Son of the Black Sword

Saga of the Forgotten Warrior, Book 1

By: Larry Correia

Narrated by: Tim Gerard Reynolds

Length: 16 hrs and 21 mins

Publisher's summary

Audie Award Finalist, Fantasy, 2016

After the War of the Gods, the demons were cast out and fell to the world. Mankind was nearly eradicated by the seemingly unstoppable beasts until the gods sent the great hero, Ramrowan, to save them. He united the tribes, gave them magic, and drove the demons into the sea. Ever since, the land has belonged to man, and the oceans have remained an uncrossable hell, leaving the continent of Lok isolated. It was prophesized that someday the demons would return, and only the descendants of Ramrowan would be able to defeat them. They became the first kings, and all men served those who were their only hope for survival.

As centuries passed, the descendants of the great hero grew in number and power. They became tyrannical and cruel and their religion nothing but an excuse for greed. Gods and demons became myth and legend, and the people no longer believed. The castes created to serve the Sons of Ramrowan rose up and destroyed their rulers. All religion was banned and replaced by a code of unflinching law. The surviving royalty and their priests were made casteless, condemned to live as untouchables, and the Age of Law began.

Ashok Vadal has been chosen by a powerful ancient weapon to be its bearer. He is a Protector, the elite militant order of roving law enforcers. No one is more merciless in rooting out those who secretly practice the old ways. Everything is black or white, good or evil, until he discovers his entire life is a fraud. Ashok isn’t who he thinks he is, and when he finds himself on the wrong side of the law, the consequences lead to rebellion, war - and destruction.

©2015 Larry Correia (P)2015 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

"This book has everything I like in fantasy: intense action scenes, evil in horrifying array, good struggling against the darkness, and most of all people - gorgeously flawed human beings faced with horrible moral choices that force them to question and change and grow." (Jim Butcher, creator of the New York Times best-selling Dresden Files)

“I loved the book, it was great, fast paced, with wonderful characters, and also a lot of wonderful scenes that screamed to be painted.” (Larry Elmore, legendary, award-winning artist and cover artist for Son of the Black Sword)

"Correia skillfully sets in motion this story of plots within plots, revealing complex, sympathetic characters and black-hearted villains with equal detail and insight. Full of action, intrigue, and wry humor, this exciting series launch promises many more thrills to come." ( Publishers Weekly)

Woo'd & Won

Any additional comments?

I’m typically a strictly urban sci-fi fantasy kind of a girl. Save for a few exceptions (think Tolkien, CS Lewis, Douglas Adams, Herbert and Orwell) I prefer my sci-fi/fantasy novels peppered with a hefty dose of the Now – this place in time and space. With trepidation, I downloaded this book on the strength of the author’s previous work. Nary a one of Correia’s books has ever failed to capture and hold my attention.

I downloaded. Lo and behold, abracadabra, shazaam!, I absolutely had myself an audio marathon. That my friends, is so entirely unusual for me, that I was honestly surprised that I enjoyed it so much. Excellent character development, an engaging plot line combine to make this a wonderful inauguration into what I hope will be a long series. And the narrator? Perfection.

A Great Beginning to a new Epic Series

From the creator of “Monster Hunter International” and the “Grimnoir,” series one of my favorite authors, Larry Correia, has created a different world from his normal “pulp” fantasy; an intricate new world of swords, magic, and demons as he lays the foundation for his new epic series “Saga of the Forgotten Warrior.”
In book one, “Son of the Black Sword,” we meet Ashok Vadal, Protector of the law; a man tormented by the duty he has always unbendingly upheld, and the truth.
This is a fantastic tale as Mr. Correia begins with an amazing backstory worthy of “The Wheel of Time.” With believable and complex characters and great action scenes, if this is only book one I can’t imagine what is going to come.
The narrator, Tim Gerald Reynolds gives a great performance.

IF YOUR THINKING ABOUT DEFEAT, THAN YOUR ALREADY

LOST
This universe has a sever cast system. The untouchables can be killed for any reason. They are not even consider human. There are several levels to this cast system. The main character believes in law and will not break it. I only listened to three hours of this, as I found it boring and the main character boring. The book had no humor, which is very strange for Correia. Only hard core Fantasy Epic fans are going to love this.

DO YOU KNOW WHERE BLACK STEEL COMES FROM?

Game of Thrones fans will love it!

Any additional comments?

