-
Promise of Blood
- The Powder Mage Trilogy, Book 1
- Narrated by: Christian Rodska
- Length: 19 hrs
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Buy for $20.44
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Listeners also enjoyed...
-
Forsworn: A Powder Mage Novella
- By: Brian McClellan
- Narrated by: Julie Hoverson
- Length: 2 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Erika ja Leora is a powder mage in northern Kez, a place where that particular sorcery is punishable by death. She is only protected by her family name and her position as heir to a duchy. When she decides to help a young commoner-a powder mage marked for death, fugitive from the law-she puts her life and family reputation at risk and sets off to deliver her new ward to the safety of Adro while playing cat and mouse with the king's own mage hunters and their captain, Duke Nikslaus.
-
-
Good short story, subpar narration
- By Derpentine on 04-27-15
By: Brian McClellan
-
The Mad Lancers
- A Powder Mage Novella
- By: Brian McClellan
- Narrated by: Julie Hoverson
- Length: 3 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the colonial cities and towns of Fatrasta, peace has never been easy. Immigrants fight amongst themselves or turn on the native population, while the governing power of the Kez Army steps in only to enforce the will of apathetic local governors assigned by a distant crown. Young war hero Ben Styke commands a colonial garrison in a sleepy frontier suburb.
-
-
Not worth the credit , and it pains me to say it.
- By Brett Knight on 11-01-17
By: Brian McClellan
-
The Farseer: Assassin's Apprentice
- By: Robin Hobb
- Narrated by: Paul Boehmer
- Length: 17 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
With unforgettable characters, a sweeping backdrop, and passionate storytelling, this is a fantasy debut to rival that of Robert Jordan. Filled with adventure and bloodshed, pageantry and piracy, mystery and menace, Assassin's Apprentice is the story of a royal house and the young man who is destined to chart its course through tempests of change.
-
-
Not a waste of 83 hours...just the 60 I spent.
- By Sean on 01-07-13
By: Robin Hobb
-
The Black Prism
- By: Brent Weeks
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 21 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Guile is the Prism. He is high priest and emperor, a man whose power, wit, and charm are all that preserves a tenuous peace. Yet Prisms never last, and Guile knows exactly how long he has left to live. When Guile discovers he has a son, born in a far kingdom after the war that put him in power, he must decide how much he's willing to pay to protect a secret that could tear his world apart.
-
-
Nice first book. slow start
- By Amazon Customer on 12-13-16
By: Brent Weeks
-
The Powder Mage Novella Collection #1
- Stories from the Powder Mage Universe
- By: Brian McClellan
- Narrated by: Julie Hoverson
- Length: 10 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Enter a new world or return to see old friends in four Powder Mage Universe novellas featuring Erika, Tamas, Adamat, Taniel, Ka-poel, and Ben Styke.
-
-
Great prequels, horrible narrator
- By Harker on 04-19-17
By: Brian McClellan
-
The Shadow of the Gods
- By: John Gwynne
- Narrated by: Colin Mace
- Length: 18 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
After the old gods warred and drove themselves to extinction, the cataclysm of their fall shattered the land of Vigrio. Now, power-hungry jarls carve out petty kingdoms, and monsters stalk the shadow-haunted woods and mountains. A world where the bones of the dead gods still hold great power, promising fame, and fortune for those brave - or desperate - enough to seek them out. As whispers of war echo over the plains and across the fjords, fate follows the footsteps of three people. All three will shape the fate of the world, as it once more teeters on the edge of chaos.
-
-
Not for me
- By John on 05-31-21
By: John Gwynne
-
Forsworn: A Powder Mage Novella
- By: Brian McClellan
- Narrated by: Julie Hoverson
- Length: 2 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Erika ja Leora is a powder mage in northern Kez, a place where that particular sorcery is punishable by death. She is only protected by her family name and her position as heir to a duchy. When she decides to help a young commoner-a powder mage marked for death, fugitive from the law-she puts her life and family reputation at risk and sets off to deliver her new ward to the safety of Adro while playing cat and mouse with the king's own mage hunters and their captain, Duke Nikslaus.
-
-
Good short story, subpar narration
- By Derpentine on 04-27-15
By: Brian McClellan
-
The Mad Lancers
- A Powder Mage Novella
- By: Brian McClellan
- Narrated by: Julie Hoverson
- Length: 3 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the colonial cities and towns of Fatrasta, peace has never been easy. Immigrants fight amongst themselves or turn on the native population, while the governing power of the Kez Army steps in only to enforce the will of apathetic local governors assigned by a distant crown. Young war hero Ben Styke commands a colonial garrison in a sleepy frontier suburb.
-
-
Not worth the credit , and it pains me to say it.
