The Written

Emaneska, Book 1

By: Ben Galley

Narrated by: Steven Cree

Length: 14 hrs and 51 mins

Publisher's summary

Game of Thrones meets Die Hard in this explosive epic fantasy, packed with tattooed mages wielding unbridled spells, meddling gods, dragon-riders, and twisted Norse mythology.

Only half the recruits that undergo the Ritual survive to become Written mages. Only they can wield the fiercest of magics, to protect the Arka, until either death or the madness takes them.

Five scholars of Arfell have been assassinated. A spellbook has gone missing – a powerful summoning manual from the time of elves and fire-born daemons. The Arkmages are running out of time and options, and the world is once again on the brink of war with the Siren dragon-riders. It falls to Farden – one of the Arka's most powerful yet troubled Written mages – to keep Emaneska from falling into chaos.

Entangled in a web of lies and politics, Farden is tasked with hunting down the assassin, and recovering the spellbook before it falls into the wrong hands, and the world is cast into shadow. It will mean fighting his way across savage Emaneska and back, a land infested with wyrms, marauders, and betrayal. It will take every fibre of his will, every scrap of magic in his bones, and if he falls, so shall the world.

Welcome to Emaneska.

The Written is the first volume in the Emaneska series, a fast-paced, epic and norse-inspired fantasy saga perfect for fans of Joe Abercrombie, Steven Erikson, Will Wight, and George R. R. Martin.

©2010 Ben Galley (P)2022 Audible, Ltd

So freaking good

Best narrator in a long time. Amazing story line. Unique magic system. Can’t recommend enough

Sticks to the ribs epic fantasy!

I can’t say enough great things about Ben Galley and his Emaneska Series starting with “The Written.” I am a long time fantasy/mythic fiction lover (Tolkien, Martin, Rothfuss, Gaiman). Galley’s writing style and take on the genre is engaging and immersive. His characters feel dimensional in a way that allows the reader to become attached to them emotionally and the world he has created feels as though there is so much more one could explore if given the time and opportunity to linger.

Thank you Ben Galley for welcoming me into this new world!

Good ideas, but needed a better Contant editor

The problem with this book was not in the narration, or even the writing, but the editing. They weren’t typos or grammatical errors that I remember, but a lot of small things that a good editor could’ve fixed: character inconsistencies, plot line discontinuities, etc. I’ll keep an eye out for the author in the future because I think he’s likely to progress well, but I will read the reviews carefully before I buy.

Sean Kingston was right

He told not to trust these girls.Seriously tho the book was great I’d hilghy recommend it

Tough to follow. And not because it was complex.

MC is a fairly flat, meh character. Seemed like in an attempt to keep up pacing; the motivations, development, and a lot of integral plot points were left out. The relationships in the story felt unearned, so twists meant little. Narration was truly the highlight. Not rushing to snag book 2, but I’ll check it out to see if the story and characters improve.

Love love LOVE THIS!!!!

The narrators accent is wonderful fits the story, love the storyline will listen to more LOVE LOVE LOVE!!!

Interesting

The story and magic are unique while familiar The characters are vibrant, and the story takes a shape. Good enough for a D&D campaign

Fantastic imagery

Ben Galley describes his world beautifully. You can tell he loves language and the art of storytelling. Steven Cree brings it to life with his wonderful Scottish lilt and a variety of voices.

The main character gives off some serious “Witcher” vibes that I find appealing.

Love the accent!

The story us decent, but as a US citizen born and bred with no real out of country travel, I enjoyed this narrator immensely.

I really wanted to like this

I love the story and characters. However the writing is… not good. You’ll hear “Farden” sixty times in 30 seconds. If it wasn’t farden stood. Farden walked to the door. Farden opened the door. I’d love this if it wasn’t written the way it is.