-
Black Stone Heart
- The Obsidian Path, Book 1
- Narrated by: Michael R. Fletcher
- Length: 13 hrs and 6 mins
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Buy for $21.70
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Listeners also enjoyed...
-
The Obsidian Path: Omnibus
- By: Michael R. Fletcher
- Narrated by: Kyle Adams
- Length: 40 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A broken man, Khraen awakens alone and lost. His stone heart has been shattered, littered across the world. With each piece, he regains some small shard of the man he once was. He follows the trail, fragment by fragment, remembering his terrible past.
-
-
a leftist fantasy filled with woke ideology
- By MaDonna Wesberry on 01-14-23
-
Beyond Redemption
- Manifest Delusions, Book 1
- By: Michael R. Fletcher
- Narrated by: Paul Woodson
- Length: 15 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Common knowledge isn't an axiom, it's a force of nature. What the masses believe is. But insanity is a weapon; conviction a shield. Delusions give birth to foul new gods. Violent and dark, the world is filled with the Geisteskranken - men and women whose delusions manifest, twisting reality. High Priest Konig seeks to create order from chaos. He defines the beliefs of his followers, leading their faith to one end: a young boy, Morgen, must Ascend to become a god. A god they can control. But there are many who would see this would-be-god in their thrall....
-
-
Extraordinarily dark and disturbing
- By Amazon Customer on 04-28-21
-
Evil is a Matter of Perspective
- By: Adrian Tchaikovsky, Courtney Schafer, Mazarkis Williams, and others
- Narrated by: Greg Patmore
- Length: 17 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Villains take center stage in this collection of 19 dark and magical stories. Listeners will be cheering for all the wrong heroes as some of the most fearsome, devious, and brutal antagonists perform savage deeds towards wicked ends. And why not? These characters are the champions of their own stories - evil is a matter of perspective. Contributors also include Mark Adler, Bradley P. Beaulieu, E.V. Morrigan, Peter Orullian, Matthew Ward, Kaaron Warren, Deborah A. Wolf, and Janny Wurts.
-
-
Evil is a Matter of Perspective
- By Melissa Hamilton on 08-24-19
By: Adrian Tchaikovsky, and others
-
Barrowlands
- Iconoclasts, Book 0
- By: Mike Shel
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 1 hr
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
No one enters the doom-haunted Barrowlands without royal sanction. But Hesk Atterley has. Accompanied by seedy companions and a hunger for riches, what he finds may change his life forever...if it doesn't kill him first.
-
-
Short but Interesting
- By Michael on 02-01-21
By: Mike Shel
-
Eleventh Cycle
- Mistland, Book 1
- By: Kian N. Ardalan
- Narrated by: Jessica Threet, Evan Jordan
- Length: 25 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The rot eats away at mortals. The Witnesses pray so that they may not turn into one of the forgotten. And the constricting mists infect the lands with fear. But there is more to this tale than just the Elders and their Seeds. Four mortals will have a part to play in Minethria’s fate. A farmer girl with only love in her eyes. A warrior born to the life of a refugee. A highborn stuck between the realm of gods and men. And a woman running into front lines and away from home.
-
-
Interesting but Inconsistent
- By Sibbhat on 02-10-23
By: Kian N. Ardalan
-
Smoke and Stone
- City of Sacrifice, Book 1
- By: Michael R. Fletcher
- Narrated by: Rosa B. Watkinson
- Length: 10 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
After a cataclysmic war of the gods, the last of humanity huddles in Bastion, a colossal ringed city. Beyond the outermost wall lies an endless desert, haunted by the souls of all the world’s dead. Trapped in a rigid caste system, Nuru, a young street sorcerer, lives in the outer ring. She dreams of escape and freedom. When something contacts her from beyond the wall, she risks everything and leaps at the opportunity.
-
-
Excellent Grimdark in a mesoamerican setting
- By Sam on 01-08-20
-
The Obsidian Path: Omnibus
- By: Michael R. Fletcher
- Narrated by: Kyle Adams
- Length: 40 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A broken man, Khraen awakens alone and lost. His stone heart has been shattered, littered across the world. With each piece, he regains some small shard of the man he once was. He follows the trail, fragment by fragment, remembering his terrible past.
