Never Die

By: Rob J. Hayes

Narrated by: Kim Bretton

Length: 11 hrs and 13 mins

Publisher's summary

Ein is on a mission from God. A God of Death.

Time is up for the Emperor of Ten Kings and it falls to a murdered eight year old boy to render the judgement of a God. Ein knows he can't do it alone, but the empire is rife with heroes. The only problem; in order to serve, they must first die.

Ein has four legendary heroes in mind, names from story books read to him by his father. Now he must find them and kill them, so he can bring them back to fight the Reaper's war.

©2019 Rob J. Hayes (P)2019 Rob J. Hayes

Stunning

Thanks to the author for an advance reading copy of Never Die in exchange for an honest review. Receiving this ARC did not influence my thoughts or opinions on the novel.

So, I am a bad blogger for this one, you guys. Rob sent me an advance reading copy probably 9 months ago and I just got around to it at the beginning of July. On top of that, this review has been sitting in my draft box since July 12th (prior to vacation, amidst upcoming releases, etc). Literally, this has nothing to do with the author or his novels; it all boils down to timing and busyness.

2019 has been an insane year as far as reading/reviewing goes, and I am now up to 95 novels on the year. To show the bar, I read 89 in the entirety of 2018…. I still have 4 1/2 months to go and I am not slowing down any time soon.

Alright, now to the whole reason why you clicked on this page. My review.

Well, since I waited so long, Rob had the opportunity to release Never Die on audio so I picked it up on the cheap thanks to Whispersync. I thought Kim Bretton did a wonderful job with the narration and would recommend it to anyone who wants to give this novel a shot (and enjoys audiobooks, of course).

Hayes uses Chinese Wuxia and Japanese mythology as an inspiration for Never Die and it shows throughout with extensive use of folklore and traditional martial arts, on top of very vivid world-building with a distinct Asian flavor. With this, he has written a very original tale of vengeance and redemption that I have yet to see before. I mean, tell me another book where someone has to die in order to serve (and don’t give me anything with necromancers because that is a totally different conversation). The fact that these warriors, legends in their own rights, are forced to toe a line by an eight year old child in order to fight in a war; who thinks up this kind of stuff?

This book feels sort of like Bruce Lee meets Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon with a little bit of Monster Hunter. There are “levels” to the storyline that include fierce battles with legendary warriors and large scale assaults by supernatural demons called “yokai” that continually ramp up the intensity, leading to a consistently thrilling, edge of your seat read. I also have to give props to Hayes for his characters. Each is fully fleshed out not only in their present story, but with tales of their heroics and bravery in battle. It is a book that needs to be slowly ingested rather than devoured.

Never Die shows exactly why you cannot sleep on self-publishing. While anyone can put words to a page, call themselves an author, and upload a book to Amazon, Hayes is here to show that there are non-traditionally published books that deserve the same amount of attention as the GRRMs and Pierce Browns of the world. If you enjoy Asian-inspired fantasy, heck, if you enjoy fantasy at all, Never Die should be at the top of your wish list.

A bloody good time!

I was hooked from the first paragraph. This story is fun, fast, and action packed. I loved it from beginning to end. Highly recommended.

A good read

I loved the strory however sometimes I could not take it seriously on how the narrator performed it. She was no means a bad narrator but her different choice of accents really took away from the martial arts epic feel.

Excellent!

I finished this book a while ago and knew I HAD to leave a written review at some point. Then I got busy and...didn't. But it kept coming back to me that I should, and I think that's one of the most telling things about the quality of this story: it sticks with you. And in an age of quick takes and disposability, a tale that sets down roots in your psyche is a pretty special find.

This is a story about stories, and it reads quite a bit like an episodic anime (especially in the first half). But it's also not afraid to slow down in places and show some depth, which makes for some very fun world building and character moments that elevate this way above anything pulpy or cartoonish. And the author's skill with description gives the big moments a vividly cinematic feel that pairs perfectly with the style. You can almost see the artwork of each scene as it's happening, and that's not something I experience very often.

The narration too was excellent, though perhaps missing a bit of urgency and tension in the more exciting moments to break up the melody of the telling...but that's really a personal preference and probably not something many would care about. Otherwise her delivery was almost perfectly fluid, melting back into the story until I forgot I was being read to. That let the story stand on its own, unadorned in many ways, and it works extremely well.

Overall, this is one you should absolutely add to your list. There's just so much meat on the bones of this world, and it's easy to see how there could be more books set atop that groundwork. So get in now and let the roots take hold.

I AM IRON GUT CHEN!

What a story, full of vibrant characters and intriguing plot. I’ll let you guess my favorite character (hint: it’s the title of my review). Never felt dull, the interactions within the group between the action kept everything moving and kept me engaged. I was able to guess a few twists but a couple caught me by surprise. The narration was amazing as well. I’ve never been one for audio books before but recently decided to try again and was not disappointed with Kim Brettons narration.
Between the action, world building, and unique characters I was engaged and fully entertained throughout.
Also this was my first Rob j Hayes book (started listening to the Warriors, Wizards, and Words podcast which turned me onto it) and I will definitely be looking forward to reading more of his work.

AWESOME!

Loved this book! every character was well-thought-out and conveyed perfectly. I felt like I knew everyone by the end of this book and I was sad to finish their story. Great read!

Life of a Samurai

good story - great narration!

reminded me of "Seven Samurai" in feel

good read.

