The Armored Saint

By: Myke Cole

Narrated by: Michi Barall

Length: 7 hrs and 14 mins

Publisher's Summary

The first book in Myke Cole's The Sacred Throne Trilogy, blending epic fantasy with powered armor for fans of the Stormlight Archive

Myke Cole, author of the beloved military fantasy Shadow Ops series, debuts a new epic fantasy trilogy with The Armored Saint, a tale of religious tyrants, arcane war machines, and underground resistance that will enthrall epic fantasy fans of all ages.

After witnessing a horrendous slaughter, young Heloise opposes the Order and risks bringing their wrath down on herself, her family, and her village. She must confront the true risk that wizards pose to the world and weigh the safety of her people against justice.

©2018 Myke Cole (P)2018 Recorded Books

Written well, but uninteresting

This story is not what I expected. from the image, title and description, I was expecting more armor and less teenage antics and coming to terms with sexuality. The titular armor is fairly interesting, but really is only introduced halfway through and only plays a part in the second to last chapter. The primary faith appears to be ripped wholly out of Warhammer as well, with very few changes to avoid copyright issues.
It isn't a bad story, just not what it was advertised to be. I would recommend it if you enjoy a coming of age tale with a fairly standard patriarchal religion with your standard repressed sexuality and caste system.
The narrator did a fine job though, she is no Steven Pacey or Luke Daniels but she got the job done.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

great first step

This is a great introduction to world that I want to know so much more about. looking forward to learning more about the world of Heloise and the Emperor in the next book. Kudos to Myke and highly recommended.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Not what I expected, but way better!

I loved this book. To be honest I downloaded it because I was in between credits and need something short to hold me over.

I have never read Myke Cole before, though I have heard good things. This one went from being a weird world with a tyrannical theocracy, to sword and sorcery, to dangerous thriller and then justified all of that with an amazing plot conclusion. I loved the story, I loved the powered giant armor, I loved the narration. It was awesome, and I can’t wait for a next installment.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Not a Fantasy Lover, Yet I LOVED This Book

Myke Cole has accomplished something very difficult: he has created a unique world that doesn’t rely on typical fantasy tropes or references. I was submerged in this world, my head spinning as the story of Heloise unfolded. I cannot wait for the next book!

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Interesting, little flawed

So, first, the baseline plot is quite interesting. The love story felt pushed...like someone thought they needed to add a conflict that is just...bad. Its such a small piece of the story that didn't add anything to the story, but somehow I could feel the marketing push. The story is so short, I am not sure how that aspect of her could be expanded...except in a another really bad marketing way. I subtracted a star. I would have subtracted two, but it is only a small piece...lets hope the author keeps it that way. The magic dynamic has a really nice catch to it. I liked that. I liked the concept of the Order. I will probably get the sequel, just to satisfy my curiosity.

On the downside, the ending sucked...again, I think marketing needs to go out to lunch for two or three years and get a real job.

So, would I recommend spending a credit. No. If you are desperate for something to listen to, ok, get it...but wait till series is being sold as a collection and buy it then. The length, cost, and marketing are large strikes against...what may be...a very cool storyline.

3 of 5 people found this review helpful

I listened to this, and it was excellent

The narrator was excellent.

The story was excellent.

It’s got medieval steam-punkish power armor, and that’s pretty excellent.

The set up of the world is interesting, enough hints of what’s going on to get me hooked without too much long winded back story and exposition.

Really looking forward to the rest of the series.

a lot of build up for small climax

maybe I'll just jaded but this story felt like a long fuze for a little bang, it does set up book 2 i
guess

great start to the series

wizardry and steampunk technology in a different era. I'll have to pick up the physical copy and give this a read as I thought the pronunciation of our budding warrior's name by the narrator was off...and frankly very distracting, I wouldn't pronounce "Heloise" as "Hell was" ....other than that..great performance, some unnecessary character development for characters we barely heard from again but otherwise looking forward to the next installment

Phenomenal book 1

I can’t wait for the second book in this series. Cole draws you in and tears out your hear! It’s so powerful and devastating!

2 of 5 people found this review helpful

Lesbian Steampunk Anne Frank

No spoilers: this book literally has only one chapter of an actual Armored Saint doing things. The rest (legitimately about 80%) is a girl who is locked in a vault, hiding from genocidal fascists, while she tries to figure out where her sexual orientation lies. Oh, and there’s a fairy godfather complete with mouse helper. The writing is abysmal. Word choice is horrible, grammar issues. If you played a drinking game based on “singing in pain”, you’d be hospitalized based on the 13th chapter alone.

SPOILERS: what the hell is that ending twist about? Seriously. We spend hundreds of pages going on about how xenophobia, genocide, strict religious zealotry, and homophobia are wrong, but it turns out they were right all along? Then they fridge the love interest? This book should be titled “Little Girl never Learns a Lesson, Kills Everyone due to her Choices.”

1 of 3 people found this review helpful