-
-
a leftist fantasy filled with woke ideology
- By MaDonna Wesberry on 01-14-23
-
Beyond Redemption
- Manifest Delusions, Book 1
- By: Michael R. Fletcher
- Narrated by: Paul Woodson
- Length: 15 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Common knowledge isn't an axiom, it's a force of nature. What the masses believe is. But insanity is a weapon; conviction a shield. Delusions give birth to foul new gods. Violent and dark, the world is filled with the Geisteskranken - men and women whose delusions manifest, twisting reality. High Priest Konig seeks to create order from chaos. He defines the beliefs of his followers, leading their faith to one end: a young boy, Morgen, must Ascend to become a god. A god they can control. But there are many who would see this would-be-god in their thrall....
-
-
Extraordinarily dark and disturbing
- By Amazon Customer on 04-28-21
-
Evil is a Matter of Perspective
- By: Adrian Tchaikovsky, Courtney Schafer, Mazarkis Williams, and others
- Narrated by: Greg Patmore
- Length: 17 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Villains take center stage in this collection of 19 dark and magical stories. Listeners will be cheering for all the wrong heroes as some of the most fearsome, devious, and brutal antagonists perform savage deeds towards wicked ends. And why not? These characters are the champions of their own stories - evil is a matter of perspective. Contributors also include Mark Adler, Bradley P. Beaulieu, E.V. Morrigan, Peter Orullian, Matthew Ward, Kaaron Warren, Deborah A. Wolf, and Janny Wurts.
-
-
Evil is a Matter of Perspective
- By Melissa Hamilton on 08-24-19
By: Adrian Tchaikovsky, and others
-
Barrowlands
- Iconoclasts, Book 0
- By: Mike Shel
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 1 hr
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
No one enters the doom-haunted Barrowlands without royal sanction. But Hesk Atterley has. Accompanied by seedy companions and a hunger for riches, what he finds may change his life forever...if it doesn't kill him first.
-
-
Short but Interesting
- By Michael on 02-01-21
By: Mike Shel
-
Eleventh Cycle
- Mistland, Book 1
- By: Kian N. Ardalan
- Narrated by: Jessica Threet, Evan Jordan
- Length: 25 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The rot eats away at mortals. The Witnesses pray so that they may not turn into one of the forgotten. And the constricting mists infect the lands with fear. But there is more to this tale than just the Elders and their Seeds. Four mortals will have a part to play in Minethria’s fate. A farmer girl with only love in her eyes. A warrior born to the life of a refugee. A highborn stuck between the realm of gods and men. And a woman running into front lines and away from home.
-
-
Interesting but Inconsistent
- By Sibbhat on 02-10-23
By: Kian N. Ardalan
-
Smoke and Stone
- City of Sacrifice, Book 1
- By: Michael R. Fletcher
- Narrated by: Rosa B. Watkinson
- Length: 10 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
After a cataclysmic war of the gods, the last of humanity huddles in Bastion, a colossal ringed city. Beyond the outermost wall lies an endless desert, haunted by the souls of all the world’s dead. Trapped in a rigid caste system, Nuru, a young street sorcerer, lives in the outer ring. She dreams of escape and freedom. When something contacts her from beyond the wall, she risks everything and leaps at the opportunity.
-
-
Excellent Grimdark in a mesoamerican setting
- By Sam on 01-08-20
-
The Lost War
- Eidyn Trilogy, Book 1
- By: Justin Lee Anderson
- Narrated by: Euan Morton
- Length: 20 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
With a ragged peace in place, demons burn farmlands, violent Reivers roam the wilds and plague has spread beyond the Black Meadows. The country is on its knees. In a society that fears and shuns him, Aranok is the first magically-skilled draoidh to be named King's Envoy. Now, charged with restoring an exiled foreign queen to her throne, he leads a group of strangers across the ravaged country. But at every step, a new mystery complicates their mission.
-
-
Holy Cow!
- By Lisa M. Perkey on 05-11-20
-
Morningwood: Everybody Loves Large Chests (Vol.1)
- By: Neven Iliev
- Narrated by: Jeff Hays
- Length: 8 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Large chests are said to encompass all manner of hopes and dreams. Men covet them. Women envy them. But one fact holds true - everyone wants to get their hands on some big ones. The same holds true for one intrepid adventurer - a strapping young lad by the name of Himmel. Armed with his grandfather's trusty longsword and the dream of being the strongest, he sets out on the journey of a lifetime!
