The Emperor's Blades

Chronicle of the Unhewn Throne, Book 1

By: Brian Staveley

Narrated by: Simon Vance

Length: 19 hrs and 22 mins

Publisher's summary

Now includes special bonus content. Stay tuned after the audiobook to hear “The Last Abbot of Ashk’lan,” a short story by Brian Staveley.

The emperor of Annur is dead, slain by enemies unknown. His daughter and two sons, scattered across the world, do what they must to stay alive and unmask the assassins. But each of them also has a life-path on which their father set them, destinies entangled with both ancient enemies and inscrutable gods.

Kaden, the heir to the Unhewn Throne, has spent eight years sequestered in a remote mountain monastery, learning the enigmatic discipline of monks devoted to the Blank God. Their rituals hold the key to an ancient power he must master before it's too late.

An ocean away, Valyn endures the brutal training of the Kettral, elite soldiers who fly into battle on gigantic black hawks. But before he can set out to save Kaden, Valyn must survive one horrific final test.

At the heart of the empire, Minister Adare, elevated to her station by one of the emperor's final acts, is determined to prove herself to her people. But Adare also believes she knows who murdered her father, and she will stop at nothing - and risk everything - to see that justice is meted out.

©2014 Brian Stavely (P)2013 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved.

so far so good

great job with the storyline. the plot has a really cool, well-written theme to it. better than most; having read quite a few books - or listen to them rather - there are more than I'd like to have found that have a tendency to twist within the twists, and this book is twizzler, not fractal :- if you please.

finally

Any additional comments?

Unquestionably the first good book I've read all year! Interesting plot, lots of twists and turns, wasn't boring, not even once, not even a little bit. Every time the plot was in danger of slowing down or getting tedious, something I didn't expect happened. The characters had emotions that felt raw, powerful and non-trivial. Nice. Very nice. Too bad book 2 is a year away.

Good listen but ending pointedly said "series"

If you could sum up The Emperor's Blades in three words, what would they be?

Well woven tale

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

It is a saga with interwoven tales so was fun to listen to on a set of long drives

Great story

Where does The Emperor's Blades rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Could become my one of my top book series. Can't say until the other books come out.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Emperor's Blades?

Following the son in mercenary training. Great character development with an awesome mystery/suspense twist

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The caves at the end of the training

Any additional comments?

Excited for the sequels to come out.

Excellent

Very good storyline and good characters. Moves at a good pace and perfect narration. Excellent

Good, but it made my teeth grind

The story is good, with interesting new factions, politics, and a great magic system. But the author tells us too much.

With a plot driven almost solely by treachery and deceit, we are given all sides or otherwise given zero doubt as to who is trustworthy or not. We know exactly when someone is being betrayed, being too confident, making a blindingly obvious mistake, et cetera. As a result, I couldn't even count how many times I rolled my eyes or audibly groaned at the nauseatingly idiotic characters who are supposed to be trained soldiers with more than a child's sense of people and their surroundings. He has also filled his novel with despicable characters that are always sneering or smiling smugly, which makes the fact that he tells us in advance that they're going to win in scene after scene that much more difficult to stomach.

However by the end I am invested in the story just enough to want to finish the trilogy. I imagine you will be too, if you can get over being angry at the characters.

George R. R. Martin better write faster

If you are angrily waiting the next Game of Thrones book, than The Emperor's Blades is your book. The story is often stronger and more relatable that George R. R. Martin's stuff. Plus Simon Vance's narration is fantastic as always.

A bright Light In the Fantasy Sky!

Brian Staveley is a bright new light in the Fantasy genre. I thought it sounded good from the publishers summary but wow, it was so much better. The characters come alive in your mind, they are so well written.The plot is well set up, with 3 POV characters that have distinct experiences that make sense and are consistent. No slow spots, the story moves along with thrills, disappointments (for the characters) Successes, failures, love, loss and revenge all making for compelling reading. I can't recommend this highly enough! I can't wait for the next books in the series. Simon Vance does a great job narrating as always. He is a top 5 narrator in my opinion.

Enjoyable but slow

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

This is not my favorite book but it does draw you in if you can stick with the slow start. It does pop in later chapters and does a very good job of leaving you wanting more in the end.

What about Simon Vance’s performance did you like?

He was a very good reader. Gave a very good sense of emotion to both male and female chars. Well done.

Any additional comments?

Cant wait for book two. As much as I was bored with the start of this story, it builds as it goes and in the end makes you care for the chars and waiting to know more.

worth the credit

It took me a little bit to get into the story but by the end I was hooked. I have listened to other story's with Simon Vance and the rhythm of his speech doesn't always keep my attention, but once I got into the story I forgot about the reader and enjoyed the story. I will definitely download the next book.