Blood Song

Raven's Shadow, Book 1

By: Anthony Ryan

Narrated by: Steven Brand

Length: 23 hrs and 5 mins

Publisher's summary

From "a new master storyteller" comes the beginning of an epic fantasy saga of blood, honor, and destiny....

The Sixth Order wields the sword of justice and smites the enemies of the Faith and the Realm. Vaelin Al Sorna was only a child of 10 when his father left him at the iron gate of the Sixth Order. The Brothers of the Sixth Order are devoted to battle, and Vaelin will be trained and hardened to the austere, celibate, and dangerous life of a Warrior of the Faith. He has no family now save the Order.

Vaelin’s father was Battle Lord to King Janus, ruler of the unified realm. Vaelin’s rage at being deprived of his birthright and dropped at the doorstep of the Sixth Order like a foundling knows no bounds. He cherishes the memory of his mother, and what he will come to learn of her at the Order will confound him. His father, too, has motives that Vaelin will come to understand. But one truth overpowers all the rest: Vaelin Al Sorna is destined for a future he has yet to comprehend. A future that will alter not only the realm, but the world.

©2013 Anthony Ryan (P)2013 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

“Ryan is a new fantasy author destined to make his mark on the genre. His debut novel, Blood Song, certainly has it all: great coming-of-age tale, compelling character and a fast-paced plot. If his first book is any indication of things to come, then all fantasy readers should rejoice.” (Michael J. Sullivan, author of the Riyria Revelations series)

“Fans of broadscale epic fantasy along the lines of Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time series and George R. R. Martin’s Song of Ice and Fire novels should find this debut much to their liking.” (Library Journal)

“Ryan hits all the high notes of epic fantasy - a gritty setting, ancient magics, ruthless intrigue, divided loyalties and bloody action.... [A] promising debut." (Publishers Weekly)

Great read

Strong start that maintains throughout. Don't miss this if you consider yourself a lover of fantasy.

Never before, hopefully again

I'm absolutely awestruck. Rothfuss, Tolkien, Paolini, Lewis, & Salvatore have a new, self-published brother to welcome into their ranks.

Very good

I read a lot of books and I really liked this book a lot. Only thing that I disliked was that it was a little slow roughly in the middle but picked back up again and continued the story very well in its transitions. Overall this book was very good and possibly my favorite book that I have ever listened to. The plot twists were great and kept me interested especially when it only takes me four days to finish a 26 hour audio book. Very good job and will listen to the other books.

Phenomenal.

This book held me in rapt attention for the duration. When I wasn't listening, I wanted to be listening. When I was listening, I wanted nothing else.

Anthony Ryan has a way with words, storytelling, and character development that did more than impress me - I was truly in awe. I read so many books, I've forgotten many of their names, not to mention the stories they told. I cannot forget Blood Song.

The prose is incredible. Sure, he uses modern-day crudeness for his young characters, or when the story gives him permission. But there were moments when I was enveloped in the images created by the nuanced choice of words. The illustrations are so vivid, that the more gruesome moments were difficult to stomach, as it should be.

The story ... this is a coming-of-age story told from a unique perspective. It is the story as told by the protagonist to a scholar with whom he is traveling, who is also his enemy. There are digressions into the first-person, at which time the perspective switches to that of the scholar himself. I loved these digressions. They gives the reader insight into how Vaelin al Sorna is viewed by his companion. I enjoyed this insight from the outset, but its importance only became clear as the story (and trilogy) developed. I actually almost didn't buy this book because of the "blurb" describing it - I thought it would be another take on Locke Lamora and his ilk. I was very wrong. The blurb is accurate, to a degree. But fails to convey the true depth of this tale.

This story could have stood alone. No sequels, follow-ups, continuations, or epilogues. That Ryan made it into a trilogy is fine with me, but Blood Song is the standout novel, a truly exceptional feat.

This is pretty standard swords and sorcery fare, but done in a unique way that makes it feel more like Ancient Roman historical fiction meets supernatural powers.

That Steven Brand is an amazing narrator goes without saying. He tells the tale, differentiates the characters, but never overacts the story or the dialogue, never detracts from the words themselves. He does have a unique choice of pronunciation for some words, and the occasional pregnant pause that feels misplaced, but these hardly bear mentioning given his grand performance in every other aspect.

This book left an indelible mark on me - I have already bought it in print and look forward to reading it again, giving it a place of honor amid my favorites.

Love the story, but narrator nearly ruins it

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I loved the story, but really disliked the narrator's performance. In fact, he did not perform at all, but just read the lines...very monotonously. But, this wasn't the worst part. Like many narrators, whose style I find difficult at first, I was able to get used to his monotonous reading style after a while. However, the one thing I couldn't get used to, and bothered me every minute of the book, was the fact that I could never tell who was speaking, because all the characters sounded exactly the same. I had to pay ultra attention to who was speaking and many time, had to rewind to listen again. This really reduced my enjoyment, to the point where I'm not sure I'll listen to the 2nd book in the series if it has the same narrator.

Would you be willing to try another one of Steven Brand’s performances?

No, unfortunately, I will avoid this narrator in the future. Sorry.

Competent storytelling, well told

Fantasy is in some ways an extremely forgiving genre; the reader is generally far more invested in enjoying the story than in critiquing its logical consistency or literary merit, and fantasy is seldom competent or compelling.

Also, problems that hide themselves from the casual reader only become obvious when you listen to a reading. Incessant unnecessary attribution (he said, said John, Jill asked,...), repetitive phrases intended to add some kind of cultural verisimilitude but conveying no real information (God willing, Insh'Allah, ...), pseudo dialects intended to differentiate between characters etc.

Blood Song suffers from none of these flaws.

Having dismissed the technical issues that destroy most fantasy, we can address the substance: the fantasy itself.

A feudal world harboring warring kings and emperors. Six (or seven) sects that train their disciples in specialized skills ranging from healing to war. A boy is trained in the harshest school (the Sixth) and comes progressively to learn of an ancient and awful enemy he must face.

Not much on the face of it, the skeleton common to so much fantasy, but this one is different. The characters are distinct, their dance complex.

The narrator tells the story without embellishment or artifice, and it suits the story well; it needs neither.

fantastic

the book was fantastic and the Petronas reading it to you his voice wad prefect for this speed it is exactly how I felt he should sound

One of the best of recent times!

Engaging and yet soothing narration. The story was engaging to read and left you with things to think about. Feels very real like a historical fiction read that I would enjoy.

New Favorite Fantasy

Amazing works building combined with great characters and fantastic story telling, delivered in a refreshing way.

excellent!

most enjoyable! a hard character, tough, brutal when forced, but a good heart. great story