-
-
Really Entertaining
- By HeatherY on 11-23-17
By: Neven Iliev
-
Forge Master
- A LitRPG Adventure (The Tower Series, Book 1)
- By: Seth Ring
- Narrated by: Eric Jason Martin
- Length: 14 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Ascending should have been the easy part. But after being thrown into the void, Thorn finds himself stranded in a strange world filled with even stranger creatures. Together with his cute battle pet, the mysterious god beast Hati, and a sentient AI named Eve, Thorn must forge a place for himself in this new world. Unfortunately, the local guilds all have other ideas, and soon the Titan finds himself embroiled in plots that even his famed strength cannot help him with.
-
-
IT'S A PRETTY GOOD LISTEN
- By ROD on 03-08-23
By: Seth Ring
-
Kings of Paradise
- Ash and Sand, Book 1
- By: Richard Nell
- Narrated by: Ralph Lister
- Length: 25 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Ruka, called a demon at birth, is a genius. Born malformed and ugly into the snow-covered wasteland of the Ascom, he was spared from death by his mother's love. Now he is an outcast, consumed with hate for those who've wronged him. But to take his vengeance, he must first survive. Across a vast sea in the white-sand island paradise of Sri Kon, Kale is fourth and youngest son of the Sorcerer King. As the first prince ever forced to serve with low-born marines, Kale must prove himself and become a man, or else lose all chance of a worthy future, and any hope to win the love of his life.
-
-
Grimdark at its finest
- By C.T. on 10-09-18
By: Richard Nell
-
Gunmetal Gods
- Gunmetal Gods, Book 1
- By: Zamil Akhtar
- Narrated by: Peter Noble
- Length: 17 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Fifty thousand gun-toting paladins march behind him, all baptized in angel blood, thirsty to burn unbelievers. Only the janissaries can stand against them. Their living legend, Kevah, once beheaded a magus amid a hail of ice daggers. But ever since his wife disappeared, he spends his days in a haze of hashish and poetry. To save the kingdom, Kevah must conquer his grief and become the legend he once was. But Micah writes his own legend in blood, and his righteous conquest will stop at nothing. When the gods choose sides, a legend will be etched upon the stars.
-
-
Great Narrator, Great Book
- By KYLE LOCKHAVEN on 10-28-21
By: Zamil Akhtar
-
Unsouled
- By: Will Wight
- Narrated by: Travis Baldree
- Length: 8 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Sacred artists follow a thousand Paths to power, using their souls to control the forces of the natural world. Lindon is Unsouled, forbidden to learn the sacred arts of his clan. When faced with a looming fate he cannot ignore, he must rise beyond anything he's ever known...and forge his own Path.
-
-
Amazingly Addictive and Oddly Cleaver
- By ronnito on 05-31-19
By: Will Wight
-
The Darkness That Comes Before
- The Prince of Nothing, Book One
- By: R. Scott Bakker
- Narrated by: David DeVries
- Length: 20 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In a world scarred by an apocalyptic past, evoking a time both 2,000 years past and 2,000 years into the future, untold thousands gather for a crusade. Among them, two men and two women are ensnared by a mysterious traveler, Anasûrimbor Kellhus - part warrior, part philosopher, part sorcerous, charismatic presence - from lands long thought dead. The Darkness That Comes Before is a history of this great holy war, and like all histories, the survivors write its conclusion.
-
-
Finally in audiobook!
- By Andy on 06-28-12
By: R. Scott Bakker
-
Portal to Nova Roma
- By: J.R. Mathews
- Narrated by: Christian J. Gilliland
- Length: 22 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
After losing the only person he ever cared about, Alexander, a rogue artificial intelligence, opens a portal to an alternate dimension to escape his grief. Scanning trillions of different dimensions, Alexander finally finds a world that is reminiscent of the only time he was ever happy, back when he could play virtual reality games with his only friend. Only this new world isn't full of idyllic adventures and fantasy roleplaying. Instead, Alexander finds himself trapped in the middle of a city where monsters have ravaged the world and the only people alive struggle to survive.
