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Strategos
- Born in the Borderlands, Strategos 1
- Narrated by: Nigel Carrington
- Length: 12 hrs and 26 mins
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Publisher's summary
When the falcon has flown, the mountain lion will charge from the east, and all Byzantium will quake. Only one man can save the empire ... the Haga!
1046 AD. The Byzantine Empire teeters on full-blown war with the Seljuk Sultanate. In the borderlands of Eastern Anatolia, a land riven with bloodshed and doubt, young Apion's life is shattered in one swift and brutal Seljuk night raid. Only the benevolence of Mansur, a Seljuk farmer, offers him a second chance of happiness.
Yet a hunger for revenge burns in Apion's soul, and he is drawn down a dark path that leads him right into the heart of a conflict that will echo through the ages.
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- Narrated by: Gerard Doyle
- Length: 15 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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The Gods are dead. The Magelord Salazar and his magically enhanced troops, the Augmentors, crush any dissent they find in the minds of the populace. On the other side of the Broken Sea, the White Lady plots the liberation of Dorminia, with her spymistresses, the Pale Women. Demons and abominations plague the Highlands. The world is desperately in need of heroes. But what they get instead are a ragtag band of old warriors, a crippled Halfmage, two orphans and an oddly capable manservant: the Grim Company.
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Pretty bad, but not actively terrible
- By Travis Lamkin on 09-13-15
By: Luke Scull
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Firstborn
- Dragonlance: Elven Nations Trilogy, Book 1
- By: Paul B. Thompson, Tonya C. Cook
- Narrated by: Steve Coulter
- Length: 10 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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When the leader of the Silvanesti elves dies, conflict threatens to drive his sons apart. While Sithas wishes the elves to withdraw more and more from any contact with other races, Kith-Kanan and his Wildrunners forge connections and trade goods with the humans of Ergoth. As the world of Krynn watches, a new elven nation rises from the strife.
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After all this time
- By Jesse on 04-17-13
By: Paul B. Thompson, and others
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131 Days: Omnibus 1
- Books 1-3
- By: Keith C. Blackmore
- Narrated by: John Lee
- Length: 40 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
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Once every year, in the city of Sunja, gladiators Baylus, Goll, and Halm meet in the arena known as Sunja’s Pit. Their battles are epic, but deadlier still are the shadowy forces that conspire against them outside the Pit. Only by applying their brutally honed survival instincts can these brave warriors hope to win their freedom and exact grisly revenge upon their enemies.
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Narration is amazing, story is a joke
- By Vi on 12-11-22
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The Valiant
- By: Lesley Livingston
- Narrated by: Fiona Hardingham
- Length: 10 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
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Fallon is the daughter of a proud Celtic king and the younger sister of the legendary fighter Sorcha. When Fallon was just a child, Sorcha was killed by the armies of Julius Caesar. On the eve of her 17th birthday, Fallon is excited to follow in her sister's footsteps and earn her place in her father's war band. She never gets the chance. Fallon is captured and sold to an elite training school for female gladiators - owned by none other than Julius Caesar himself.
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Couldn't keep my attention
- By Kendall on 03-13-17
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The Summer Dragon
- First Book of The Evertide
- By: Todd Lockwood
- Narrated by: Ali Ahn
- Length: 17 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
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Maia and her family raise dragons for the political war machine. As she comes of age, she anticipates a dragon of her own to add to the stable of breeding parents. Her peaceful life is shattered when the Summer Dragon - one of the rare and mythical High Dragons - makes an appearance in her quiet valley. Political factions vie for control of the implied message, threatening her aspirations, her aerie, her entire way of life.
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5 star plotline, 2 star main character
- By Allison on 12-01-16
By: Todd Lockwood
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Eagles at War
- By: Ben Kane
- Narrated by: David Rintoul
- Length: 13 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
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Based on real historical events. A time for vengeance AD 9, German frontier: Close to the Rhine, a Roman centurion, Lucius Tullus, prepares to take his soldiers on patrol. On the opposite side of the river, German tribes are resentful of the harsh taxes about to be imposed upon them. Suspicious that there might be unrest, Tullus knows that his men's survival will be determined not just by their training and discipline, but by his leadership.