- By Brett Knight on 11-01-17
By: Brian McClellan
-
The Farseer: Assassin's Apprentice
- By: Robin Hobb
- Narrated by: Paul Boehmer
- Length: 17 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
With unforgettable characters, a sweeping backdrop, and passionate storytelling, this is a fantasy debut to rival that of Robert Jordan. Filled with adventure and bloodshed, pageantry and piracy, mystery and menace, Assassin's Apprentice is the story of a royal house and the young man who is destined to chart its course through tempests of change.
-
-
Not a waste of 83 hours...just the 60 I spent.
- By Sean on 01-07-13
By: Robin Hobb
-
The Black Prism
- By: Brent Weeks
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 21 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Guile is the Prism. He is high priest and emperor, a man whose power, wit, and charm are all that preserves a tenuous peace. Yet Prisms never last, and Guile knows exactly how long he has left to live. When Guile discovers he has a son, born in a far kingdom after the war that put him in power, he must decide how much he's willing to pay to protect a secret that could tear his world apart.
-
-
Nice first book. slow start
- By Amazon Customer on 12-13-16
By: Brent Weeks
-
The Powder Mage Novella Collection #1
- Stories from the Powder Mage Universe
- By: Brian McClellan
- Narrated by: Julie Hoverson
- Length: 10 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Enter a new world or return to see old friends in four Powder Mage Universe novellas featuring Erika, Tamas, Adamat, Taniel, Ka-poel, and Ben Styke.
-
-
Great prequels, horrible narrator
- By Harker on 04-19-17
By: Brian McClellan
-
The Shadow of the Gods
- By: John Gwynne
- Narrated by: Colin Mace
- Length: 18 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
After the old gods warred and drove themselves to extinction, the cataclysm of their fall shattered the land of Vigrio. Now, power-hungry jarls carve out petty kingdoms, and monsters stalk the shadow-haunted woods and mountains. A world where the bones of the dead gods still hold great power, promising fame, and fortune for those brave - or desperate - enough to seek them out. As whispers of war echo over the plains and across the fjords, fate follows the footsteps of three people. All three will shape the fate of the world, as it once more teeters on the edge of chaos.
-
-
Not for me
- By John on 05-31-21
By: John Gwynne
-
Montego
- A Glass Immortals Novella
- By: Brian McClellan
- Narrated by: Damian Lynch
- Length: 3 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Twelve-year-old Montego al'Bou is an orphan, a provincial peasant boy left alone by the recent death of his grandmother. Possessing nothing more than his grandmother's cudgel, he strikes out to the capital where the influential Grappo have offered to bring him up in the luxury of an Ossan guild-family. He finds his welcome frosty, his new home full of confusing responsibilities.
-
-
Enjoyable Backstory, Poor Audio
- By Samuel Hudnet on 05-30-23
By: Brian McClellan
-
Empire of Silence
- By: Christopher Ruocchio
- Narrated by: Samuel Roukin
- Length: 26 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The galaxy remembers Hadrian Marlowe as a hero: the man who burned every last alien Cielcin from the sky. They remember him as a monster: the devil who destroyed a sun, casually annihilating four billion human lives - even the emperor himself - against Imperial orders. But Hadrian was not a hero. He was not a monster. He was not even a soldier. Fleeing his father and a future as a torturer, Hadrian finds himself stranded on a strange, backwater world.
-
-
A Slow start at best....then the story tapers off
- By paul nordquist on 08-21-19
-
Jade Shards
- Stories
- By: Fonda Lee
- Narrated by: Andrew Kishino
- Length: 3 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Fonda Lee returns to the acclaimed Green Bone Saga with four prequel short stories that delve into the personal histories of the Kaul and Ayt families.
-
-
fonda lee will forever and always be an icon
- By Christian Moniz on 11-10-23
By: Fonda Lee
-
Prince of Thorns
- By: Mark Lawrence
- Narrated by: James Clamp
- Length: 9 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Author Mark Lawrence has won over audiences everywhere with Prince of Thorns, his exciting debut novel. Nine-year-old Prince Jorg is forced to watch as his mother and brother are slaughtered. Fleeing the palace, Jorg joins a bloodthirsty band of thugs. But he’s determined to take back what’s rightfully his, so he returns to the castle a few years later - unaware of the dark and powerful magic that awaits.
-
-
It sticks in your head.
- By Door on 09-07-13
By: Mark Lawrence
-
The Final Empire
- Mistborn Book 1
- By: Brandon Sanderson
- Narrated by: Michael Kramer
- Length: 24 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For a thousand years the ash fell and no flowers bloomed. For a thousand years the Skaa slaved in misery and lived in fear. For a thousand years the Lord Ruler, the "Sliver of Infinity," reigned with absolute power and ultimate terror, divinely invincible. Then, when hope was so long lost that not even its memory remained, a terribly scarred, heart-broken half-Skaa rediscovered it in the depths of the Lord Ruler's most hellish prison.
