The Wrath of the Orphans

Book One of Elmoryn's The Kinless Trilogy

By: Chris Philbrook

Narrated by: Kevin T. Collins

Length: 13 hrs and 5 mins

Publisher's summary

What do you do when everything you've ever known is ripped away from you, leaving nothing but ashes and charred memories behind? You get angry. So very angry.

Malwynn and his twin sister, Umaryn, live in a small town in Northern Varrland. In idyllic New Picknell nearly nothing happens, and when their day-to-day routine is interrupted by a skirmish between an invading patrol of the dead from The Amaranth Empire and a defending force from Varrland, their world begins to come undone. With international war looming on the horizon, New Picknell becomes the center of quite unwanted attention, and the twins have their world shattered. With nothing left to lose, they set out on a mission of vengeance that will take them to places they'd never dreamed of visiting, discovering mystical powers in The Way that will change their lives forever, and revealing dark knowledge best left undiscovered.

The Wrath of the Orphans and the world of Elmoryn are filled with elements of dark horror, steampunk, and sorcery. It is an ancient world filled with heroes of immeasurable valor and ancient secrets tearing at the past to be known again. Written by the author of the Internet phenomenon Adrian's Undead Diary, The Wrath of the Orphans is the first book in a sprawling dark fantasy epic trilogy that is sure to thrill, charm, and disturb.

©2011 Christopher Philbrook (P)2016 Audible, Inc.

a cross between zombie and fantasy

Malwynn and his twin sister, Umaryn live in the near idyllic setting of a farming community and the gentle magic of their mother on the planet Elmoryn. Malwynn is about to be engaged to the love of his life and Umaryn is apprenticed to a master blacksmith. Both are happy and looking forward to a peaceful future. Tragedy strikes while the two are away on a stroll in the mountains. Their entire village is burned to the ground, everyone, including their parents and little sister are dead. Their lives are destroyed and their grief is unbearable. They vow revenge, no matter what the cost, even if it means traveling to the northern Amaranth Empire where zombies and necromancers reign.

Some kind of plague on the planet of Elmoryn struck almost 300 years ago. Anyone who dies, either becomes a zombie, or has their soul released into a kind of twilight world where they can be called on for magic and healing. Many people on Elmoryn have special skills to touch this magic, called “The Way.” Umaryn has the ability to speak to man-made objects to strengthen or weaken them at her will.

Wrath of the Orphans is a cross between zombie and fantasy novels which is in itself is pretty intriguing. The inexperienced twins reach into their limited experience to fight impossible odds over and over, discovering strengths and abilities they didn’t know they had. The story is linear, unfolding in a straightforward way, from challenge to challenge, solution to solution. Help, healing, magic and friends arrive at the perfect moment each time. There is plenty of action, but little in the way of suspense.

The story is performed by Kevin Collins. His voice is pleasant and his character voices are easily discerned. His reading style is to dramatize every sentence which can be distracting, but eventually the listener gets used to it. The voices of the villains are the most developed and compelling. Overall a good performance.

If you are looking for a new twist on zombies and fantasy, Wrath of the Orphans is worth a listen. There is nothing all that groundbreaking here, just an entertaining story with a straightforward plot.

Note: The teenage characters and theme make this story a good candidate for young adults. Be warned there is strong language.

Audiobook was purchased for review by ABR.

Please find this complete review and many others at my review blog

[If this review helped, please press YES. Thanks!]

The Wrath

Would you listen to The Wrath of the Orphans again? Why?

This book opened up a new universe where everything ever dreamt can come to pass. The good but most importantly the bad.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

This book will pull at your emotion's, you will feel anger and loss, and more importantly fear.

Any additional comments?

This series has a little bit of everything in it. What we would call magic, zombies, and even "The Force" although none of them by name of course. This is a great revenge story.

great book

this book was awesome. been a fan of chris philbrook since i read AUD this series dosnt disappoint. narrator took a little bit to get use to but was good.

Fantasy

Any additional comments?

I enjoy a good fantasy story and this book was a satisfying foray into the genre.While the book starts out a little slow for me I really enjoyed it overall.The narrator did a good job and has a pleasant voice to listen too.Which is extremely important to my overall enjoyment of an audiobook.I would reccomend this book to any fan of the fantasy genre.I received an audiobook from the author in exchange for an honest review.

Emotional Depth

Any additional comments?

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

I loved the relationship and interaction between the two main characters, Malwynn and Umaryn, twin siblings. The emotional depth of the characters was amazing and I would recommend this book based on this aspect alone.
However, they seemed rather fortuitous with the situations they faced, especially with foes that were much better prepared and better equipped than the siblings and their friends. It just seemed really easy to me.

Malwynn and Umaryn Rock!

This is an extremely well written and plotted story. The characters are nuanced and detailed in a deep, authentic way. Worth a credit? You bet! You will want to get the all of Chris Philbrook's other books as well.

Malwynn and Umaryn live an idyllic life in a farming community called New Picknell. They have status in this small community because their mother is an apostle and can release the dead so they do not rise as undead after death. The undead rise within hours of death so the ritual to save their souls must be done very soon after a person passes. The twins' lives seem set as Malwynn is about to propose marriage to a village girl and become a farmer like his father while Umaryn is apprenticed to the village blacksmith and is learning to use 'the Way' or magic in this world. That all comes to a screeching halt one afternoon when everyone in New Picknell is slaughtered and a good portion of the dead are taken away to a distant land to serve as undead.

This tragedy puts Malwynn and Umaryn on a path quite different from the one they envisioned just a short time ago. They vow vengeance and to do whatever it takes to find out who murdered their parents and young sister. Their journey begins...they are patient and resourceful and, ultimately, get the chance they have fought so dearly for. Whether they retain their humanity is yet to be seen.

I did not dislike Kevin Collins' narration as others did. However, I did find it a bit distracting to begin with and never quite got used to his cadence and tone and the way he voiced the characters. It came off as stilted and a little awkward to me. In fact, I may buy the kindle versions of the other parts of this story instead of listening to them.

I received this audiobook for free through Audiobook Boom! in exchange for an honest review.

A great start to a new series!

What did you love best about The Wrath of the Orphans?

The characters and settings were well developed.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Wrath of the Orphans?

The big showdown of course.

Which character – as performed by Kevin T. Collins – was your favorite?

Umaryn, I always love the moral compasses.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

There were a few heart pounding moments and a few tears for love lost.

Any additional comments?

I can't wait to read the rest of the series. Chris Philbrook is a promising author and I hope there is much more to come from him.

good read

i didnt like the narrator very much but the book was great! good story lots of action as always.

FURIOUS TICKLING ENSUED

An excellent concept, not that well done. Zombies and Fantasy in a Medieval Apocalyptic World. I had high hopes for this, but it never panned out. Philbrook is a popular writer, so I thought he had the goods to pull this off. The book is super telling with no showing, the poster child for telling, not showing. The narrator is a Scott Brick want a be. Totally excited and dramatic at all times.

Decent story but the naration was a little over th

If you could sum up The Wrath of the Orphans in three words, what would they be?

Read The Book

How could the performance have been better?

Maybe if a majority of it wasn't read like it was written in all capitals.

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

Considering it's 13 hours long, no I would not want to listen to it in one sitting.

Any additional comments?

I received this book for free from audiobookboom in exchange for an honest review.