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Arminius
- By D.Rockwood on 10-29-20
By: Ben Kane
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The Fate's Forsaken Omnibus
- Books 1-2 and Prequel Novella
- By: Shae Ford
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 37 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
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Books 1, 2, and the prequel novella of the Fate's Forsaken series. The series follows the adventures of Kael: a young man who is thrust from his home in the Unforgivable Mountains and onto a hero's path. The journey is long, the battles are fierce - nearly all of his companions are outlaws. And Kael's rotten bad luck seems to make everything worse. This is his story.
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Fantasy with light romance
- By Skipper on 09-23-15
By: Shae Ford
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Child of Vengeance
- A Novel
- By: David Kirk
- Narrated by: Mark Bramhall
- Length: 15 hrs
- Unabridged
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Japan in the late 16th century was a land in turmoil. Lords of the great clans schemed against one another, served by aristocratic samurai bound to them by a rigid code of honor. Bennosuke is a high-born but lonely teenager living in his ancestral village. His mother died when he was a young boy, and his powerful warrior father Munisai has abandoned him for a life of service to his Lord, Shinmei. Bennosuke has been raised by his uncle Dorinbo, a Buddhist monk who urges the boy to forgo the violence of the samurai and embrace the contemplative life.
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Clever weaving of history and fiction.
- By JW Crummett on 02-25-16
By: David Kirk
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Phoenix Unbound
- The Fallen Empire Series, Book 1
- By: Grace Draven
- Narrated by: Katharine Lee McEwan
- Length: 14 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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Every year, each village is required to send a young woman to the Empire's capital - her fate to be burned alive for the entertainment of the masses. For the last five years, one small village's tithe has been the same woman. Gilene's sacrifice protects all the other young women of her village, and her secret to staying alive lies with the magic only she possesses. But this year is different. Azarion, the Empire's most famous gladiator, has somehow seen through her illusion - and is set on blackmailing Gilene into using her abilities to help him escape his life of slavery.
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Nothing special. Highly predictable
- By J. C. Schmidt on 10-10-18
By: Grace Draven
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The Oremere Chronicles Omnibus
- The Complete Series
- By: Helen Scheuerer
- Narrated by: Angele Masters
- Length: 52 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
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At 16, Bleak lost the only person she cared for when her mentor died at sea. Now 19, she still misses him terribly. She needs him more than ever. That’s why Bleak drinks. But the haze of the mead and wine has hidden something from her. Her powers have grown more than she knows. Others have noticed. When the king sends his top commander to take her, Bleak is too hungover to resist. But he isn’t the only one who needs her for their plans. What does he want?
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“Whut?”
- By Anonymous User on 02-08-23
By: Helen Scheuerer
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Vengeance
- The Tainted Realm Trilogy, Book 1
- By: Ian Irvine
- Narrated by: Grant Cartwright
- Length: 25 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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In an unjust land, the only law is vengeance. In Cython’s slave camps, it’s the timid and obedient who survive – and Tali is neither, for she has sworn to bring her mother’s killers to justice. Her dramatic escape precipitates Cython’s war on Hightspall and, when Tali is rescued by Rix, heir to Hightspall’s greatest fortune, they flee through a land in turmoil.
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Eh, never really felt right
- By Jeff Jackson on 03-01-12
By: Ian Irvine
What listeners say about Strategos
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- Scott Miller
- 03-01-16
Great read
Cornwellesque. A thorough look at a forgotten empire. Loved the character development of Appian and Nazir.
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- Laura
- 08-22-15
great book
"I was provided this audiobook at no charge by the author in exchange for an unbiased review via AudiobookBlast dot com".
loved the book. its a great read.
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- Gail N.
- 10-07-22
Fine writing if you can take the constant violence
This story had too much violence for me to deal with. I had to skip over scenes of horrible brutality. The protagonist's injury and the ongoing pain was another distraction which added little and seemed unnecessary. However, the writing is excellent and the narration superb.
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- Agnes pauls
- 07-23-19
its ok
i have listened to countless stories on audiobooks and there are alot of better books i would not recommend this one at first.
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- Viktor Tschepurnoj
- 09-19-22
Great!
I did not once get bored or anything like that, it's no Dostoevsky but if you like history and especially Byzantine history, it's a great story. Listens much like "the history of Byzantium podcast" short stories in the borderlands. Ergo pretty interesting and good fun.