-
-
Prepare for sleepless nights
- By tercia on 10-21-18
-
Skyward
- By: Brandon Sanderson
- Narrated by: Suzy Jackson
- Length: 15 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From Brandon Sanderson, the number one New York Times best-selling author of the Reckoners series, Words of Radiance, and the internationally best-selling Mistborn series, comes the first book in an epic new series about a girl who dreams of becoming a pilot in a dangerous world at war for humanity's future.
-
-
Has Sanderson been reading Craig Alanson???
- By Customer on 11-18-18
Publisher's summary
The Age of Kings is dead. And I have killed it.
Field Marshal Tamas' coup against his king sends corrupt aristocrats to the guillotine and brings bread to the starving. But it also provokes war in the Nine Nations, internal attacks by royalist fanatics and greedy scrambling for money and power by Tamas' supposed allies: the Church, workers' unions, and mercenary forces. Stretched to his limit, Tamas relies heavily on his few remaining powder mages, including the embittered Taniel, a brilliant marksman who also happens to be Tamas' estranged son, and Adamat, a retired police inspector whose loyalty will be tested to its limit.
Now, amid the chaos, a whispered rumour is spreading. A rumour about omens of death and destruction. Just old peasant legends about the gods returning to walk the Earth. No modern educated man believes that sort of thing.… But perhaps they should.
Related to this topic
-
George Orwell’s 1984
- An Audible Original adaptation
- By: George Orwell, Joe White - adaptation
- Narrated by: Andrew Garfield, Cynthia Erivo, Andrew Scott, and others
- Length: 3 hrs and 27 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It’s 1984, and life has changed beyond recognition. Airstrip One, formerly known as Great Britain, is a place where Big Brother is always watching, and nobody can hide. Except, perhaps, for Winston Smith. Whilst working at the Ministry of Truth, rewriting history, he secretly dreams of freedom. And in a world where love and sex are forbidden, where it’s hard to distinguish between friend and foe, he meets Julia and O’Brien and vows to rebel.
-
-
A Revelation!
- By wotsallthisthen on 04-07-24
By: George Orwell, and others
-
Project Hail Mary
- By: Andy Weir
- Narrated by: Ray Porter
- Length: 16 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Ryland Grace is the sole survivor on a desperate, last-chance mission - and if he fails, humanity and the Earth itself will perish. Except that right now, he doesn't know that. He can't even remember his own name, let alone the nature of his assignment or how to complete it. All he knows is that he's been asleep for a very, very long time. And he's just been awakened to find himself millions of miles from home, with nothing but two corpses for company.
-
-
Bazinga
- By Davidgonzalezsr on 05-04-21
By: Andy Weir
-
Starter Villain
- By: John Scalzi
- Narrated by: Wil Wheaton
- Length: 8 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Inheriting your uncle's supervillain business is more complicated than you might think. Particularly when you discover who's running the place. Charlie's life is going nowhere fast. A divorced substitute teacher living with his cat in a house his siblings want to sell, all he wants is to open a pub downtown, if only the bank will approve his loan. Then his long-lost uncle Jake dies and leaves his supervillain business (complete with island volcano lair) to Charlie. But becoming a supervillain isn't all giant laser death rays and lava pits.
-
-
Volcanic Lairs, Death Rays & Cats… Oh My! 😼
- By C. White on 09-19-23
By: John Scalzi
-
The Martian
- By: Andy Weir
- Narrated by: Wil Wheaton
- Length: 10 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Six days ago, astronaut Mark Watney became one of the first people to walk on Mars. Now, he's sure he'll be the first person to die there. After a dust storm nearly kills him and forces his crew to evacuate while thinking him dead, Mark finds himself stranded and completely alone with no way to even signal Earth that he’s alive - and even if he could get word out, his supplies would be gone long before a rescue could arrive. But Mark isn't ready to give up yet.
-
-
I love Wil Wheaton but why not R. C. Bray?
- By L. Newman on 01-11-20
By: Andy Weir
-
Point Nemo
- By: Jeremy Robinson
- Narrated by: R.C. Bray
- Length: 9 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the heart of the South Pacific lies Point Nemo, the most desolate and remote place on Earth. At its core is a dead zone, devoid of life, where government agencies crash their obsolete satellites and space stations, confident they won't harm a soul. When the International Space Station suffers a catastrophic failure and plummets through the atmosphere, it's here that Mission Specialist Julie Rohr, an astrobiologist studying living space dust called xylem, finds herself marooned. Julie's only hope for rescue lies in the hands of her estranged father, Dr. Finn Maddern, a renowned mycologist.
-
-
Totally original-totally feasible!
