Awakening

The Black Knight, Book 1

By: Christian J. Gilliland

Narrated by: Christian J. Gilliland

Length: 8 hrs and 12 mins

Publisher's summary

War. Betrayal. A rare man committed to his oath.

The world was destroyed nearly a millennium ago, yet conflicts continue to rage. In the events that lead up to the Second Duraani World War, Crinnan Jamiso, Centurion of Black Knight, fights his way through the overgrown ruins of an Ancient city. The world's mightiest powers pursue him and he needs to choose wisely when deciding who is friend and who is foe.

The reason he is hunted? Likely the dark secrets Crinnan has locked away, even from himself.

©2019 Christian J Gilliland (P)2019 Christian J Gilliland

Awesome World Created here!

I have to say that Christian has quite an imagination. The Story created about a world at war is something between Mad Max and Game of Thrones. The Black Knight is quite the Character! I received this Audio Book for free in exchange for an unbiased review. I really enjoyed the story and the narration and since they were both completed by the same person....Good Job Christian! Now I am waiting for the next book.

Great narration of an interesting world

Black Knight builds an interesting world that I really enjoyed visiting. It gave me the same feel of the games I played back when I actually had time to play video games. The world has a ton of familiar fantasy elements but gives them a unique sci-fi twist that really worked for me. The characters are creative with their own strengths and flaws, which is a big plus.

I'm normally a bit hesitant when I see the author's name listed as the narrator as well. Narration is hard and takes a ton of talent to get right, but man does Christain nail it. He's definitely up there as one of the best narrators I've listened to recently. Great job.

Quite the Journey

A dark journey into good vs. evil. A few times I felt a little lost when switching into different scenes but felt more familiar as it progressed.
I can also sympathize with the sugar addiction!
The author also did a great job as narrator. He has a fantastic range of voices.
This audio was given to me free and I voluntarily gave this review.

good story interesting and unique narration

Overall loved the story and narration was good. I was a bit skeptical of sn author self narriating, but he pulled it off. Definitely a series I can get into maybe lacking a little polish on the performance but definitely still worth listening to. Anticipating the rest of the series.

Awesome Story!

The writer and narrator are one and the same and he does a tremendous job on both counts. You need to listen closely in order to properly follow this story, but you will be thoroughly entertained if you do.

Solid Introduction To A Fascinating World

As a start, I have to say that if there was a separate category for world building, I would give this 6 stars in that and for that reason I gave a higher overall rating than I otherwise would.

I found the initial introductions a bit disjointed as it went between character perspectives, this is becoming more and more common but is hard to do truly well, Christian J. Gilliland does a better job of this than many new authors I have read and does a nice job in weaving the perspectives later in the book, but could use an editor or some revising to make the introduction a little less rocky.

One other reviewer compared the author's style to Joe Abercrombie and I absolutely agree with that assessment, the gritty style and perspective shifts definitely have some similarities. The world he created however, is something totally different, it is a combination of fantasy world and post-apocalypse, with elements of sci-fi thrown in as well. I don't want to spoil anything, but the way these are woven together, rather than messy or forced actually feels logical and fascinating, he mentions in the afterword that he spent years thinking about the world design and this part absolutely shows.

The performance and range of voices was a perfect fit for fantasy and a very pleasant surprise for an author-narrator. He really does quite a good job of bringing the characters to life and helping immerse you in the story.

I can't wait for the next book.

I was given a free copy of this audiobook in exchange for an unbiased review.

Dark & Delicious

I greatly enjoyed the story, brooding main character with depth! it was a fun world with multiple POV characters to get an idea of what is going on in the world. New races/species and some new concepts that were a lot of fun. Can't wait for the next one!

Pull no punches Sci-fi/Fantasy Novel

Christian writes a story about the harsh gritty reality filled with amazing technology, swords, and magic. His take on an antihero chosen protagonist keeps you guessing about who is on the side of right and who will die next.

Christian does an amazing job narrating the story giving his characters not only a unique voice but a unique feel through the way that he voice acts the narration.

I'm looking forward to the next book and would recommend this one to anyone who likes grit, realism, and some adult content.

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.  

Interesting story

Awakening had my attention from the start. The opening scenes are not ones that I’ll forget anytime soon. The story has it’s dark moments. It’s entertaining. The characters are complex and interesting. Mr. Gilliand's writing reminds me a lot Joe Abercrombie's style, which is awesome. The author did a great job narrating the story! I received a free copy of this audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Great fantasy novel

Love that the author himself narrated this so all the characters feel like they have the proper voice. Can't wait for book 2! Keep up the great work Xian