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

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 picks up at the end of Shakespeare's Hamlet when Hamlet asks Horatio to tell his story as he dies in his arms. As Hamlets best friend and secret keeper, Horatio vows to keep his friends dying wish, and in doing so begins a journey that he may not be ready for. The author has a way with words that allowed me to feel fully immersed in the story. I walked alongside these characters as they schemed, fell in love, and more. Even if you aren't familiar with Hamlet, you will enjoy listening to this book. It's full of adventure and will make you want to reread Shakespeare as it sheds new light to the characters in the play. A definite must listen for those who enjoy Shakespeare, adventure, historical fiction, and everything in between.

Throughout this novel, author J.A. Nelson paints a detailed portrait of royal life in Denmark in the middle ages. References to common practices at the time, such as studying one’s astrology to calculate the best blood-letting technique to relieve ill humours, and to other very intimate aspects of life, such as the meals served, the practices of chivalry, down to the details of dress are simultaneously impressive and help the reader appreciate all of the sights and sounds that would Horatio and his counterparts would have experienced in context. The opening scene of the book is somewhat of a whirlwind, with a lot of actions happening simultaneously, and obscure middle age references flying through the text rapid fire. However, once Horatio has been given a moment to catch his breath and devise a plan, the reader is settled in for a satisfying, detailed traipse through moments in history that are rarely explored in such fine detail, and with such intimate emotion.