- By Lawrence Tate on 04-10-24
By: Jeremy Robinson
-
Artemis
- By: Andy Weir
- Narrated by: Rosario Dawson
- Length: 8 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Jazz Bashara is a criminal. Well, sort of. Life on Artemis, the first and only city on the moon, is tough if you're not a rich tourist or an eccentric billionaire. So smuggling in the occasional harmless bit of contraband barely counts, right? Not when you've got debts to pay and your job as a porter barely covers the rent. Everything changes when Jazz sees the chance to commit the perfect crime, with a reward too lucrative to turn down.
-
-
A ferrari with no motor
- By will on 11-18-17
By: Andy Weir
-
George Orwell’s 1984
- An Audible Original adaptation
- By: George Orwell, Joe White - adaptation
- Narrated by: Andrew Garfield, Cynthia Erivo, Andrew Scott, and others
- Length: 3 hrs and 27 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It’s 1984, and life has changed beyond recognition. Airstrip One, formerly known as Great Britain, is a place where Big Brother is always watching, and nobody can hide. Except, perhaps, for Winston Smith. Whilst working at the Ministry of Truth, rewriting history, he secretly dreams of freedom. And in a world where love and sex are forbidden, where it’s hard to distinguish between friend and foe, he meets Julia and O’Brien and vows to rebel.
-
-
A Revelation!
- By wotsallthisthen on 04-07-24
By: George Orwell, and others
-
Project Hail Mary
- By: Andy Weir
- Narrated by: Ray Porter
- Length: 16 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Ryland Grace is the sole survivor on a desperate, last-chance mission - and if he fails, humanity and the Earth itself will perish. Except that right now, he doesn't know that. He can't even remember his own name, let alone the nature of his assignment or how to complete it. All he knows is that he's been asleep for a very, very long time. And he's just been awakened to find himself millions of miles from home, with nothing but two corpses for company.
-
-
Bazinga
- By Davidgonzalezsr on 05-04-21
By: Andy Weir
-
Starter Villain
- By: John Scalzi
- Narrated by: Wil Wheaton
- Length: 8 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Inheriting your uncle's supervillain business is more complicated than you might think. Particularly when you discover who's running the place. Charlie's life is going nowhere fast. A divorced substitute teacher living with his cat in a house his siblings want to sell, all he wants is to open a pub downtown, if only the bank will approve his loan. Then his long-lost uncle Jake dies and leaves his supervillain business (complete with island volcano lair) to Charlie. But becoming a supervillain isn't all giant laser death rays and lava pits.
-
-
Volcanic Lairs, Death Rays & Cats… Oh My! 😼
- By C. White on 09-19-23
By: John Scalzi
-
The Martian
- By: Andy Weir
- Narrated by: Wil Wheaton
- Length: 10 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Six days ago, astronaut Mark Watney became one of the first people to walk on Mars. Now, he's sure he'll be the first person to die there. After a dust storm nearly kills him and forces his crew to evacuate while thinking him dead, Mark finds himself stranded and completely alone with no way to even signal Earth that he’s alive - and even if he could get word out, his supplies would be gone long before a rescue could arrive. But Mark isn't ready to give up yet.
-
-
I love Wil Wheaton but why not R. C. Bray?
- By L. Newman on 01-11-20
By: Andy Weir
-
Point Nemo
- By: Jeremy Robinson
- Narrated by: R.C. Bray
- Length: 9 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the heart of the South Pacific lies Point Nemo, the most desolate and remote place on Earth. At its core is a dead zone, devoid of life, where government agencies crash their obsolete satellites and space stations, confident they won't harm a soul. When the International Space Station suffers a catastrophic failure and plummets through the atmosphere, it's here that Mission Specialist Julie Rohr, an astrobiologist studying living space dust called xylem, finds herself marooned. Julie's only hope for rescue lies in the hands of her estranged father, Dr. Finn Maddern, a renowned mycologist.
-
-
Totally original-totally feasible!
- By Lawrence Tate on 04-10-24
By: Jeremy Robinson
-
Artemis
- By: Andy Weir
- Narrated by: Rosario Dawson
- Length: 8 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Jazz Bashara is a criminal. Well, sort of. Life on Artemis, the first and only city on the moon, is tough if you're not a rich tourist or an eccentric billionaire. So smuggling in the occasional harmless bit of contraband barely counts, right? Not when you've got debts to pay and your job as a porter barely covers the rent. Everything changes when Jazz sees the chance to commit the perfect crime, with a reward too lucrative to turn down.
-
-
A ferrari with no motor
- By will on 11-18-17
By: Andy Weir
People who viewed this also viewed...
-
The Powder Mage Novella Collection #1
- Stories from the Powder Mage Universe
- By: Brian McClellan
- Narrated by: Julie Hoverson
- Length: 10 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Enter a new world or return to see old friends in four Powder Mage Universe novellas featuring Erika, Tamas, Adamat, Taniel, Ka-poel, and Ben Styke.
