House of Bastiion

The Haidren Legacy, Book 1

By: K.L. Kolarich

Narrated by: James Wolven

Length: 12 hrs and 16 mins

Publisher's summary

The Series

House of Bastiion is the award-winning first installment in the epic fantasy series, The Haidren Legacy. An immersive adventure armed with dark politics, sharp objects, and bickering characters, this treacherous saga packs a legendary punch for adult and NA listeners alike. Perfect for fans of Brandon Sanderson, John Gwynne, and Sabaa Tahir, this savage series is not for the faint of heart.

BEHIND THE MASK OF DUTY AND POWER, NO ONE IS WHO THEY SEEM....

Centuries after the Forgotten Wars ravaged the world and turned it to ash, the Houses of Pilar, Darakai, Boreal, and Bastiion forged an accord with the royal line of Thoarne, founding a Quadren of advisory to the throne of Orynthia. Every generation, a single haidren from each of the four Houses is appointed to this coveted chair.

Upon her ascension to adulthood, Luscia Tiergan takes her seat at court as al’haidren to the House of Boreal and is quickly drawn into a maze of political traps and dark secrets. As she adjusts to her new life, Luscia uncovers a pattern of forgotten children, slain in the streets of Bastiion.

Raised on superstitious rumors about Boreal’s penchant for sorcery, Zaethan Kasim, al’haidren to the House of Darakai, inevitably clashes with Luscia when she arrives in Bastiion. But when his position is threatened by an old rival, Zaethan is forced to set aside his hatred and form an uneasy alliance with the Boreali al’haidren to secure his claim.

Following a disturbing stream of innocent bloodshed across Orynthia, Luscia and Zaethan discover their ideals are far more aligned than they might have imagined. But in a land of war and deceit, the path to peace should never be trusted.

©2020 Rogue Kite Publishing (P)2022 Rogue Kite Publishing

I couldn’t listen

I couldn’t listen to this book. It bugged me that I could hear the narrator breathing. 🤷‍♀️

Epic prose paired perfectly with ethereal music

James Wolven's smooth voice, paired with the unique score, truly gave this an other worldly feel. I did have to speed it up a little, his pacing is a bit bit slow for my taste, but he gives a good performance.

Enter the lands of Orynthia! Where the world building and culture descriptions are extensively riveting, and the morally gray characters steadily open up and grow, though some slower than others. The storyline is peppered with twisty politics, rich cultures, and new languages, plus mysteries that tug on my "gotta know what's happening" strings. Then there's the time-old predjudices that seem to breach all barriers of genre, fact and fiction, and that's where Luscia and Zaethan's enemies-to-allies-to-maybe-something-else dynamic checks off one of my favorite trope boxes, so yes, I'm absolutely invested in this series! Truly my newest obsession, re-reading, I picked up even more clues to the various mysteries & machinations that are entwined within.

The Quadren is made up of:

Al'Haidren to Boreal, Lady Luscia: Cunning, mystical warrior, compassionate, healer, badass heroine, yet sheltered & hiding a tragic past, bringing with her a war-tainted Wolx, Aksel, along with her Najjan, her personal elite guards.

Al'Haidren to Darakai, Zaethan: Overprotective, tormented, loyal, fierce, badass hero, sheltering a giant heart, but also a close-minded semi-racist.

Prince Dimitri, Royal Line of Thoarne lineage, he's sickly, yet a wise strategist, a realist & a compassionate level- headed individual, the glue to his future Quadren.

Al'Haidren to Bastiion, Ira: A skirt-chasing, party-loving, comedic lush intent on sampling all the pleasures of Bastiion... including Luscia, if she'd be so inclined.

Al'Haidren to Pilar, Lady Sayuri: stunning, sneaky, haughty, vicious & entitled place holder, aiming to snag a prince, and sowing discontent.

These are the Prince's future Quadren and they do NOT play well with each other, which makes it immensely entertaining as they get to know one another!

This is not a quick, popcorn read, this needs to be slowly savored as the world opens up. It's builds at first, with 1/3 dedicated to groundwork, though I wasn't put off with this, since there is so much to discover. Once things take off, hold on to your seat, for you'll be as enamored as I am. Once done, if you are like me, with further questions and theories, Kolarich has a fully immersive website to continue to learn about the world and political plays.

I cannot wait for to move on to the House of Darakai, for I know it will be as epic as this one!