The Dark Defiles

A Land Fit for Heroes, Book 3

De: Richard K. Morgan

Narrado por: Simon Vance

Ringil Eskiath, a reluctant hero viewed as a corrupt degenerate by the very people who demand his help, has traveled far in search of the Illwrack Changeling, a deathless human sorcerer-warrior raised by the bloodthirsty Aldrain, former rulers of the world. Separated from his companions - Egar the Dragonbane and Archeth - Ringil risks his soul to master a deadly magic that alone can challenge the might of the Changeling. While Archeth and the Dragonbane embark on a trail of blood and tears that ends up exposing long-buried secrets, Ringil finds himself tested as never before, with his life and all existence hanging in the balance.

©2014 Richard Morgan (P)2014 Tantor

Fascinating story

Third book in the series and clearly the best book of the series. The narrator makes it even more so enjoyable.

Fantastic conclusion!

Great ending to a great series. This has been an amazing ride, and Gil Eskieth is an anti-hero like no other. Morgan's detailed descriptions and all too human characters paint a story that's touched by human frailties and vulnerabilities as well as enlightenment and ascension. It's those details that make the characters come to life in the narrator's voices, that makes them live and breath and curse, and I think it's an amazing sign of the quality of the characters when you hear yourself guessing what they're going to say in a given situation.

Excellent

What did you love best about The Dark Defiles?

Story line, narration, and characters are top notch. Listened to all three in one week, just because I had to know....

Amazing Finale

Vance changed the voices for a few characters but overall amazing performance, great story. Long live the Dragon Banes and Kiriath warrior!

A dense and sharp high epic with lots of twists

Richard maintains his sharp and edgy writing on this high epic. I took me few hours to get adjusted to the style of writing that it is dense and demands attention from the reader. Book is fast moving and hits the ground running requiring reader to be familiar with previous book well at the start. So, I recommend doing some reading (wiki page possibly) of previous books before starting this one.

Book starts with Ringil, Archeth and Egar on a journey to find the Illwark changeling. Journey takes them to various amazing places looking for the changeling where story breaks into two story lines. One follows Ringil where the other story line follows Egar and Archeth. Both are great, but Ringil's experiences are more abstract where he looks to master deadly forces for incoming conflicts. This element of the story is innovative and despite of high use of powers/magic, it remains mysterious and entertaining. During the book Ringil's character starting to remind me a lot of Elric and his sword. It has been a while since I have read the Elric saga, but I kept thinking of it.

Story line for Archeth and Egar is not simple either that their decisions are riddle with political and historical considerations. Banter between Archeth and Egar is entertaining as well along with mysterious actions of demonic helms. There arw plenty of twists in the plots which kept the book entertaining throughout.

Overall, book is very entertaining but will require concentration from reader. Like previous books in this series, it is dark edgy and sharp. Simon's narration is top notch as usual. He is able to capture the subtle tones of implications utilized by the character throughout the book. I enjoyed the book and I would highly recommend it to seasoned fantasy readers.