
Bard Hard
Song of the Exiles, Book 1
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Narrated by:
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Steven Barnett
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By:
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T. Ellery Hodges
About this listen
From the multi-award-winning, Amazon bestselling author of The Chronicles of Jonathan Tibbs comes a thrilling new fantasy series.
In the Miers, a fragile peace has held for the twenty years since the Spirit Wars. Mortals stay within their boundaries, and the Faen keep to the Lost Green. Anything else is suicide. Renly Teurig, a young musician, unwittingly binds himself to a Bardic War Lute, becoming the reluctant Champion of Tetulinok, a Celestial Muse. Acting on the Muse's will soon ends in disaster—his sister Chloe is left unable to walk, scarred beyond recognition, and Renly is exiled in disgrace.
Years later, Tetulinok sends Renly to a town on the edge of civilization to find a mysterious young woman. Shyloh is the mirror image of his sister, down to the last freckle—but untouched by the injuries that led to his banishment. As strangers from across the land converge on Shyloh, Renly uncovers a web of danger and secrets far greater than he imagined. Pieces are moving into place, setting in motion a calamity not seen in over three thousand years—and Renly might be the one to tip the scales.
Redemption, a found family of misfits, powerful mentors with secrets, ancient prophecies, and reluctant heroes. Bard Hard is fantasy at its best, combining immersive world-building and intricate magic systems with a quick-witted narrator. Dive into the breathtaking world of Kiir through the eyes of Renly Teurig, one of its most enigmatic and conflicted inhabitants. Epic quests, thrilling battles, and unexpected twists, this is a tale of destiny, identity, truth, sacrifice, and the power of a story well told.
©2024 T. Ellery Hodges (P)2025 T. Ellery HodgesListeners also enjoyed...
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- By: Fizzicks
- Narrated by: Wayne Mitchell
- Length: 14 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
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When Zareth was first reborn into a strange new world of magic and wonder, he was ecstatic. He’d expected to go on to live an exciting life filled with danger and adventure. Instead, Zareth spends much of his new life on the streets of Tal’Qamar before eventually becoming a Cultist to Cerebon, God of Flesh and Transformation, where he spends most of his time helping rich women smoothen their skin.
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Great listen, with a very odd choice of ending.
- By Ty on 03-15-25
By: Fizzicks
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The Dragon Spy
- By: Bill Blume
- Narrated by: Heather Kay Ling
- Length: 10 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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To gain an advantage over the Soviets, the CIA uses genetic testing to identify children who are more than human and place them in the Greenhouse, a covert school to turn them into weapons in the war against the Soviets. Lynna Harrison, who is half-human and half-sea dragon, is among the first of these children.1983Lynna and her teammates are using their powers to aid in the Agency's black ops, an advantage the Soviets have yet to discover. That's until Lynna goes on a mission in East Berlin and learns someone in the unit is planning to trade their secrets.
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What an adventure!
- By Kindle Customer on 04-04-25
By: Bill Blume
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Paths of Akashic
- Book 1: Initiation
- By: Bainin
- Narrated by: Adam Stubbs, Mia Fothergill
- Length: 17 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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Alistair’s life is turned upside down when he is abruptly separated from his friends and family. As the universe slowly transforms and new laws take hold, everyone within his universe is cast into the trial—a crucible of survival and transformation. Before being set on his path, Alistair encounters a system avatar—a brief and enigmatic guide who offers little explanation, guidance, or aid before sending him and the rest of his universe into the unknown.
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Doesn’t stay focused
- By andrewK on 11-06-24
By: Bainin
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Servant of Rage
- The Bloodrage Trilogy, Book 1
- By: Alex Knight
- Narrated by: Tim Gerard Reynolds
- Length: 15 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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Subei and his brothers have been raised on stories of the Great Khan, their ancestor who conquered the world with might, mind, and fearsome magic. But the Great Khan is long dead, and his power vanished. The brothers live by his laws still, even as infighting consumes their once-proud people. When a sacred artifact is destroyed in an attempt on their lives, Subei, Bataar, and Kashi find themselves imbued with slivers of the Great Khan's magic—and they're not alone.
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Bloodsoaked battles, dark magic, ruthless ambition
- By Nemesis on 03-19-25
By: Alex Knight
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Shackled
- An Aldoran Chronicles Prequel
- By: Michael Wisehart
- Narrated by: Tim Gerard Reynolds
- Length: 2 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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Ferrin is no ordinary blacksmith. He is born with magic in a world where it’s not only feared, but outlawed. Struggling to keep food on the table, Ferrin decides to use his gift to aid in his work. That decision brings the Black Watch to his doorstep. Caged alongside a helpless band of half-starved wielders, Ferrin formulates a strategy to escape. Armed with nothing more than his sarcastic wit and a determination to never give in, he attempts the impossible.
