Blood and Ash

The Chronicles of Estria, Book 1

By: Stuart Thaman

Narrated by: Melissa Sheldon

Length: 8 hrs and 31 mins

Publisher's summary

The punishment for vampirism is to be burned at the stake. Necromancers, should they be captured, are hung.

I am both.

My master bestowed upon my shoulders a monumental task, one that has become my life's ambition. Should I fail, at least I will burn with a smile on my face, knowing I did not live by my father's rules, the life he would have forced upon me as his heir.

I have brought a legion of slaughter to the foot of the altar where I will soon carve my destiny, and I know more bloodshed will follow. I welcome every drop.

Stuart Thaman is the international best-selling author of the highly acclaimed Goblin Wars series, as well as the Umbral Blade series and several horror titles. His latest release, Shadowlith, launched at number-one on the epic-fantasy charts in both Australia and Canada and peaked at number-two in the US. You can catch up with Stuart on Twitter, Goodreads, and his website, and be sure to sign up for his mailing list to get all the latest offers, promotions, and discounts.

Currently a resident of Kentucky, Stuart holds degrees in politics and German, and he is currently studying law, though writing epic fantasy and grim horror is certainly his primary passion.

The Chronicles of Estria series is a new line of novels based on Ral Partha's Chaos Wars miniature game produced by Iron Wind Metals. Blood and Ash is the first novel in the planned line, with more to come. Listeners do not need to be familiar with the Chaos Wars universe to enjoy the novel series. Any fan of Dungeons and Dragons, Joe Abercrombie, David Dalglish, or epic fantasy in general is sure to have the time of his or her life!

©2017 Stuart Thaman (P)2018 Stuart Thaman

A macabre story with a loathsome "hero"

There was not a single redeeming quality about the main character, and overall little interesting happens with no suspense and a lot of pointless action.

Super Serious

I love fantasy books however this one seems to take itself a bit to seriously for my tastes.

Something Missing

I didn’t dislike the story, but it felt like there was no substance. I kept waiting for something to happen and a couple times I really started to get into it, but then it just kind of dropped off again.

The characters are intriguing, but they never develop. I wanted to like any of them, but I didn’t believe any of their motivations, nor did I care if they succeeded. At the end - after no questions were answered and the story just kind of stopped - I felt that I could have just as easily rooted for the antagonist.

The world is interesting and I’d like to know more about it and how it works, but not much detail is given about it other than indirect information about how the types of people interact.

I felt like this could be a very interesting and entertaining story and maybe it is later in the series, but I’m afraid I will not be continuing.

Entertaining Dark Fantasy

This was my first experience with a complete novel from Stuart Thaman and I enjoyed it. The world building was extensive. There were some unusual fantasy creatures including a vampire, a necromancer, a half orc. There was some magic. I'm looking forward to the next book in this series. Melissa Sheldon's narration was entertaining. I was given a free copy of the audiobook, and I have voluntarily posted this review.

Moonsilver

If only Disney would portray their princess this way. Whats not to love about a vampiric princess hell bent on destruction? Who could care less about her armys aslong as she gets what she wants.

Vampire trackers and a team thrown together thats about to kill eachother. Can they last long enough to finish their goals?

Blood, skeletons, death, and chaos throughout the book. The world is well developed, filled with amazing battles and desperation. 

One of my favorite parts was about the orks and their home land. There was another one with the princess but i dont want to give too much away. I Didnt get hook right away but when it was set, it was deep. I really enjoyed this story with its twists. 

Definite recommendation.


The narration wasn't bad, had to get use the way she read some dialog though.