Promise of Blood

By: Brian McClellan

Narrated by: Christian Rodska

Length: 19 hrs and 1 min

Publisher's summary

"Just plain awesome" (Brandon Sanderson)

Civil unrest cripples the citizens of Adro in the aftermath of the revolution that obliterated the monarchy. Now, Field Marshal Tamas and his lieutenants must confront the true cost of freedom in book one of the Powder Mage Trilogy.

It's a bloody business overthrowing a king...Field Marshal Tamas' coup against his king sent corrupt aristocrats to the guillotine and brought bread to the starving. But it also provoked war with the Nine Nations, internal attacks by royalist fanatics, and the greedy to scramble for money and power by Tamas's supposed allies: the Church, workers unions, and mercenary forces. It's up to a few...Stretched to his limit, Tamas is relying heavily on his few remaining powder mages, including the embittered Taniel, a brilliant marksman who also happens to be his estranged son, and Adamat, a retired police inspector whose loyalty is being tested by blackmail.

But when gods are involved...Now, as attacks batter them from within and without, the credulous are whispering about omens of death and destruction. Just old peasant legends about the gods waking to walk the earth. No modern educated man believes that sort of thing. But they should....

Winner of the David Gemmell Morningstar Award for Best Debut Fantasy.

©2013 Brian McClellan (P)2013 Hachette Audio

Critic reviews

2013, RT Best SciFi & Fantasy Novel, Nominated

2014, David Gemmell Morningstar Award, Best Debut Novel, Winner

"Promise of Blood is a hugely promising debut. Guns, swords, and magic together? What more could you want? How about tense action, memorable characters, rising stakes, and cool, cool magic? Not only the finest flintlock fantasy I've read, but also the most fun. Brian McClellan is the real thing."—New York Times bestseller Brent Weeks

"This book is just plain awesome. I found myself enjoying every moment of it. Innovative magic, quick-paced plot, interesting world. I had a blast."—New York Times bestselling author, Brandon Sanderson"

"The world of the privileged sorcerers and the strange abilities of the powder mages who can manipulate gunpowder are just as well drawn in this captivating universe."—RT Book Reviews (4 1/2 stars)

Almost lost me...

There were def some points when I questioned the use of the credit but it redeemed itself to the point where I'm considering paying for the next book before my next scheduled credits are available. The three magic systems have or had the potential to be as good as one of Sanderson's systems but the author didn't set proper "boundaries" or at the very least didnt properly explain the limits of each type of magic so when the eventual overcoming of the antagonists happened it wasnt as moving or as cool as it could have been.

Outstanding innovation!

Enjoyed this book a lot. it had multidemensanal characters with real life flaws. The detective element was great. It also had an original magical system

wow

great story flow from start to finish. awesome narrator and memorable characters. fantastic book worth checking out. this book is a gateway drug, you will probably end up buying all of Brian McClellan's books. I know I pretty much have them all at this point.

Stop comparing McClellan to Sanderson

This book was good! Not as much levity as I would like, but great world building!

Amazing!!

Great book, storyline, character development, imagination, and pretty good performance!! I would definitely recommend this book!!

Engaging - if this is only the first book, can’t wait to read the rest!!

I normally don’t write a lot of reviews however I do read a lot of books!I normally have two or three books going at the same time not just audiobooks but also reading them.
I am not a new responder to this authors work his other books are marvelous as well. I believe this will be a very engaging series as I’ve come to know the characters so well!!
Please don’t let this one pass you bye you’ll love it!

Book Review

Entertaining political story with tons if violence a d interesting fantasy world building.

ka poel is best girl

Fresh & Exciting Start to Finish

Whether you’re new to fantasy or a long-time enthusiast, Promise of Blood will take you for an epic ride that will hook you within the first three chapters. In Christian Rodska’s narration, some of the male voices could maybe use a bit more differentiation, but nonetheless his performance is well-calibrated and first-rate.

meh

It drops you in the middle of a fast moving plotline with little to no ways of building character recognition. The voice acting doesn't help this at all, because each male character sounds exactly like the last.

It took a long time to go anywhere, as I said one of the major plot drivers is less than an hour in and after that it dies down a lot. The ending was good, and after I figured out what a powder mage was and can do it was good.

Surprisingly good.

A nice cast of characters, plenty of back and forth between the good guys and the villains. Moral grey areas, unique take on magic, nice period setting and interesting story.
Highly recommend.