I finished listening to Son of the Black Sword: Saga of the Forgotten Warrior. book 1 three days ago and I keep thinking about it ever since.

The story revolves around Ashok Vadal, the most renowned warrior in the Protector’s Order and he defends The Law! The Protectors are called in to defuse conflicts between the Great Houses, they fight Sea Demon’s and, from time to time, they hunt down and execute traitors and religious fanatics. The Law is the most important thing to Ashok! He will never do something that goes against the letter of the law! Everything is black or white, there is no middle ground, no excuses, no exceptions. If someone breaks the law, Ashok will be there to deliver the appropriate punishment, and yet, all he knows to be true is a lie… it’s against the law.

This is a World filled with swords, warriors, casts, slaves, politics, magic, wizards and shape-shifters. It’s history is as impressive as that found in The Wheel of Time series of A Song of Ice and Fire aka Game of Thrones. The book is fast-paced, the action switches between Ashok and some other important characters and the story is nothing short of amazing. Although Ashok is a coldblooded murderer, I really cared about him and I absolutely loved the entire idea… Don’t want to spoil anything for the potential readers. I added the Publisher’s Summary below for those wanting to read more about the World and the history of Son of the Black Sword.

The audiobook version of The Son of the Black Sword is narrated by Tim Gerard Reynolds. He delivers a great performance bringing all the characters to life with his refined British accent and a huge array of different voices and tones. I haven’t listened to Mr. Reynolds before, but I really enjoyed his work with this book. Looking forward to the next one…

Larry Correia created a fantastic World for his new series. I haven’t read anything from him before Son of the Black Sword, but he just became one of my favorite Fantasy authors, alongside George R.R. Martin and Robert Jordan.

If you like A Song of Ice and Fire and / or The Wheel of Time, you’ll LOVE The Son of the Black Sword, the 1st book in the Forgotten Warrior Saga.

Good, but predictable and a little trope-y

I enjoyed the story arc, and the character development was somewhat interesting, but entirely predictable. The main character is supposed to be one-dimensional, but knowing this didn't save him from being the most boring character in the book. It seems like he's the overly annoying paladin in your role playing group, but there's not enough humor in the other characters to bring him down to relatable levels. Make him more human!

As for the narration, I feel he did a good job on engaging us. The only problem is some off hand comments received more drama than I believe was intended. I think this made the writing feel a little cheesier than it might have if the characters didn't sound so dramatic or self-important.

Loved it

Great first installment, definitely a page turner, the novels political construct is probably a micro model to how the author perceives our current political power system. Larry mixes in legendary sword myth, even though he is a gun person, but very well researched, somewhat entertaining, not young adult fiction, but not really adult fiction, should satisfy all, very similar to his other novels, I think he did work a bit harder on this one, maybe because he is established now and has more leeway. The narration is excellent.

Great start, and potential for an epic series

Book starts off slowly and it even seemed that it is another monster hunter type book in fantasy setting. However, author delivers a thought provoking story with depth and complexity. The story surrounds a paladin type person Ashok Vadal who is a protector of law dispensing justice as he was taught; however, Ashok begins to question the law itself as the society is built upon cast system where some of the cast had no rights. Ashok's struggle while discovering the truth makes of an intriguing story line. There is political element that is quiet prevalent in the story that basically want status quo at the expense of unjust cast system that is in place. To round it off, there are monsters, wizards and magic aspects as well. Over all, this book sets up a foundation for a story that could mature into a great series.

Interestingly, there are some elements that seem to be taken from Indian society (such as the cast system) and even name 'Ashok' is Indian. Certainly it is not a commentary on Indian culture or religion, but it is interesting to see what could have been the inspiration for author while writing this book.

As usual, Tim Gerald Reynold's narration is great. And as other (5 star) books, I didn't mind the busy traffic while listening to the book. I would recommend this book and look forward to the next in series.

Master Author + Master Narrator = Perfection!

I pre-ordered this book the day it was available and have been anxiously waiting ever since. It was so worth the wait. It is the epic fantasy series I have been waiting for! Where most epic fantasies fall short, this book shines. It has the epic struggle of good vs. evil which fans of epic fantasy love, plus the pulse-pounding fight scenes and fast-paced action which Larry Correia is known for. All that, combined with a masterful narration by Tim Gerard Reynolds (narrator of the equally awesome Riyria Revelations), makes this a true delight to listen to.