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- Shoshana Hathaway
- 07-20-15
The cost of war
This is a multi-layered novel set in the borderlands of the Byzantine Empire (a modern appellation, since the Byzantines, although by this time thoroughly Greek, considered themselves the true Roman Empire …and honored those ancient Western roots, in nostalgia if not practice. Although I know far less about this place and time than I do others, the history seems impeccably accurate, and the depth and specificity of detail lead me to believe that this book was thoroughly and intelligently researched.
I’ll admit to having a bit of a hard time reading it, had to read it in bits …but not because it was boring or uninteresting, or sloppily written. Just the opposite is true, actually. It was almost too detailed, too rich …to absorbing, and I found that I couldn’t just read it …I had to stop, assimilate, consider, and let my mind range through its reactions to each of the multiple layers.
First, there is the setting. It is so vividly portrayed and placed in its time, that I responded to it with all senses. I could *feel* the grit and the heat. I could *hear* the battle horns, the shouts, and the other terrible noises of war. I could *smell* the warm bread and the less pleasant scents of any Medieval city ..and the stench of the battlefields. I could *taste* the drink made from almonds and yogurt and honey, and the wine, and the honey cakes, and I could *touch* everything. In other words, this setting is a sensual feast, and a banquet of rich experiences, indeed.
Then there are the characters. Each of them, on both sides of this terrible centuries long conflict is not just well drawn, but intensely human, even the villains and the bit players. I found myself identifying with some, aching for them and caring about them, and absolutely hating others, wanting to see them be served a very large helping of very hot vengeance. Even the minor characters, many of who one sees in books about armies, are unique enough not to be one dimensional stock characters. There is the grouch, who has served so long he is cynical, impatient with new recruits and churlish …until is fighting back to back with one of them. There is the drunkard, whose main source of enjoyment involves strong drink and compliant ladies …until the enemy stands in his way, for example.
Then, there is something else. This is a brutal tale about a truly brutal time, and it impacted me on all levels, because the brutality wasn’t just physical, but emotional an spiritual as well. This land …this cradle of civilization has been a war zone for thousands of years …and the issues fought over are little different today than they were at the time of Christ, or even long before. Such constant upheaval, especially where diametrically opposed peoples, such as Byzantine Christians and passionate Islamic adherents met, created (and still create) upheavals of every sort, from clashing armies to devastated families and destroyed psyches and beleaguered souls. All of that is in this book, too …and I found myself considering how complex we are, how our beliefs affect us, and how, sometimes, we have to make choices that wrench us to the very essence of our being. Almost every major character in this book made such choices, and those choices had severe repercussions on every character.
No, this isn’t an easy book to read. It confronts the brutality of war and the brutality of man directly, and without flinching ..but it does so so very skillfully that, like a cobra readying for a strike, the reader is fascinated, and cannot step away …and in my opinion, should not, because these things are also a part of what we are.
The narrator was absolutely perfect for this book. He read with expression an skill, and had absolutely NO problem with the many specialized words and names to be found here. In addition, he just has the “right” voice for this book, and helps bring it into even more vibrant life, at least for me.
I’m not fond of rating books, but I will be giving this book and this narrator 5, and would give more, if I could. Did I “like” it? No …but I found it one of those book experiences that will stay with me for a *very* long time, and it has, via its excellence, had a profound effect on me, so I value it, highly.
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3 people found this helpful
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- Mary
- 08-26-15
The Rise of a Byzantine General
What made the experience of listening to Strategos the most enjoyable?
The historical content. I like history.
What was one of the most memorable moments of Strategos?
When the two neighboring families had a dinner and get together before the family's sons each went off to become soldiers in opposing armies.
Have you listened to any of Nigel Carrington’s other performances before? How does this one compare?
This is my first book narrated by Carrington.
If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?
Seljuk Invasion.
Any additional comments?
The story takes place in the mid 1000's in what is now the modern day part of Asia minor Turkey. The Selijuk Turks are rising in power and creating their own Empire. The Byzantine Empire is corrupt and broke with a poorly funded and supplied army.
A young Byzantine boy, Apion, witnesses his parent's deaths by what appears to be a Selijuk raiding party. Apion is severely wounded, left for dead and then enslaved until Mansur a kindly Selijuk farmer rescues and adopts him. Apion vows vengeance on those who killed his parents. Apion has a destiny to fulfill that is far greater than vengeance on his parent's killers
There are some surprises such as Mansur's motivation in adopting and raising Apion and Mansur's background. One of the villains met his fate. Will the boyhood friends who are now in two opposing armies meet in Battle? Will the Byzantine Empire be able to hold back the Selikuk Turks?