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Left me wanting more.
- By D.K. on 08-03-21
By: Michael Wisehart
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The Jade Dragon’s Call
- By: Scott Johnsey
- Narrated by: Nathan McCombs
- Length: 8 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
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Seventeen-year-old Mei Nakamura’s life takes an unexpected turn when she inherits a seemingly ordinary jade dragon figurine from her grandmother. Little does she know that this seemingly simple object holds the key to a breathtaking adventure, transporting her from the familiar comfort of her modern life to the turbulent world of feudal Japan. This is a world far removed from her own, a land of sharp-edged swords, shimmering kimonos, and creatures born from myth and legend.
By: Scott Johnsey
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I Found a Spaceship in my Backyard. What now?
- By: Stu Connors
- Narrated by: Virtual Voice
- Length: 6 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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I never believed in UFOs—until I found one in my backyard… Alex is just a normal guy who works at a computer repair shop and dreams away his life. That is, until one day, he literally stumbles across a hidden spaceship. Together with his best friends, Joey and Lucy, he explores the vessel. They find the pilot dead, but the sentient ship AI is very much alive—and she needs their help. The friends decide to embark on an adventure into the unknown. Soon, they find themselves on a crazy ride through space, facing aliens, pirates, smugglers, and humorless space authorities… Will Alex and...
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Nice little space adventure
- By Conner on 03-14-25
By: Stu Connors
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Ghost of the Truthseeker 1
- A LitRPG Adventure
- By: Strungbound
- Narrated by: Daniel Wisniewski
- Length: 16 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
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On a day like any other, an alien descends to Earth, unleashing untold death and destruction. Alistair watches the live news footage of the carnage, his eyes glued to the image of impossible power made manifest. The alien’s arrival kicks events into motion that no one could have predicted. Earth is prematurely initiated into a universe-spanning empire of cut-throat cultivators, beasts, and entities of ungodly power–all guided by a mysterious AI System. The System’s first quest? Kill someone.
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OMG! An MC who is not an idiot or sociopath!
- By Corey Howard on 03-31-23
By: Strungbound
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Psyker Marine
- A Science Fiction LitRPG (Galactic Invasion, Book 1)
- By: Jake Malory
- Narrated by: Matthew Michael Lewis, Renée Nolen
- Length: 11 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
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My name is James Thorne, and I wasn't supposed to matter. Before the invasion, I was just a guy in a dead-end job, keeping my head down and my past buried. The Gehenna want our annihilation. Thankfully, they angered the Aetherion who may help humanity not only fight back, but turn the tide. When I’m offered the chance to be Cleansed, to become something more than I was, I take it. And it turns out I’m special. No, I’m not the Chosen One. And yes, there are others like me, but as a Psyker, I can do things most can't. Things that make me very dangerous.
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X-COM, The literary edition.
- By Anonymous User on 02-19-25
By: Jake Malory
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Glass Kanin: An Isekai LitRPG Adventure
- Glass Kanin, Book 1
- By: Kia Leep
- Narrated by: Daniel Henning
- Length: 13 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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As a rising actor, Kanin's body is his career. His identity. His life. All that is taken from him when he dies and is reborn as a bottle of ink. Now living as the heart of a magical glass servant, Kanin's new purpose is to perform a senile wizard's yard work—a role this world's magic system seems intent on enforcing. All that might have been manageable if a murderous shadow monster wasn't hunting his very soul. But he's not in it alone.
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A good isekai is rare
- By Leon on 04-10-25
By: Kia Leep
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The Dragon Saga: Books 1-3
- The Priestess and the Dragon, The Sea Stone, The Song of the Wind
- By: Nicolette Andrews
- Narrated by: Dawn Cromwell
- Length: 46 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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Suzume’s life is ruined. Exiled to a remote mountain shrine, she’s training to become a priestess. A life of poverty doesn’t suit her, and she dreams of her old life as a princess. When she accidentally awakens the god of the mountain, she discovers new powers and a whole lot of problems.
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A bit boring
- By Karah on 04-09-25
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Knave of Spades
- The New Ryder Waites Urban Fantasy from the New York Times #1 Bestseller (The Playing Card War)
- By: Tony Lee
- Narrated by: Dan Bottomley
- Length: 11 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
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Pick a card... Pick a side... Ryder Waites thought amnesia from a childhood accident was his biggest problem. Then a fallen angel tried to kill him on the London Underground. Now he's dodging assassins while uncovering an impossible truth: he's the heir to the Royal Court of Spades, part of one of the most powerful magical organisations in existence. But someone murdered his mother — the Queen of Spades — before she could restore his missing memories... and powers.