-
-
Great prequels, horrible narrator
- By Harker on 04-19-17
By: Brian McClellan
-
The Bone Shard Daughter
- By: Andrea Stewart
- Narrated by: Natalie Naudus, Feodor Chin, Emily Woo Zeller
- Length: 13 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The emperor's reign has lasted for decades, his mastery of bone shard magic powering the animal-like constructs that maintain law and order. But now his rule is failing, and revolution is sweeping across the Empire's many islands. Lin is the emperor's daughter and spends her days trapped in a palace of locked doors and dark secrets. When her father refuses to recognise her as heir to the throne, she vows to prove her worth by mastering the forbidden art of bone shard magic.
-
-
I didn't like it
- By indexOutOfBounds on 01-25-21
By: Andrea Stewart
-
Montego
- A Glass Immortals Novella
- By: Brian McClellan
- Narrated by: Damian Lynch
- Length: 3 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Twelve-year-old Montego al'Bou is an orphan, a provincial peasant boy left alone by the recent death of his grandmother. Possessing nothing more than his grandmother's cudgel, he strikes out to the capital where the influential Grappo have offered to bring him up in the luxury of an Ossan guild-family. He finds his welcome frosty, his new home full of confusing responsibilities.
-
-
Enjoyable Backstory, Poor Audio
- By Samuel Hudnet on 05-30-23
By: Brian McClellan
-
The Black Prism
- By: Brent Weeks
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 21 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Guile is the Prism. He is high priest and emperor, a man whose power, wit, and charm are all that preserves a tenuous peace. Yet Prisms never last, and Guile knows exactly how long he has left to live. When Guile discovers he has a son, born in a far kingdom after the war that put him in power, he must decide how much he's willing to pay to protect a secret that could tear his world apart.
-
-
Nice first book. slow start
- By Amazon Customer on 12-13-16
By: Brent Weeks
-
The Justice of Kings
- By: Richard Swan
- Narrated by: Lucy Paterson
- Length: 13 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Empire of the Wolf simmers with unrest. Rebels, heretics, and powerful patricians all challenge the power of the Imperial throne. Only the Order of Justices stands in the way of chaos. Sir Konrad Vonvalt is the most feared Justice of all, upholding the law by way of his sharp mind, arcane powers, and skill as a swordsman. At his side stands Helena Sedanka, his talented protégé, orphaned by the wars that forged the Empire.
-
-
Give it a try. Doubtful you'll regret it.
- By Taylor Ascher on 03-13-22
By: Richard Swan
-
Empire of Silence
- By: Christopher Ruocchio
- Narrated by: Samuel Roukin
- Length: 26 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The galaxy remembers Hadrian Marlowe as a hero: the man who burned every last alien Cielcin from the sky. They remember him as a monster: the devil who destroyed a sun, casually annihilating four billion human lives - even the emperor himself - against Imperial orders. But Hadrian was not a hero. He was not a monster. He was not even a soldier. Fleeing his father and a future as a torturer, Hadrian finds himself stranded on a strange, backwater world.
-
-
A Slow start at best....then the story tapers off
- By paul nordquist on 08-21-19
-
The Powder Mage Novella Collection #1
- Stories from the Powder Mage Universe
- By: Brian McClellan
- Narrated by: Julie Hoverson
- Length: 10 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Enter a new world or return to see old friends in four Powder Mage Universe novellas featuring Erika, Tamas, Adamat, Taniel, Ka-poel, and Ben Styke.
-
-
Great prequels, horrible narrator
- By Harker on 04-19-17
By: Brian McClellan
-
The Bone Shard Daughter
- By: Andrea Stewart
- Narrated by: Natalie Naudus, Feodor Chin, Emily Woo Zeller
- Length: 13 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The emperor's reign has lasted for decades, his mastery of bone shard magic powering the animal-like constructs that maintain law and order. But now his rule is failing, and revolution is sweeping across the Empire's many islands. Lin is the emperor's daughter and spends her days trapped in a palace of locked doors and dark secrets. When her father refuses to recognise her as heir to the throne, she vows to prove her worth by mastering the forbidden art of bone shard magic.
-
-
I didn't like it
- By indexOutOfBounds on 01-25-21
By: Andrea Stewart
-
Montego
- A Glass Immortals Novella
- By: Brian McClellan
- Narrated by: Damian Lynch
- Length: 3 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Twelve-year-old Montego al'Bou is an orphan, a provincial peasant boy left alone by the recent death of his grandmother. Possessing nothing more than his grandmother's cudgel, he strikes out to the capital where the influential Grappo have offered to bring him up in the luxury of an Ossan guild-family. He finds his welcome frosty, his new home full of confusing responsibilities.