If I had to come up with something to complain about, it would be that there are a few times in the book where suspense has been building and you are just about to get to a pivotal part of the story, then the chapter ends and the next chapter begins with "20 years ago". It ends up working and the back story gives needed context, but I'm not a fan of back and forth time jumps like that. Still, awesome book... spend a credit on it and you won't be disappointed.

Struggled to finish

Main character is defined by one character trait the entire book. You hope that the plot will push him to feel more than one emotion, but even after his big realization, he remains driven by the same motives that drove him before. He is flat and unfeeling the entire story. On the rare occasion he isn't, he is perplexed by his own behavior.
The villain seems to have no real motive other than some vague notion of taking control. It's uninteresting and stereotypical.
Book dragged itself to the finish line with no light moments, no real character development, and no background on what "magic" is in this universe - even though it's used plenty of times - therefore the audience has no real grasp on what it can do. So witches are illegal, but every house has wizards? What's the difference? Magic either comes from black steel or demon bones - does that mean the two are related?
Luckily, I'm left not caring. Enjoy if you can, but this story left me sore.

Pleasantly surprised

I came into this book expecting monster hunter international with magic and swords. I was wrong, this was an excellent book with its own style and a couple intriguing concepts. It was a bit cliche but none the worse for it. I'm looking forward to following this series.

Has promise and problems

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

I am glad I finished the book. It starts out very slow and the main characters are generally unlikeable. I did slowly start to warm to then as the story picked up though

What does Tim Gerard Reynolds bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

He makes it. Loved him in the riyria series and is the main reason I picked this one up.

Any additional comments?

The book does have its problems. Mainly the characters are hard to care about. The author also has a very bad habit of revealing important information to the characters but not to the reader. Leaving many chapters on semi cliff hangers only to resolve in the next 2/3 chapters. The the evil forces in the book also don't have a reason for what they are doing. Power? Maybe but that is very unimaginative. And deamons are evil because deamons. I want to know more about them. Where did they come from are the just creatures or are they intelligent. There is so much that is skimed over and not really fleshed out and it makes me sad. I will ge getting the next in the series wp whit the hope of gradual improvements.

Simply brilliant. much like David Gemel.

One of the best books you will ever read. A violent book full of action . not your usual nonsence, this book is intelligent i.

Surprise!!

Really enjoyed this book once again narrator really brings it to life!!!

Was not predictable and leaves you gaging for more

Well done all involved!

Awesome

I have read at least 8 books by Larry Correia in his monster hunter series. I have enjoyed them all, but this book turned out to be way better and more intriguing that I was expecting.
Excellent 👌

Top notch everything

An unexpected style for the author, but he's smashed it. Fantastic narration brings the characters to life wonderfully.

Cutting

Wjeni first started this book I believe some reviews stated the characters are not likeable,sorry but I don't see that being likeable makes it better story. The composition is what I think matters, yes it does fpgo backwards and forward at the beginning but that adds to the story without giving away the plot ,the ending was reasonable providing another installment is near completion.if it doesn't get an ending then its a waste of time, like 'the Game of Thrones' . I read the last one of those probably 8/9 years ago, and would not bother to buy another installment, its been to long!

stay around for the payoff !

This book was a slow burn for me , didnt really get going till around 7 hours left. But by the end I was hooked and looking forward to the next book . I thought the pay off was worth it.

I seen a few people say the characters were not likeable, and i do agree for the first half of the book . But I think the main character isnt suppose to be , hes done horrible things in the name of the law. But if you stick around , hes journey is an arc of redemption....

A really good listen, but not a great one.

The author has written good strong characters with a plot line that overall is good but executed without polish. The hindsight chapters were confusingly placed for me and the politics written in the book bored me to no end as there didn't seem to be much point. We already know the bad guys want more power. I don't care about the politicking!!!

The main character Ashok is a real force of nature and you find yourself rooting for this stiff and ofter misunderstood person.

Moving on, the narration was excellent, nuanced and had a good cadence to his speech.

Would I listen to this book again? Yes. Would I listen to the next book in the series? Damn right I will.

Brilliant

What a brilliant start to a trilogy, I’m new to this genre but it didn’t disappoint.

The narration was quite good moved the story along not that the story needed it.

Highly recommend this if you liked Larry’s other works

Exceptional High Fantasy

Hard to believe that this is the same author as the Monster Hunter series. This is a perfectly executed example of the genre with great narration to complement it. Both compact, personal and epic.