Legends of Ahn

King's Dark Tidings, Book 3

By: Kel Kade

Narrated by: Nick Podehl

Length: 16 hrs and 15 mins

Publisher's Summary

Rezkin is an elite warrior who aims to restore order in Ashai after Caydean's attack on the King's Tournament transformed former allies and trading partners into enemies. With no army and only a ragtag group of refugees, Rezkin must wrest control of the kingdom from the mad and powerful usurper, who seems bent on destruction, and this may not be the biggest challenge. If he fails, the kingdom will be ripped apart, and Rezkin will have violated Rule 1 - to protect and honor his friends - leaving him without country, purpose, or honor.

©2017 Kel Kade (P)2017 Podium Publishing

Are you kidding me?

Let me say this. The first and second books were absolutely superb. They literally could not have been any better in terms of plot, length or character development. I usually prefer not to read books that seem to drag on for 9 or 10 titles but I was perfectly happy with the idea of Dark Tidings being a long series IF it would have continued along in the same fashion. As others have already said, the absolute worst thing about this particular book is the ending. I was literally listening to the book driving to work and the book...just...stopped. Its like the author literally got tired of writing and decided to end it right the middle of a thought. I have never been so disappointed and for the life of me cannot understand why such a brilliant author would disappoint his readers to such a degree. But that's not all. The author seemed to linger and linger and linger drawing out certain parts of the story that seemed to add no significant importance to the story, The main character is undergoing some sort of mid life crisis whereupon he is unrecognizable even to the characters in the flipping book! At this point introducing new elements to the story (such as demons and elves and the fae) that weren't previously there is just too much and too ambitious even for a writer as talented as Kade. Stick with your main characters and the main story. Rezkin now has 3 personas and trying to add more to that is completely unnecessary when we all know he will have his work cut out for him trying to tie all three plots together while dealing with the main focus of the plot -- which is the mad King in Ashai. Had the author tied all of the unnecessary sequences and tangents together I may have been okay with it but there was literally no plot to this book. It was like a "mini'' novel or side story until the author finished with the main book. No build-up, no climax no conclusion. The narrator -- who is brilliant on all accounts is the only reason I continued listening until the end to be honest. The ONLY reason I decided to give the overall review 4 stars is because I am hoping the author had some sort of excuse for this failing and will redeem himself with book 4. Other wise he will have effectively ruined a very special story and lost an audience of loyal followers.

Seemed rushed

I loved the first two books but this one seemed rushed and departed from the first two in a big way. It wasn’t bad but it wasn’t exceptional either. If this was a tv show it would be a filler episode.

Book 2.5 at best

So, I enjoyed the first 2 books quite a bit. Yes, a lot of it was somewhat predictable and the characters were a bit dense, but the writing was enjoyable and it seemed to be going somewhere. The writing wasn't going to break any records as far as plot and believable characters went, but they were in good fun and enjoyable to read. This book however seemed to lose a lot of the charm that had made the first couple books so interesting and really didn't go anywhere. Nick Podehl did a great job as always, but I really have no idea why this book is so highly rated.

First off, essentially none of the characters from the previous books save Rezkin have any screentime or character development. Frisha is upset that Rezkin doesn't match her image of the perfect man anymore. She's not willing to spend time with him to try to find out anything more about him or to examine her feelings in any depth, but she's unhappy.

Malcius blames Rezkin for his brother's death. He's not going to do anything at all, but gosh darnit, he's not happy either.

Reaylin existed. As did a couple other formerly important characters. Can't really say anything else about them because they were essentially non-existant as far as the story goes.

Not to worry though, we've got a new princess to add to the fold, pretty much so that Tam has a new love interest. Luckily the new princess has no hangups with regards to station.

Magic gets more messy. Rezkin's abilities are still unexplained even in the least little bit, but he can still use it to solve almost any problem that comes his way, in ways that all mages agree is impossible. I'm sorry, but by book 3, we should be getting at least an idea of the scope of his powers, rather than having them expand constantly to meet every possible otherwise insolvable problem.

