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

excellent

excellent. Morgan does not disappoint with his storytelling. I was enthralled from the very beginning.

This isn't your father's gay hero!

Richard K. Morgan (The new 'god' of Cyber Punk) jumps the genre to keep himself free from pigeonholes. All Mr. Morgan's books have had extreme feminist leanings and his comics where a feminist steroid of the next generation! This book does not disappoint on those fronts, but if you have issues with Male on Male homosexuality or any homosexuality for that matter than stop now.
Now that everyone with a pre-disposed dislike for a majority of the books interpersonal views has left, Mr. Morgan has written a good, strong book. This is not Cyber Punk, or anything remotely close to the corporate mechanisms of 'Market Forces' of the past. This is a book of swords, horses and wagons, and not in a War Hammer 40,000 version either. The book is well written, as can be expected of any Morgan book, and his character inter-play has lost none of its wit. Strong story, good characters and a lengthy listen. A good book that missed a five star for some over the top gay sexual verbiage that seemed to be there only to antagonize the intolerant and not to strengthen the story.
Even so this is not your average medieval dandy prancing the countryside. He is a strong male character who cleaves Demons, and annoying toadies. The character isn't a perfect specimen of human gayiety to spite the intolerant either. He is flawed, (as with EVERY RKM novel) with horrible family relations, misses what he sees as a simpler time who has been out of favor and action just long enough to not know the right people, who has the power, and seems to be complaining about a small widening of the midsection. Him and his sword still kick some butt. A well rounded book, and many thanks to Mr. Morgan for his hard work. The narrator's voice lends a gruff voice to polish off the strong male character Mr. Morgan has written.

From Cyberpunk to Phantasy good transition.

Like many the gay stuff put me off a little. But really the gay part is a very small part of a long and exciting book.

I've listened to all of Morgans CyberPunk books and he's made the switch to fantasy very well.

Lots of swashbuckling action and intriguing characters.

The hero has feet of clay which makes it even more interesting.

The narrator is British so I'd suggest that you listen to a excerpt first as his accent might annoy some.

He wasn't bad but I would have preferred the narrator from the previous Morgan books.

I still gave this a 5 star as I couldn't put this down.

Overwrought and unconvincing

Would you be willing to try another book from Richard K. Morgan? Why or why not?

After reading and enjoying no less than 5 other Richard K. Morgan books, I had high hopes for this one, but I'm sad to say that it did nothing for me. Everything just felt a little overwrought. I was excited about the prospect of a gay hero, but found that Ringil's character fit into Morgan's usual mold of hyper-masculine protagonist - only much more so, and to the point of being just being an asshole. With all that his character has been through due to his sexuality, much of his rage is justified, but he's just such an asshole to *everyone* that he's hard to sympathize with. And some of his one liners are just painfully over the top. For example:

""Simple enough," he whispered. "A cheap fuck doesn't need to have a name. But I like to know what to call the men I'm going to kill.""

Oof.

All the fantasy elements - the hard to pronounce names and places, titles, weapons, mythologies - felt forced. It's possible that listening to it in audiobook form with a less than stellar narrator had something to do with it, but there are plenty of books I've listened to in this format that didn't leave me nearly as weary.

Did Simon Vance do a good job differentiating all the characters? How?

I think Simon Vance is great at voicing tough-guy male characters (as he did in Richard K. Morgan's "Thirteen") but when it comes to female characters, they all sound equally wispy and sibilant and ineffectual.

This is a great series!

I really depend on the reviews of other listeners when making decisions on a new series or new author. All of the negative reviews almost kept me from starting this series. I decided to risk it given that most of the negativity seemed to center around the "graphic" homosexual content. I am so glad I didn't get scared off!! This is a fantastic series (I listened to the sequel as soon as I finished this one). Great characters, great world, great story!

I have been an Audible customer for years and this is the first time I have felt compelled to write a review. I can't believe I almost missed these books simply because so many listeners are squeamish about gay characters having sex. If you can handle George RR Martin's sex scenes and language, you can handle these books. They are no more graphic either in terms of sexual content or language. This is a world where a person can be executed for being gay and slavery has been legalized. The sex (both heterosexual and homosexual) isn't gratuitous or overly frequent, it's part of the character building and world building.

Don't miss out on this great series!

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!!!!!