of one of their oldest and most revered medieval texts.

But when a nefarious Spaniard thwarts his plans, Horatio must once again risk everything to fulfill his oath.

With the help of some unexpected allies in the form of Margrete, a courageous lady-in-waiting, and Lanier, a disgraced French nobleman, Horatio undertakes this perilous quest that will lead him on a journey none of them could have ever predicted, to a place none of them ever thought they would see.

And after their hard-fought journey will it all be for naught? Will Hamlet's glory be Horatio's downfall?

Ratings and reviews

I really enjoyed this novel, a book that takes its inspiration from the play Hamlet, by William Shakespeare. It's Hamlet and the aftermath told through the eyes of Hamlet's best friend Horatio. In this story, Horatio is both maddening and complex, in other words, a fully formed, interesting character. The story is full of action, love, betrayal, tenacity, and rich historical detail. I also really enjoyed the portrayal of friendship, both Horatio and Hamlet, as well as Horatio and Lagnet. All in all, I'd recommend it not just to fans of Shakespeare, but any fan of historical fiction. The narrator was also top notch.

A well-produced audiobook with an excellent narrator. A Man of Honor very much captured the spirit of Shakespeare, with poignant introspection and lewd jokes alike. I really enjoyed the character of Horatio, and following him through his journey. The drawback came from the pacing; we get a detailed look at Horatio's every thought and action, even when these things did not drive the plot, or were repetitive. Horatio's personality carried me through, but some parts of the story dragged.

A Man of Honor, or Horatio's Confessions is an awesome book that I read when I purchased it as a Kindle book a few months ago. I’ve never listened to an audio book before and since I liked this book so much, I thought I would give it a try. It was pleasing to listen to, and I was surprised at the number of things I had overlooked in my first read over. I’m glad I revisited this book and I’ll try out a few more audio titles also. I’m ashamed to say I still didn’t get around to reading Hamlet, though reading this book twice really makes me want to do so, but for anyone else reading this review that didn’t read Hamlet, you should know this is a great story that stands on its own and you don’t need to read it to walk away from this book satisfied. The characters are great, and the story moves along at an exciting pace. I recommend it to anyone who likes Shakespeare, adventure stories, great writing and great characters.