Of Blood and Fire

The Bound and the Broken, Book 1

By: Ryan Cahill

Narrated by: Derek Perkins

Born in fire. Tempered in blood.

Epheria is a land divided by war and mistrust. The High Lords of the South squabble and fight, only kept in check by the Dragonguard, traitors of a time long past, who serve the empire of the North.

In the remote villages of Southern Epheria, still reeling from the tragic loss of his brother, Calen Bryer prepares for The Proving - a test of courage and skill that not all survive. But when three strangers arrive in the village of Milltown, with a secret they are willing to die for, Calen’s world is ripped from under him and he is thrust headfirst into a war that has been raging for centuries.

There is no prophecy. His coming was not foretold. He bleeds like any man, and bleed he will.

Includes bonus story The Fall.

©2021 Ryan Cahill (P)2021 Podium Audio

loved it!! a well written classic fantasy

I really enjoyed this book. it has a great story line, likeable characters, magic, and DRAGONS...I was interested from start to finish. Derek Perkins absolutely crushes the narration. the author has maps and a glossary set up on his website since audiobook listeners tend to miss out on those things. if you like classic fantasy, magic and dragons you will love this one. it also comes with a prequel novella at the end.

Omg?!??! How is this not more popular?!?!??

This is an outstanding first entry in what is going to be an incredible series. It’s like Eragon and How to Train Your Dragon, had a R-rated baby. With Jordan and Sanderson like world building. Cannot recommend this series enough!!!! I blame Mr. Cahill for any lack of sleep I may get trying to binge this rest of the books lol

Great first book!

What a fantastic book and start to a series! The character development is great and Ryan does a great job of building a rich and interesting world. The pacing is good and he always spends the right amount of time with a POV before moving to a different one. So you never feel like you're losing track of what's going on from jumping around to much in the story. Going to read the .5 novella, The Fall now and then jump right into book 2. I appreciate how there are a few novellas to give you even more lore and make the story even richer.

Old Fashioned high fantasy series hits the mark!

Nothing really new or ground breaking here (unlike Brandon Sanderson's series) but that doe NOT prevent the first book in this series from being very good. Cahill balances action and description, giving the world a great set up but without going to the irritating Robert Jordan/Wheel of Time like "smoothing of dresses, glistening skin and blue and white parceling dish" descriptions. It is a slow start- but also enjoyable "The Hobbit" like start to allow one to understand a bit of the milieu and the characters. Oh the Characters remind of me Jordan's characters in WOT but if they were set in a modified Tolkien World... if the Old Empires were still extant (the ones we get glimpses of in the gigantic but old towers and statues). the action does pick up but interweaves with character development and world development in a very nice tapestry. Like an old comfortable sweater or a bowl of familiar hot soup on a cold night the first book of this series is satisfying in a very familiar way. Highly recommended.

How did they survive so long?

The book is pretty good all in all, but there are some major issues.
The author seems so preoccupied with showing the growth and developing his main character that he completely forget how the world held together for so long without him. as an example, the fade with only a few soldiers would have taken a city that has been standing against the empire for 400 years. No one is even able to threaten it apart from the main character... by all accounts it would make the history of the city impossible. As a reader things like this is frustrating because you realize that all other characters are there simply to groom the main character, and only he can in the end fight all the enemies, even though those around him are portrayed as stronger.They are just there to die at the right rime in an effort to create emotional growth for the MC. There are ways of doing that without making the entire history of the world unbelievable though.