Forge of Destiny: Volume 3

Destiny Cycle, Book 3

By: Yrsillar

Narrated by: Natalie Naudus

Length: 17 hrs and 36 mins

Publisher's summary

Advancement has come quickly to Ling Qi. With help from strong allies and connections, her foe has been defeated.

The enemies of the alliance she has helped to build have surrendered. Her talent no longer goes unnoticed in the Celestial Empire, casting new eyes on her path. Those like her are accounted for; a title of nobility is within her reach...a prize with implications that will stretch over her now long life.

Looming over it all is the end of year tournament: the last barrier between her and the Inner Sect, with all its resources and lessons. How will she face another opportunity to rise even further from the hard-scrabble streets and alleys of Tonghou?

Inspired by ancient folklore, modern martial arts, and Xianxia, Forge of Destiny cultivates a world both fantastic in setting yet familiar in the humanity of its inhabitants. Don't miss this third installment of one of the most popular titles on Royal Roads - with more than seven million copies sold - elegantly performed by Earphones Award-winning voice artist Natalie Naudus.

©2021 Yrsillar (P)2021 Podium Audio

Way better than book 2

I liked this book way more than book 2. There was too much immature relationship drama in book 2 for my liking. I understand it is a necessary part of character development/progression, but I am glad we got past that nonsense in book 2. In this book the characters start behaving more like adults and focus on their training for the tournament. This was much more to my liking, but the politics get a little tedious. For context, I don't care for elaborate political maneuvering, which is why I don't read epic fantasy. This is a personal preference, but I will say the politics are well thought out and interesting if you're into that sort of stuff. I already bought the next book and hope the 5th book comes out soon!

Fantasy Masterpiece!!!

The writing and character development in this series are nothing short of amazing. Even minor players have depth and breadth. There’s a deep knowledge of martial arts and history that adds weight to the storytelling.

I’m also impressed by the Natalie Naudus’ ability to communicate subtlety and differentiation among so many characters.

This is a true masterpiece of fantasy!

Scale vs. Scope

I feel the story is not a bad one. It certainly picks up a bit more and paints a better picture of the political field compared to the previous ones and even makes the pull between romance and friendship as well as duty its own minefield to navigate. I just wonder where it will go from here and if somehow the protagonist will fight the high-end characters who control the fate of clans and cities.

Narration at its best

If you have gotten to this third book it’s likely you will not be surprised at the storyline. Yes it’s a little troupe-y but the whole vast array of characters are so well developed that it doesn’t grate on you as particularly obvious.

I feel like this narrator deserves much accolade as her narration and modulation and pacing is absolutely excellent for this book. Her pronunciation of names is so real despite their complexity that it serves to draw you in deeper to the story. Combine that with her pacing and it turned a unique book into a fantastic production. I hope there will be more books following Ling Xi in her next evolution.

Many gem moments. Great book!

Such a vivid world. Top shelf stuff. Well written and narration is excellent. Unbelievable subtleness.

Gratitude.

Hard to keep up

So many characters with similar names, so it was hard to keep up at times. But I do love Ling qi and Bai MeiZhen!

Spectacular finish to the first arch

It may seem a bit odd to call three books and over fifty hours of content a "first arch," but if you know how these types of web novels are, you will know that this is pretty standard. Forge is by far one of the best written books of the style and genre. Plenty of action, humor, development, drama, and even a bit of romance. The story is well thought out and far more coherently put together than you would normally see in a book written like this. I believe a lot of this comes from it's origins. an online role playing game. Lot of people to check and recheck that everything is making sense. The only gripe i have, is that heir are so MANY great characters in the novel that i am often left wanting to know everything i can about them. this series could have a half dozen awesome companion novels following all of the other spectacular people we are introduced to through Ling Qi. Lol and after so much content already, being left wanting even more is hardly a critique at all.
The only real critique i have is that it seemed towards the end of the novel that Ling Qi forgot she had a ranged attack in Falling Stars, Would have only been good for one fight, but it was odd that she chose chasing a person around rather than using it. Beyond that nothing else, including sleep lol, took me out of the story.

I cannot wait to see what this author and this series has in store for the future.

More of the same, for the better and the worst

I've enjoyed the story so far, but I think here is where I steep down.
The trilogy of books is in reality a huge book cut three times, spanning only the first year of the story.
Having so much detail is cool, but the world feels so huge and alive to be trap in so small place at all times.
Adiccionally, the main plot sin is that it has no surprise, everything plays as ypu might expect. The story is enjoyable still, but the shine is lost a little.
The performance of the reading continues to be almost impecable, and in times the only way not to get lost among all the characters.

Loved it

I'm happy with the way it ended. it's also nice to see a "realistic" main character rather than an overpowered one.

Enjoyed, and…

Loved the first 2 books, this one was hard to get into, not a lot of fighting but political stuff and I hope the MC progression gets out of school. Recommend but hopefully more of the vast world. Very well thought out book.