Blackguards

Tales of Assassins, Mercenaries, and Rogues

By: Lian Hearn, Anthony Ryan, Mark Lawrence, Paul S. Kemp, Richard Lee Byers

Narrated by: Michael Page, Nick Podehl, Steven Brand, Scott Aiello, Lauren Fortgang, Tim Gerard Reynolds

Length: 18 hrs and 18 mins

Publisher's summary

Rogues. Assassins. Mercenaries.

Whether by coin or by blood...you will pay.

A fantasy anthology featuring the deadly, the worldly, and the sneaky. Blackguards consists mainly of stories in established series, and the authors range from wildly successful indie authors to New York Times best sellers. If you enjoy roguish tales of scoundrels and ne'er-do-wells, this one's for you.

Contents:

• Foreword by Glen Cook (Black Company)
• Richard Lee Byers, "Troll Trouble"
• David Dalglish, "Take You Home"
• James Enge, "Thieves at the Gate"
• John Gwynne, "Better to Live than to Die"
• Lian Hearn, "His Kikuta Hands"
• Snorri Kristjansson, "A Kingdom and a Horse"
• Joseph Lallo, "Seeking the Shadow"
• Mark Lawrence, "The Secret"
• Tim Marquitz, "A Taste of Agony"
• Peter Orullian, "A Length of Cherrywood"
• Cat Rambo, "The Subtler Art"
• Laura Resnick, "Friendship"
• Mark Smylie, "Manhunt"
• Kenny Soward, "Jancy's Justice"
• Shawn Speakman, "The White Rose Thief"
• Jon Sprunk, "Sun and Steel"
• Anton Strout, "Scream"
• Django Wexler, "The First Kill"
• Paul S. Kemp, "A Better Man"
• James A. Moore, "What Gods Demand"
• Jean Rabe, "Mainon"
• Bradley P. Beaulieu, "Irindai"
• S. R. Cambridge, "The Magus and the Betyar"
• Clay Sanger, "The Long Kiss"

Please note: "The Lord Collector" by Anthony Ryan, which appears in the print edition of Blackguards, is not included in this audio edition.

Full cast of narrators includes: Richard Poe, Gabra Zackman, Karyn O'Bryant, Macleod Andrews, Ray Porter, Tim Gerard Reynolds, John Keating, Kevin T. Collins, David DeVries, Elijah Alexander, Allyson Johnson, Oliver Wyman, and Victor Bevine.

©2015 Bradley P. Beaulieu; Carol Berg; Richard Lee Byers; S.R. Cambridge; David Dalglish; James Enge; John Gwynne; Lian Hearn; Paul S. Kemp; Snorri Kristjansson; Joseph R. Lallo; Mark Lawrence; Tim Marquitz; James A. Moore; Peter Orullian; Jean Rabe; Cat Rambo; Laura Resnick; Clay Sanger; Mark Smylie; Kenny Soward; Shawn Speakman; Jon Sprunk; Anton Strout; Michael J. Sullivan; Django Wexler (P)2015 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

"This story collection truly has something for everyone who loves the fantasy genre, especially as enhanced by some of the best voices in the business.... The uniform voice of Victor Bevine introduces each of the stories - sounding every bit the rogue with his gravelly timbre and tying together the wide range of worlds and narrators in this lengthy production." ( AudioFile)

Adequate for casual filler between books or series

Some good, some not so much, some quite good, none excellent. Most too short and devoid of sufficient context detail. Look to Aurthur Conan Doyle and the like for truly good shorts. Ok while looking for the next good read.

a bunch of teases

a series of a bunch of short stories that really get you wanting to know more and not giving you enough information to find more

Some awesome, some meh.

It's an anthology, and ultimately the editor makes the call for what goes in and what stays in the cutting floor. Best just to say the editor and I were not in perfect agreement.

Some worthy tales in the mix, but not many.

All the stories in this collection are set in a historical fantasy realm. It is advertised as being about villains. In the best cases, this means that the story is set in some old-style place where magic may or may not exist and there is a person of questionable morals that is trying to do the right thing or maybe just survive. In the boring cases, this means some poor attempt at a GoT imitation or some cliche about the tough lady playing a damsel in distress. In the terrible cases, this means some story contrived to describe throat slashing in detail with some child molestation thrown in.

Overall, I would have trouble recommending the entire set though there are a few good stories thrown in the mix.

fun to pick through for good and bad

fun to pick through searching between good and bad story telling. good and smart writers all, but some awkward story telling at times.

good collection with great stories :)

highly recommended this set of stories. great imagery and well crafted stories. this is an eclectic mix.

mixed bag

Definitely worth a credit. give me a lot of good ideas on future series of books to pay attention to.

fun listen

Mostly I loved it, there were a couple I had trouble finishing but this is a really mixed bag of short stories with the time.

Some great, some good

I liked this anthology and highly recommend. Not every story is enrapturing but that’s what helps give one the feel for which authors you like, and which you don’t.

Great BOOK. Disturbing FORMAT ( Streaming ONLY no Download)

I can't help imagining some engineer in Seattle about to ruin Audible for those of us who don't spend our whole lives bathed in low cost/ high speed Internet access. This title only streamed. I couldn't download it. That means I couldn't use it on a plane, on a long drive or outside the United States. If this is a precursor to a more universal format, DONT DO IT!!!

The collection of stories was great when I could hear them.