Blood of a Fallen God: Can One Man Resurrect a Dead God?

Forgemaster Cycle, Book 1

By: Joshua C. Cook

Narrated by: Eric Bryan Moore

Length: 18 hrs and 16 mins

Publisher's summary

Stealing a shard of a dead god’s blood should have been enough adventure for a lifetime. For William Reis, it was just the beginning.

William has a single goal in his life, to succeed where generations of others have failed, and gain admittance to the Smithing Guild of Palnor. Men and women from the Reach have tried for years, but all have failed. They have failed for a single reason, a commandment from the Church of Amder. No one from the Reach can ever gain entrance to the Guild. A decree that remains unknown all but the Masters of the Guild, and even they don't know why.

Williams’s efforts make him a target and unleashes a violent and insane evil that needs one thing to claim the world, the end of the Reis bloodline. From the heights of the city of Ture, to the depths of the dungeons of the Temple of Amder, William must find a way to survive.

As he faces his own wavering resolve and long held grief, William must vanquish all who oppose him. To release those who have been corrupted, to stop the return of an ancient and sadistic evil, and to heal the world of Alos, William Reis must accept a fate he never wanted.

©2019 Joshua C. Cook (P)2023 Joshua C. Cook

Character development over action

I don't often read epic fantasy anymore. When I was reading it, the genre was called Sword and Sorcery. I tired of it because the character development was usually very rudimentary and the action, sometimes with no purpose, was paramount.

I am happy to say that the author puts believable characters before action. There is action, but it isn't added just for the sake of having action. It is there to move the story along. Perhaps there's a bit too much angst and uncertainty from both the young male leads, but they are young and grow into their roles towards the finale of the story.

The book is perhaps a little long, especially in the middle. But once you get past all the traveling the story moves along again. It's worth the effort.

This is a series, but the book nicely rounds out the first quest of the saga and doesn't leave the reader dissatisfied. But there are enough hints of future trials to leave a curiosity to know what happens next. I will be looking for the next in the series.

I was emotionally invested & couldn't put it down!

Will and Duncan Reis are loyal friends and cousins from a mining community called the Reach. They are the last of the Reis line. Will wants to follow his father's dream to become a member of the blacksmith guild. Duncan comes along for moral support while Will crafts his entry piece. Little do they know that this simple act will lead them down a treacherous path.

Will is a relatable and down-to-earth hero. He tries hard to keep his head down and stay out of trouble. He can't avoid his destiny. One god is out to kill him while another god gives him inspiration.

Duncan's strength of character starts out in a questionable place. However, by the end of the book, you discover how much he is willing to sacrifice to protect his family. He endures much and fights hard.

My favorite part of the book starts when the high priest is introduced which leads to the battle at the guild. I felt like I was part of the action surrounded by - unlikely allies, supernatural powers, and true sacrifice.

The narrator, Eric Bryan Moore, is amazing! I cannot sing his praises enough. He far surpassed my expectations. Not only did he give each character a distinct voice, but his evil supernatural interpretations were spine-tingling.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone who loves fantasy and action. This book is going on my "Worthy of a Second Read" list. I have only just discovered the author, Joshua Cook, through this book. I can't wait to read more of his books.

Epic Fantasy

Full of imagination with a great story. Charachters are well developed. It sets up future books without leaving you hanging. Great story

A story of determination

Will & Dunkin had a terrifying journey. Poor Dunkin struggled with his self control & Rach did her best to control him. Miriam was the best one to help Will with his final task. Overall a good read.

Great read !!!

Blood of a Fallen God is non stop rollercoaster ride of life and death. Will you follow the god of creation or the god of death. Who can be trusted? No one is who they seem. I don't want to give any spoilers. The characters are well developed and bring such emotion to this story. This is a MUST READ!!! From the moment I started reading this great story I could not put it down. The Narrator did such a great job I could feel the emotions the characters felt. Loved Blood of a follow God. I could not put it down. The story, the characters- wow simply just great. Again a Must Read !!!
I recieved this free review copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving my review.

Blacksmith gold

I won’t say this was a fast paced book like some others, but it did not disappoint and it did not slow down. Pulling some standard genre pieces, such as the small town boy secretly destined for greatest, it still brought something new feeling to the basic fantasy. It did not overly rely on magic, though it was there, nor an abundance of fantastical beasts (also there).