-
-
Enjoyable Backstory, Poor Audio
- By Samuel Hudnet on 05-30-23
By: Brian McClellan
-
The Black Prism
- By: Brent Weeks
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 21 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Guile is the Prism. He is high priest and emperor, a man whose power, wit, and charm are all that preserves a tenuous peace. Yet Prisms never last, and Guile knows exactly how long he has left to live. When Guile discovers he has a son, born in a far kingdom after the war that put him in power, he must decide how much he's willing to pay to protect a secret that could tear his world apart.
-
-
Nice first book. slow start
- By Amazon Customer on 12-13-16
By: Brent Weeks
-
The Justice of Kings
- By: Richard Swan
- Narrated by: Lucy Paterson
- Length: 13 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Empire of the Wolf simmers with unrest. Rebels, heretics, and powerful patricians all challenge the power of the Imperial throne. Only the Order of Justices stands in the way of chaos. Sir Konrad Vonvalt is the most feared Justice of all, upholding the law by way of his sharp mind, arcane powers, and skill as a swordsman. At his side stands Helena Sedanka, his talented protégé, orphaned by the wars that forged the Empire.
-
-
Give it a try. Doubtful you'll regret it.
- By Taylor Ascher on 03-13-22
By: Richard Swan
-
Empire of Silence
- By: Christopher Ruocchio
- Narrated by: Samuel Roukin
- Length: 26 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The galaxy remembers Hadrian Marlowe as a hero: the man who burned every last alien Cielcin from the sky. They remember him as a monster: the devil who destroyed a sun, casually annihilating four billion human lives - even the emperor himself - against Imperial orders. But Hadrian was not a hero. He was not a monster. He was not even a soldier. Fleeing his father and a future as a torturer, Hadrian finds himself stranded on a strange, backwater world.
-
-
A Slow start at best....then the story tapers off
- By paul nordquist on 08-21-19
-
The Shadow of the Gods
- By: John Gwynne
- Narrated by: Colin Mace
- Length: 18 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
After the old gods warred and drove themselves to extinction, the cataclysm of their fall shattered the land of Vigrio. Now, power-hungry jarls carve out petty kingdoms, and monsters stalk the shadow-haunted woods and mountains. A world where the bones of the dead gods still hold great power, promising fame, and fortune for those brave - or desperate - enough to seek them out. As whispers of war echo over the plains and across the fjords, fate follows the footsteps of three people. All three will shape the fate of the world, as it once more teeters on the edge of chaos.
-
-
Not for me
- By John on 05-31-21
By: John Gwynne
-
Forsworn: A Powder Mage Novella
- By: Brian McClellan
- Narrated by: Julie Hoverson
- Length: 2 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Erika ja Leora is a powder mage in northern Kez, a place where that particular sorcery is punishable by death. She is only protected by her family name and her position as heir to a duchy. When she decides to help a young commoner-a powder mage marked for death, fugitive from the law-she puts her life and family reputation at risk and sets off to deliver her new ward to the safety of Adro while playing cat and mouse with the king's own mage hunters and their captain, Duke Nikslaus.
-
-
Good short story, subpar narration
- By Derpentine on 04-27-15
By: Brian McClellan
-
The Grace of Kings
- The Dandelion Dynasty
- By: Ken Liu
- Narrated by: Michael Kramer
- Length: 21 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Wily, charming Kuni Garu, a bandit, and stern, fearless Mata Zyndu, the son of a deposed duke, seem like polar opposites. Yet in the uprising against the emperor, the two quickly become the best of friends after a series of adventures fighting against vast conscripted armies, silk-draped airships, and shapeshifting gods.
-
-
Unfortunately cannot recommend
- By Eric on 05-21-16
By: Ken Liu
-
A Court of Thorns and Roses
- By: Sarah J. Maas
- Narrated by: Jennifer Ikeda
- Length: 16 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When 19-year-old huntress Feyre kills a wolf in the woods, a beast-like creature arrives to demand retribution for it. Dragged to a treacherous magical land she only knows about from legends, Feyre discovers that her captor is not an animal, but Tamlin - one of the lethal, immortal faeries who once ruled their world.
-
-
Bad ending and Immaturity
- By The Story Adict on 09-13-17
By: Sarah J. Maas
-
The Shadow of What Was Lost
- The Licanius Trilogy, Book 1
- By: James Islington
- Narrated by: Michael Kramer
- Length: 25 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It has been 20 years since the end of the war. The dictatorial Augurs, once thought of almost as gods, were overthrown and wiped out during the conflict, their much-feared powers mysteriously failing them. Those who had ruled under them, men and women with a lesser ability known as the Gift, avoided the Augurs' fate only by submitting themselves to the rebellion's Four Tenets.
-
-
Atrocious. Almost abusive.
