Warlock

I’ll be honest: I went into *Warlock* expecting another snarky, superpowered underdog story, but what I got was far grittier—and far more compelling. The opening scene, where our protagonist (whose name we don’t even learn immediately) gets robbed, beats a man to death with his mind, and then *immediately* panics about the consequences, sets the tone perfectly. This isn’t a power fantasy; it’s a survival horror where the monster is *you*. Lewis Alexander’s narration is the glue holding it together—his delivery walks the line between exhausted teenager and budding sociopath so well that you’ll question whether you’re rooting for a hero or a villain in the making. Rozelyn Rader’s sections, meanwhile, add a chilling contrast, particularly in the scenes where she voices characters who *know* exactly how dangerous our protagonist is. The chemistry between the two narrators elevates the audiobook beyond the page, making the dialogue crackle with tension. That said, the book isn’t without flaws. The middle act sags slightly under the weight of its own lore—Kensington introduces a handful of factions and rules that, while intriguing, occasionally slow the breakneck pace. And while the protagonist’s moral ambiguity is refreshing, there are moments where his internal monologue veers *too* close to edgy-for-edgy’s-sake territory (yes, we get it, you’re traumatized and powerful, now *do* something with that). But these are minor quibbles in an otherwise electrifying listen. The production quality is top-notch, with seamless transitions between narrators and a sound mix that makes the action sequences viscerally immersive. If you love antiheroes with bite, magic that feels like a liability, and narration that *performs* as hard as the story itself, *Warlock* is a must-listen. Just don’t say I didn’t warn you when you start side-eyeing every dark alley afterward.