The Steel Remains

By: Richard K. Morgan

Narrated by: Simon Vance

Length: 15 hrs and 6 mins

Publisher's summary

In just a few short years, Richard K. Morgan has vaulted to the pinnacle of the science fiction world. Now he turns his iconoclastic talents to epic fantasy, crafting a darkly violent, tautly plotted adventure sure to thrill old fans and captivate new readers.

A dark lord will rise. Such is the prophecy that dogs the footsteps of Ringil Eskiath - Gil, for short - a washed-up mercenary and onetime war hero whose world-weary cynicism is surpassed only by the quickness of his temper and the speed of his sword. That sword, forged by a vanished eldritch race known as the Kiriath, has brought him unlooked-for notoriety, as has his habit of poking his nose where it doesn't belong.

Gil is estranged from his aristocratic family, but that doesn't stop his mother from enlisting his help in freeing a cousin sold into slavery. Grumbling all the way, Gil sets out to track her down. But it soon becomes apparent that more is at stake than the fate of one luckless young woman. Grim sorceries that have not been seen for centuries are awakening in the land. Some speak in whispers of the return of an all-but-legendary race known as the Aldrain, cruel yet beautiful demons feared even by the Kiriath.

Now Gil and two old comrades are all that stand in the way of a prophecy whose fulfillment will drown an entire world in blood. But with heroes like these, the cure is likely to be worse than the disease.

©2009 Richard K. Morgan (P)2009 Tantor

Intense, Deep and Exciting, Complex Characters.

I rarely write reviews. This book inspired me. The story is intense and keeps you engaged. The characters are complex . . . with a mix of good and bad traits that give you an empathy for them. Even the bad guys. The hero is the most enigmatic: he's gay, has a high moral compass, and a brutal warrior.

It's graphic: language, gore and sexual. But it all adds to the story.

Can't wait to get the next in the series.

The opposite of flowery prose...

Morgan takes his gritty style into the world of fantasy with just as much punch as his Sci-fi. Lots of standard tropes have been flipped but not just for the sake of being different. There is a fully fleshed out fantasy world here. Morgan adds his own brand of magic and mythical creatures without the need to borrow from traditional fantasy. There are no wizards or elves in this story. This book has planted Morgan securely on my list of favorite writers. But to be fair he already was because I love Altered Carbon so much.

Best read in a long time!

I loved this book. I've been dying for a series with characters I could feel something for. I had no problem with the main character being homosexual and I hope it doesn't keep people from listening, you can just fast forward through the graphic bits if it bothers you. The author is an excellent writer and his dialogue is smart, funny and believable. I enjoyed the fact that I didn't have to suffer through hours of boring battles. The narrator was great, I never wondered which character was speaking. I plan on listening to all three books in quick succession. So you know if we have similar tastes in books I love Joe Abercrombie, Patrick Rothfuss, George RR Martin, Brandon Sanderson (love his world building but his character development and interaction can be very two dimensional), etc.

Another strong effort by Morgan

I have read many books by this author and this is up to the usual high quality. Most important, the writing is good. Scifi/fantasy books often have interesting story ideas but the writing and language can range from mediocre to truly awful. Morgans stories are quite original [this one perhaps a little less than others], and writing is so consistently good the stories really come alive. This includes the plotting and especially the language.
As far as the sexual content goes, realistically, it was no more prominent in this story than in any other Morgan novels meaning that there is some and it is consistent in tone with the rest of the book.
And yes there is gay as well as straight sexuality depicted - you know- just like in real life! In Morgans other books as well as this one, we get plenty of scenes of straight sex graphically and imaginatively delivered, and dont forget one of the main plot lines of this story involves the legalized trade in female sex slaves! That seems to cause no alarm. But when male/male sexual interaction occurs suddenly it is over the top as another reviewer wrote-come on! [BTW one of the other important characters is a Lesbian, but that is not pointed out possibly b/c we dont have to endure any sex scenes with her.]
The protagonists sexuality is a natural, normal part of his life and is depicted as such. We see how he is hassled by ignorant bigots and betrayed by his own family over it [just like in real life too!] And we also get to see when he finds some pleasure and companionship. To handle it any other way would be stilted and weird. Thank you Richard Morgan! This will be refreshing especially for gay people but also any straight people who want to imagine a world where gays exist and are even sometimes the heroes and heroines [just like real life!]

Dark fun!

Richard k Morgan spares no quarter. The violence and sexuality in his stories is brutally real. This is not for everybody but I for one appreciate the honesty it brings to the story. It is a nice change of pace to some other more "fairytale" writers. I enjoyed this one but I will admit that it took me a bit to get hooked into the story. By the end of the book I was looking for more. On to book 2!!!!!

Morgan owns another genre!

I've somehow gravitated to fantasy lately (e.g., the Mongoliad), but this one takes the cake. It does for swarthy, sword-wielding heroes what the Kovacs trilogy did for regular sci-fi. I was a bit reluctant because the hero, Gil, is very different--spoiler alert, he's gay--than every other main character in this field; still, my respect for Morgan's works forced me to push my prejudices down and give it a listen. Halfway through and so far nothing has managed to throw me off, and there's nothing as graphic as Six Feet Under managed to put on the airwaves. One of the attractions of RM's other works has been his vivid (some might say lurid) narratives of Takeshi's erotic exploits; fortunately, we don't get the same level of detail with Gil (so far). Ah, well, something for everyone. And admittedly, there is no shortage of heterosexual passages in here....

The method of unraveling the plot is much the same as in his other novels--it's a Gordian Knot. Much has to be, if not taken on faith, at least deferred until later in the story as salient facts get sprinkled around to explain just what the hell is going on. This is one of the things that makes Morgan so damnably good--he doesn't coddle the reader with a linear exposition of who and what something is, or how they are related...the reader must come to put it together as the story progresses. And the descriptions of scenes and things are as poetic and vibrant as any Morgan fan has come to expect. So, in short, this is highly recommended. If you are gay, you might enjoy parts of it more, if not...it's a small price to pay.

Ruthlessly good

Richard K Morgan is one of my favorite authors. He is not for the squeamish or easily offended. This book is the first in a trilogy and this is my second time to read it. Lots of depth and detail so pay attention and hold on tight.

Really good

Great story.. Unique and familiar at the same time. This whole series really kept me engaged. I stayed up thinking about the world and the story well after I stopped listening for the day... Always a good sign for me.

Gay/ Gore Fantasy Novel.

This book is well written and well read. I find it is hard to get through a book with a shit ton of cursing, without it feeling a little overdone when being narrated. Well, this book has a shit ton of cursing AND it is very well read. I love the way that the narrator depicted the dialogue; exceptionally well done.
For those of you curious about the amount of queer sex depicted in this novel, there are three scenes of note; one of which is lesbian and the other two gay. All three scenes are pretty short, with legitimately zero romance involved. I would describe the queer sex in this book as short but descriptive, and carnal.
The BEST part of this book, in my opinion, are the fantasy creatures. I love when fantasy novels have bizarre and previously unheard of creatures in them. This book does an excellent job of placing creatures, and fleshing them out.
The gore in this book is really, really intense. I don't think it detracts from the book at all, but it is obscene none the less.

nice to have something different

I do get a sense of a different mythology taking shape, world building is kept to a low and the character development is minimalist. However, the narration and story held my attention and it was not a chore to listen to. as a starting point the first book lays some good groundwork for the continuation of the main character. looking forward to the second book.