Sword in the Stars

The Myridian Constellation, Volume 1

By: Wayne Thomas Batson

Narrated by: Dave Cruse

Length: 13 hrs and 12 mins

Publisher's summary

The difference in their uncanny eyes could not be easily discerned. In the rays of the setting sun, both Aravel's and Morlan's eyes appeared gold. In the pale moonlight...yellow. Seemingly the same. Such inscrutable likeness is the way of things with identical twins.

But all who knew the two brothers well noted unmistakable differences, peculiarities more experienced than seen. Those who stood before King Aravel's gaze felt the glad firelight of a cozy inn. But those who fell under Morlan's stare felt the gleam of winter moonlight on the cold, white stone monuments in a boneyard.

From the best-selling author of the Door Within Trilogy comes an epic tale of two powerful kings whose rivalry threatens to tear the world of Myriad apart. Into this chaos of treachery and war strides ex-assassin Alastair Coldhollow, whose quest for redemption leads him to the one foe he cannot defeat with a thrust of his sword. Everything may hinge on an age-old prophecy, but after thousands of years, will the Sword appear in the Stars at last?

With the aid of Abbagael Rivynfleur, a not-so-naive girl from the forest villages, Alastair will tread forgotten roads, face legendary creatures, and meet mysterious new races of people, all in an effort to find Myriad's Halfainin. So begins the sweeping seven-volume Myridian Constellation. Listen to discover what happens when the Sword is in the Stars and the moon is blood red....

©2017 Wayne Thomas Batson (P)2018 Wayne Thomas Batson

This book is worth your time.

I rate this book five out of five stars. The narrator was great. He was not droning on and on. I would recommend this story to anybody who is into fantasy such as Tolkien or Lewis.

You need this book!

First off, let my say that Wayne is my favorite Christian Fantasy author. I have many of his books and absolutely love them. So, this review is somewhat difficult for me to write. Once I hit chapter forty-nine I was finally sucked in and by the end I was ready for the next novel. It seemed like it took a long time to set up the main event that took place towards the end.

That being said, there were several things I did love about this novel. Alastair's and Abbagael's interactions were some of my favorite parts of the book. The section of letters between the two of them was a clever choice to help show the passage of time but still keep readers informed of what events were taking place. Their banter made me laugh and I loved Abbagael's unwillingness to give up on him. The characters were believable and I enjoyed learning more about them.

The one thing I love most about Wayne's writing is his ability to create vast worlds that are so much fun to imagine. The different types of creatures, the wondrous halls, and the magical components of the story will allow you to immerse yourself in the world of Myriad and never want to leave. It's such a beautiful world that rivals the likes of Narnia and Middle Earth.

While the plot was slow at the beginning, I'm glad I continued on and finished the book. If you have not read this book, I implore you to get it and read it for yourself! By the end, you'll be wishing for more! I give this book four stars.

The narrator did a great job of bringing this story to life and I found that I enjoyed listening to it more than I did reading it for myself. I highly recommend this audiobook!

I received a free copy of this audiobook from the author. No monetary compensation was given for this review and a review was not required.

Overall good book!

Good book. A lot to take in but it’s really a great example of Christian fantasy working. Love the Alister characters realness. Fighting with the pain of past sins, trying to make amends but realizing it will take something greater than himself to bridge the gap. On to the next in the series!

Deep and thoroughly interesting

First the book, Wayne Thomas Batson has managed to write a book filled with classic fantasy troupes and parallels with the Christian faith. However these do not take away from the story in the slightest, the vivid image that Batson paints of the world is phenomenal, creating deep, lifelike characters that leave you wanting more. Every word was a phenomenal joy to listen to and cannot wait for the next books!

The narrator was phenomenal! Bringing an unfamiliar world to life with the variety of characters and personalities within allowed the already fantastic story to become more cinematic!
This is a must read and listen to!!!!!!

Amazing book, wonderful performance!!!

I have enjoyed many of Wayne Thomas Batson’s books. This one is a heart wrenching book. I pray I will have the patience to see the end of the series. I am glad that I waited as long as I did. Now on to book two!!

Story had me stuck like glue

Extremely well written and absolutely entertaining. You feel very attached to the characters and has good plot twists. Highly recommended!!!!

Excellent book, convincing reader.

I've always been a fan of Wayne Thomas Batson's writing, but honestly, I wasn't expecting this book to be quite this high caliber. This is Batson's best work of fantasy yet, and wets my appetite for the next book in the series. First of all, the reader for the audiobook, Dave Cruse, does a fantastic job. His voice and accents are convincing and bring the story to life in a way not every audiobook reader can. I especially enjoyed the voices he did for the book's villains. Secondly, Batson combines a unique structure and excellent foreshadowing with a strong foundation of world building absolutely worthy of an epic fantasy series. Tolkien and Sanderson are two of the master world builders I have read, the Batson certainly gets close to these masters with this book. Thirdly, I loved the characters and action sequences in this book. The Sword in the Stars keeps you on the edge of your seat by switching views from character to character, and crisis point to crisis point. Alastair, Aravel, Cythraul, Morlan...the characters are all believably attractive, fascinating, or repellant in their respective roles. Finally, no story is complete without a compelling and effective plot to hold it together. The Sword in the Stars manages to call on some of the best of Batson's previous books, while adding unique but attainable twists to the fantasy genre. Fans of Tolkien, Lewis, Alexander, Sanderson, or L.B Graham should enjoy this book.

Amazing

Wayne Thomas Batson does it again! An amazing story with beautiful description. This Audible is a great adventure to go on!

Clean reading for all ages!

It's hard to find clean reading these days, but this is one you can count on! Great story and one I can recommend to all my friends with teenagers and my own grandchildren. Thank you, Wayne Batson!

Exciting and intricate new epic!

Story: This series is a masterpiece of intricate storyline and character development without going overboard on length. These books have a very unique feel to them, but if I had to compare them to anything it would be the Stormlight Archives by Brandon Sanderson. Although each of the books are much shorter than Sandersons', Batson does an awesome job of both plot and character development and had me on the edge of my seat the whole time! Very cool and unique world/races, but it wasn't hard to understand while listening which is nice.

Performance: This narrator is amazing- and that means all the difference for an audiobook. I've had books that I thoroughly enjoyed on paper ruined with bad narration... But Dave Cruse is an absolute master. I will be looking into other books he has narrated!