A Crucible of Order

Sentinels of Creation, Book 5

De: Robert W. Ross

Narrado por: Nick Podehl

Kellan Thorne labors beneath the burden of Chaos he accepted in order to both save Shannon and destroy the previous Sentinel of Chaos. Now he is trapped in the brutal life of a slave and gladiator within Claudius’ Rome.

Meanwhile, in 2020, Shannon McLeod Thorne struggles with both the loss of her husband and the responsibilities of being Creation’s new Sentinel of Order. Almost six months have passed since she pushed Kellan through the portal in Fingal’s Cavern, and she has begun to lose hope. However, like many times before, strange events conspire to cast light in dark places.

The first glimmer comes from James Clinton and his AI friend Jarvis who believe they can break the code surrounding Kellan’s mysterious disappearance. Shannon, Meghan, and the Council of Havilah use this new found information to try and summon an enigmatic Mantle of unimaginable power. However, in doing so, they risk bringing down upon themselves the very Incarnation of Destruction.

Even if they succeed in avoiding this Incarnation’s grasp and enlisting the Mantle’s help to retrieve Kellan from ancient Rome, how will his friends save the new Sentinel of Chaos from himself.

©2020 Robert W. Ross (P)2020 Robert W. Ross

I'm in awe of this series!

First I want to thank the author for writing such an amazing book. He truly is immensely talented - how he created the story line and the characters just blows me away. I just love love love this series.

Also a great shout out to Nick Podehl he is absolutely my favorite narrator .. he brings these characters to life and makes them unforgettable.

I'm so glad that I didn't start listening to this story until there were 5 books already completed in the series. I just love binge listening to a series that is go good you can't wait to get started on the next book .... I just hate having to wait till book 6 comes out, I want it NOW - oh will I guess I'll just have to wait :(

A review because the it helps the author.

I don't write a lot of reviews because I'm a slacker, however I have really loved this series so far and felt it deserved it. Now let's get started with the pros and cons of things so far to me.

Pros
1. Narration by Nick Podehl (In my opinion, the best of the best, and I always look for audio books with him as the narrator).
2. The characters are like real people, varied personalities, and they make sense. They don't feel make believe, if that makes sense.
3.Shannon... She's a ginger.. and my wife is a ginger.. I swear they are all clones, even book gingers.
4. Each book picks right up and is easy to dive into, so you never feel lost in the first chapter.
5. Ordered power is totally how i picture green latern in the comics, and I'm a green lantern fan.

Cons
1. Book 5 Juliet got left to the wayside, as well as a lot of the supporting characters.
2. Book 5 The fight with the emissary felt rushed to me, especially after their previous encounter.
3. The egg, I was hoping for some kind of progress on that front.. (i will re-listen to it just incase I may have missed it)
4. The wait time for the next book, lol. I'm only partially kidding.

Overall, I highly encourage checking out this series. It has become one of my favorites, and I look forward to book 6 in the series. It is definitely worth your time and money.

It keeps getting better.

I love this series so much. There is so much fun it. And each book stands on it's own feet

Love it

I personally loved the side references towards movie characters. I loved the entire series and cannot wait until the next one becomes available

Meh...

Take The Prophecy, mix in some Supernatural, then sprinkle on some Charmed...that is this series in a nutshell. The first book was great! But as the series progressed, the characters became more cliché. Like the character of Megan...I've known women like her (think they are men, but still want to be treated as women). This book series could literally be a show on the WB network. Nick Podehl is awesome as usual (his name was the reason I got the books in the first place).

Feel a bit let down

Not really a spoiler, but just in case.

I’m not sure why the author decided to send our protagonist back to the year 50CE if they are not going to really explore the idea of being a gladiator and have him experience growth. It seems like it was added as an afterthought... it was not critical to the plot, and if he really spent 18 months there, I would expect half the book to be about it, not 5%. It’s just a wasted opportunity.

Wow! What a Fun-Filled Ride!!

Concluding my binge reviews of books 1-5...

Did you guys notice how the title of this book is in Red...nice touch Robert Ross. There's a reason for that. So, in this book we have two separate plot lines that converge into the first of TWO climaxes. Yep, I thought the book was over and then wooomp...there's another thing that happens. It's like one of those roller coaster where an unexpected drop happens.

Anyway, we find Kellan as a gladiator in ancient Rome and, because it's a Sentinels book, we get treated to lots of super cool historical goodness mashed into Kellan's time there. Let's just say his "roommate," is someone of note.

We see Shannon and the Atlanta crew desperately trying to find him and I really loved how both Kellan and Shannon are completely self-actualized humans, but really are so much better together than apart.

My favorite part which is a super-minor spoiler is when Shannon time travels and meets younger versions of herself IN CONTEXT with earlier books. Because I'm a nerd, I went back to those previous books and reread the scenes. I wonder if Ross planned this from the beginning or just made sure things lined up.

Anyway...Rome, The Watchmen, Bladerunner, Angels, Demons, Lucifer, Loves lost and Found...what the heck...this is awesome!

Love this series

i have loved all the books in thisbseries so far. the pop references are great. This book had a lot of time travel so i had to listen to several parts over and over to figure it out. Time travel is my weakness!!

Yeah, another amazing one.

I can't wait for the next one! I love the banter between the characters. It feels so real. I am secretly hoping for this to be turned into a movie and wish it to be so.

Nick Podehl, you amazing man. Another amazingly flawless performance.

So kick ass. Very very awesome.

Was sad when I saw this was the last book in the series. I want and need more. Once again take my money or credits.