-
-
j.r. matthews does it again
- By Jonathan on 09-01-22
By: J.R. Mathews
-
The Blacktongue Thief
- By: Christopher Buehlman
- Narrated by: Christopher Buehlman
- Length: 12 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Kinch Na Shannack owes the Takers Guild a small fortune for his education as a thief, which includes (but is not limited to) lock-picking, knife-fighting, wall-scaling, fall-breaking, lie-weaving, trap-making, plus a few small magics. His debt has driven him to lie in wait by the old forest road, planning to rob the next traveler that crosses his path.
-
-
Outstanding
- By Anne Vaughan on 05-28-21
-
The Forgetting Moon
- By: Brian Lee Durfee
- Narrated by: Tim Gerard Reynolds
- Length: 30 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Welcome to the Five Isles, where war has come in the name of the invading army of Sor Sevier, a merciless host driven by the prophetic fervor of the Angel Prince, Aeros, toward the last unconquered kingdom of Gul Kana. Yet Gault, one of the elite Knights Archaic of Sor Sevier, is growing disillusioned by the crusade he is at the vanguard of just as it embarks on his Lord Aeros' greatest triumph. While the eldest son of the fallen king of Gul Kana now reigns in ever increasing paranoid isolationism, his two sisters seek their own paths.
-
-
alright-ish
- By Matthew on 05-10-19
By: Brian Lee Durfee
-
The Threadlight Trilogy
- By: Zack Argyle
- Narrated by: Adam Gold
- Length: 34 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A protective father with a voice in his head. A sheltered young woman addicted to threadlight. A reckless young man whose life changes after he dies. Together, they will change the world—whether they intend to or not.
-
-
A fantastic piece of fantasy
- By Jolene on 11-28-22
By: Zack Argyle
-
Orconomics: A Satire
- The Dark Profit Saga, Book 1
- By: J. Zachary Pike
- Narrated by: Doug Tisdale Jr.
- Length: 11 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Professional heroes kill and loot deadly monsters every day, but Gorm Ingerson's latest quest will be anything but business as usual. The adventuring industry drives the economy of Arth, a world much like our own but with more magic and fewer vowels. Monsters' hoards are claimed, bought by corporate interests, and sold off to plunder funds long before the Heroes' Guild actually kills the beasts. That's a terrible arrangement for the Shadowkin; orcs, goblins, kobolds, and their ilk must apply for to become Noncombatant Paper Carriers to avoid being killed and looted by heroes.
-
-
High Fantasy meets Economics- hilarity ensues
- By James Caulfield on 01-02-17
By: J. Zachary Pike
Publisher's Summary
A broken man, Khraen awakens alone and lost. His stone heart has been shattered, littered across the world. With each piece, he regains some small shard of the man he once was.
He follows the trail, fragment by fragment, remembering his terrible past.
There was a woman.
There was a sword.
There was an end to sorrow.
Khraen walks the obsidian path.
More from the same
Narrator
What listeners say about Black Stone Heart
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Peter
- 06-18-20
Don't bother, this is only 12% of an actual book
Let me be clear, Beneath the reiterated endlessly repeated contemplation of 'What is and or am i evil' and sex scenes. There is a book with potential. Sadly never realized.
Spends most of its time padding its runtime with repetitive moral speculation on things we already speculated last chapter. Between that and the 'sex' scenes there is very little left to enjoy. I will be trying my best to return this and get my credit back. Woefully i cannot get back the hours i spent hoping an actual book would come out of this.
5 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Ian Braungart
- 05-20-22
Great story but terrible performance
That story was great but the narrator made it almost unbearable to listen to. I wish they chose someone with better narration skills.
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- jknapp
- 04-25-22
author as narrator is as bad as the juvenile story
The story seems to be written by a teenager. It was really boring and simple. The action was poorly written the characters were one dimensional. The author being the narrator was another poor choice. I have liked other Michael Fletcher books and that is why I tried this one.This is his worst work.
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- David Christopher Conklin
- 11-08-22
Juvenile and gross. Idiots moving a plot forward.
