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A Blade of Black Steel
- Crimson Empire, Book 2
- Narrated by: Angèle Masters
- Length: 21 hrs and 6 mins
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Publisher's summary
The sequel to Alex Marshall's A Crown for Cold Silver, an outstanding, game-changing epic adventure featuring an unforgettable warrior.
After 500 years, the Sunken Kingdom has returned and brought with it a monstrous secret that threatens to destroy every country on the Star.
As an inhuman army gathers on its shores, poised to invade the Immaculate Isles, the members of the Cobalt Company face an ugly choice: abandon their dreams of glory and vengeance to combat a menace from another realm or pursue their ambitions and hope the Star is still there when the smoke clears.
Five villains. One legendary general. A battle for survival.
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Story
Thorn, an outlaw's son, wasn't supposed to be a slave. He's been sold to Tyburn, an executioner, and they're headed to Castle Gloom in Gehenna, the land of the undead, where Thorn will probably be fed to a vampire. Lilith Shadow wasn't supposed to be ruler of Gehenna. But following the murder of her family, young Lily became the last surviving member of House Shadow, a long line of dark sorcerers. Her country is surrounded by enemies, and the only way she can save it is by embracing her heritage and practicing the magic of the undead.
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Great first book!
- By Bob Zelm on 03-31-20
By: Joshua Khan
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The Briar King
- The Kingdoms of Thorn and Bone, Book 1
- By: Greg Keyes
- Narrated by: Patrick Michael
- Length: 19 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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Two thousand years ago, the Born Queen defeated the Skasloi lords, freeing humans from the bitter yoke of slavery. But now monstrous creatures roam the land and destinies become inextricably entangled in a drama of power and seduction. The kings woodsman, a rebellious girl, a young priest, a roguish adventurer, and a young man made suddenly into a knight all face malevolent forces that shake the foundations of the kingdom, even as the Briar King, legendary harbinger of death, awakens from his slumber.
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Good stuff
- By Jake on 06-10-10
By: Greg Keyes
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Royal Bastards
- By: Andrew Shvarts
- Narrated by: Brittany Pressley
- Length: 10 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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Being a bastard blows. Tilla would know. Her father, Lord Kent of the Western Province, loved her as a child but cast her aside as soon as he had trueborn children. At 16 Tilla spends her days exploring long-forgotten tunnels beneath the castle with her stablehand half brother, Jax, and her nights drinking with the servants, passing out on Jax's floor while her castle bedroom collects dust. Tilla secretly longs to sit by her father's side, enjoying feasts with the rest of the family.
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Reading is not the same as the physical copy
- By Annelle Powell on 07-09-18
By: Andrew Shvarts
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The Tiger's Daughter
- By: K Arsenault Rivera
- Narrated by: Caroline McLaughlin
- Length: 14 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
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The Hokkaran Empire has conquered every land within their bold reach - but failed to notice a lurking darkness festering within the people. Now their border walls begin to crumble, and villages fall to demons swarming out of the forests. Away on the silver steppes, the remaining tribes of nomadic Qorin retreat and protect their own, having bartered a treaty with the empire, exchanging inheritance through the dynasties. It is up to two young warriors, raised together across borders since their prophesied birth, to save the world from the encroaching demons.
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Writing format that didn't work for this book
- By kara-karina on 02-24-18
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The Way into Chaos
- The Great Way, Book 1
- By: Harry Connolly
- Narrated by: Michael Kramer
- Length: 15 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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The city of Peradain is the heart of an empire built with steel, spears, and a monopoly on magic...until in a single day it falls, overthrown by a swarm of supernatural creatures of incredible power and ferocity. Neither soldier nor spell caster can stand against them. The empire's armies are crushed, its people scattered, its king and queen killed. Freed for the first time in generations, city-states scramble to seize neighboring territories and capture imperial spell casters.
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Made me want to buy more credits
- By Daniel Olson on 09-16-16
By: Harry Connolly
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Amber Magic
- Haven Series, Book 1
- By: B. V. Larson
- Narrated by: Mark Boyett
- Length: 5 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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The humans have no magic and are hunted for sport, but that is about to change. War is coming.... The Sun Dragon spawned nine lesser dragons which devoured their parent for the power the elder possessed. These young dragons fought for choice bits of the Sun Dragon, but each only managed to eat a portion, thus giving them specific powers. Over time, these foul dragons were hunted down and slain by heroes of old.