BoaFG still a story about Will trying to achieve his life long goal of becoming a Guild Blacksmith, something people from The Reach never could do. What follows is a Will being thrust into an ancient war, dead gods looking to be resurrected, church and guild political battles and one boy just trying to live his best life.

While it looks like there are more books in the series, this is a solid stand alone I would highly recommend.

Good First in Series

Really enjoyed the story. Slowed at times but never dragged. Narrator did a great job. There’s a lot more world to explore and I look forward to the next in series.

Engrossing dark fantasy with depth and substance

I loved this book and looking forward to the sequel. Great narration, great story, well plotted, lots of subtle world building, truly relatable main characters and an action packed inexorable rush to the epic conclusion. The Reis cousins, Willian and Duncan, from The Reach are the last of the Forgemaster's Blood line. This is their story, on different paths, as the gods battle to return. The excellent blurb sets the scene and any more would be a spoiler. Just be assured that once you start you will have trouble setting this book aside. Be warned that there are some truly grizzly and gruesome scenes, not for the faint hearted. This is perfect for fans of dark fantasy with lots of action. A word of praise for Eric Bryan Moore whose beautiful narration and clear characterisation added that extra special dimension to this immersive fantasy world.

Great Fantasy novel with detailed characters

Blood of a Fallen God is a great start to a Fantasy series. It mainly follows William Reis and his cousin Duncan. William is a blacksmith and his one goal in life is to gain admittance into the smithing guild, the only problem with that is that he lives in the Reach and for some reason over the last generations nobody from the reach has ever been accepted. With that premise you might not think that much can come from that but the book is very entertaining, really builds the world and its backstory and has plenty of mysteries. There are gods or at least 'dead' gods involved, there are cults who worship an Evil god and zombie like creatures that do their bidding.

The narration by Eric Bryan Moore is great and fits the tone and style of book quite well. The character development and interaction between characters is also well done. I would definitely recommend this book as it was quite enjoyable and a great start to the Forgemaster Cycle, I am very interested in further installments.

"Please note I was given this free review copy audio book at my request and have voluntarily left this review."

Best book I’ve ever read!!!

The book is an amazingly entertaining thriller. I would listen to it whenever I was in the car, sometimes for three hours in a row. I couldn’t put it down. The narrator did an excellent job reenacting the characters and their emotions. I could easily see every scene in the book. Would highly recommend it. I’m excited to start reading the second one and I’ll be very happy if there’s a third book.

If Mr. Cook is reading this, thank you for the free book! You are the best writer and a very good cousin.

Well worth it

Brilliant pace, twist and turns. Strong characters, and weaving of the story web. Kept things going right to the end and a epilogue to keep you guessing. Worth the time spent on this story.

Well worth a listen

An excellent fantasy novel with a fast moving and engaging plot. Characters are amply fleshed and written. Moore's narration is, on the whole, is superb although the quasi celtic accents for the two main characters are a tad irritating

Fantastic

I really enjoyed this story . The characters were excellent. fast paced and very easy to follow can't wait for next book.make this book your next purchase.

Forged in blood, a battle for all time

This was a long story (18 hours) and not my normal genre (I like mysteries) so I wasn't sure about this book but I wanted a change and the blurb sounded good, so I thought I would give it a go. Glad I did because I enjoyed the book and the time just flew by. With all the action and mystery as to who was going to survive, the story did not seem that long. The story does contain plenty of fighting and some unexpected deaths. It is told by multiple characters, so you follow both sides of the story as it unfolds. It is well written, the author has a way with words that make the scenes unfold before your eyes and the characters were likeable and left you hoping for a happy ending for them. The author has left the story with the possibility of a second book being released and I for one will be keeping an eye out for it.
After the death of his father and mother, William's dream is to complete his father's quest to become a member of the Smithing Guild. No one from his village has ever made it past the first stage but William is a Reis. His bloodline can be traced back all the way to the very last blacksmith that served the God before the epic battle that killed him. The reason for this is because the church are using items from the dead god to gain power and prestige and a Reis has the power to resurrect the God breaking there dominance over everything. William's entry piece is good enough to get him in but with his name stopping him he and the master guilder smuggle him In under a new name. There is one more Reis left alive, his cousin Duncan who while helping him forge his entry piece pays the ultimate price. He gets cut by a sword he finds in the abandoned forge and gets infected by a blood curse, most men are driven mad by the curse but with Duncan's Reis blood running through his veins he fights to battle the thirst for blood in order to help his beloved cousin. The two travel separately and take very different paths, one to join the master guilders and the other to save his cousin from being killed. With enemies and beasts trying to stop them at every turn the only way to save each other is the bring back a dead god. But he is not the only God who wants to be brought back to life because where there is good there is also evil.
I liked the narrator. I did find it very unusual for the two main characters (the cousins) to have Scottish accents but I thought the narrator did a good job with them.
I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Mediocre at best

