Ruin

By: John Gwynne

Narrated by: Damian Lynch

Length: 28 hrs and 18 mins

Publisher's Summary

The Banished Lands are engulfed in war and chaos.

The cunning Queen Rhin has conquered the west and High King Nathair has the cauldron, most powerful of the seven treasures. At his back stands the scheming Calidus and a warband of the Kadoshim, dread demons of the Otherworld. They plan to bring Asroth and his host of the Fallen into the world of flesh, but to do so they need the seven treasures. Nathair has been deceived but now he knows the truth. He has choices to make, choices that will determine the fate of the Banished Lands. 

Elsewhere the flame of resistance is growing - Queen Edana finds allies in the swamps of Ardan. Maquin is loose in Tenebral, hunted by Lykos and his corsairs. Here he will witness the birth of a rebellion in Nathair's own realm. 

Corban has been swept along by the tide of war. He has suffered, lost loved ones, sought only safety from the darkness. But he will run no more. He has seen the face of evil and he has set his will to fight it. The question is, how? 

With a disparate band gathered about him - his family, friends, giants, fanatical warriors, an angel and a talking crow he begins the journey to Drassil, the fabled fortress hidden deep in the heart of Forn Forest. For in Drassil lies the spear of Skald, one of the seven treasures, and here it is prophesied that the Bright Star will stand against the Black Sun.

©2015 John Gwynne (P)2019 Orbit

It was ok

While this book had the some of the same issues as Valour then last third was pretty good. I still think this 4 book series would’ve worked better as a trilogy. Valour and Ruin were so similar (run-caught-escape-fight-lose-repeat) combining them would’ve made it stronger and less predictable in my opinion. I’ll finish this series but doubt I’ll continue reading John Gwynne unless something changes drastically in the next book. Its far to easy to predict every single event because they all end the same.

The narrator was inconsistent throughout the book. The same characters accents would change & people from the same nation, that grew up together, would have completely different accents. This needed some sort of quality control person to make sure it was all consistent.

too much jumping around

series went off the rails. too many characters taking the lead. every fifteen minutes you're hearing a different view at a different time and place.

RUIN establishes series as 1 of BEST!⭐️!⭐️!⭐️

⭐️Ruin, third book of Faithful and Fallen series, is an INCREDIBLE follow up to the first two books!⭐️

Ruin brings about various turning points for the series, in which separate plotlines converge at last, split again, and join yet to others.
The entire book moved faster than ever to the final conclusion, whatever that may be, but also finally brings to fruition many situations that have been built up throughout last two books. I can’t count how many times I cheered but also and sadly, the times where my heart felt so broken. This author has never spared out attachments & feelings towards any character, no matter how beloved or hated.
I have to say, the author’s skill in creating such unique and intriguing figures is rivaled by only the best fantasy writers out there. Hell, he even has me holding the tiniest bit of hope for Nathair...
I remember when reading game of thrones long ago, and how angry, devastated I was when Ned Stark was killed- those r type feelings you get in this series 😠 ooh, or when Sanaa’s wolf killed!?😡 grrrr the injustice of it all!
RUIN gets 5 starz only because I can’t give it 50😉

each book gets significantly better!

highly recommend you keep listening to these. they really do get significantly better with each book.

love this series!

Honestly, I'm sucked in. it's beautiful it's a tear jerker. Super impressed with the Reader he masterfully creates new voices for each character. I love it just love this series!

Great 3rd book in series

Great series. especiall considering it is the author's first published series. Great depth and detail without being overboard.

Excellent series and excellent narrator

’ve read all four book in the series and was sad to see it end. I felt like the characters were real- my friends, my fellow warriors. Over the course of the series, the characters you love the most evolve and become a part of you. The characters you hate become more detestable, and you just have to see what happens next. I could not stop listening. The actor who narrated the series is talented. I could tell which character was speaking based on his accents. And he didn’t overdo the female characters. His narration brought the books to life. I look forward to the next series by Gwynne.

why?

so many tears, heartache, and betrayal. On to book 4. you can do it Ban!

like the series do far

great story so far. author has great setup for bog moments. i nave been enjoying the character growth of everyone.

amazing!

an amazing story, made more so by the narration,
really made listening and exciting experience.

I love this series

I live in the bad lands and weep for storm. Bring on the wrath now

Pure, solid fantasy

When I started book 1 I was rather sceptical. Being a bug fan of grimdark I was feeling a bit non-plussed about the cliches I felt Gwynne was relying on - the blacksmith's son with unbridled warrior potential, the chosen one, the bright star against a growing army of darkness etc. etc. yet hear I am.havinf just finished book 3 and loving it.

slowly the characters and plot have wormed their way in and I devoured books 2 and 3 and cannot wait for 4.

the action and brutality is ramped up, for the better I feel, and there are plenty of twists and unpredictable moments which keep the story interesting and engaging.

doing them on audible and my only complaint is the narrator's accents. they are fine, but seem very random and chosen because he can do the accent rather than people from the same area having the same accent. For instance Corben and Cowyn speak with an Iriah lilt yet another from the same village has a west country accent. wish more thought had gone into this.

fabulous

Great narrator. Great characters and story. can't wait for the next book to see how it ends

Heartbreaking

Fantastic third installment in the series, the second half of the book is such a roller coaster, all paths merge to unexpected conclusions

Slow start, brilliant finish.

Unlike the previous books, this took a while to get going. But when it did, it was gripping. The ending in particular is very strong (and depressing - not giving anything away).

The performance at times didn't always help and I think was better in previous books. However, overall, would recommend.

Game of Celts

I actually love a lot of the writing. in some ways remenicent of the 2 Dave's . Eddings and Gemmel.
but then the battles. I love a Helms Deep battle but every single time (Bar1?) someone gets betrayed. the baddy who gets killed comes back next book and....well.
I couldn't write something nearly as good tbf.
the narrator.

accents.

why does a guy who pretty much lives where everyone else lives have a New Zealand accent?

Amazing

Great narration and fantastic book written by an brilliant author. John Gwynne should really be more well known, I have physical copies of all his books and now all of the audiobooks. Damian Lynch does a great job. All the accents are well done apart from maybe the southern American one for Dag the huntsman which seemed a little out of place.

Ruin

This book has everything you need to stretch your imagination and your emotional level to the max.