If you enjoy Eastern lit - worth a credit

Stellar Eastern Heroic/Dark Fantasy

This was stellar. A boy, Ein, with something seriously wrong with him brings people back from the dead to join a ragtag group to kill the Emperor because he was given the task by one of the Shinigami (Gods of the dead). Along the journey there is plenty of fighting (both against pure enemies as well as against future members of their group, as they need to be killed to be bound to Ein). The boy and the characters who join him are a mixed bag from a hero to a bandit to a man suffering a disease that left him a loner. They journey and learn there's more to them than they knew themselves as they keep the boy and themselves alive even when thinking they'd rather let them die. It all culminates in a great final act with a lot of action and effect on the world as a whole.

I really liked the characters. When giving a voice to the bandit (the emerald wind) the author manages to balance the life he'd lived against the life he internally wished he'd lived, and the conflict between the bad guy he was and the decent person he could be was great. The first member of the group is of a group who value oaths, and he digs into her feelings and regrets about being a hero in other's eyes but failing at what her people value most. The other group members have similar situations but join later on so there's less time for them to be developed. Even the villains are given interesting backstories and enough definition as characters to be a little more realistic. The combat was great as well, with the characters given their own specific styles that are right out of Eastern fantasy and martial arts-esque training. You hear how they can mow down as many people as they have, like an action hero in a blockbuster movie often does.

The inclusion of references to Eastern beliefs and the area are great as well. The quest is started by the God of the dead, and at times different creatures from Eastern religions appear to be fought and dispatched. The setting is also distinctly Eastern giving the world a lot more flavor and a bit more originality than just being a Western focused fantasy. It's definitely cool to listen to something focused on a different area and see the schism between their beliefs systems.

The narration was great, the narrator did a solid job voicing the characters and giving emotion to the varying events. The differences between the characters made it easy to tell who was talking or who the POV was at that time. With a main character being a young boy with issues the voice she gave him really sticks out.

I received the review code for this audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this honest review.

get this now!

great and visceral story. definitely a good listen. the twists and turns were awesome! must read.

A phenomenal Eastern-themed standalone fantasy!

Yes, yes, yes!
What a ride!

First, let's talk about the audiobook narrator. Kim Bretton did an excellent job. While a couple of her male voices (yes, she has several, and most are great!) leave a bit to be desired, overall her voices are amazing! But where she really shines is in her tempo changes. She knows just what reading speed is appropriate for each scene and absolutely nails it!

I'll admit that at the start of the story I was pretty confused and didn't really understand what was happening.

I can't speak to the accuracy as I don't know a lot about it, but based on content I'd say there is a strong eastern mythology influence at work here. Between the monsters, the magic system, and the culture differences there was a lot to take in.

There is a lot of terminology that I don't rightly understand and had to piece together via context throughout the story. Particularly the titles each warrior has. I was several chapters in before I realized Emerald Wind and Century Blade were people and not things.

I honestly would have enjoyed a deeper dive into the characters, Cho in particular as I find her fascinating.

But what we have is a fast moving, almost thriller-eske story that flies by without feeling rushed. There's not a lot of time spent on internal monologue or introspection, but with the setup of this story it works beautifully.

And speaking of beautiful, let's talk about the writing for a moment. There are a handful of instances of clunky phrasing and some passive voice that doesn't seem necessary, but elsewise the writing here is gorgeous.

It's mostly of the simple, straightforward variety that I absolutely love. I'm not a fan of flowery, lyrical language and there is very little of that here. What little there is seems to have been included for emphasis in a way that works wonderfully.

Although, as I mentioned, there's not a lot of time spent on introspection, there is still some excellent characterization.

Every warrior has a trademark technique that is uniquely theirs, and seems custom tailored to their personality. Or perhaps their personality conformed to the needs of the technique. It's difficult to say with certainty.

Similarly, every character has at least one or two quirky personality traits that really makes them stand out as an individual.

Now, at the start the story seems extremely straightforward and, it must be said, a little silly and simplistic. Very easy to sum up in one sentence.

However, there's so much nuance, so many twists, and so much depth added throughout the story that I can't bring myself to type that simple sentence.

This is a story that will make you laugh. You'll want to strangle at least one character. You'll hate at least one. You're going to wring your hands in frustration. And in the end, your heart will break for these characters.

And at least one of the twists is going to hit you like a ton of bricks, leaving you dazed and unsure what to think or how to feel.

It's unusual for a twist to catch me competely unprepared, but one of these did so and it was glorious!

This book has the kind of explosive ending that readers dream about. All the promises made throughout the book come to fruition, even the ones you didn't realize were being made until you see them being fulfilled. Every disparate thread is weaved into a complex tapestry that can't help but blow your mind.

I'm normally the first to admit that no book can be for everyone, but I'm really struggling to come up with a type of reader who wouldn't enjoy this book.

Okay, here's one. If you insist on major character arcs, if you thrive on characters starting weak and growing strong, then this probably isn't the book for you. The whole quest is about gathering the greatest warriors in the world to fight an impossible battle.

Also, if there is no part of you that is even open to Eastern-themed fantasy or chi as magic (basically), then this probably isn't a good choice.

For everyone else, READ THIS BOOK!

Finally, full disclosure.
I received a free copy of this audiobook from the author and am voluntarily leaving this honest and unbiased review.