Master of Sorrows

The Silent Gods, Book 1

By: Justin Travis Call

Narrated by: Peter Kenny

Length: 19 hrs and 16 mins

Publisher's summary

You’ve heard the story before: an orphaned boy, raised by a wise old man, comes to a fuller knowledge of his magic and uses it to fight the great evil threatening his world.

But what if that hero were destined to become the new dark lord?

The Academy of Chaenbalu has stood against magic for centuries. Hidden from the world, acting from the shadows, it trains its students to detect and retrieve magic artifacts, which it jealously guards from the misuse of others. Because magic is dangerous: Something that heals can also harm, and a power that aids one person may destroy another.

Of the academy’s many students, only the most skilled can become Avatars - warrior thieves, capable of infiltrating the most heavily guarded vaults - and only the most determined can be trusted to resist the lure of magic. More than anything, Annev de Breth wants to become one of them.

But Annev carries a secret. Unlike his classmates who were stolen as infants from the capital city, Annev was born in the village of Chaenbalu, was believed to be executed, and then unknowingly raised by his parents’ killers. Seventeen years later, he struggles with the burdens of a forbidden magic, a forgotten heritage, and a secret deformity. When Annev is subsequently caught between the warring ideologies of his priestly mentor and the Academy’s masters, he must finally decide whether to accept the truth of who he really is…or embrace the darker truth of what he may one day become.

©2019, 2020 Justin Travis Call (P)2020 Blackstone Publishing

If you like The Name of The Wind you will love this book

I was hesitant because this book was free & I have never had a good experience with a free book on audible.

I am so glad I stuck with it though! The narrator was phenomenal & the story was great. I highly recommend if you enjoyed The Name of the Wind.

Peter Kenny my beloved

I’d give this book a solid 8.5/10. If I was 15 I’d probably give it 10/10 and be obsessed with it. I happened across this book in my suggestions because I read The Witcher (with Peter Kenny) and I guess that’s why it’s related since the plot wasn’t anything like The Witcher lol.

I wanted a few-day read to listen to while I was assigned to a new project where I would mostly be sitting and waiting for something to happen, so I thought I’d use a credit on it. Annev is a likable MC. Even as a girl I felt like I connected to him the most and maybe Titus second. I liked the gods in it too, the myths weren’t campy and it felt like real folklore. Sodar is out here writing the fantasy novel Talmud lmfao as a Hebrew person I liked the discussion on interpretation of religious text and not just ‘our guy is good and this guy is evil’ stuff. Some characters you hate in the beginning you like at the end too. Won’t spoil.

I never found myself bored so that’s a huge plus! I was genuinely entertained and that’s enough for me bruh. I can tell a YA book slaps when I imagine it as an anime and I’m like ‘oh yeah it’s all coming together’ and can tell which characters fans would simp for ect. I would give this one naruto-level-popularity of shounen anime points. Annev isn’t as loud and screamy as most shounen protags but he’s definitely got the ‘if I just try harder and believe’ monologue goin and the actually OP in a crisis parts. There’s even a bully love rival character and a stoic black hair with scar who’s better than the protag at his One Thing character.

TLDR: entertaining book, good characters, reminds me of shounen anime

Interesting story that fails Bechdel Test

Honestly, this story is pretty compelling and keeps your interest despite being your typical "missing heir" sort of premise.

My main complaint is that the women in this story all end up dead, save one and she's pretty awful. The main character is the victim in every instance in his life and somehow the women are at fault. it gets old fast and makes you wonder if the author got enough love as a child. *side eye*

Awesome!

An excellent read. If the Harry Potter series had a baby with Hunger Games, it might be this cool.

Wonderfully Written!

What an exquisite debut! I finished this just in time, as book 2 is now available! This is a perfect new Fantasy for every fan! Pick it up now!

I love this character

I absolutely love the story. It flows in a chaotic beauty towards what you would think the story would go, and then the character makes a choice that seems to many, according to previous reviews, not to make sense. But personally I identify very strongly with Annev, his teenage angst, his obstinate will to do what he wants, and his rejection of being told what to do or how to do it.

On a story level I feel like I’m being rushed down a secret tunnel, as the author slowly unveils secrets and mysteries the tie strongly to the various verses from the religious tomes that precede the sections in new and varying ways. I enjoyed the wind in my hair!

Overall I will definitely continue to listen as the story continues, because I can’t wait to see where it leads.

(If you enjoyed the Time Master Trilogy, this reminds me of the same feel)

Loved it.

This is a great read looking forward to the next book. And will check out more books by this author.

Great Start!

This is shaping up to be a amazing series that nobody is really talking about. You know from the first words of the book (a prophecy) that the main character is supposed to become this Dark Lord and he is likable enough so it’s about his journey to get there. I love it when authors invert tropes in interesting ways. The magic school aspect, prose, and leisurely pace remind me a bit of Name of the Wind. I personally feel these books so far is better but for some reason some books get really popular and some don’t.

A little slow, but let it ease you in

It took me a hot minute to get into, it was a bit slow at first, but that's because you're being gently eased into the story. Pieces start fall together and you go "ooh that's why it was written this way".

Much like the Goodreads blurb says, the setting is tiny hidden village where a a young boy has been orphaned and has been raised by a priest, but is being trained at the "academy" where he learns super exciting fighting skills and masters different weapons. A familiar setting.

The cast of characters, you got your main character Annev, 17 years old, obviously must be in love, doesn't want to be told what to do. But honestly, the character is developed well, he has some depth and I am excited to see where he goes.

I'm not going to try and spell anyone else's name, I never saw them spelled out only heard on Audible so I'll butcher it.

Mentor: Your good guy priest with the grey past who knows all the secrets but doesn't tell them. I actually enjoyed this one too, because he never forced Annev to do anything he didn't want to do and didn't make him feel guilty about his decisions either.

Headmaster: Your Snape like character that you aren't sure if you should trust/like/hate.

Love interest: Obviously must be the headmaster's daughter. I was hoping that she wasn't in the book to be a generic love interest with no depth, I'm really hoping we see her return and grow in the next books.

Enemy to friend: Nothing remarkable, but gotta love the trope and I love to see them build trust

Overall, I'm still intrigued because the Goodreads blub says "But what if the boy hero and the malevolent, threatening taint were one and the same?

What if the boy slowly came to realize he was the reincarnation of an evil god? Would he save the world . . . or destroy it?"

This book gave no answers and listening to it on Audible I can't go back and quickly read the prophecies again to even understand if he's the reincarnation of an evil god. But I am now invested in knowing more.

Different then average

Very different, very fleshed out universe
A new take on fantasy stories good to see new ideas in the field