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Not Undying Mercenaries Thats for sure
- By John on 10-21-15
By: B. V. Larson
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Coming of the Storm
- By: W. Michael Gear, Kathleen O'Neal Gear
- Narrated by: Kevin Orton
- Length: 13 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
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Of best-selling husband-and-wife writing team W. Michael and Kathleen O’Neal Gear, Booklist proclaims that “nobody does Native Americana better than the Gears.” Coming of the Storm launches a series featuring Black Shell, a Chicazaclan trader, and his struggles with Hernando de Soto, an invader intent on spreading Catholicism at the point of his sword.
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Creates a story line from history
- By Mark on 05-24-13
By: W. Michael Gear, and others
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The Black Company
- Chronicles of The Black Company, Book 1
- By: Glen Cook
- Narrated by: Marc Vietor
- Length: 10 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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Some feel the Lady, newly risen from centuries in thrall, stands between humankind and evil. Some feel she is evil itself. The hardbitten men of the Black Company take their pay and do what they must, burying their doubts with their dead - until the prophesy: The White Rose has been reborn, somewhere, to embody good once more. There must be a way for the Black Company to find her....
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Hard Boiled Morally Ambiguous Epic Fantasy
- By Jefferson on 03-18-11
By: Glen Cook
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The Mirror Empire
- Worldbreaker Saga, Book 1
- By: Kameron Hurley
- Narrated by: Liza Ross
- Length: 17 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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On the eve of a recurring catastrophic event known to extinguish nations and reshape continents, a troubled orphan evades death and slavery to uncover her own bloody past - while a world goes to war with itself. In the frozen kingdom of Saiduan, invaders from another realm are decimating whole cities, leaving behind nothing but ash and ruin.
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Captivating & thrilling
- By Sean Higgins on 09-19-15
By: Kameron Hurley
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The Steel Remains
- By: Richard K. Morgan
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 15 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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In just a few short years, Richard K. Morgan has vaulted to the pinnacle of the science fiction world. Now he turns his iconoclastic talents to epic fantasy, crafting a darkly violent, tautly plotted adventure sure to thrill old fans and captivate new readers.
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This isn't your father's gay hero!
- By Kindle Customer on 01-23-09
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Web of Eyes
- By: Rhett C. Bruno, Jaime Castle
- Narrated by: Luke Daniels
- Length: 11 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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When a piece of the crown prince's soul is stolen by a traitorous warlock, disgraced knight Torsten Unger makes it his sworn duty to get it back and save the last hope for the kingdom. But he can't do it alone. Self-proclaimed "World's Greatest Thief" Whitney Fierstown sits in the castle dungeon, destined for the gallows until Torsten offers this choice: rot and die in a dank cell or join him on a dangerous expedition to put his skills to good use and earn his freedom.
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A Fantasy Version of 48 Hours
- By John Kang on 12-24-18
By: Rhett C. Bruno, and others
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Song of the Beast
- By: Carol Berg
- Narrated by: Claire Christie, Jeremy Arthur
- Length: 12 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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Brutal imprisonment has broken Aidan McAllister. His music is destroyed, and with it the visions he once gave a kingdom ravaged by dragon war. Now, he risks his hard-bought freedom to uncover the truth behind his incarceration - and to meet his enemy face-to-face....
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Dragons rock!
- By MarilynArms on 08-15-13
By: Carol Berg
What listeners say about A Blade of Black Steel
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- fantasy/sci-fi fan
- 12-14-20
well-paced, funny, and entertaining fantasy
Yes! For a fantasy reader in his 40s that rarely ever comes across gay/bi heroes in fiction, it's so exciting to read an author who creates a world with gender and sexual fluidity. It's fun to finally see yourself in characters. After awhile, no matter how great the story, it becomes tedious always reading about stereotypical hetero males. The characters are as funny and memorable as Abercrombie's books. At first I was surprised by the drug use in the book, since you don't see it often in fantasy literature, but it became charming, like magic potions or herbal remedies from AD&D games.
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1 person found this helpful
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- rene55
- 12-10-18
Just as good as the first, can't wait for the next
the story great and the connection the characters make with one another is so captivating.
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- Dog Mom
- 05-10-21
Good continuation of the storyline
Good continuation of the main story line and I love all the sassy, headstrong characters! Solid story progression too. I wouldn't say there are plot twists, but the directions these characters go are unexpected. And the quality of the storyline is gratefully prioritized over the need for a overused dun-dun-duuuuuunnnnnn, cliffhanger-based flow that fantasies may be biased towards following these days.
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- Cheshyre
- 08-18-22
awesome fun
this is one of those books that only benefits from great narration. I loved it
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- Christian Prater
- 06-25-19
Some of the best grimdark out there.