- By Captain Spanky Of Nazareth on 06-10-20
By: James Islington
-
Storm Front
- The Dresden Files, Book 1
- By: Jim Butcher
- Narrated by: James Marsters
- Length: 8 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A call from a distraught wife, and another from Lt. Murphy of the Chicago PD Special Investigation Unit makes Harry believe things are looking up, but they are about to get worse, much worse. Someone is harnessing immense supernatural forces to commit a series of grisly murders. Someone has violated the first law of magic: Thou Shalt Not Kill. Tracking that someone takes Harry into the dangerous underbelly of Chicago, from mobsters to vampires....
-
-
Excellent Story, Distracting Sound Engineering
- By Tom on 05-20-10
By: Jim Butcher
What listeners say about Promise of Blood
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Warwick
- 01-26-17
fantastic
great story. cool characters. interesting plot.
glad i picked this one up and keen to see where the story goes next
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Mark
- 07-28-13
Very enjoyable
Very well read, good choice of voices for the characters. On par with Joe Abercrombie.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Jefferson
- 12-30-15
"His squash soup was to die for."
Brian McClellan's Promise of Blood (2013), the first book in his heroic fantasy Powder Mage trilogy, begins with the summoning of middle-aged private eye Adamat to the royal palace in the city of Adopest (capitol of Adro). Middle-aged Field Marshal Tamas and his fellow "powder mages" have just staged a coup, assassinating the entire royal cabal of sorcerers so as to be able to execute the king and queen and most of the nobility, ostensibly because the king was about to sign an autonomy-ceding treaty with the Kez nation, and Tamas wants to hire Adamat to learn the meaning of a cryptic phrase uttered by the dying sorcerers: "Don't break Kresimir's promise." (According to the church, Kresimir is the god who summoned his nine sibling "saints" to found the Nine nations before departing to explore the universe.) Thus begins a page-turning, bloody, and at times fresh dark epic fantasy in the vein of Steven Erikson (but with less wit and imagination).
Tamas is trying to solidify his hold on power in Adro in the face of royalist resistance, Kez spies, and a traitor on his council. His son Taniel, bodyguarded by a mute "savage" girl of indeterminate age and mysterious magical powers, is trying to deal with the infidelity of his fiancee Vlora and with Tamas' seemingly cold use of him as an elite powder mage sniper. Adamat is trying to keep his family safe while working for Tamas and dealing with thuggish creditors and malevolent lords. And there is Nila, laundress for a duke's family when the coup hits and leaves her in charge of the five-year-old ducal/royal heir. McClellan rotates among these point of view characters through layers of perfidy, revelations about magic and gods, and lots of violence, from assassinations and boxing matches to sorcerous duels and desperate sieges involving fireballs and lightening bolts, guns and artillery, bayonets and swords, and razors and corkscrews.
Cool things in the book. Tamas' council members, a union leader, church arch-diocel, crime lord (represented by his eunuch spy-assassin), mercenary company owner (a woman), university vice-chancellor, and city reeve, are a varied bunch with varied agendas. Adamat's quest to discover the traitor among them introduces into the fantasy a hardboiled detective element (Adamat's "associate" is a hulking boxer). The charismatic and cheerful Lord of the Golden Chefs, Mihali, claims to be the incarnation of the god Adom (patron saint of Adro), but also says he escaped from an insane asylum by hiding himself in a huge cake. Whatever he is, he can make soul-healing gourmet fare out of thin air and a divine squash soup.
The fantasy world has three main kinds of magic: Privileged (sorcerers who reach into the Else to pull into the world and manipulate magic power of the five elements), Marked (mages who manipulate gunpowder so as to hit targets over a mile distant, push bullets around corners, and snort powder to heighten vitality and perception), and Knacked (low level types who have one gift, like eidetic memory or lie detection). Privilegeds and Markeds hate each other because they threaten each other's magical and political power. Witches, shamans, and super power immortals do other kinds of magic on the fringes of the Nine nations.
Unfortunately, much of the novel is disappointing. Characters regularly bare, clench, grind, or grit their teeth, a lazy way to express frustration that renders them too alike. Perhaps McClellan is striving too hard for gritty fantasy? (He also has Tamas' bodyguard Olem smoke cigarettes, tobacco being a new trend in Adro). Although some descriptions are fine ("The chalky, colored residue of sorcery covered the entire mountain like splatters of whitewash on the ground beneath a freshly painted fence") some are trite ("The man from the cloud was more beautiful than anyone Taniel had ever seen. His skin was perfect, his golden hair long and lustrous"). And cliches are common ("My son lies at death's door").
