Blade of Tyshalle

The Second of the Acts of Caine

By: Matthew Stover

Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki

Length: 31 hrs and 48 mins

Publisher's summary

On Earth, Hari Michaelson was a superstar. But on Overworld, he was the assassin Caine. Real monarchs lived and died at his hands and entire governments were overthrown...all for the entertainment of millions back on Earth. But now Hari, stripped of his identity as Caine, must fight his greatest battle: against the powerful corporate masters of Earth and the faceless masses who are killing everything he loves. Enemies old and new array themselves against him. And Hari is just one man - alone, half-crippled, powerless. They say he doesn't have a chance. They are wrong.

©2001 Matthew Woodring Stover (P)2011 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

" Day of the Jackal meets Lord of the Rings.... A marvelous conspiracy thriller of worlds within worlds, where no one is necessarily who or what they seem." (Simon R. Green)

Fantastic characters!

Excellent follow-up to the equality fantastic first book of the series! This guy build characters at the same level as Brandon Sanderson does world building..

Great fantasy Series - highly recommended

the acts of Caine are a great story stretching four books. I can highly recommend them to every fantasy reader. buy now, no questions asked. some have said they are too violent, that's akin to saying the zombie apocalypse has too many zombies, within this world that Matthew stover had elegantly crafted it fits, and is appropriate to the story.

Good philosophy, dumb mysticism, weird action

Would you listen to Blade of Tyshalle again? Why?

Yes, probably. Though not for a long time.
Some of the scenes were very brutishly cruel and vividly written, to the point of turning my stomach, and I'm a seasoned reader.
Also, I dislike mysticism, and this book has way too much of it.

If you’ve listened to books by Matthew Stover before, how does this one compare?

It's worse than the 1st in the series. Less interesting plot, way too much preaching about how bad humanity is, the action scenes, while very nicely written, seem kinda disconnected from the overall plot. Also, Caine's surfacing from his despair is too far-fetched, in my opinion.

Which character – as performed by Stefan Rudnicki – was your favorite?

All of them. He is a great reader.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Um. No? It's over a day long.

Any additional comments?

Stover is a very talented writer, he has a lot to say, his thoughts are interesting, his characters are interesting... too bad the whole book didn't come together as it could have.

good book very entertaining

I have really enjoyed the first two books in this series. the story is engrossing enough that at times I get out of the car and sick my phone in my shirt pocket upside down so I can listen some more. Lots of action and the premise behind the story is unique. I'd recommend this.

Even better than I remembered

I don't have the words. Best fantasy/sci-fi series period. Caine and Stover have no peers. Amazing performance too.

best sequel ever

(15 word count filler) ogdl gdlyd lydlt dpy dpydp yflyfp ydp y dpyd pyig igviivvi

The story telling is next to none.

Breathe taking characters, story telling, and a mix of emotions will flood you. The narration is phenomenal as well too!

Phenomenal Book!!!

Another incredible addition to probably the best fantasy series of all time. Stover is incredible and this series is criminally underrated. Can’t recommend higher. Out of 526 books in my audible library, this is one of my top 3.

Why the bad reviews?

Would you listen to Blade of Tyshalle again? Why?

Yes, and I have many times already. This is a fantastic book, it evolves the characters unlike anything you could expect and lets them develop as you read. It gives you every emotion, from happiness to sadness and back again.

I find it baffling that people reviewing this book haven't even FINISHED it, how can you truly review a book if you haven't read the whole thing? Makes no sense.

This book evolves so much that the end is imperative to the reader. Yes this book can have some rough spots throughout, but having read it 10+ times I cannot think of a point that isn't important TO THE SERIES not just this book. This is book 2 of 4 and SO many things from this book are so important in both book 3 and 4 that don't seem important at all to this book it is astonishing.

If all 4 books were one book these complaints people are making wouldn't even exist because it would be fluid, but that is not how series work.

Read the whole thing before you try to judge.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Blade of Tyshalle?

When Caine learns is in the dungeon.

What does Stefan Rudnicki bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

By far the best reader I have heard

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes, beyond a doubt.

Really wanted to like this

This book really ruined what could have been a killer (no pun intended) series. Instead, the author separated from the winning combination of whit and grit that made the first book so good and decided to give us a soap opera of dialog and drama with very little action or adventure. Rarely do I stop listening to a book halfway through but the only thing that even kept me listening that long was the hype that carried over from the first book. This time he completely missed the mark (for this reader at least). Disappointing.