
The City Stained Red
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed

Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Buy for $35.09
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
David DeSantos
-
By:
-
Sam Sykes
About this listen
Step up to the gates.
After years in the wilds, Lenk and his companions have come to the city that serves as the world's beating heart. The great charnel house where men die surer than any wilderness. They've come to claim payment for creatures slain, blood spilled at the behest of a powerful holy man. And Lenk has come to lay down his sword for good. But this is no place to escape demons.
©2015 Sam Sykes (P)2014 Hachette AudioListeners also enjoyed...
-
The Mortal Tally
- By: Sam Sykes
- Narrated by: Edoardo Ballerini
- Length: 24 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Cier'Djaal, once the crowning glory of the civilized world, has gone from a city to a battlefield and a battlefield to a graveyard. Foreign armies clash relentlessly on streets laden with the bodies of innocents caught in the crossfire. Cultists and thieves wage shadow wars, tribal armies foment outside the city's walls, and haughty aristocrats watch the world burn from on high. As his companions struggle to keep the city from destroying itself, Lenk travels to the Forbidden East in search of the demon who caused it all. But even as he pursues Khoth-Kapira, dark whispers plague his thoughts.
-
-
Great Middle Entry
- By Casey on 04-15-18
By: Sam Sykes
-
God's Last Breath
- By: Sam Sykes
- Narrated by: Edoardo Ballerini
- Length: 25 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The great demon Khoth-Kapira has broken free of his prison and taken his first step upon the mortal world. And he owes it all to Lenk. Believing that the demon will heal a broken world that the gods have abandoned, Lenk serves as reluctant champion to Khoth-Kapira's cause. But as the desperate and fearful flock to Khoth-Kapira's banner, begging for salvation, Lenk begins to doubt his patron's great designs.
-
-
Fantastic Finish
- By Casey on 07-18-18
By: Sam Sykes
-
Seven Blades in Black
- By: Sam Sykes
- Narrated by: Daisy-May Parsons
- Length: 20 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Betrayed by those she trusts most and her magic ripped from her, all Sal the Cacophony has left is her name, her story, and the weapon she used to carve both. But she has a will stronger than magic and knows exactly where to go. The Scar, a land torn between powerful empires, where rogue mages go to disappear, disgraced soldiers go to die and Sal went with a blade, a gun, and a list of seven names.
-
-
Need audio editor
- By N. Cannon on 11-21-19
By: Sam Sykes
-
Pathfinder Tales: Shy Knives
- By: Sam Sykes
- Narrated by: Khristine Hvam
- Length: 9 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Shaia "Shy" Ratani is a clever rogue who makes her living outside of strictly legal methods. While hiding out in the frontier city of Yanmass, she accepts a job solving a nobleman's murder, only to find herself sucked into a plot involving an invading centaur army that could see the whole city burned to the ground. Shy could stop that from happening, but doing so would involve revealing herself to the former friends who now want her dead.
-
-
pretty good
- By chuck on 11-03-16
By: Sam Sykes
-
The Primal Hunter
- A LitRPG Adventure
- By: Zogarth
- Narrated by: Travis Baldree
- Length: 20 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It was a day like any other when suddenly the world changed. The universe reached a threshold humanity didn’t even know existed, and it was time to finally be integrated into the vast multiverse. A place where power is the only thing anyone can truly rely on.
-
-
Don't listen to the other reviews
- By Wesley Naval on 09-12-22
By: Zogarth
-
The Sword Defiant
- By: Gareth Hanrahan
- Narrated by: George Weightman
- Length: 19 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Many years ago, Sir Aelfric and his nine companions saved the world, seizing the Dark Lord's cursed weapons, along with his dread city of Necrad. That was the easy part. Now, when Aelfric—keeper of the cursed sword Spellbreaker—learns of a new and terrifying threat, he seeks the nine heroes once again. But they are wandering adventurers no longer. Yesterday's eager heroes are today's weary leaders—and some have turned to the darkness, becoming monsters themselves. If there's one thing Aelfric knows, it's slaying monsters. Even if they used to be his friends.
-
-
Below average
- By Jacob dale clifford on 07-21-23
By: Gareth Hanrahan
-
The Mortal Tally
- By: Sam Sykes
- Narrated by: Edoardo Ballerini
- Length: 24 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Cier'Djaal, once the crowning glory of the civilized world, has gone from a city to a battlefield and a battlefield to a graveyard. Foreign armies clash relentlessly on streets laden with the bodies of innocents caught in the crossfire. Cultists and thieves wage shadow wars, tribal armies foment outside the city's walls, and haughty aristocrats watch the world burn from on high. As his companions struggle to keep the city from destroying itself, Lenk travels to the Forbidden East in search of the demon who caused it all. But even as he pursues Khoth-Kapira, dark whispers plague his thoughts.