Certain words are puzzling. For some reason, a "geas" is a "gaes." Proper names are inconsistent, being exotic (Ka-poel, Sabon), familiar on a slant (Taniel/Daniel, Charlemund/Charlemagne), or European/Scandinavian (Henri, Jakob). Why call Adamat's boxer bodyguard SouSmith? And characters say "shit" and "damn" but nary an f-word. Instead, they say "pit" ("Shut the pit up!"). "Pit" also (usually) replaces "hell" ("Bloody pit!"). Why the pit is pit a bad word? The overuse of "pit" costs McClellan hardboiled cred, and the absence of the f-word and sex scenes makes the novel feel young adult, even though two of the three male point of view characters are around sixty.
The worst thing is that characters too often behave unbelievably or repugnantly. After catching Vlora in bed with a fop, Taniel nails her engagement ring to the guy's shoulder with a sword. When Taniel is preparing to assassinate his best friend from childhood, rather than reflect on their relationship he thinks about Vlora and himself. When he finally does recall his history with his friend, his only memory is when as boys they spied on the bathing Queen. Tamas ruins the career of a young mercenary officer (who's grown up in that mercenary army and feels total loyalty to his brothers in it) to get him into his own army. Although Tamas draws a line at executing noble children, he's caused so many other deaths that it nearly seems a moot point. Father and son often act like hot-tempered bullies.
The audiobook reader, Christian Rodska, is fine. His British accents are sensible (non RP dialects for rough characters), and his gravelly Tamas and arrogant arch-diocel are great, but his Chinesey accent for mountain monks, Russian accent for Lady Winceslav, and German accent for Androus, are odd for people of the same nation.
Although fans of hardboiled dark epic fantasy with elaborate magical systems would probably enjoy Promise of Blood, I can't bring myself to go on to the next book knowing there is a third waiting after that.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
5 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Joki
- 02-08-15
Intricate Yet Grounded
I've tended to avoid epic fantasy lately - typically, the investment of time and dreariness of the storylines can be daunting. But the unique set up, interesting world building, grounded and realistic characters, and intricate plot line had me completely hooked with Promise of Blood. The story is exceedingly well written and had me enthralled from the first scene.
Story: Adamat is a veteran police detective who finds himself on the doorstep of a coup - an overthrow of the monarchy. Field Marshall Tamas has led a revolution with his powerful powder mages but now must stabilize the situation in the City - especially with neighboring countries circling like vultures. His son, Taniel, resents his powerful but distant father but finds himself embroiled in the coup. And Nila, the laundress, will use all her wiles to protect a little boy, her noble employer's son, from execution. Together, they will find that Tamas' coup will have set far more into motion than either could ever have realized.
First off, this really is epic fantasy. I love that the feeling of a revolutionary era France was taken and woven into an intricate story featuring magic and Gods, guns and carriages. It could have really gone wrong but instead was a perfect complement of technology (guns), magic systems (from powder mages to "knacked"), and very intricate politics. The story starts very small, converges for a short time, and then explodes across the country as we follow the four main characters in their individual quests.
The characters were extremely well done. The interactions between Taniel and Poel, Adamat and SouSmith, Tamas and his generals/bodyguards were grounded, realistic, and fascinating. As well, the incredibly intricate plot that slowly builds and expands - starting with a coup but ending up being so much more, kept me intrigued. This isn't a simple story on any level - not the world building, characters, politics, diverse magic system, or plot. I am greatly looking forward to the next book in the series.
I listened to the audible version and the narrator did an excellent job with all the different characters.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Alex
- 06-01-13
Grim, different, stellar.
What made the experience of listening to Promise of Blood the most enjoyable?
The pacing of the story, and the way magic worked. The pacing was fast without racing ahead, and made for a tense yet enjoyable read. I kept on wanting to know what would happen next, and it was hard to put down.
What did you like best about this story?
I liked how all the different story lines were equally interesting, in their own ways. There wasn't ever a "Oh god, just get to the next chapter..." moment.
Which scene was your favorite?
Not gonna post spoilers in this.
Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
The book made me excited, and some of the characters infuriated me (it was intended to be that way), but no overt emotional reaction.
Any additional comments?
an absolute stellar read. Christian Rodska does a good job keeping it interesting and at an understandable pace. Brian McClellan has done a wonderful job on his first novel. A great debut!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Ariel
- 09-17-21
almost great
listened to the book.
had a lot of fun, but at the midpoint, there is a clear cut to another story altogether, feels like two books in one.
it's fine once you get past this in your head.
new goals for all characters, fine.
the magic is interesting
the characters are great
the story feels a tad simple. but still fun reading
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Anonymous User
- 01-07-21
Very difficult to get into.but heated up to it..
As much as I would like to get into this world, more than half way in I am dissapointed. A fair amount of decent world building and but the pace is too slow. started to pick up any half way through at the point where the cave lion was faught, certainly not bad but I hope that the pace and character development improves from here on in and far less drawn out dialogue between characters taking us nowhere.
2 Stars : **. - only 2 for now, want to continue with the Crimsom campaign as I still feel it would be a worthwhile world to explore further.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful