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)

A great listen

I bought this book on a whim but have since listened to it over a dozen times. Ryan’s use of subtle foreshadowing is full appreciated when coupled with the rest of the series. The people and lands held with in this book are vibrant and Steven Brands voice makes it for an epic epic.

Great book, Narrator has a great voice with caveat

Any additional comments?

Fantastic world and story. Its a little hard to follow at moments but if you stick with it it will come together nicely and be very rewarding for the intricacies of the plot.

Steven Brand has a fantastic voice which makes the story very interesting. The only thing I didn't like and that took some getting used to was that he voices all characters basically the same and often goes very quickly back and forth with the characters which makes it hard to follow which character is talking at the moment. I also found his reading pace to be so quick and the words mumbling together at times. This book was the first one I've listened to that I was extremely thankful for the playback speed slider...I had to slow the reading down about 10 to 15 percent before I found it easy enough to follow the narrator. If you find him hard to follow, try slowing the read pace down a bit and it helps tremendously.

Outstanding

Enough said - this book is a must for fantasy lovers who like a good story

Good driving book

I love to have an engaging story while driving. I don’t get/take time to read conventional. I enjoyed this story very much.

An interesting story that takes time to unfold

Would you consider the audio edition of Blood Song to be better than the print version?

I wouldn't know since I only listened to the audio version.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Blood Song?

Vaelin's first encounter with Scratch, his dog. And the bond they grew to have. But to be honest, this book as several moments which were memorable, but it mostly consists of a gradual cumulation of events and character relationships rather than single moments.

Have you listened to any of Steven Brand’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I haven't listened to any other work from him. I enjoyed his voice very much, I like gruff and raspy voices. Unfortunately he doesn't tend to do specific accents and his distinction in tones and voices is sometimes hard to tell apart between the different characters. But overall he is a good voice actor/narrator

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

No. It was a very good book and a very interesting world, but it took time to "get to know it" and it didn't catch me from the beginning. So I didn't feel the "need" to keep going with out wanting to take breaks.

Any additional comments?

This is a very interesting and rich world. There are many well established and lored cultures in the world and many interesting characters including the main character as well (which starts off a bit meh but as he grows up and go through the experiences that he goes through, he becomes a much deeper character). If you like character driven stories like the name of the wind or Sanderson style books, you'de love this as well:)

Pleasantly surprised

I purchased this book expecting to enjoy it. However, I found myself not wanting to get out of my car on numerous occasions. That, is a benchmark for an exceptional book. With Blood Song though I found myself wanting just a few more minutes quite often.

Exceptional audio book in its genera

Absolutely loved the story and the narrator. I've heard narrators with more diverse character voicing, but Steven Brand has a fantastic voice and is really great at capturing the rhythm of the story. I'm really looking forward to the next book!

Only the first book

I write this having only listened to this book, not the other two.

Epic!
My only suggestion would be to find s map of this book so you can better "see" where everyone is.

Difficult to Stop...

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

Yep. I'm very new to audible but compared to other books I've read, I found this story very original. The one difficulty I had was tracking the names in an audio book versus having the pages in front of me, but I would imagine I'll get used to that soon.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Caenis -- I far preferred the characters whose stories were a bit of a mystery. I found myself really wanting to know more about Caenis. Not sure why, but I'm ok with not having that answer....yet.

Any additional comments?

This one will sound a little preachy – my apologies…

A common mistake I've seen in reviews is those who are obsessed with GOT (mind you, HBO's version not the actual A Song of Ice and Fire books - don't get me started) get into this book and immediately start comparing the two. Although both have strengths and weaknesses, one is NOTHING like the other and I actually far prefer the Raven's Shadow series thus far. Try to read/listen to this with an objective and open mind. Don't try to force it into your expectations and assumptions before you even give it a chance.

Entertaining Epic Fantasy

I've been in a reading rut. Most of my reading over the summer has been middle of the road. In fact I'd have to look back all the way to May to find a book I really enjoyed. And finally that rut is over after just finishing Blood Song by Anthony Ryan. I literally just stumbled upon the book surfing GoodReads and found that the book was highly reviewed and decided to give it a shot. I'm so glad I did.

The novel follows Vaelin Al Sorna who at 10 years old was dropped at the door of the sixth order where he would be taught the ways of a warrior. The book is actually told from the perspective of Vaelin Al Sorna re-telling his life to a scribe similar to the way The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss is written. It's a really nice trick to give you an idea of the main characters path making you far more interested in how he gets to his current destination. The book jumps back and forth between past and present but does it a very easy to follow manner.

My only real issue with Blood Song is the lack of character development. Where as in The Name of the Wind you get to know Kvothe, Blood Song jumps from training to battle scenes pretty quick and doesn't give you much time to really dig into the characters. Luckily Anthony Ryan makes up for some of the lack of character development with exquisitely written battle scenes and a world that is ready to be explored.

Blood Song isn't as deep of an epic fantasy as I would've liked but it might have been the most entertaining and one that sets up for what could be a remarkable series.