-
-
Great Middle Entry
- By Casey on 04-15-18
By: Sam Sykes
-
God's Last Breath
- By: Sam Sykes
- Narrated by: Edoardo Ballerini
- Length: 25 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The great demon Khoth-Kapira has broken free of his prison and taken his first step upon the mortal world. And he owes it all to Lenk. Believing that the demon will heal a broken world that the gods have abandoned, Lenk serves as reluctant champion to Khoth-Kapira's cause. But as the desperate and fearful flock to Khoth-Kapira's banner, begging for salvation, Lenk begins to doubt his patron's great designs.
-
-
Fantastic Finish
- By Casey on 07-18-18
By: Sam Sykes
-
Seven Blades in Black
- By: Sam Sykes
- Narrated by: Daisy-May Parsons
- Length: 20 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Betrayed by those she trusts most and her magic ripped from her, all Sal the Cacophony has left is her name, her story, and the weapon she used to carve both. But she has a will stronger than magic and knows exactly where to go. The Scar, a land torn between powerful empires, where rogue mages go to disappear, disgraced soldiers go to die and Sal went with a blade, a gun, and a list of seven names.
-
-
Need audio editor
- By N. Cannon on 11-21-19
By: Sam Sykes
-
Pathfinder Tales: Shy Knives
- By: Sam Sykes
- Narrated by: Khristine Hvam
- Length: 9 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Shaia "Shy" Ratani is a clever rogue who makes her living outside of strictly legal methods. While hiding out in the frontier city of Yanmass, she accepts a job solving a nobleman's murder, only to find herself sucked into a plot involving an invading centaur army that could see the whole city burned to the ground. Shy could stop that from happening, but doing so would involve revealing herself to the former friends who now want her dead.
-
-
pretty good
- By chuck on 11-03-16
By: Sam Sykes
-
The Primal Hunter
- A LitRPG Adventure
- By: Zogarth
- Narrated by: Travis Baldree
- Length: 20 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It was a day like any other when suddenly the world changed. The universe reached a threshold humanity didn’t even know existed, and it was time to finally be integrated into the vast multiverse. A place where power is the only thing anyone can truly rely on.
-
-
Don't listen to the other reviews
- By Wesley Naval on 09-12-22
By: Zogarth
-
The Sword Defiant
- By: Gareth Hanrahan
- Narrated by: George Weightman
- Length: 19 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Many years ago, Sir Aelfric and his nine companions saved the world, seizing the Dark Lord's cursed weapons, along with his dread city of Necrad. That was the easy part. Now, when Aelfric—keeper of the cursed sword Spellbreaker—learns of a new and terrifying threat, he seeks the nine heroes once again. But they are wandering adventurers no longer. Yesterday's eager heroes are today's weary leaders—and some have turned to the darkness, becoming monsters themselves. If there's one thing Aelfric knows, it's slaying monsters. Even if they used to be his friends.
-
-
Below average
- By Jacob dale clifford on 07-21-23
By: Gareth Hanrahan
-
A Little Hatred
- By: Joe Abercrombie
- Narrated by: Steven Pacey
- Length: 20 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On the blood-soaked borders of Angland, Leo dan Brock struggles to win fame on the battlefield, and defeat the marauding armies of Stour Nightfall. He hopes for help from the crown. But King Jezal's son, the feckless Prince Orso, is a man who specializes in disappointments. Savine dan Glokta - socialite, investor, and daughter of the most feared man in the Union - plans to claw her way to the top of the slag-heap of society by any means necessary. But the slums boil over with a rage that all the money in the world cannot control.
-
-
Rough listen.
- By Jared Clark on 01-08-20
By: Joe Abercrombie
-
Kings of the Wyld
- By: Nicholas Eames
- Narrated by: Jeff Harding
- Length: 17 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A retired group of legendary mercenaries get the band back together for one last impossible mission in this award-winning debut epic fantasy. Clay Cooper and his band were once the best of the best, the most feared and renowned crew of mercenaries this side of the Heartwyld. Their glory days long past, the mercs have grown apart and grown old, fat, drunk, or a combination of the three. Then an ex-bandmate turns up at Clay's door with a plea for help - the kind of mission that only the very brave or the very stupid would sign up for. It's time to get the band back together.
-
-
Locke Lamora Meets the Blues Brothers
- By Matthew on 03-07-17
By: Nicholas Eames
-
The Empire's Ruin
- Ashes of the Unhewn Throne, Book 1
- By: Brian Staveley
- Narrated by: Moira Quirk, Joe Jameson, Oliver Cudbill
- Length: 35 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Annurian Empire is disintegrating. The advantages it used for millennia have fallen to ruin. The ranks of the Kettral have been decimated from within, and the kenta gates, granting instantaneous travel across the vast lands of the empire, can no longer be used. In order to save the empire, one of the surviving Kettral must voyage beyond the edge of the known world through a land that warps and poisons all living things to find the nesting ground of the giant war hawks. Meanwhile, a monk turned con-artist may hold the secret to the kenta gates.
-
-
This is a horrible book
- By BeauFLA on 07-19-21
By: Brian Staveley
-
Gideon the Ninth
- By: Tamsyn Muir
- Narrated by: Moira Quirk
- Length: 16 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Tamsyn Muir’s Gideon the Ninth unveils a solar system of swordplay, cut-throat politics, and lesbian necromancers. Her characters leap out of the audio, as skillfully animated as arcane revenants. The result is a heart-pounding epic science fantasy. Brought up by unfriendly, ossifying nuns, ancient retainers, and countless skeletons, Gideon is ready to abandon a life of servitude and an afterlife as a reanimated corpse.
-
-
Fun. Not art, very gory, but 100% fun.
- By Sarah K. on 10-27-19
By: Tamsyn Muir
-
The Pariah
- By: Anthony Ryan
- Narrated by: Steven Brand
- Length: 19 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Born into the troubled kingdom of Albermaine, Alwyn Scribe is raised as an outlaw. Quick of wit and deft with a blade, Alwyn is content with the freedom of the woods and the comradeship of his fellow thieves. But an act of betrayal sets him on a new path - one of blood and vengeance, which eventually leads him to a soldier's life in the king's army. Fighting under the command of Lady Evadine Courlain, a noblewoman beset by visions of a demonic apocalypse, Alwyn must survive war and the deadly intrigues of the nobility if he hopes to claim his vengeance.
-
-
Has a great first half then slowly goes downhill
- By Spencer Corpuz on 08-31-21
By: Anthony Ryan
-
Stray Cat Strut: A Young Lady's Journey to Becoming a Pop-Up Samurai
- Stray Cat Strut, Book 1
- By: RavensDagger
- Narrated by: Hollie Jackson, Pavi Proczko
- Length: 11 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Catherine "Cat" Leblanc is an orphan that is about as far from super-rich as one can be. When the Incursion alarms start blaring and the sky starts raining hungry xenos, it's just another blemish on an already piss-poor afternoon.
-
-
Great book but it doesn’t really end.
- By Julie on 01-30-22
By: RavensDagger
-
The Blade Itself
- By: Joe Abercrombie
- Narrated by: Steven Pacey
- Length: 22 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Logen Ninefingers, infamous barbarian, has finally run out of luck. Caught in one feud too many, he's on the verge of becoming a dead barbarian - leaving nothing behind him but bad songs, dead friends, and a lot of happy enemies. Nobleman, dashing officer, and paragon of selfishness, Captain Jezal dan Luthar has nothing more dangerous in mind than fleecing his friends at cards and dreaming of glory in the fencing circle. But war is brewing, and on the battlefields of the frozen North they fight by altogether bloodier rules.
-
-
Characters drive the story. The Narrator rocks!
- By Brian Alsobrook on 11-01-16
By: Joe Abercrombie
-
Rise of the Ranger
- The Echoes Saga, Book 1
- By: Philip C. Quaintrell
- Narrated by: Steven Brand
- Length: 15 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Mankind has lorded over the land of Illian for a thousand years, building on the ruins left by the elves, as if it were their birthright. A thousand years is a long time for an immortal race to see the truth of things, a truth that has remained unsaid for a millennium - elves are superior. They are faster, stronger, and connected to the magical realm in a way that man could never grasp. Illian should belong to them.
-
-
Worth it
- By Ali on 03-24-18
-
Of Blood and Fire
- The Bound and the Broken, Book 1
- By: Ryan Cahill
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 16 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Epheria is a land divided by war and mistrust. The High Lords of the South squabble and fight, only kept in check by the Dragonguard, traitors of a time long past, who serve the empire of the North. In the remote villages of Southern Epheria, still reeling from the tragic loss of his brother, Calen Bryer prepares for The Proving - a test of courage and skill that not all survive. But when three strangers arrive in the village of Milltown, with a secret they are willing to die for, Calen’s world is ripped from under him and he is thrust headfirst into a war.
-
-
Didn’t expect a “grow up power fantasy”
- By Mike Thomas on 07-23-22
By: Ryan Cahill
-
The Name of the Wind
- Kingkiller Chronicle, Book 1
- By: Patrick Rothfuss
- Narrated by: Nick Podehl
- Length: 27 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This is a tale of sorrow, a tale of survival, a tale of one man's search for meaning in his universe, and how that search, and the indomitable will that drove it, gave birth to a legend.
-
-
Not sure why the reviews are so polar opposite.
- By Aaron Altman on 06-28-09
By: Patrick Rothfuss
-
The Last Wish
- By: Andrzej Sapkowski
- Narrated by: Peter Kenny
- Length: 10 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Geralt the Witcher—revered and hated—holds the line against the monsters plaguing humanity in this collection of adventures, the first chapter in Andrzej Sapkowski’s groundbreaking epic fantasy series that inspired the hit Netflix show and the blockbuster video games.
-
-
Better than the show, of course!
- By Cheryl Dias on 01-07-20
-
Kagen the Damned
- A Novel
- By: Jonathan Maberry
- Narrated by: Ray Porter
- Length: 20 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Kagen Vale is the trusted and feared captain of the palace guard, charged with protection of the royal children of the Silver Empire. But one night, Kagen is drugged and the entire imperial family is killed, leaving the empire in ruins. Haunted and broken, Kagen is abandoned by his gods and damned forever. He becomes a wanderer, trying to take down as many of his enemies as possible while plotting to assassinate the usurper, the deadly Witch-king of Hakkia. While all around him magic—long banished from the world—returns in strange and terrifying ways.
-
-
Get this while you wait for Winds of Winter
- By Victor @ theAudiobookBlog dot com on 05-10-22
By: Jonathan Maberry
superb start to a fantasy series
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
The story opens in medias res (kind of), so instead of learning about the protagonists via exposition, their characters are revealed through their actions and interaction with each other and the world. Each has a unique way of coping with the immense chaos of the setting, so any reader will be able to identify well with at least one of them: whether the reader would just want to leave the chaos behind, try to find personal connection in the chaos, try to help others in the chaos, be at home in the chaos, look down on the chaos through a lens of simple axiomatic truths, or try to control the chaos by (literally) burning it all down.
The structure of the story eschews standard fantasy arcs like redemption or ordained quests, instead choosing to follow this scenario to fruition: what if six uniquely powerful people with various levels of decision-making skills entered a city like Jerusalem at the peak of Roman occupation? “Powder keg” is an understatement. The protagonists are broken people in a broken world, so of course their stories can come across as dirty and disjointed. One character is revealed to be a terrible (almost vile) human being, but instead of being given a chance for redemption, his arc completes when he realizes and accepts that he is a monster.
I do not want to leave the impression that this book is overall dower or dreary; it is actually a very fun read. The author often portrays the most chaotic moments as whacky hijinks; the dialogue and descriptions are freckled with wit and hilarious analogies. David DeSantos’ performance is fantastic: despite the large number of main characters, he is able to make each voice instantly recognizable and characteristically appropriate. Bravo! I sincerely hope that Audible commissions his performance for the other novels in this series.
If you enjoy fantasy novels, read this book. If you enjoy wit and humor, read this book. If you are in the mood for something unusual, read this book.
Chaos and Characters
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Awesome
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Narrator does a great job of presenting Sykes unique witty writing in a way that flows very well.
This series takes some fantasy tropes and turns them up on their head - a great thing for a genre that can become saturated with predictability.
Moments of laughter, confusion (the good kind), action, and sadness all happen organically, leaving you wanting more. definitely worth a listen.
Witty, trope turning book. Need more from Sykes!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Disappointing
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
in the distance there's an oasis
he doesn't remember the journey just the thirst in his thoat
when he bent over to take a drink a reflection not his own was in the water
it's me
buy Sam Sykes book
came for the humor stayed for the characters
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Average story, reasonably interesting characters.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Sam Sykes continues on with the antics of what real adventurers are like. Spoiler alert, they can be terrible. From the humor to fighting to witty banter, I loved listening to Sam Syke's City Stained Red. I can't wait to jump into Mortal Tally. Would recommend if you like:
-Fantasy
-Irreverent Humor
-Fast witty conversations
-Sword fighting
-Imperfect protagonists
A Fantasy Must!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Where are the rest ?
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Now for the good stuff. The characters are compelling, interesting, complex, and fun. The world is diverse and well built. The writing is caddy and cynical, in a good way. There's so much depth that this is what kept me going aside from the fact that I have a penchant for finishing what I start no matter what. The ending scratches the surface of the story that's actually being told. This book is not good as a stand alone story in my opinion, but will hopefully serve as a springboard for a truly epic tale.
I'm not wild about it.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.