As Iron Falls

By: Bryce O'Connor

Narrated by: Mikael Naramore

Length: 21 hrs and 4 mins

Publisher's summary

The High Citadel cannot be seen to harbor a killer. 

This is a simple truth, and one that Raz i’Syul Arro has little choice but to respect. As the winter storms fall away in favor of the North’s pleasant summer months, Raz finds himself having once more to face the cruelties of the world with spear and sword in hand. 

For the first time, though, the Monster no longer walks his path alone. Syrah Brahnt, Priestess of Laor and adopted daughter of the former High Priest of Cyurgi ‘Di himself, has joined him on his journey. Leaving all that might have been behind, they set out together in search of new lives, always striving to stay ahead of the ever-looming shadows of old enemies that hound their every step. 

Raz’s legend, though, has spread too far. After vanquishing the great Kayle of the Northern tribes, his names have begun to echo across the realms: Monster of Karth, Scourge of the South, Dragon of the North. It isn’t long before they are forced to draw on magic and steel to save themselves from the blades that seek them in the night, leaving them with little choice but to abandon everything they’ve ever known in favor of a perilous land neither would have every thought to seek. Meanwhile, waiting for them among the grasslands beyond those strange shores, a man whispers in his sleep, his iron shackles shaking as he trembles and repeats the same prophetic words over and over again. 

"By sand, then snow, then sea, the Dragon comes."

©2018 Bryce O'Connor (P)2018 Audible, Inc.

The story continues

As with the previous book, the narrator was very good. Each character's voice is distinct and consistent, and his tempos and inflections are well done.

The story picks up right where the last one ended and goes pretty much in the direction I expected.

The characters continue to develop and continue to intrigue.

I have just a few points of critique.
1, I find Sira's reactions a bit inexplicable. With what she's been through it definitely makes sense that she wouldn't want to be touched by a man. Unfortunately, we clearly see (through her thoughts) that she thinks of Raz as a man, rather than a creature or a monster. So it makes no sense that she is willing (eager, even) to be touched by him.
2. I really wish the author would choose a POV style (either omniscient or limited) and stick to it.
3. The passive construction: was coupled with "ing" verbs is really wearing on me. I don't mind seeing/hearing it occasionally when it's talking about an ongoing action, but when it's used this much is really annoys me.

Now, I really enjoyed the progression of the story in this one. There is a strong sense of what each character is after and the tensions between characters is organic and skilfully weaved together.

I very much enjoyed the compete flip that happens near the end and reach character's reactions to it are natural and believable.

And now, I just have to wait for the fifth book to be written and recorded.

thanx Bryce

great books anticipating the next one eagerly. cant wait to hear your next burst of genius put to pen

This series keeps getting better.

I'm so glad to see this series is continuing. it's nice to see the hero get his girl and still the story goes on. Oh my goodness, the Urns had me in tears. Thanks for bringing these stories to audio.

A Well Narrated Mess

As Iron Falls is where I am going to leave this series.

The book has been a slog to listen to with the only saving grace being the narrator. This series has many promising moments, but for some reason the author has the strange need to add pre chapter excerpts from in lore books/journals. This seems an interesting and even good idea, but unfortunately their use is incredibly damaging to the flow and tension of the story. Allow me to give an example:

The previous chapter(s) will have been describing the preparation to do something, or perhaps it will have just told Raz about a new threat he will likely have to fight. Then the journal excerpt in the start will say something along the lines of "The implications of Raz's defeat of x had far reaching effects..." or something similar, all but saying he did the thing you will then actually hear him do in the following chapters. Every time the author does this he absolutely destroys the tension or interest he has been building over the previous chapters, and for some unknowable reason he does this repeatedly and consistently throughout the series. It's a shame because if we the readers did not have these excerpts constantly spoiling the outcome, there might actually be a question that Raz will succeed in his endeavors.

Raz in himself is an extremely powerful character, and it can be (and has been) argued that he is a self insert character. Every fight aside from perhaps two or three are always the same formula of he enters, everyone is terrified, and he kills/defeats them all. He is always the fastest, always the strongest, always the smartest. It's simply boring after more than a book or two.

I tried holding on to see if the author finally decided to change how he handles these excerpts but it seems he never will, and it's a shame; this series could have been very good but it seems he is content with average at best.

Holy mother fuckin dog shit!

I'll admit, when I started child of the day star, I didn't know if I would hang with these books. Thank the Sun and the Moon that I did! from the GREAT narration to a FANTASTIC turn of events, this series will rip you down a road of sharp turns! character development was fantastic. The dragon of the North became a legend. The end, while not entirely a cliff hanger, LEAVES YOU WANTING MORE! Thank you Mr O'connor for a thrilling ride. Can't wait for the next one!

If you wanted Raz at his finest. This is it.

If the show must go on this then this is the next step logical step of Raz's story, the culmination of all his efforts, being brought to bear. Dealing with the spread of the consequences of notoriety, Raz is again dealing with the realization that his life is no longer his own, the story of "The Dragon" has seeped into the zeitgeist of the land. New and familiar faces make satisfying entrances as well as satisfying callbacks and foreshadowing of things to come are moments that are completely satisfying to fans of the series. The combat still vivid and action laced, and I couldn't ask for a better vocal performance, from the narritive pacing to the character voices. For being the 4th book in the series it's definitely the strongest so far.

Mesmerizing!!

Absolutely loved this book, the way it had you from the beginning really speaks volumes yo how well the author did on the construction of the story line! well done my boy!!

Amazing series!!

This is by far one of my favorite series out there with the characters so compelling and captivating. If you have not started this series please do as you will not be disappointed.

Another exciting novel!

As Iron Falls by Bryce O'Connor and narrated by Mikael Naramore is book four in the series. I love the new characters they were introduced and hope some stay as part of the main characters. I love that Syrah had a bigger role in here and hope her role expands also. Like all of these books the world building and characters development is fantastic! Love the action, adventure, plot, subplots, the fight scenes, the kickbutt witch, and powerful but sorry Raz!
The narration was great too!

Most Excellent

Couldn't put it down. This series is very well done and I'm greatly anticipating the next installment. Can't get enough of Raz's story.

What Happened??

Maybe its just me, but this book just didn't have the 'couldn't stop listening' quality that the first three books had. In fact I couldn't finish it. I listened for about eight hours, and found myself being distracted by other things, and not really caring that I'd missed whole sections of the story. Mikael Naramore does a superb narration, as with the other books in this series. One of the things I love about the other three books, is that they are complete stories. I'll keep the first three books, but this one will be returned.