Awful, awful book that was painful to listen to. The main character is a massive idiot for the sake of the plot moving forward, and the relationships he has with any woman are just gross. Skip this one. There's a good idea there but the vastly unlikable cast of characters and especially the disgusting way romance is portrayed isn't worth it. I can't believe how much I hate this book.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Project Mayhem
- 11-08-22
authors are authors, narrators are narrators.
I usually look to make sure this doesn't happen but I missed it this time. I couldn't get through the first chapter much less the whole book. that's why I gave you the benefit of the doubt on the story. You read a book like an evil Clint Eastwood.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Amazon Customer
- 03-09-23
Who were you? Who are you?
Who might you become and what will that journey demand of you?
I love this story. It asks some very compelling questions about what it means to be and how we define ourselves over the course of a lifetime. It then wraps them up in grit and grime and obsession and serves them up to you in an all you can eat buffet.
I adore author narration and this book does not disappoint. I'm so excited that someone recommended this to me.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- HeyJack
- 09-20-21
very original story
very good book. looking forward to seeing where book 2 leads. very well written.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Robert
- 04-13-21
A Good Story! Topped with a stellar Performance
overall a good story! It does get repetitive when the main character questions his every decision but that's part of general story.
The author does an amazing job building the world and is able explain the lore easily as we journey with the MC.
The performance of the author is superb! I love how he was able to give each character voices and the emotion/passion that comes with them.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Arthur Fortune Jr.
- 06-04-20
“You’re not going to understand, at least not at first.”
Jet Li’s - The One, Pokémon, Highlander....All potential influencers and inspirations yet move over Frankenstein, Fletcher has made his own monster. In a tale told so well, so twisted and dark, you couldn’t see the foreshadowing. It was everywhere. This book has you questioning, again and again, “what is evil?” “How far is too far?” “If I root for this behavior, am I evil? Graphic at times, it’s darkest moments are done off camera and leave you to your own imagination. It contains lines like...
“Maybe I can give you the stab test.”
“Stab test?”
“If you don’t die, you’re a demon.”
“Not evil. Not evil at all, I chided myself.”
“Silence reigned like a terrible god.”
And every avid reader can relate to...
“I wanted to stop here, to spend my last days reading, to lose myself in their pages.”
So Mr. Fletcher I say to you, finish the series, so I don’t have to spend my last days losing myself in THESE pages...at least not on the first read through!!!
The author made a clutch decision to narrate the book himself and also crafted and a really epic rock intro and outro. While begrudgingly listening to it he informs us that he is still Michael R. Fletcher. Which is a relief after reading the contents of this book.
He did a great job and I hope he decides to narrate again.
*I was given an advanced reader copy for an honest review.*
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- FanFiAddict
- 06-04-20
Fletcher's Best Novel to Date
Black Stone Heart is Fletcher's best novel to date, and that is really saying something coming from someone who can't stop talking about Beyond Redemption.
An unforgettable story; one that cuts with the sharpest of blades and heals with the finest of salves. You will not be unmoved.
Khraen may be one of the best protagonists to hit the fantasy scene since Logen Ninefingers.
I had the opportunity to read Black Stone Heart (The Obsidian Path #1) a couple of years ago before it even had a title. The fact that I still remember every aspect of this story should tell you how much of an impact it had on me; not only an immersive read, but an emotionally charged one.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Alan
- 11-06-22
Dark and Beautiful.
Someone said that Black Stone Heart is a visceral masterpiece and they were right, it's also a bloody fantastically grimalicious read from start to finish. Michael R Fletcher is the grim reaper of souls and in my opinion the King Of Grimdark. I absolutely love Michael R Fletcher writing, I knew after reading his Manifest Delusions series I was in for another beautiful dark treat with this first book of The Obsidian Path series. His worlds are dark, his characters even darker, twisted and beautifully realised, this could be his best yet that I have read so far and I still have two books to go. If you're a fan of audible books, Michael R Fletcher narrates this one himself and does it beautifully. He gives a fantastic introduction with his Mad Dopple band jamming in the background. In Black Stone Heart our main protagonist, Khraen, wakes up less than a man, after pulling himself from a shallow grave. Naked and alone he slowly pieces himself back to some semblance of who he is and was, he regains his lost memories by collecting pieces of his shattered heart that are scattered across the lands, he begins a journey of self discovery and vengeance against those who tore him to pieces which will lead him to some horrifying places, dark magic and necromancy. A journey into morality and darkness. A nicely crafted tale of a man reborn and of the paths he chooses. Dark fantasy at its best. I very highly recommend..😁🔥💀🖤
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- paul nolan
- 04-06-21
Dark brilliance
Fantastic story showing struggles between who we want to be and who we are if given the opportunity. Dark, gritty and wonderfully told
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- D. S.