Whilst there was a very interesting story arc, the character development could have been better. I am also not a fan of the way the narrator puts so much emphasis on the end of every word, it makes for a quite an annoying listen.

fantastic

what a fantastic audiobook from the pen of Joshua C Cook and narrated by Eric Bryan Moore. it was fast paced and totally engaging from start to finish xxxxxx

Action past, fast paced from start to finish

This book is really worth the read if you like sci-fi. Great plot, strong characters. Right up there with the hobbit, game of thrones etc. Think this author deserves huge success. Well written, very enjoyable. Can’t wait for the next instalment?

one of the worst narrators of all time

I only managed around 20 minutes of this audiobook before I almost lost the will to live. his cadence and tempo are so jarring, combined with his monotone droll and abrupt stops to sentaces it aught to be used as a torture device to end hostage negotiations

Baskerville Book ReviewsI previously reviewed Brid

I previously reviewed Bridgefinders by same the author. When I was contacted by the author about my review, they suggested I review Blood of a Fallen God. I’d already requested and been granted access to a review copy. That impacted how I viewed this book. Until I read that email, I had no idea these books shared an author.

Bridgefinders had an interesting concept but was lacking in pretty much every other way. I went into Blood of a Fallen God with the note from the author that it was a much better book. He was not kidding. The difference is night and day.

Everything about Blood of a Fallen God is interesting. The locations are all distinct and intriguing. They have their customs and cuisine, dangers and traditions. The characters are characters in this book and not cardboard cutouts. They have genuine feelings and emotions that go past the current plot contrivance which seems to be a rarity in novels these days.

Despite the predictability of where the story would eventually end up if found it is no less engaging and exciting. The A plot and the B plot were equally as compelling and I never found myself wanting to skip ahead or speed up when it switched.

At one point, I thought the story was ending. I checked Audible and found that I had 4 hours left. I was both excited that it wasn’t over yet as well as upset that I only had a few hours left. Blood of a Fallen God is easily one of the better fantasy stories I’ve reviewed and one I’m genuinely interested in following up on when I get the opportunity.

The narrator is equally as top-notch as I found the story. There were times when I had to remind myself that I was listening to this story for review because I was so enthralled. What stood out to me were the character voices and just his overall performance. He doesn’t just make each character feel unique; he reads every line with gusto.

NOTE: This copy was provided to me free of charge as a digital review copy. The opinions stated in this review are mine and mine alone, I was not paid or requested to give this book a certain rating, suggestion, or approval.

An Epic Tale

As the plot twisted and turned and the core characters evolved to reveal themselves in all their glory (or for some, horror) I was drawn more and more into the story. When I was given a review copy, I knew it was important to be honest about my feelings for the book, in any review, so I was nervous when I first heard the accents given to Will and his cousin, as I found them distracting - for example, in an early chapter, a crystal’s “facet” sounded oddly like “faucet”. However, once the characters settled in and a wealth of other players were introduced and each made distinctly and clearly different from the next, I just forgot about the accent and settled in to enjoy the book - which I did. Hats off to Eric Bryan Moore for making all the characters come to life and be instantly recognisable when they spoke. I love epic story lines like this and I would not have been surprised if this had been a trilogy of cliff-hangers rather than a very satisfying book by Joshua C. Cook, with a beginning, middle and, most importantly, an end. If the rest of his series can live up to the promise of Book One, I will thoroughly enjoy following it. There are a great many possible paths to travel that the characters still left at the finale might choose to take, good or evil - it looks like it will be an interesting journey. Look out Terry Goodkind, I think you may have some new competition.