A Time of Dread

By: John Gwynne

Narrated by: Damian Lynch

Acclaimed epic fantasy author John Gwynne returns with the first book in a new trilogy, perfect for fans of George R. R. Martin, Brandon Sanderson, and David Gemmell.

"A Time of Dread reminds me of why I became a fantasy enthusiast in the first place." -- Robin Hobb

A race of warrior angels, the Ben-Elim, once vanquished a mighty demon horde. Now they rule the Banished lands, but their peace is brutally enforced.

In the south, hotheaded Riv is desperate to join the Ben-Elim's peacekeeping force, until she unearths a deadly secret.

In the west, the giantess Sig investigates demon sightings and discovers signs of an uprising and black magic.
And in the snowbound north, Drem, a trapper, finds mutilated corpses in the forests. The work of a predator, or something far darker?
It's a time of shifting loyalties and world-changing dangers. Difficult choices need to be made. Because in the shadows, demons are gathering, waiting for their time to rise. . .

Critic reviews

"A Time of Dread reminds me of why I became a fantasy enthusiast in the first place. Fantasy can be an escape from reality, but some stories carry the reader to an enhanced reality, a place where the world seems to have brighter colors and sharper contrasts."—Robin Hobb

"The book reminded me in the very best way of the sort of fantasy I loved in years gone by. Exciting, well-written, swords and sorcery. Try it on for size."—Mark Lawrence

"Great evils, conflicted heroes, bloody battles, betrayal, and giants riding battle bears! What's not to love?"—Peter Newman

"I loved A Time of Dread and read it from cover to cover in two days. I couldn't put it down."—Miles Cameron

"Fans of epic fantasy have something to cheer about: A Time of Dread is marvelous. Gwynne's writing is superb, delivering not only twists and turns but also nuance and complexity."—Sebastien de Castell

"An accomplished and rousing tale of heroes and dark deed that fans of epic fantasy will devour."—Tom Lloyd

"A fierce, gripping tale, and one I found hugely enjoyable."—Anna Smith Spark

Distracting awkward pauses in narration

I was excited to start listening to this, especially once I realized the sequel is going to be released soon. Unfortunately, I will need to switch to written books as the narration has extended pauses between sentences? paragraphs?

I tried adjusting the speed of the playback, but it does not help.

An excellent continuation of the Faith and the Fallen

The only negative I can say about this book is it just wasn’t long enough. This series isn’t long as the first one but it fantastic

Worth It

Coming off of Stormlight Archives I was looking for something to hold my attention. This did it. This is my first book by this author. Can’t wait to read more.

Fantasy Done Right

There's not a lot that I can say about this book or series that hasn't already been said if you love fantasy you're going to love this series it has everything that you would want in a top notch fantasy series this is my 1st reading of this author I can't wait to read all the other ones I've been missing out this guy is truly a great fantasy author,brutal battles, Corruption,Betrayal,great characters and Truly Evil foes keep up the great work

A rolling start to a great trilogy.

I waited to review any book of the trilogy ‘till I listened to them all.

Great character development throughout, the characters are quite compelling and each could stand on their own. The story pulls you in and allows you to feel what the characters feel.

The story is well thought out and although at times things might seem to be going in a “cookie cutter/problem=instant solution” direction there is almost always a twist that instantly reminds you that the solutions aren’t so laid bare.

The narrator is quite good and creates very distinctive characters through his voice. Very well done.

Looking forward to listening to the other books by Gwynne.

A Time of Dread is a banger of a book one in a trilogy!

I loved everything about this book. John Gwynne is an amazing storyteller and can tear your heart out with his ability to write characters!

Gripping story!

Okay, so personally, I was a big dumb-dumb because I didnt read the first series before this one...But, luckily I was able to catch on quickly with what was going on!
I didnt think I would get through this book because of the length, but I found myself not be able to put it down! The characters were so well developed! My personal favorite was Drem, he just seemed like a character that I could relate to better than the others, so his chapters really stuck out to me! All in all, fantastic book!

Nice continuation

Pretty good . Not as great as Faithful and The Falken but pretty darn good . I’m going to start book two right now , so it’s that good at least !

love the book

my overall rating is due to the weird pauses the narrator takes. he did great voices, but the pauses just annoyed me. you get used to it after a while

Dose not disappoint

I often worry when authors revisit worlds whose stories have finished. The results of these trips are generally nostalgic but not particularly good. This was not the case with this book. Time of dread takes the existing world of John Gwynne and rather then exploit it, builds on it, giving us a view of the world the heroes of Faithful and The Fallen fought for. It builds on rather then exploiting the source materials, taking the story in a new exciting path that is still accessible to a new reader unfamiliar with the previous story. The success of this book leaves me hopeful that mr Gwynne other books will all soon be available on audible.