Blood and Empire (The Gateway Saga, Book 1)

De: James Maxwell

Narrado por: Virtual Voice

Power is never granted… it can only be seized.

BLOOD AND EMPIRE begins best-selling author James Maxwell’s long-awaited new epic fantasy series, THE GATEWAY SAGA—a gripping tale of ambition, sacrifice, and defiance in the face of destiny.

Young seamstress Bethany dreams of becoming a diviner, one of the select few able to navigate the mysterious gateways that unite the empire. But without wealth or education, and only her mother to raise her, she is on a path to disappointment.

Then Bethany meets Charlton, a cleric, who offers her books and guidance, and she glimpses a life she had thought unreachable. Her problems grow, however, when her ambitions draw attention and her father re-enters her life, confronting her with a past she still needs to come to terms with.

As invasion threatens the empire, and intrigue and betrayal create fault lines amongst the highest circles, Bethany must learn to master both powerful forces and herself, in order to confront the darkness within her own bloodline—and save the empire from itself.

What readers are saying...
“This is ambition, magic, and political knife-twisting that’d make Game of Thrones look like a polite debate club.”
"My one complaint? It ends."

Great story bad AI voice

Virtual Voice is clumsy, dispassionate, and inconsistent. It sucks the life out of the experience.

Brilliant story as usual from James Maxwell.

Couldn't Keep Listening!

Come On Audible. Human narrators are often paid less than $90,000. a YEAR. I love James Maxwell but could not listen to his words read with no inflection, no humor, no characterization! Do Not Recommend!

Good story, less than ideal narration

The story starts slowly with multiple povs. It gets more involving as the story progresses and ends on a fairly satisfactory beat that leads into the rest of the series.
The virtual voice narration is mostly accurate but is entirely flat and makes following complex dialog difficult. with so many povs in the beginning I almost gave up on the book primarily because of the narration.
In the end it was a satisfying story and I was glad I stuck it out. Recommended.

Virtual voice is terrible

The virtual voice is terrible, so bad, atonal, without emotion, all the characters have the same voice, worthless