Harbinger of Ash

War Aeternus, Book 4

By: Charles Dean

Narrated by: Jeff Hays, Annie Ellicott

Length: 14 hrs and 37 mins

Publisher's summary

Lee has managed to survive encounters with the heralds of three different gods, but the price he has paid has been tremendous. Every step he takes leads him closer to victory in the cruel game he has been forced to play, but it also takes him further down a dark path and away from the man he used to be. 

After receiving a request for aid from a beautiful and mysterious messenger, Lee and his inner circle travel to nearby Birnefeld, a large and prosperous city ruled by the dragon king. Before he ever arrives, however, Lee encounters a group of marauders ransacking the countryside, meets a strange new herald who has set up camp in the region, and receives the dire news that the hero Brigid of Kildare has gone missing. To make things worse, a powerful new enemy is stalking him from the shadows, toying with his dreams, and striking at his closest relationships. 

With the seeds of doubt sown, Lee has to choose whom he can trust before his nightmares become reality and everything he has worked so hard for goes up in flames.

©2017 Charles Dean (P)2019 Charles Dean

good story, HORRIBLE MC

Narrator is FANTASTIC and the idea for the magic system and main story line are unique and interesting. the secondary characters are hilarious and well written.
The Main Character however is a TOOL BAG!
I dont like him. I did in the 1st and 2nd book but half way through the 3rd and this one I've grown to hate him. The sexual frustration and insecurity is grating. I want to punch him.
I can tell what the auther is trying to portray however there isnt any substance to back it. he thinks he is a horrible person bc of his decisions however there isnt any decisions that would lead anyone to that conclusion. if anything he'd be labeled that bc of his LACK of decisions and his lying. or the fact that he completely ignores his God/father and the system lady who know WAY MORE than him. for no reason ether. his lack of love life is ridiculous and makes little sense. hiding behind a new relationship with a girl on another plain of existence for ignoring the advances of his dedicated companions. he was avoiding sex LONG before his "girlfriend"
one person, a computer generated person, dies and now he is self deprecating and borderline EMO. he lost his confidence that made him likable.
The only reason I got the 4th book is bc the other characters are awesome and the story behind the war and the gods have me hooked. LEE is a dipstick!

Epic book

There were so many great moments in this book that left me clinging to my phone as I listened. I had real feelings of frustration, pride, and anger as I followed the main character's struggles. I will be re-listening to this series again and again

Good plot, waaaay too much hand-ringing.

The plot and story were in line with the other books, but the MC spent the entire book agonizing about internal BS... which would have been fine as an undercurrent. However it felt like the author couldn’t go ten pages without rehashing the MC’s moral dilemmas, and it just got annoying after awhile.

I hope the author manages to resolve this in the first five pages of the next book because I doubt I could make it through another installment like this one.

I gave it a generous 4 stars in the hopes that this is just a passing annoyance in an otherwise entertaining series.

damn good!

great story - fantastic narration!

the worst thing about this book is that it ends.

a captivating continuation of a wonderful story.

great

I love this series. it is a great listen. two thumbs up for adding the female voice actor

Still looking forward to the next installment!

The action, drama, comedy and PTSD keep going strong! If you liked the previous works you won't be disappointed. If you like reading about characters with character and flaws who utilize their brain I recommend trying the first book ;)

another knockout entry into the series

with arguably one of the best performances that brought different voices and sounds and a great continuation of the Story this continues the already great series!

shear awesomeness

I love this series so much can't wait for the next one. keep up the good work

All Hail Augustus, the God of Alcohol and Crafts!

The fourth entry into the War Aeternus series takes on a much darker tone. The protagonist, Lee, has changed so much from the cowardly person he was in the first book. Jade is still my favorite character in the series, her non-stop anime and video game references serve as a humorous counterpoint to Lee's more serious tone.

Soundbooth Theater did an amazing job, as always. The use of sound effects was a good decision on their part, and Jeff Hayes's performance of Jade was enjoyable to listen to.

Highly recommended.

Book 4 disappointment

This series is fairly light as are so many of the litrpg book I enjoy reading. This (final?) book in the series was however a let down. I felt like Dean was in a rush to wrap things up and sped through the story line. Also, the narrator began using sound effects - like an old time radio program. I found this to be very distracting. Maybe if he had done this throughout the series, I wouldn't have found it so distracting, but I wasn't a fan.
If you've begun reading this series, save yourself a couple bucks and skip this volume.

With that said - I did enjoy the first three volumes pretty well.

Terrible turn to the series.

What the heck is the author thinking? It's like he woke up, sat down to write the book and thought, "How can I make my readers hate my characters?"

I found it stupid when the MC is talking about "acting" like a villain when in truth he IS one. I spent the whole book hoping their was some rational explanation for both his actions and the rest of his group, and it is still possible I guess that he is being affected by woman in his dreams, but there is zero evidence to support that being the case by the end. So in short he is just becoming a monster worse than half the people he has killed in previous books. Worse than that fool Miller too.

The MC gives no thought to how to deal with anything other than kill, kill, and kill some more. Oh, and not just on the bad guys. He just kills anyone that annoys him. Quite literally kills thousands of innocent people in this book, and while some of them might be argued as having been done with little choice he doesn't even look for another choice. Not only that, he ENJOYS it. Certainly he commits at least three cold-blooded murders in this book with none of them guilty of any crime.

So while some of the story is good I'm all about characters if I'm going to enjoy a book and I loathed the MC and Miller in particular in this book. I also do not think Lin would still be staying with him by now. Certainly if she finds out the stuff he has done when she wasn't there on top of what she was there to see.

On I so loved it

Another great book form the War Aeternus series. Jeff and Annie as always great with their voice acting. The story itself is also amazing, the plot easily kept me engaged and after what happened at the end of the book I can’t wait for the next one.

good

a good if somewhat brutal continuation of the story, narrator is as good as always

Basically turns into your torture porn

Such a shame that the author took the main character down this path. I get that it's how he is reacting to the world, but it's rather sickening to listen to the constant torture, screams, and begging as the MC goes full tyrant.

pretty good

to me, there is a problem with how cemented he is to an awkward harem and the human world story is a bit contrived. but its very well written compared to almost any other lit rpg.
seems to embody a lot of subtle awkwatd simplistic anti idealist stuff which seems to fit a lot
, since lit rpgs are normally quite simplidtic and mary sue/about being op.