The Path of Anger

The Book and the Sword, Book 1

By: Antoine Rouaud

Narrated by: Michael Kramer

Length: 17 hrs and 23 mins

Publisher's summary

There will be blood. There will be death. This is the path of anger....

Year 10 of the new republic, in the remote port city of Masalia: Dun-Cadal, once the greatest general of the empire, has been drinking his life away for years. Betrayed by his friends and grief stricken at the loss of his apprentice, he's done with politics, with adventure, and with people. But people aren't finished with him - not yet.

Viola is a young historian looking for the last emperor's sword, said to have been taken by Dun-Cadal during the empire's final, chaotic hours. Her search not only leads her to the former general but embroils them both in a series of assassinations. Dun-Cadal's turncoat friends are being murdered one by one in the unmistakable style of an imperial assassin.... But, as Dun-Cadal comes to realize, none of these developments - not even the surprise of meeting his supposedly deceased apprentice - has been the result of chance.

An intrigue transcending the fates of the individual characters has been put into motion, and its secrets are revealed one by one as the story unfolds.

In this debut novel, Antoine Rouaud displays an astonishing virtuosity, sustaining a high level of suspense seldom seen in a work of fantasy. Depicting mortal characters thrown into the maelstrom of history and who ultimately become figures of legend, The Path of Anger proves to be one of the most hotly anticipated fantasy debuts of this year.

©2015 Antoine Rouaud (P)2015 Macmillan Audio

En Guard! A Coming of Age Story

Thrust into a violent world while still a teenager, a young man becomes a Knight’s apprentice to learn the skills needed to revenge the death of his family. The story is told through many, many flashbacks; sometimes flashbacks within flashbacks. This can become confusing and I found it difficult to multitask while listening to the book.

The story is at its best when the protagonist must make a crucial decision. Unlike many books, I could never guess if he would be swayed by emotion or logic and this led to some tense, heart pounding moments. At its worse, many scenes are repeated from different points of view and I became bored. Overall, fun outweighed boring.

Another superb Michael Kramer performance

Michael Kramer did a remarkable job as usual. I would highly recommend this book to those who enjoy his readings. While I thought there a bit to many flash backs I won't hesitate to get the next book when it is released.

Alright.

I got this because Kramer was the narrator. It was an alright listen but I had a hard time with the timeline. Without any noticeable segway the book would jump timeline and characters.

I found myself jumping back quite a bit to double check where a point would switch. Making things more confusing was the mutiple names for a character.

Simply Awesome

This book, hands down, is a masterpiece of fantasy! A wonderful story, great emotional twists and deep characters make this a must listen! Plus the amazing narration by Michael Kramer really brings the whole experience to life! Use the credit, grab this book!!!

Great Epic Fantasy!

I bought this book, first because Michael Kramer narrated it (I really like Michael Kramer!), and second because the publishers summary sounded good. I'm glad I did. This is a great story with twists and turns you couldn't imagine would happen. There isn't a lot of world building in it and I wish there would have been, because while I was listening to the book I really couldn't picture the world. Also, the book can be a little confusing at times, because there are lots of flashbacks to at least two different time periods, so be prepared. World building and flashbacks aside, it works, and it's very entertaining. As for the magic system, it has a very minor roll in book and it's hardly worth mentioning, so if your a hard core Magic Systems person you might want to pass on this one, or step out of your comfort zone, because this is definitely worth a credit!

Get this book!

After three duds in a row this was a pleasant surprise.

Antoine Rouaud provides us with an excellent, engaging story with rich characters. Michael Kramer, one of my favorite narrators does a wonderful job once again. One of my favorite books of the year.

Can't wait to jump into book two of the series.

Worth your credit.

I agree with previous reviewers. The flashbacks are almost more suited to a screen play than novel. However overall, there's enough plot twists and turns to keep it interesting. The story has all the good stuff: love, loss, falls from grace, revenge, redemption, battle, intrigue, and magic. Wether or not you're a genre fan, this book is a great read!

Good-ish

This would be more of a 3.5 or a 3.9. Just not a solid 4.

I want to expand on this review later, but I just wanted to hit on the reason why I can't give this a 4 even though I truly enjoyed the world Rouaud built.

I believe that different POV's are fine. They are sometimes necessary in order to explore the inner workings of characters. Sure, go for it. But when there are multiple POV's on the same situations, the very same occurrences, I feel like I'm reading the same thing all over again but with a few tweaks. That's why i don't like reading books that are from another character's POV on the exact same events from the original book. (Quick example off my mind, Edward Cullen's thoughts on the first book. We know what's going to happen. We read it). So, when this book was split in two only to cover the same events all over again, I did get a little bored. I knew what was going to happen through Frog's POV because we read it already. Sure, the tid bits of his past were intriguing, but I would rather him move the plot forward with some brief flashbacks. Again, different POV's are all fine and good for me, but only if they further the plot along.

Anywhoozle, besides that, I enjoyed myself with this story. I just wanted more.

disappointing read

alas! I could not even finish... story poorly written. poor character development and characters not fully fleshed out. the author tells you the character flaws and storyline instead of showing. so disappointed!