
Blackguards
Tales of Assassins, Mercenaries, and Rogues
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About this listen
Rogues. Assassins. Mercenaries.
Whether by coin or by blood...you will pay.
A fantasy anthology featuring the deadly, the worldly, and the sneaky. Blackguards consists mainly of stories in established series, and the authors range from wildly successful indie authors to New York Times best sellers. If you enjoy roguish tales of scoundrels and ne'er-do-wells, this one's for you.
Contents:
- Foreword by Glen Cook (Black Company)
- Richard Lee Byers, "Troll Trouble"
- David Dalglish, "Take You Home"
- James Enge, "Thieves at the Gate"
- John Gwynne, "Better to Live than to Die"
- Lian Hearn, "His Kikuta Hands"
- Snorri Kristjansson, "A Kingdom and a Horse"
- Joseph Lallo, "Seeking the Shadow"
- Mark Lawrence, "The Secret"
- Tim Marquitz, "A Taste of Agony"
- Peter Orullian, "A Length of Cherrywood"
- Cat Rambo, "The Subtler Art"
- Laura Resnick, "Friendship"
- Mark Smylie, "Manhunt"
- Kenny Soward, "Jancy's Justice"
- Shawn Speakman, "The White Rose Thief"
- Jon Sprunk, "Sun and Steel"
- Anton Strout, "Scream"
- Django Wexler, "The First Kill"
- Paul S. Kemp, "A Better Man"
- James A. Moore, "What Gods Demand"
- Jean Rabe, "Mainon"
- Bradley P. Beaulieu, "Irindai"
- S. R. Cambridge, "The Magus and the Betyar"
- Clay Sanger, "The Long Kiss"
Please note: "The Lord Collector" by Anthony Ryan, which appears in the print edition of Blackguards, is not included in this audio edition.
Full cast of narrators includes: Richard Poe, Gabra Zackman, Karyn O'Bryant, Macleod Andrews, Ray Porter, Tim Gerard Reynolds, John Keating, Kevin T. Collins, David DeVries, Elijah Alexander, Allyson Johnson, Oliver Wyman, and Victor Bevine.
©2015 Bradley P. Beaulieu; Carol Berg; Richard Lee Byers; S.R. Cambridge; David Dalglish; James Enge; John Gwynne; Lian Hearn; Paul S. Kemp; Snorri Kristjansson; Joseph R. Lallo; Mark Lawrence; Tim Marquitz; James A. Moore; Peter Orullian; Jean Rabe; Cat Rambo; Laura Resnick; Clay Sanger; Mark Smylie; Kenny Soward; Shawn Speakman; Jon Sprunk; Anton Strout; Michael J. Sullivan; Django Wexler (P)2015 Audible, Inc.Listeners also enjoyed...
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Overall
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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.
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Worth it
- By Ali on 03-24-18
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The Shadow of the Gods
- By: John Gwynne
- Narrated by: Colin Mace
- Length: 18 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
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After the old gods warred and drove themselves to extinction, the cataclysm of their fall shattered the land of Vigrio. Now, power-hungry jarls carve out petty kingdoms, and monsters stalk the shadow-haunted woods and mountains. A world where the bones of the dead gods still hold great power, promising fame, and fortune for those brave - or desperate - enough to seek them out. As whispers of war echo over the plains and across the fjords, fate follows the footsteps of three people. All three will shape the fate of the world, as it once more teeters on the edge of chaos.
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Not for me
- By John on 05-31-21
By: John Gwynne
Adequate for casual filler between books or series
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a bunch of teases
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Some awesome, some meh.
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Overall, I would have trouble recommending the entire set though there are a few good stories thrown in the mix.
Some worthy tales in the mix, but not many.
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fun to pick through for good and bad
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good collection with great stories :)
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mixed bag
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fun listen
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Some great, some good
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Happily, the table of contents labels each novella and, contrary to the summary, even The Collector is included in this, as of 2022. Many of these titles can be bought individually, but if there are 5 of the 25 titles that appeal, you are better off spending the credit on this. I found several 4-5 star listens (🔥) and only a few that didn’t work at all for me (👎🏼).
Random, hopefully helpful thoughts, in book order:
🔥1. Mainon by Jean Rabe- assassin hired to foil an assassin, YA
🔥2. Irendai by Bradley Beaulieu- lyrical mind-trip with Egypt-like trickster gods and pit fights
-series: Song of the Shattered Sands
🔥3. The Subtler Art by Cat Rambo- Mage or assassin- who’s the better artist? short story
4. Jancy’s Justice by Kenny Soward- side character gets her own interlude story
-series: Gnome Saga (not available on Audible)
🔥5. Troll Trouble by Richard Lee Byers- freelance caper helping a troll with an incubus issue
-series: Forgotten Realms
🔥6. A Better Me by Paul Kemp - advertised as Conan meets Indiana Jones and I approve!
-series: Egil and Nix
👎🏼7. The First Kill by Django Wexler- apparently, there’s occult magic but I only heard a spy caper
minus the background story.
-series: Shadow Campaign… I’ll pass, as this promises blah blah military tactics,
but I did enjoy the YA Wells of Sorcery trilogy by this author.
8. Man Hunt by Mark Smylie- tricorn hats and no before/after, just the hunt
9. Better to Live Than to Die by John Gwynne- feels grimdark without the bloody fun bite of First Law
-series: Faithful and the Fallen
10. The Secret by Mark Lawrence- features the ruminations of a killer
-series: trilogies run long and MC is a sociopath
🔥11. Friendship by Laura Resnick- “a man’s friends are always more dangerous than his enemies”
🔥12. The Long Kiss by Clay Sanger- ridden hard and put away bloody… for those on Team Arya of GoT
🔥13. The White Rose Thief by Shawn Speakman- YA fantasy prologue with gargoyles, witches, fairies
14. A length of Cherrywood by Peter Orullain- vicious, trigger warnings for deviant abuse, GoT level
15. A Taste of Agony by Tim Marquitz- Eunuch assassin and ditto on above trigger warnings
👎🏼16. What the Gods Demand by James A Moore-dark and dreary
-series: Seven Forges
🔥17. Take You Home by David Dalglish- YA -assassin turned Robin Hood. Cheesy, but strangely captivating
-series: Shadowdance
18. Seeking the Shadow by Joseph Lallo- weapons maker seeks new master
-series: Book of Deacon
19. Sun and Steel by Jim Sprunk- oh, the dark chains that bind
🔥20. The Betya and The Magus by S.R. Cambridge- the not-so-meet-cute for two partners in crime
-series: why is there no series in Audible?!
21. A Kingdom and a Horse by Snorri Kirstjansson- short, but hey, Ray Porter!
👎🏼22. Thieves and the Gate by Jane Enge- Oyssseus as a pirate (and not the good kind)
23. His Kikuta Hands by Liam Hearn- looks at two folks on the enemy side- a Japan-tinged feudal fantasy. This takes place during the third book and I’m not sure if it plays well without having heard the series
-series: Tales of the Otori (it’s good if you like samurai style stories on the still waters run deep end)
24. The Lord Collector by Anthony Ryan- no honor among thieves… or family
series: Raven’s Shadow
🔥25. Scream by Anton Stout- Rogue with a talent made for crime- noir feeling urban fantasy involving an art heist.
series: Simon Canderous
Looking to sink your teeth in a new series?
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