Child of the Daystar

By: Bryce O'Connor

Narrated by: Mikael Naramore

Length: 11 hrs and 4 mins

Publisher's summary

Among the scattered fringe cities bordering the Cienbal desert, the true name of the Monster of Karth is spoken only in whispers...RAZ I'SYUL ARRO. A sellsword of the utmost caliber, Raz is a killer of paramount skill and highest regard. Towering tall even amongst the atherian, he is the only of his kind to live free in the "civilized" confines of mankind's varied cultures. He has no need of loyalties, his sole affections pledged to the gold crowns that buy his time and skills.

Wed to his blades, Raz's only friends are the Moon and Her Stars and the shadows they bring with the night. But Raz was not born to the mercenary's way, to the butchery and battle of day-by-day survival.

Raz, like a sword, was hammered from steel and fire and ashy smoke, forged on the ruins of an old life. And Raz knows who he owes this new path to, this carved way of blood and iron. The Monster of Karth, after all, would never forget who gave him that name. And some debts can't be paid in gold....

©2015 Bryce O'Connor (P)2016 Audible, Inc.

Grim Dark!!!!!

I like this series. It not the most original story but it is well written. The charactors are interesting but there is not much depth to them. It is also verry dark, so you have been warned.

My favorite kind of fantasy story

Dragon kin, magic, exotic locales, intrigue, loyalty, betrayal - that's my idea of the perfect fantasy novel and Child of the Daystar has it all. This is an engaging story and an excellent performance. It's little reminiscent of "Name of the Wind," (Patrick Rothfuss' Kingkiller Chronicle) and "The Cloud Roads," (Martha Wells' The Books of the Raksura) two of my all time favorite books.

Easy to listen to and full of action

Mikael Naramore did a splendid job bringing to life the start of the epic story of Raz. His story telling voice reminds me lot of Michael Kramer but he has a wider variety in male/female/child voices. This is the first book I read by Bryce O'Connor and I like it very much. This was an impulse buy since the first 2 kindle books were temporarily free with 2$ whispersync deal. A well deserved recommendation for anyone who loves a good story of a powerful hero who has to deal with evil forces.

Well done

This is a great opening book for a series. I really like the protagonist and i feel that he is well realized.

Great Read!

I haven't enjoyed a good fantasy in a long time but I really enjoyed this one. I think that its strength lies in the relatability of the main character, Raz. Raz is an Atherian (dragon/lizard like) being. But all of his thoughts, feelings and actions are definitely human! In fact, he is more human than many of the humans in the story. I found this novel so easy to read. I often get turned off by complex world building and trying to remember myriad complex names and places. I didn't find that to be the case in Child of The Day Star. Of course, there are many strange names and places, but not so much that you can't keep up with what is going on. I don't want to have to take notes on who is who and what is what when I read a fantasy novel. AND THE NARRATOR IS GREAT!

excellent, a different type of character

Excellenr book and an excellent audio presentation. The protagonist is a different type of character, which I found very welcomed and enjoyed. The audio performance ... because it was done much better than just a read through, as reader used variations in tone, accents and more ... was one of the best audio books which I've ever hear. i am guaranteed to look for both author and reader later ... after finish this review.

Bad-ass Protagonist in Good Origin Story

Would you listen to Child of the Daystar again? Why?

Things I enjoyed:
-Don't see such a powerful main character nowadays, loved that
-Had some touching human moments
-Interesting social system involved

Things I didn't enjoy:
-Didn't feel like a complete story, more like a first act
-Not a ton of depth to the characters or story, writing read almost YA or shallow
-Pacing felt off, spent too much time developing him as a child/adolescent vs. his older years; kind of off balance

What was one of the most memorable moments of Child of the Daystar?

When the book transitions from Raz's adolescence to young adulthood

Did the narration match the pace of the story?

Yes, narration was good throughout

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Not really, had some dry patches

Excellent

Excellent work by the writer, as well as a truly explanation performance by the narrator!

Slow but picks ups and runs

The story starts off slow but it picks up mid way through the book and just holds your attention. I would say worth.

Fast Paced and Badass, Could Slow At Points

This. This right here is what I am looking for. A MC who has no problems letting heads roll, and not being held back by moral code, if a MFer needs to to die, he makes sure it gets done. If you want a no mercy MC with valid reasons and hardly a filter give this a read.

**Spoilers**

When it comes to pacing the first time skip was needed as he Raz was very young and we knew he would grow with this family and come into his own with them. So it was much needed to avoid too much down time when their are more things to get to. He isn't invincible as a child but after years of the harsh land and his body naturally being battle ready it makes sense.

The second time skip I think shouldn't have happened as it did. More time should have been showing Raz going insane and taking his anger our while protecting those left right then and their and not flash back us or tell us with internal thoughts later on. Mostly when it will shape how he reacts to thing in future.

As for the other character and world. I would say this world seems very well thought out, but it is too much for us as we don't know the layout, what happened for the world to end up like this, and so on. Yes we get hints of it as the stories goes, giving us a show not tell but when the world is new of your own mind you need to lay the ground work for the world first so we go in with some information.

The characters names are so complex sometimes I forget who is who if it wasn't for the slight difference in the voice work. Simpler names and sticking to the first name after the introduction in some cases is for the best. The herione who will come back in contact with Raz later I forget her name every time the chapter is not focused on her. Raz's name is easy to remember and helps keep in my mind who I am talking about as well cause he stands out a Lizard/dragon man.

Fix that pacing and world setting up. Along with removing the blurbs at the start of EVRY chapter and this would be higher rated for me personally.