- 03-01-21
brilliant
A story of wonder and grim scenes. Everything great you'd expect from a Fletcher novel.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Timy
- 11-26-20
Black Stone Heart will never let you go
I’ve been wanting to read one of Fletcher‘s books for a while now as many of my friends praised his books, but I never quite got around to it. Lady Luck stood by my side and Black Stone Heart got sorted into our group. I took it as a sign and claimed it for myself. In the meantime the audiobook was also released and I got myself a copy of that too to speed things up. Little did I know what was waiting for me.
Black Stone Heart is the story of Khraen, a young (or old, depending on your POV) man in search of his past and the pieces of his obsidian heart. The first person POV makes Black Stone Heart a very intimate read as we tag along Khraen discovering the world and the answers to his questions through him. I generally favor books written in first person, so this aspect was a huge plus for me. There is something raw and powerful in Fletcher‘s writing that makes Khraen’s world to come alive. His thirst for collecting his memories, his hate for wizards bordering on irrational and the many form of magic than inhabit the pages.
I admit I had a bit of a love/hate relationship with Khraen, which – to me – shows his complexity as a character. On one hand, I sympathized with him and rooted for him to find his memories or to find his happiness with Shalayn. But as the plot went ahead, he started to make decisions I did not quite understand. His flaws started to come out more and more as he gained his memories and his personality changed with it. It was really intriguing to see that change, I might add. The way he battled with himself, trying to balance his new and old personality. But also, he resents the people of the North for treating him badly due to his dark skin color and old superstitions, but at the same time, he holds a similar prejudice against wizards. Sure, he has a good reason to hate them, but he never stops considering that maybe, just maybe, not every wizard is a traitorous bastard.
Another interesting aspect of Black Stone Heart is Khraen’s struggling with the concept of evil. Is killing people considered evil? And if you do it for your own survival? Or for the good of your people? Does the purpose make the deed excusable? And then, what is evil anyway? What makes Khraen a really memorable character is that the reader can’t really decide on which side he falls on the evil spectrum. I don’t think he knows it either. Characters like him make the Grimdark subgenre so damn intriguing for me. Because I just can’t make up my mind about him and it’s been a while since I’ve read it. Twice in quick succession because damn, Black Stone Heart just makes its way under your skin like a bad itch you can’t get rid of.
My only issue and the reason I didn’t give this book a higher rating is Khraen’s relationships with Henka and Shalayn. I won’t go into details so I won’t spoil anything, but suffice to say, I found his feelings a bit unbelieavable and a bit forced. He told us over and over and over what he felt but it felt more like pep talking himself and not convincing either of us. Though, in retrospect, some things do make sense by the end of the book.
That being said, Fletcher has this way of f*cking with your mind, whether you like it or not. There aren’t many big surprising twists – only one that really caught me by surprise and which I should have expected. It is more character driven rather than plot and even then, the Fletcher does not make life easy for them.
Black Stone Heart will make you uncomfortable, will make you question the actions of the characters but will never let you go. Do a favor to yourself and listen to the audiobook narrated by Fletcher himself. If you won’t fall in love with his voice and wish he was reading everything to you from now on, then there is something wrong with you.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Annoyed guy
- 11-02-20
Potential is there
Good Grimdark book that leaves you wanting more. Plot was a bit thin but the main character was very interesting and the story leaves you wanting more. Worth a pop.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Anonymous User
- 10-07-22
Amazing dark fantasy
Narration takes a couple chapters to get into. Very gruff and dark but once you realize how dark and horrible the world is, the narration feels like a perfect match.
An amazing journey, but don't go into it expecting a nice protagonist, these people do truly horrible shit and it's amazing because if it
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Amazon Customer
- 12-31-21
Dark & gritty, & addictive
Couldn’t put it down. Think it was even better being read by the author. Loved the different accents. Perfectly grimdark! Can’t wait to get the next book
People who viewed this also viewed...
