The Court of Broken Knives

De: Anna Smith Spark

Narrado por: Colin Mace

Perfect for fans of Mark Lawrence and R Scott Bakker, The Court of Broken Knives is the explosive debut by one of grimdark fantasy's most exciting new voices.

It is the richest empire the world has ever known, and it is also doomed -- but only one man can see it.
Haunted by prophetic dreams, Orhan has hired a company of soldiers to cross the desert to reach the capital city. Once they enter the palace, they have one mission: kill the emperor, then all those who remain. Only from the ashes can a new empire be built.

The company is a group of good, ordinary soldiers for whom this is a mission like any other. But the strange boy Marith who walks among them is no ordinary soldier. Though he is young, ambitious, and impossibly charming, something dark hides in Marith's past -- and in his blood.

Dive into this new fantasy series for readers looking for epic battle scenes, gritty heroes, and blood-soaked revenge.

Dark yet satisfying.

My only suggestion would be that the male performer slow down his reading a bit in some areas, sometimes it was like he was racing through the story.

It’s...fine.

The story itself is intriguing, but the motivation of the protagonist/antagonist is confusing at best and annoying at worst. Still, the prose is very well written and there are some interesting characters.

The narrator/direction was lacking in almost every way. From inconsistent volume to indiscernible characters, it was an absolute slog to get through.

Not sure I’ll continue the series on audible. Might buy the actual book, though.

Bleak, Despairing, Sad but truthfully Beautiful.

Ancient bloodlines, Villainous Heroes, Mages, Dragons, maudlin backdrops...check. Grimdark in it's truest form, great read.

What an unexpected adventure

An unexpected adventure that took hold of my thoughts and wouldn’t let go. Must read.

Sword and Sorcery at Its Best

Sword and sorcery, demons, dragons, assassins, blood sacrifice, all the usual trappings, but told in a realistic, natural way that makes it all seem normal. I fell into the story quickly, easily, able to suspend disbelief.

Unusually, the male narrator does a good job with women's voices, not making them simpering or nasally, just softer, not easy with his natural bass baritone. The only reason I didn't give it five stars was because when he was not voicing a character, he tended to talk low, and I had to adjust the volume.

There are short flashbacks, brief retellings of legends, the main narration in third person, and short first person parts from a separate character by a different narrator, all woven together into a beautiful brocade of a tale.