Demons and fey are introduced and seem likely to become a major plot point, in spite of no one knowing that they actually existed in the books prior. Oh goody.

To sum up the book briefly, Rezkin gets a base of opperations and has to fight mysterious force. Everyone conforms to his will and we essentially see zero character development. Main plot (defeat evil king) gets postponed and by statements in this book, we can likely conclude that it's going to be postponed at least one more book so that Rezkin can make other countries leave his country alone with threats and blackmail. No character developement, no plot development; I really don't see how this counts as the next book in the series.

Almost Unacceptable! (0.5 stars)

Sigh... How to start.

I guess the book was well written in regards to sentence structure, and it was well narrated...

"STOP! Why, WHY!.. I kneel at your feet, and with eyes of despair I beg you. Answer me this: Why did you have to bring in elves, fey... and another 'princess'!?" 😣

This series went from a top notch dark fantasy, with blood, pain & grit, to a shallow fairy tale.

Psychologically intriguing characters, a champion with a complex personality disorder, philosophical and ethical dilemmas, and a "believable" magic system were all thrown to the wolves.

The 'cast' are all reduced to one dimensional characters, following DnD plotlines, stumbling through hopeless breaches of causality, plausability and possibility. A cognitive nightmare of the boring sort.

Fantastically unoriginal creatures steal the spotlight in an eventless mess, many filled to the brim with stereotypical boss traits. Goblins, wraits and more, cram the precious pages, leaving hardly any space left for progression of the story. how many days pass? 3, 4? who knows..

RUSHED FOR CASH?!

Author is killing off great potential with this single volume. I'd rather have a Rothfuss delay, than half a chamber-pot of this. The story gets nowhere, then just... ends?

It has been a long while since I have felt this betrayed. Which is why I grant this volume gets only 1 stars. I have to try to balance those max stars out. Because how can anyone rate this as high as the best literature out there?

I hope the author gets back on track in the next book, I was hoping for Abercrombie or Sanderson, but never expected Disney's worst. This book series is now closer to a PG-7 than Adult fantasy.

I expect that many may object to my review, but this feedback is heartfelt and honest. I am sorry to those I offend.

Something's lacking...

I'm not sure how to word it but I feel as though, compared to the previous books in this series, there is a lack of something. Perhaps it's a laziness of plot development or attempt to drag out the story needlessly. What started as an epic fantasy of blades, magic, and political conspiracy had devolved to a tale of mystical beings and demons. Without having any form of introduction from the previous books, it seems out of place. That aside, Mr. Podehl's performance was remarkable as always. With his range and variety I'd rank him right up there with the likes of Micheal Kramer, who I'm sure some of you are familiar with and hold on similar regard.

I will give the fourth entry in the series a chance once it's released, but if this trend continues that will be the last of which I bother with.

Hopefully some of you find my opinion helpful.

What was this

The first two were so good. This was garbage. I am extremely disappointed. The book was over and I thought it was just starting.

Better luck next time..

Nick Phodehl is my absolute favorite narrator hands down but I was completely thrown out of this story with the cowboy western accent. It didn’t fit in the story. I have purchased many books just because Nick is the narrator. I still think you’re amazing Nick but this one you were off your game.

The the first half of the book sounded like Kel Kade didn’t have a strong vision of what he wanted to write about. It finished off better but nothing like the first two books. I would suggest taking your time on the fourth one. I wish you well. I’m looking forward to a comeback in your performance. I believe in you and Nick.

Just filler

Not as good as the first two. This seemed like this book could have been the first half of a book. The author moved some pieces around and set up some stuff, but otherwise it was a very boring follow up. If they are going to be this short and without substance, the books better come out faster or I may be done with this series.

