Chaosmage

Age of Darkness, Book 3

By: Stephen Aryan

Narrated by: Matt Addis

Length: 14 hrs and 38 mins

Publisher's summary

Voechenka is a city under siege. Decimated by the Battlemage War, its restless dead attack every night, begging the living to join them beyond the grave.

Three survivors will fight to save the city. Tammy, whose investigation could rescue Voechenka from its grisly fate. Zannah, who must pay penance for her war crimes. And Balfruss: scholar, traveller and battlemage.

One of Fantasy Faction's Best Books of 2016.

©2016 Stephan Aryan (P)2016 Hachette Audio UK

Critic reviews

"Epic fantasy for readers who appreciate extra helpings of carnage with their backstabbing." (Publishers Weekly on Battlemage)

"Aryan's battle scenes are visceral masterpieces that transport the reader deep into the melee." (Taran Matharu, author of the Summoner novels)

"A vivid and rousing adventure with the kind of magic that punches you right in the face." (Jen Williams on Battlemage)

A step back from the first book

The story shown to us is less interesting than the one told to us. The narrator spent too much time world building and trying to make unrelatable characters relatable. The cat and mouse game was interesting but under developed. Characters we loved in part one were missing except for a few meaningless scenes. I think the writer missed an opportunity to show a really good story.

exceptional

well written and very well read, I like that the author brought back old characters. would of like to seen more of them but that's it.. great visuals and epic adventure.

Fantasy violence and magic. Good stuff.

Would you consider the audio edition of Chaosmage to be better than the print version?

I've not read the print version but I'm a huge fan of Matt Addis as a narrator, he adds a lot to the story so I can't see the print version being better.

What other book might you compare Chaosmage to, and why?

If you've read Battlemage and Bloodmage, this is closer to Battlemage, especially in terms of fighting, magic and violence. If you've not read books 1 and 2, fans of Brandon Sanderson probably will not be left too disappointed for story line and complexity of characters.

Which character – as performed by Matt Addis – was your favourite?

He has such a broad range, giving each race a particular accent. I think he suits a wide range and his female voice is pretty good (not that silly weak voice so many male narrators go with). To answer the question though, I've enjoyed his interpretation of Vargus throughout.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

It's not really that sort of story.....

Any additional comments?

A good third book in the series. I liked it better than Bloodmage.

Another great book...

The style of Stephen Aryan and the narration of Matt Addis create the perfect blend yet again.

Conclusion, but not quite

The Age of Darkness comes to an end with this book and it is an exciting, it violent, conclusion. However, it is clear that there is plenty of room for the next age to start - hence the new novel coming out soon.

My biggest criticism is that too many of the individual stories are inconclusive. I had expected that by the end of the trilogy that I would know what happened to some of those characters who had been introduced but unfortunately this was not the case. Perhaps this says more about my liking for tying up of lose ends rather than the novel itself.

Good story

Really enjoy the stories and variety of characters. Also narrated very well. Enjoyed it very much

Good story but I skipped much

Good story well narrated so it was easy to get into it. I found the battle scenes too much and long so started skipping through then found myself skipping some of the reflective stuff as the tail dragged hence the loss of a star. However I was still engaged with the outcome so this didn’t lose me.

Good reading, will re-read moments from the book

I have enjoyed all three books and I can definitely recommend them to anyone who likes good fantasy, with brutality and more or less mature themes and philosophical discussions. This one is on the same good level as others. And Matt Addis is overwhelmingly good!

nice ending to a gripping trilogy

another great book that i greatly enjoyed listening to. the only small issue i had was that the end felt a bit rushed. what seemed like major events were happening back to back like if the author were 'running out of time' to tell the story. but that doesnt reduce the impact of the great story telling. def8nitely will listen to it again in future.

Thoroughly enjoyed!

Loved that the battles that were missing from book 2 came back with a vengeance along with Balthrus!
Brilliantly written, and very well read! Can’t find fault with it!

great finally, I loved the twists and turns

it started slow obv to set the scene but picked up the pace and provided a satisfying ending

Great absorbing epic

Love the series. Rapidly evolving characters and strong continuity between episodes in the series. More!!