Child of the Daystar

By: Bryce O'Connor

Narrated by: Mikael Naramore

Among the scattered fringe cities bordering the Cienbal desert, the true name of the Monster of Karth is spoken only in whispers...RAZ I'SYUL ARRO. A sellsword of the utmost caliber, Raz is a killer of paramount skill and highest regard. Towering tall even amongst the atherian, he is the only of his kind to live free in the "civilized" confines of mankind's varied cultures. He has no need of loyalties, his sole affections pledged to the gold crowns that buy his time and skills.

Wed to his blades, Raz's only friends are the Moon and Her Stars and the shadows they bring with the night. But Raz was not born to the mercenary's way, to the butchery and battle of day-by-day survival.

Raz, like a sword, was hammered from steel and fire and ashy smoke, forged on the ruins of an old life. And Raz knows who he owes this new path to, this carved way of blood and iron. The Monster of Karth, after all, would never forget who gave him that name. And some debts can't be paid in gold....

©2015 Bryce O'Connor (P)2016 Audible, Inc.

excellent, a different type of character

Excellenr book and an excellent audio presentation. The protagonist is a different type of character, which I found very welcomed and enjoyed. The audio performance ... because it was done much better than just a read through, as reader used variations in tone, accents and more ... was one of the best audio books which I've ever hear. i am guaranteed to look for both author and reader later ... after finish this review.

Bad-ass Protagonist in Good Origin Story

Would you listen to Child of the Daystar again? Why?

Things I enjoyed:
-Don't see such a powerful main character nowadays, loved that
-Had some touching human moments
-Interesting social system involved

Things I didn't enjoy:
-Didn't feel like a complete story, more like a first act
-Not a ton of depth to the characters or story, writing read almost YA or shallow
-Pacing felt off, spent too much time developing him as a child/adolescent vs. his older years; kind of off balance

What was one of the most memorable moments of Child of the Daystar?

When the book transitions from Raz's adolescence to young adulthood

Did the narration match the pace of the story?

Yes, narration was good throughout

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Not really, had some dry patches

Excellent

Excellent work by the writer, as well as a truly explanation performance by the narrator!

Entertaining story.

Happy that Roz came to his senses; and I want to read what happens next.

Slow but picks ups and runs

The story starts off slow but it picks up mid way through the book and just holds your attention. I would say worth.

Fast Paced and Badass, Could Slow At Points

This. This right here is what I am looking for. A MC who has no problems letting heads roll, and not being held back by moral code, if a MFer needs to to die, he makes sure it gets done. If you want a no mercy MC with valid reasons and hardly a filter give this a read.

**Spoilers**

When it comes to pacing the first time skip was needed as he Raz was very young and we knew he would grow with this family and come into his own with them. So it was much needed to avoid too much down time when their are more things to get to. He isn't invincible as a child but after years of the harsh land and his body naturally being battle ready it makes sense.

The second time skip I think shouldn't have happened as it did. More time should have been showing Raz going insane and taking his anger our while protecting those left right then and their and not flash back us or tell us with internal thoughts later on. Mostly when it will shape how he reacts to thing in future.

As for the other character and world. I would say this world seems very well thought out, but it is too much for us as we don't know the layout, what happened for the world to end up like this, and so on. Yes we get hints of it as the stories goes, giving us a show not tell but when the world is new of your own mind you need to lay the ground work for the world first so we go in with some information.

The characters names are so complex sometimes I forget who is who if it wasn't for the slight difference in the voice work. Simpler names and sticking to the first name after the introduction in some cases is for the best. The herione who will come back in contact with Raz later I forget her name every time the chapter is not focused on her. Raz's name is easy to remember and helps keep in my mind who I am talking about as well cause he stands out a Lizard/dragon man.

Fix that pacing and world setting up. Along with removing the blurbs at the start of EVRY chapter and this would be higher rated for me personally.

Razor was the power

Was a bit Gory, much cussing, didnt like the ending left the story hanging with out direction

Start of a new Book-Lust

(For younger listeners) It says the F word a handful of times along with with other curse words and mature themes.
That being said, I loved this selection. The book was expertly written and flowed well. The story was CAPTIVATING! I can not wait to listen to the other books in the series! HIGHLY RECOMMEND.

A good read well performed

An interesting read about the darkness of humanity from an inhuman source. I look forward to the next installment.

great

this is a great story. cant wait to start the next book. for those that are curious I would not pass this book up. takes a couple chapters to set the stage but after that an amazing adventure