Tough read

This book was a little tough to get through. It had some great moments, but it felt like a lot of exposition. Since it's the third book, I wouldn't have expected so much work for the reader. I felt like I just had to get through it, which is not a feeling I enjoy. I'd like to spend more time on plot and less time explaining how good rezkin is at being rezkin. We get it. He can fight and he can spy. Let's move along.

Downturn

The story itself is good, however i grew to be annoyed with most of the characters and their character progression, even to the point of hatred for a couple

Not as good as the first 2

honestly I love this series but I feel this book is a bit of a let down. Nothing really happens, it's got what is usually second book syndrome but this time in the third. the narration is top notch as always though but I just feel the story is lacking in this one.

Amazing! Hurry up book 4!

Loved it...great story, could not stop listening 😊 great characters and how could you not love Res!

Well this book took a different turn…

Well this book took a different turn… It feels like the author changed his mind between book two and three and went in a whole new direction.

The two first books were pretty interesting (even though I thought the women tripping over their feet over Rez was a bit silly) with good character development and a cohesive story arc. Rez is traveling with his companions and trying to find his purpose in life. Character development is pretty good at this point (silly at times).
But all the sudden the author changed the scope of everything with little or no build up. Instead of dealing with a mad king the whole world is at stake all the sudden. The introduction of certain creatures feels like an afterthought since they are not mentioned at all beforehand.
Some characters that were central in the previous books are pretty much ignored and newly introduced characters lack depth. It's like the author don't know where he wants to go and the whole book feels forced and untidy.
I think this is where I take my leave.

Good, but not as good as the previous two.

Enjoyable but the conflicting relationships between characters is becoming overly complicated. and there are far too many characters that alot haven't been fleshed out. and most characters stay in the personality circle and constantly contradict themselves. the inner conflict in Rezkin felt like some hidden depth to an almost immortal being, but the depth just sort of turns to be regression in the all the developments he made so far. and the odd relationships he has with other characters, especially Frisha, are strained. I personally liked their pairing, and that pairing has become overly complicated and was barely present at all throughout the book. I found myself actually disliking Rezkin towards the end and hope for some sort of renewly of his character and the relationships he has. The ending was surpisingly abrupt and felt entirely uncompleted just as I hoped he'd fix one of the complication i mentioned he fell flat and un-observant of who he was talking to. The story on a whole was excruciatingly dulled compared to the previous books, though the scope is greater. The new setting should have allowed for some much needed character development and growth, instead the development was simply that someone could swing a sword faster. Seriously though the relationship thing with Rezkin and Frisha needs to be sorted out, it's really tedious.

The story moves along . Hope the next book comes out quickly. blah blah blah to fill this stupid 15 word minimum.

Misses the mark

I persevered with these books but they just come up short of being worthy of recommendation. The biggest criticism I have is virtually all the women in the story are so shallow in character it becomes irritating, I have to stop at book 3.

its finished?

really enjoyed the first books. this was a disappointment. i was still waiting for the main event of the book when it finished

Love it

I really love this series. i am going through them again waiting for latest to be published

Book 3 was still very entertaining

I was being very close to skipping the first book and the series - I'm so glad I didn't! It was due to reviews saying how the overpowered character was too perfect and unrealistic to the point it was painful to listen. Yes, the main character is overpowered, and whole world around him also questions how is it even possible for a human like this to exist. As the series progresses more and more clues emerge and everything starts making more and more sense.

This is series is in my top 10 favorite audiobooks. I loved the plot, the narration, the magic system. It was a fun series to listen to. One of key strengths of the series was how awesome different cultures / customs / organisations / kingdoms were portrait. The world feels vast, interesting, detailed. I'm looking forward to reading more books from the series. Hopefully the author, Kel Kade won't make any more spin-off books and will continue the main plot. Nick Podehl - it was an amazing performance. Thanks for reading this book with all different voices for various characters.

What happened?

Books 1-2 were fantastic but this was not nearly as good, What in the world happened? Seems like the writer changed or something