Soulkeeper

The Keepers, Book 1

By: David Dalglish

Narrated by: Nicholas Tecosky

Length: 19 hrs and 1 min

Publisher's summary

The Witcher meets D&D in the first book of this epic fantasy adventure where a warrior priest must suddenly protect his world from monsters that were once only legend from USA Today best-selling author David Dalglish.

Devin Eveson is a Soulkeeper, traveling through remote villages as a preacher and healer. But when a mysterious black water washes over the world, the veil is torn, flooding the land with ancient magic and forgotten races: fire that dances as if alive, corpses that walk, and creatures that can manipulate time itself. And not all the creatures that have reawakened remember humanity fondly.

As the land grows more dangerous and more chaotic, Soulkeepers are turning up dead, their bodies transformed into macabre works of art. Devin must set aside his words of peace and accept his new role: slayer of monsters and protector of the human race.

©2019 David Dalglish (P)2019 Hachette Audio

Critic reviews

"Dalglish manages to combine familiar elements in exciting ways... that's sure to keep readers turning pages."—Publishers Weekly

"A dark and lush epic fantasy brimming with magical creatures and terrifying evil....Dalglish's world building is subtle and fluid, and he weaves the history, magical workings, and governance of his world within the conversations and camaraderie of his characters. Readers of George R. R. Martin and Patrick Rothfuss will find much to enjoy here."—Booklist

"Soulkeeper is a fast-paced, page-turning ride with a great, likeable main character in Devin Eveson. It's the definition of entertaining"—John Gwynne, author of Malice

New favorite

I may have just found a new favorite author. This was an extremely entertaining book

Great Story that treats the main character poorly

This book started out great and hooked me right away. Excellent world building, vivid environments and interesting characters. The main character has a lot of depth and promise. As the story moves along everything and everyone around the main character moves forward, while the main character (mc) at best stalls and in some circumstances he regresses. Maybe the author is setting the MC up for some leveling up and character growth in future books, but right now he is wasted.
The other POV and supporting characters are rich and show growth throughout the book. The book starts with a bang and ends meekly without much resolution. I had trouble getting through the last hour or so.

Incredible

everything in this story is 100 percent
Top quality. I can't say this loud enough.

Repetitive plotlines became monotonous

David Dalglish writing style was good but his tendency to burden the story with redundant passages needlessly slowed the pace of the story to ill effect.

What follows are light spoilers.

The story starts out in a highly religious, bordering on fanatical, mundane society revolved around 3 deities (sisters) that seem to be a mashup between christian Holy Trinity and Roman-Greco mythology Fates in that they are revered as the creators of life along with controlling the human souls. There is a 2nd pantheon of gods who control the arcane magical abilities and entities who resurface after being cast down millennia ago by the three sisters. What follows is a bloody conflict of the arcane demigods to reassert their influence in the otherwise pious mundane world.

Regrettably, the reasons given for the arcane banishment is only vaguely touched on and the arcane demigods method for forcing it back into human society seems overly brutal and, frankly, a bit nonsensical.

Nicholas Tecosky narrating performance was very good.

A great, unique fantasy

This is a great book for someone who loves a unique world. I've read one other series by him, this one has a much more gruesome turn, but is just as amazing. Dalglish thinks of really unique characters, creatures, and worlds. Definitely would recommend for someone who doesn't mind gore and wants something outside of the usual fantasy tropes.

Good book.

I was very entertained by this series and found it to be a good listen.

a freight train

this book starts very slow, it takes a long while to flesh itself out before getting into the substance. However, like a freight train, its speed pucks up substantially the longer it goes. by about the half way point i already knew i was in it for the whole trilogy. by the end i am excited to see more. it somehow feels like a book version of an anime or a video game, in all the best ways. the characters are fun and you feel for them, the story is original and familure at the same time, and the narrator is amazing, foing a very good job with voices. could not be happier i found this series. one of the best blind recommendations from audible ive had yet.

Took a little bit to get into but really like it

Little bit of a slow start with not much back story or character depth but once other characters started showing up, it really took off. Definitely worth listening to.

Violent, Bloody, and Magical

A very interesting take on magic, dragons, the fey, and much more. This first book weaves character development with some very bloody a graphic battles.

This is not simply a linear piece and has several different plots and characters. If you do not pay attention you will have backtrack.

Narrator is decent as well.

Overall a decent pick and leaves you wanting to listen to the next book.

Loved the story

100000% recommend! The story in bodies fantasy. Great character development. Awesome story. Can’t wait for the next part.