-
The Obsidian Path: Omnibus
- By: Michael R. Fletcher
- Narrated by: Kyle Adams
- Length: 40 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A broken man, Khraen awakens alone and lost. His stone heart has been shattered, littered across the world. With each piece, he regains some small shard of the man he once was. He follows the trail, fragment by fragment, remembering his terrible past.
-
-
a leftist fantasy filled with woke ideology
- By MaDonna Wesberry on 01-14-23
-
Beyond Redemption
- Manifest Delusions, Book 1
- By: Michael R. Fletcher
- Narrated by: Paul Woodson
- Length: 15 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Common knowledge isn't an axiom, it's a force of nature. What the masses believe is. But insanity is a weapon; conviction a shield. Delusions give birth to foul new gods. Violent and dark, the world is filled with the Geisteskranken - men and women whose delusions manifest, twisting reality. High Priest Konig seeks to create order from chaos. He defines the beliefs of his followers, leading their faith to one end: a young boy, Morgen, must Ascend to become a god. A god they can control. But there are many who would see this would-be-god in their thrall....
-
-
Extraordinarily dark and disturbing
- By Amazon Customer on 04-28-21
-
The Quill and the Spear
- By: B.G. Harvey
- Narrated by: Paul Clark
- Length: 11 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Treason! Zarilina, scribe to the cruel emperor, forges imperial orders. She saves her home, but condemns a village to death. If her treason is discovered, the emperor may see her executed. Dorian, her beloved crown prince, will not let that happen. Sent into hiding at an old mage’s tower, Zarilina learns the art of magic, and discovers she is the catalyst to Dorian’s plan…the overthrow of the emperor.
By: B.G. Harvey
-
River of Fate: The Jade Scripture
- Book One
- By: David North
- Narrated by: Zachary Johnson
- Length: 17 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
What happens when the soul of an old soldier collides with that of a young cultivator in the River of Fate, where destinies twine together on the path to rebirth? The unlikely event has ramifications that will shake the heavens. The memories of the two souls combine into one individual, who is reborn by a command so powerful it warps reality itself. Finding himself alone, Verse must discover who he is and develop the strength to survive in a world where cultivation is the only law.
-
-
not for me
- By Mike Wiz on 03-01-23
By: David North
-
Lightblade
- Lightblade Saga, Book 1
- By: Zamil Akhtar
- Narrated by: Graham Halstead
- Length: 17 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
One day, Jyosh will climb the heavens and slay a dragon god. Though nothing could seem less likely for a slave, especially one whose body is too broken to cycle sunshine into destructive magical energy. Until he meets a woman who can secretly teach him the lightblade, an energy sword transmuted from sunlight, capable of changing size, shape, and performing incredible magical feats according to the wielder’s skill level.
-
-
Another great adventure from Zamil Akhtar
- By Collin on 03-03-23
By: Zamil Akhtar
-
Apocalypse Redux, Book One
- By: Jakob H. Greif
- Narrated by: Daniel Thomas May
- Length: 15 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Isaac Thoma lived to see the last handful of survivors defeat the demonic champion. He is now alone, his past in ashes, the last and most powerful human on a blighted Earth. But what if he could go back? Hurled back in time, Isaac has one chance to change it all. A chance to warn humanity of their impending doom. A chance to stop the [System] before shortsightedness and lust for power can render humanity extinct.
-
-
top tier world, no stupid MC
- By Dshoayo on 12-11-22
By: Jakob H. Greif
-
The Obsidian Path: Omnibus
- By: Michael R. Fletcher
- Narrated by: Kyle Adams
- Length: 40 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A broken man, Khraen awakens alone and lost. His stone heart has been shattered, littered across the world. With each piece, he regains some small shard of the man he once was. He follows the trail, fragment by fragment, remembering his terrible past.