I read this book because I ran out of Abercrombie's First Law World to read, and it did not disappoint. If you like Abercrombie's style but want to see it done with a few twists, read this series. if you don't know who Abercrombie is, read First Law Trilogy and then read this series.
Alex Marshall is a master of dramatic irony, ultraviolence, and the complexities of human behavior. This series has some of the best characters and relationships in epic fantasy, even if most of them are totally irredeemable scumbag, drug addicts, and murderers.
Chock full of washed up old villains trying to do wrong right, a system of creepy ass devil magic, an ecosystem of insects and arachnids that get you high if they don't kill you, and a grim cynical political economy that demonstrates how religious institutions sometimes get wrong even what they get right, this series is a bittersweet, fun, trope-defying heartbreak from start to finish.
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- erin
- 01-28-18
this is the new best author I've heard in years!
I have >600 books in my library. 75% fantasy 25% mystery/thriller. This is TOTALLY original.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Vanessa S. Tyre
- 12-08-21
Great sequel!
This was just as great as the first installment! I totally enjoyed it and I’m looking forward to the next.
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- Scott S.
- 10-14-20
Plot Twist At The End Almost Ruined Book
After listening to the first book of the Crimson Empire series and enjoying it, I moved on to A Blade of Black Steel. I mentioned in my review of A Crown for Cold Silver that the book had some strange characters and some themes that some may not be comfortable with, but that there were no overt scenes that should stop someone for listening. Much of the plot and themes seemed to be added by the author to differentiate his world or add some shock value for interest. This second book continues in that direction for most of the book and I was enjoying the series very much.
(Possible spoiler) Near the end of this book a plot twist happens that seems contrived, and it kind of spoiled the remaining portion of the book for me. Two main characters, who had at this point through one and three quarters books had been men who were heterosexual fighting for the love of one woman, suddenly decide to stop competing with each other and begin making out with each other instead. As if this is not enough, one of the character's mother enters the story, and it turns out that his mother is actually a man who identifies as a woman, and that his father is a woman who identifies as a man. The mother wonders if her son's sudden taste for another man is due to remembering a fondness for breast feeding from his father. It all comes off as ridiculous and some sort of contrived attempt by the author to add every kind of politically correct LGBTQ possibility he could come up with. It's like watching any current movie or tv series where every storyline has to have a mixed race couple, a gay best friend of the wife, and friends consisting of one muslim woman, one asian man, and a nerdy white guy. It just didn't mesh with the story.
Overall, I have now invested listening time for two books, and other than the nonsensical ending of book two, I have enjoyed the series. The narration from Angele Masters is perfect for this book. I will continue on and hope PC plot twists will remain at a minimum and not disrupt my listen to much.
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4 people found this helpful
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- Amazon Customer
- 06-12-16
Best book this year
I am amazed that this series has not had more acclaim. it is one of the best gritty fantasy books I have read. Plus it is absolutely hilarious, I'm a very dark way. I f you like Joe Abercrombie you will LOVE this series
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3 people found this helpful
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- 🔥 Phx17 🔥
- 04-30-21
Ever seen a possum-summoned muther of all devils?
I can’t believe I got the whole trilogy in an Audible stacked sale. Having heard the whole series, I pronounce each book full credit worthy! It’s got shades of all the pulpy movies I love and the funny/dark fantasy that scratches my twisted humor. This segment is the twisted love-child of grimdark & The Princess Bride.
This middle book is a bit of a meandering tale and our favorite characters are split up for most of it. But, now that the stage is set for a creepy, insectoid invasion, this is our opportunity to really get to know our MCs and supporting cast. There’s more humor and building menace in this book, which is mostly good if a little overlong. There are still 5 POVs: (1) Zosia’s revenge quest has been utterly sabotaged by circumstance, making her ornery and a perfect pairing for Boris the heretic (2) Jin-Hyeon should have been careful what she wished for and is finding being Queen of the Hill a challenge, (3) Sister Portalace is replaced with Sullen’s mother Best, a misguided, bloodthirsty muther of a mother, (4) Sullen, Diggleby, and Purna have a Princess Bride turned horror adventure with ghost swamps instead of fire swamps and zombie beavers instead of R.O.U.S.s - dark and silly? Inconceivable!, and (5) my favorite lummox Maroto has a lost-world adventure full of double entendres and sexy pirate hazing with Banh. The crazy glue connecting everything is Hortrapp; I loved that, until the very end of the trilogy, I had no clue if he was good, bad, or just batsh!t bonkers... and with the addition of Nemi, his equally bonkers nemesis, Hortrapp was the ultimate scene stealer. Bravo!
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2 people found this helpful