By: Tony Lee
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The Hidden Tower
- The Portal Wars Saga, Book 1
- By: James E. Wisher
- Narrated by: Joe Hempel
- Length: 9 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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Otto Shenk is the youngest son of a minor baron. He's also a wizard. Abused by his family and considered less than human by his kingdom, Otto does his best to survive. But everything changes when Otto stumbles across a tower hidden deep in a dark part of the forest near his home. A tower that was once the home of an Arcane Lord, the immortal wizards that long ago ruled the world. Otto’s life will be changed forever. And so will the world.
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The writing is good but the story isn’t.
- By Clay on 10-14-20
By: James E. Wisher
A little slow on the start but a very strong story
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Awesome!
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"Bard Hard" kicks off a new series and tries to juggle a lot at once—world-building, the main character’s backstory, and setting up a bigger series-wide conflict. Hodges handles it decently, but honestly, it feels a bit thrown together, like he mixed everything up in a blender. It's almost like he rolled some D&D dice to decide the plot. The first-person past tense narration makes it even trickier. For me, Hodges gets pretty close to pulling it off. I’d pick up his next book, but fingers crossed it’s not as scattered as this one.
The Good: This world of Kiir has a deep back-story, as do the races and places that populated it. Each of the major characters are complex and different from each other, with their own backstory, motivations, and reactions. Despite being labelled with traditional fantasy races and types--druid, orc, witch, knight, muse, etc.--the writer avoids cutout personas and behaviors. In Kiir, each "character class" manifests distinctive behaviors, but mostly avoids RPG tropes. Yea!
Hodges' writing is sometimes quite lyrical with lush descriptions and nuanced dialog. Humor is scattered throughout the narrative, although it sometimes crosses the line of being glib or snarky. The author also applies foreshadowing fairly well by scattering important details without being too flashy, but it feels like he leaves a bunch of Chekhov's pistols lying around just waiting to be picked up.
On the other hand, I have a healthy number of quibbles; these don't cross into "Not Good" territory, but they do distract from the story.
I can't help but compare this book to Patrick Rothfuss' Name of the Wind. Is Hodges is paying homage or casting some kind of deprecation? IDK. Both authors use a frame narrative around a first-person telling of the story in past tense. They both use a minstrel as the protagonist whose boyhood was in a troop of traveling gypsies. Both young troubadours have a series of formative adventures to hone extraordinary skills. After the originality in the Never War series, these similarities feel derivative. Deeper into the story, this fades into the background, but still nags once in a while.
Using first-person past tense as a narrative style can make it difficult to create suspense or real concern for the protagonist, Renly. Since the story is told from his perspective after the events have unfolded, it’s clear that he survives to tell the tale. Hodges does try to address this issue, but the solution comes too late in the framing narrative to effectively restore the tension where it’s needed most. On the upside, this perspective provides a deeper look into Renly’s thoughts and motivations, though at times his internal monologue feels more like a detour than a benefit to the story’s pacing.
The frame narrative is initially confusing. I'm pretty sure it sets the stage for the series' overarching conflict. This frame exists in an entirely separate plane of the Bard's world, introducing its own set of characters and dynamics. Adding to the complexity, the Celestial Muse—who interacts with Renly in the core story—comes from this other plane. While she seems to be progressively more constrained by or from some mysterious influence, Renly's muse is spectacularly unhelpful to him.
The narrative does not follow a linear timeline. The benefit is we don't have to wade through another coming-of-age story. Neither does it follow a typical hero's journey (I think). The difficulty is the pieces of the narrative don't fit together until, in retrospect, you assemble them. Continuity is therefore the reader's job.
Renly, the POV character and protagonist, presents a bit of a challenge in terms of likability. While he endures significant hardships and tries to navigate them fairly well, he often feels more reactive than proactive, relying on external events to steer his actions rather than taking control. Despite his apparent care for those around him and his attempts to do the right thing, his journey often resembles a cork carried along by a swift current—adrift rather than directed. Toward the end of the book, Renly seems to reveal he intentionally hides his initiative behind a mask of foolery. Despite this, between his sarcasm and self-deprecation, the dude just whines a lot.
Steven Barnett's narration builds on his performance in the Jonathan Tibbs saga. He does a great job in his pacing and character differentiation. He leverages digital effects pretty well, but perhaps relies on them a little too much … the effects sometimes distract from dialog.
In summary, "Bard Hard" is a pretty good read. It sets up the world and characters and promises a worthy epic in future books. Yes, I have expressed some reservations, but they should not weigh heavily in deciding whether to buy this book. T. E. Hodges demonstrated his skill in the "Chronicles of Jonathan Tibbs" and I'm willing to give him a lot of benefit for that. I wish I had read the marketing synopsis immediately before starting the book. It provides a high-level overview that makes the many perspective shifts less disconcerting.
A promising start to a new series ...
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10/10 will binge the book and then the series
Old tropes with a new perspective.
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very enjoyable characters
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Great new series
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Start of a new adventure
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This author is phenomenal!
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