Review of "The Treasure of Capric: The King of the Caves, Book One" (Audiobook) Written and Narrated by Brandon Wilborn

​Paperback Score: 94/100 (9.4 out of 10)
Audiobook Score: 95/100 (9.5 out of 10)

The Treasure of Capric is one of the best narrated audiobooks we have ever listened to! Seriously!

Narrated by the remarkable author, Brandon Wilborn, you can tell how much love, heart, soul, and passion he put into this!

Wilborn holds nothing back in this performance.

If we were going to compare his performance to that of other narrators, it would be Scott Allen of the Saxen Saga (by Ingrid Moon) or Eddie Marsen of Deadly Game (by Sir Michael Caine). That's elite company!

He does all of the voices and all of the accents, whether they be male or female.

He does posh nobles/royals, gruff soldiers, anxious young men, weary elders, sinister villains, gentle women, slippery rogues, and everything in between.

And, yes, let’s talk about the accents, because this is where the audiobook really starts flexing.

Wilborn does not simply read the book in one polished “fantasy narrator” voice and call it good. No, no, no. He gives Pallingham a whole vocal ecosystem. Some characters sound refined and aristocratic, with that crisp, elevated British quality you would expect from castle halls, political scheming, and men who have never had to pull water from a well in their lives. Others have a rougher, earthier sound, closer to the working-class tavern, the muddy road, the village square, or the exhausted soldier who has seen too much and been paid too little.

He does posh & pompous (which fits Evasius perfectly). By the way, it's so funny to hear Evasius say "excellent" like he's Mr. Burns.

The narrator can also do sexy, tempting, and dangerous (fitting the witch/witches). He can do nervous, anxious, and somewhat cowardly like Tobin (seriously, Tobin's voice reminded us of inn keeper, dungeon master, or bridge troll in a D&D game). Actually, Tobin is kinda like that one scribe/monk from Dragonheart.

Wilborn can also do charming and endearing feminine voices like Louise's.
He even does her pitiful little begging schtick, which reminded us of the voice of the spider in the viral "Don't kill me, I'm just a humble spider" skit.

Gosh, we really loved Louise. It was sad to see her disappear for a chunk of this book, but we think that was the point. Distance makes the heart grow fonder. The author had Louise capture our hearts along with Kurian's, then made us hope and work for it.

Anyway... There's a dean in here, we think his name is Goodman, who sounds like Mr. Popo from Dragon Ball.

Gosh, Wilborn even does Celtic and Irish accents. He even sings the songs from the book with a Celtic/Irish accent—songs like "Fare thee well, my brothers dear" and the one about the witch who lost a loved one and caused troubles at sea... those sent chills down our spines!

He doesn't flinch at all. Some people would get really nervous and uncomfortable singing a song from their own book. Wilborn is fully invested—he goes all in!

Wilborn demonstrates so much range! And that range matters. It really elevates this story and its characters. It facilitates that old school fantasy/D&D spirit of the book.

We have a hunch that the author really enjoyed playing D&D at one point in his life, cause there's a lot of D&D-esque stuff in here.

And we mean that as a compliment!

This audiobook has that wonderful tabletop-adventure energy where you can practically see the party forming in real time. Kurian is the conflicted monk/warrior with a destiny bigger than he understands. Rhys is the bruiser who would absolutely kick down the wrong door before asking questions. Tobin is the nervous scholar who knows the obscure rule that saves everyone at the last second. Louise is the scrappy, street-smart guide with secrets of her own. Then you have witches, monsters, castles, monks, hidden kings, ancient prophecies, cursed places, strange songs, lost treasures, and a tyrant who practically radiates “final boss” energy.

It’s great!

And Wilborn’s narration leans into that adventurous spirit without making it feel cheesy. That’s the trick. He understands the difference between theatrical and ridiculous. He gives the story the heightened, almost campfire-tale quality it needs, but he still treats the emotional beats seriously. When the story is funny, he lets it be funny. When it is eerie, he lets the silence breathe. When the characters are terrified, grieving, tempted, or inspired, he gives those moments the weight they deserve.

That is especially important because The Treasure of Capric is not just a treasure-hunting fantasy. It is a spiritual fantasy. It is a coming-of-age story. It is a story about corrupted power, lost faith, dying institutions, and the painful difference between guarding something sacred and actually understanding why it is sacred. In lesser hands, some of this could feel overly preachy or stiff. But in audio form, Wilborn gives the material warmth and life. He makes the moral and spiritual elements feel less like lectures and more like lived experience.

There is a part of us that feels like this book and story is a bit on the generic side. Everyone kinda fits into a fantasy archetype we're quite familiar and a bit jaded with. Speaking of being jaded, this is the third consecutive book we've read about trying to recover a lost treasure (the others being A Pirate’s Life for Me: A Pirate’s Life Indeed! by Christopher David James and The Wickedest Town by McKenzie Catron-Pichan).

This book also has a random-quest feel to it that almost makes the objective seem like busy work. Yes, the characters are ultimately trying to save and eventually avenge their monastery, but a lot of this book seems like: "Find this thing for me or I'll do more bad stuff."

There are aspects of this book that seem really inspired by other things, especially Homer's Odyssey.

You have the wandering hero. You have the long, dangerous journey homeward and kingdom-ward. You have strange islands, mysterious guides, monsters, witches, temptations, songs, caves, hidden rulers, divine or semi-divine intervention, and characters constantly being tested physically, morally, and spiritually. There is even a “Siren Song” section, which practically invites the comparison.

But again, we do not mean that as an insult.

Fantasy has always been built on old bones. The Odyssey, Arthurian legend, Biblical quests, Tolkien, Lewis, tabletop campaigns, medieval folklore, and old heroic romances are all part of the same giant storytelling stew. The Treasure of Capric feels like it is pulling from that tradition. Sometimes that makes the book feel familiar, maybe even a little too familiar. But at its best, it gives the story a mythic, fireside-tale quality, like we are listening to an old adventure being retold through a fresh lens.

Check it out on Amazon!