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)

Excellent

Great story, one of the better I’ve read in a long while. I strongly recommend.

Fantastic

One of the best books that I have read in a long time. A new favorite author.

Great story!

I definitely look forward to listening to the rest of the series. My one complaint is that the narrator doesn’t have very much inflection in his voice. It’s very difficult to tell when he’s narrating or switching between characters voices. 

Great Story

Vaelin is a brother in the 6th order, a military order of the Faith. Abandoned by his father to the order, Vaelin becomes a suburb military warrior, while harboring his Bloodsong, something forbidden. Wonderfully written and narrated. Looking forward to the conflict with the one who waits.

Character development

Loved the overall premise of the storyline. I can’t wait to continue to read more

I REALLY LIKED THIS STORY...!

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

My friends don't really get into fantasy/sci-fi but if they did I would certainly recommend this to them.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Well Vaelin of course. He makes the tough choices throughout the story, a very admiral and likable character/hero(?).

Did the narration match the pace of the story?

Not really... I read the reviews and people seemed to like the narrator but I did not. He made no effort to distinguish between characters and I found it very hard follow the conversation when I could not figure out who was talking. It surprises me that people liked him after listening to all the others.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Yes... there were a couple places to laugh and many places of sadness especially at the end. Heartbreaking but I won't say what because I'm not a spoiler... just read it!

Any additional comments?

I can't decide whether to listen to this once more before moving on to the next book because I feel I missed a lot because of the narration. I may end up buying the books and reading them if I find the next piece as hard to follow. This really is a good story and I hate that I feel this way about the narrator. Usually I can acquire and ear for them even if I don't like them but I could never seem to do that with this guy.

Loved it!

While I am reminded of Joe Abercrombe's books (Which I like), I like Ryan's writing style much better! It's hard to describe, but Ryan's action scenes and battlefields feel "Real" in both size and scope. I don't feel like a massive battle, covering huge areas, is more like a small fight in one small field or small town. You get the actual feel of "Large Spaces" and "Big Countries".. Riders can't just seem to "Ride Hard" and be on the other side of the Battle/Country in 10 minutes.

I also like his knowledge concerning weapons, tactics, and how happy, carefree, people steadily become "Hardened", and then "MORE hardened" by experiences and training... I dislike tales where a "hero" just suddenly picks up a weapon and magically becomes "The Battle Hardened Savior" in a few days or weeks... things like that just don't happen in real life, and the journey to be "Hard Enough" to do things that HAVE to be done takes time and experience (I wish I didn't know).

Ryan's details are excellent and realistic (Within a Fantasy Setting). As an example of what I mean, I am reminded of an original painting I own, hanging in my office, which is AWESOME and Beautiful, but the Female Warrior in the Painting is holding her Two-Handed Sword with her right hand jammed up hard against the bottom of the Cross-Guard, and her left hand is jammed tightly against the bottom of her right hand on the Sword's hilt. She also has none of the thousands of scars that are inevitable on the hands of anyone that has seriously trained to fight with knives, swords, or any other "Hand Weapon" (Another detail I wish I didn't know personally). My 12 Year Old Daughter (My Youngest) looked at the painting not long ago and said, "Dad, this painting has always bugged me... She doesn't even know how to hold her sword" (Not sure HOW I feel about THAT yet.. but NONE of MY Four children will ever be kidnapped or abused!). When a decently trained 12 Year Old can pick out that kind of detail, then a writer who crafts stories for Adults should know those details also!

Same for "Horses", if you're going to use them in your works, then you should know the animals, as well as what they CAN, and CAN'T, really do (We own a Horse Ranch, So I do know a little about them)... Ryan DOES know those types of details, and he effortlessly crafts them into his works! THAT is impressive! Maybe that's one of the reasons his Stories seem so realistic... it's aggravating when you NEED to get someplace in a hurry on Horse-Back, and your horse can't keep up a full gallop for NEARLY as long as they do in many movies and stories... they get tired, they need rest, they need food and water and a lot of "Upkeep", both on, and off, the trail... EVERY horse has it's own unique personality, just as people do. My large male Quarter Horse, "Bandit", will steal "treats" out of your Cargo Pockets without you even knowing he's emptied your pockets (thus his name)! Knowing that, would you want to ride my horse named "Temper"? Again, ALL of this is the type of detail that Ryan relates in his books! Impressive!

Why do I think these details are important? Because we learn from our experiences and the things we read. I met MANY soldiers in the Military who made classic mistakes because they "Learned" what they THOUGHT were "Skills" from Reading books and watching movies... it takes a long time to UNLEARN this type of mistaken (and dangerous) "Pre-Concepted Skill". I know about "Artistic License" and "Moving the story along", but Ryan seems to be able to incorporate correct details, and use them to make his stories BETTER, so why can't other writers?

As usual, Steven Brand does an EXCELLENT job of Narration. Sometimes it can be a little hard to realize a new person is suddenly talking, or WHO that new person is, but if you pay attention and get your mind back on the book, you easily figure it out, and realize that maybe you just weren't paying as close attention as you should have. I found this actually helped keep my focus on the story-line, since focus can easily wander a little when listening to 23-24 HOURS worth of book! Whatever the reason, his style of narration works, and works well!

As I write this I'm almost finished with Book 2, "Tower Lord", Which is even better than book 1! So you have THAT to look forward to if you like "Blood Song".

WELL DONE!!!!

Clash of Swords

An excellent medieval fantasy book and entertaining from the beginning to end. I enjoyed the theme of personal sacrifice as the cost of loyalty. Best shown when the main character is mislead by the government to do their bidding vs. pursuing his own plans. Reminded me of the Mark Twain quote - “Loyalty to the country always. Loyalty to the government when it deserves it.”

Do you like heroes?

Of course you do! That's one of the main reasons one listens to "epic" fantasy books. And as far as EPIC fantasy books go, this one will not disappoint…. Except when you get to the end and realize you have to wait for the next installment to this series.

The main character in this adventure is a hero of all heroes. If I could take all the fantasy books I've ever read and pick just one brave blade wielding man of all men to be, it would be Vaelin Al Soma. I've read all the Riyria Chronicles and although both Royce and Hadrian are two of my all time favorite characters, I would still chose to be Vaelin.

The Blood Song has all the things you're looking for in an epic book. Hero… check! Swords…. check! Blood… check! A bit of magic sprinkled in to make everything interesting… check! Did I mention that this book has the best "hero" main character I've ever read about?

My fellow audible listeners, I make few guarantees when it comes to books. However, I can tell you with tremendous confidence that you will never regret using a credit on The Blood Song.

poorly narrated

the narration made the changes in the narrative, from one person's speech to another, utterly awful.