-
-
a leftist fantasy filled with woke ideology
- By MaDonna Wesberry on 01-14-23
-
Beyond Redemption
- Manifest Delusions, Book 1
- By: Michael R. Fletcher
- Narrated by: Paul Woodson
- Length: 15 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Common knowledge isn't an axiom, it's a force of nature. What the masses believe is. But insanity is a weapon; conviction a shield. Delusions give birth to foul new gods. Violent and dark, the world is filled with the Geisteskranken - men and women whose delusions manifest, twisting reality. High Priest Konig seeks to create order from chaos. He defines the beliefs of his followers, leading their faith to one end: a young boy, Morgen, must Ascend to become a god. A god they can control. But there are many who would see this would-be-god in their thrall....
-
-
Extraordinarily dark and disturbing
- By Amazon Customer on 04-28-21
-
The Quill and the Spear
- By: B.G. Harvey
- Narrated by: Paul Clark
- Length: 11 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Treason! Zarilina, scribe to the cruel emperor, forges imperial orders. She saves her home, but condemns a village to death. If her treason is discovered, the emperor may see her executed. Dorian, her beloved crown prince, will not let that happen. Sent into hiding at an old mage’s tower, Zarilina learns the art of magic, and discovers she is the catalyst to Dorian’s plan…the overthrow of the emperor.
By: B.G. Harvey
-
River of Fate: The Jade Scripture
- Book One
- By: David North
- Narrated by: Zachary Johnson
- Length: 17 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
What happens when the soul of an old soldier collides with that of a young cultivator in the River of Fate, where destinies twine together on the path to rebirth? The unlikely event has ramifications that will shake the heavens. The memories of the two souls combine into one individual, who is reborn by a command so powerful it warps reality itself. Finding himself alone, Verse must discover who he is and develop the strength to survive in a world where cultivation is the only law.
-
-
not for me
- By Mike Wiz on 03-01-23
By: David North
-
Lightblade
- Lightblade Saga, Book 1
- By: Zamil Akhtar
- Narrated by: Graham Halstead
- Length: 17 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
One day, Jyosh will climb the heavens and slay a dragon god. Though nothing could seem less likely for a slave, especially one whose body is too broken to cycle sunshine into destructive magical energy. Until he meets a woman who can secretly teach him the lightblade, an energy sword transmuted from sunlight, capable of changing size, shape, and performing incredible magical feats according to the wielder’s skill level.
-
-
Another great adventure from Zamil Akhtar
- By Collin on 03-03-23
By: Zamil Akhtar
-
Apocalypse Redux, Book One
- By: Jakob H. Greif
- Narrated by: Daniel Thomas May
- Length: 15 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Isaac Thoma lived to see the last handful of survivors defeat the demonic champion. He is now alone, his past in ashes, the last and most powerful human on a blighted Earth. But what if he could go back? Hurled back in time, Isaac has one chance to change it all. A chance to warn humanity of their impending doom. A chance to stop the [System] before shortsightedness and lust for power can render humanity extinct.
-
-
top tier world, no stupid MC
- By Dshoayo on 12-11-22
By: Jakob H. Greif
-
The Book of Shadow
- The Curse of the Unnamed, Book 1
- By: Bruce Blake
- Narrated by: Danielle Lorentz
- Length: 11 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Caedric Carpera is desperate to save his son from a deadly illness. He enlists Llyris to locate a lost tome containing secrets capable of healing him, but its location is a mystery that’s already claimed lives. Thrust into a hostile world, Llyris and her companions risk everything to find the relic and return before the child’s sickness prevails.
By: Bruce Blake
-
The Lineage of Evanescence
- By: Saeed S. Alsuwaidi
- Narrated by: Joshua Leaño
- Length: 10 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Agony cries within the siblings, their faces tormented by the winds of destruction, chaos, and death that seemed to follow each of them individually and haunted them as a family. Profound struggles, coupled with the conundrums that had shaped his whole life, put Ahmu in the face of unseen, unparalleled dangers in search of the truth of his lineage.
-
The Immortal's Guide to Supervillainy
- By: M.E. Thorne
- Narrated by: Matt Hicks, Erin Bateman
- Length: 9 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
I changed the face of the world, creating a paradise for superhumans. All it took was throwing a fight and spending 40 years in jail. That was a small price to pay as an immortal. But now that I’m out on parole I fully intend on enjoying the world I created.
-
-
Great listen
- By Jerry Heath on 01-06-23
By: M.E. Thorne