• Forge of Darkness

  • Kharkanas Trilogy, Book 1
  • By: Steven Erikson
  • Narrated by: Daniel Philpott
  • Length: 31 hrs and 55 mins
  • 4.3 out of 5 stars (1,053 ratings)

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Forge of Darkness  By  cover art

Forge of Darkness

By: Steven Erikson
Narrated by: Daniel Philpott
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Publisher's summary

Steven Erikson entered the pantheon of great fantasy writers in 1999 with his debut, Gardens of the Moon. In the span of just 10 years, he completed his epic telling of the Malazan Book of the Fallen, collecting hordes of fans along the way. Now Erikson returns with a place for new listeners to enter the Malazan world, a trilogy that takes place at a time before the events of the concluded series.

Forge of Darkness takes listeners to Kurald Galain, the warren of Darkness, and tells of a realm whose fate plays a crucial role in the fall of the Malazan Empire and surrounds one of the Malazan world’s most fascinating and powerful characters, Anomander Rake. It’s a conflicted time in Kurald Galain, where Mother Dark reigns above the Tiste people. But this ancient land was once home to many a power...and even death is not quite eternal.

The commoners’ great hero, Vatha Urusander, longs for ascendency and Mother Dark’s hand in marriage, but she has taken another Consort, Lord Draconus, from the faraway Dracons Hold. The idea of this union sends fissures throughout the realm, and as the rumors of an inevitable civil war burn through the masses, something emerges from the long-dead seas. The Vitr - an ancient power that shakes the dormant and dying powers of the past. Caught in the middle of it all are the Sons of Darkness: Anomander, Andarist, and Silchas Ruin of the Purake Hold.

It’s a time of great strife as the past and the present of this warren boil with unfathomable alliances, great deceptions, and even greater passions...of both love and hate. This ancient tale within the world Erikson introduced in the Malazan Book of the Fallen should appeal to fans of George R. R. Martin for its characters and intrigue, but goes leaps further in the realm of the imagination.

©2012 Steven Erikson (P)2012 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

What listeners say about Forge of Darkness

Average customer ratings
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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Incredible

absolutely incredible, what a follow up to Book of the Fallen. can't get enough and now I HAVE to reread the series again

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Amazing Book

If you were a fan of the main 10 this is quite the treat! While a lot slower than the typical Malazan book, does not mean that the story is any less. SE really draws you in with his character work and the Narrator does a great performance. I will say it starts off a little stale with the Narrator, but given a chance he really falls into the book and you're able to differentiate the voices a big better. Overall 5/5 and this might be my favorite Malazan book. Thank you Mr. Erickson!

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Very good low fantasy that ramps up to high

Give it 200-300 pages and then it’s hard to put down. More words required

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  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

Not what I’m looking for

Boring and disjointed. Narration left allot to be desired. I only made it a couple hours in and just couldn’t stay interested in this one. Narration was rough, story was rough, combined it sounded like a poorly rehearsed community theatre project.

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  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

An amazing imagination but completely loses itself

I really liked that Malazan series.... but they were rather long winded and sometimes the author seemed to get lost in an attempt at creating a magnificent painting losing focus on the the art of the story. This went well beyond in that failing... 30 hours, flexing prose and vocabulary with the actual story a mere backdrop. After roughly 4 days of repeatedly stepping back from just chapter 4 to chapter 1, I simply gave up and let the book run without a care for what I'd missed. The author is undeniably an absolute master craftsman of words, however he fails terribly when it comes to relatability and accessibility. It feels he's too lost in the brush strokes to bother with presenting a painting which fits up on the canvas.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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Brilliantly written and performed

Daniel Philpott did a wonderful job on the performance of this book. Different from the other narrators but I think he fit the story well.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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*****!

This is the one book where my favorite author and narrator come together. It's the only audio book I've ever given full stars!

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Can't get enough

Only criticism, there's so many characters it gets confusing and hard to follow somewhat.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Good thing I've read the Malazan books!

At least I had a basic understanding of some of it, lol. This is another one that will require at least 2 more reads.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

A good story ruined by a horrid narrator.

The natrator is abhorrent. Especially with the characters they felt snorted all the time. It was a struggle at times to put up with the childish exaggerations they would make with snortted intakes of beath every time someone spoke. It really takes away from the book...it does nothing to better it at all. I am glad I used a credit for this and didn't actually pay whatever the normal asking price would be.

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