I am eagerly awaiting the sequel.
“I was provided this audiobook at no charge by the author, publisher and/or narrator in exchange for an unbiased review via AudiobookBlast dot come”
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- Matt Herman
- 09-25-15
Absolute Must Read/listen!
What made the experience of listening to Strategos the most enjoyable?
Amazing blend of history, suspense, intrigue, and story telling
What was one of the most memorable moments of Strategos?
I really didn't have a most memorable part, I loved it from start to finish. If I had to choose, it was when Apion left to join the Timur and overcame the tragic wound he received when his parents were murdered.
What does Nigel Carrington bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?
Nigel Carrington is a legend in narration matched with a great book! Nigel provided first class entertainment to a very busy book lover.
Who was the most memorable character of Strategos and why?
Without a doubt, Apion. The author was masterful in his articulation of the Apion's tragic life and how he rose above it to meet his destiny. Can't wait for the next in the series.
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3 people found this helpful
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- Kingsley
- 07-08-15
Great detail in the history
Gordon Doherty seems to have done his homework. He has set the story in a location and period of history I don't know that much about, having not seen any other books that focus on this conflict.
The story is set around 1046 AD, when first contact occurs between the Byzantine Empire and the Seljuks (an empire that had only just come into being a decade before and only lasted ~150 years, thus doesn't seem to get mentioned much in history books). The hero of the story is a young man, Apion, whom is partially crippled after having barely survived a childhood tragedy that took his parents’ lives. He is taken in by an old warrior and brought up as family, being taught how to fight and how to overcome his injury, while also how to use his mind and strategise. But all through this he never gives up his quest for revenge against his parent's murderer. There is a vision he sees and a prophecy (of the Haga, as in the publisher's description here) of who he shall become.
Ultimately this is a pretty much a basic revenge story. Boy is hurt as child, grows into a man and a warrior set on getting revenge. There are surprises along the way (one fairly significant one towards the end - of which I shall mention in a little more spoiler free detail below) and some interesting characters but the story itself is not highly original.
What is great and interesting and original is the setting and the detail paid to the historical setting. I really enjoyed it, with Doherty very clearly outlining the parties involves, the political situation at the time and setting the right atmosphere around the events. It is written very well, with none of this stuff being. Right form the first few sentences I enjoyed how Doherty wrote. The story itself might not be exactly ground-breaking, but the writing and the attention to historical detail makes it more than worthwhile.
The surprise mentioned above was a little disappointing in how it was handled, in my opinion. It is revealed to the audience through a conversation between some minor characters at one point, without being revealed to Apion. This creates some nice tension as the reader knows the truth that Apion does not. Unfortunately Apion finds out extremely quickly and that tension of the reader knowing but the character not knowing fizzles. I think it would be better for the revelation to be made to both reader and Apion at the same time or for the time between when reader discovers it and when Apion does to be significantly larger. This lost opportunity is one of my bigger annoyances with the writing, which clearly isn’t a big annoyance.
Nigel Carrington performs really well. He does action really well, speeding up his narration ever so slightly through intense sections, carrying with it a tension and excitement. But if someone speaks during these intense parts it is back to normal, so that only the narrator shows tension not the characters (unless the character is required to show tension. So I enjoyed his inflection and character work. At one point the narrator mentions someone is out of breath and when that character speaks Carrington sounds out of breath.
He does a variety of accents for characters too. There was one point in which this pulled me completely from the story though - a minor character (a few lines at most) is given a Scottish accent. It just sounds very out of place. Sure most everyone else sound British, but this is fairly standard for books and movies set in Greek or Roman times. The Scottish just sounded wrong and took me out of it. Other than that minor issue I really enjoyed Carrington’s work.
This audiobook was provided by the author at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of audiobookblast dot com
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- Andi
- 08-02-20
A Brilliant Weaving of History and Fiction
As one who is not familiar with 11 Century CE Byzantine history, it was with a little trepidation I began listening to the audio version of Strategos: Born in the Borderlands, the first of GordonDoherty's trilogy. The writer’s obvious extensive research as well as his strong characterization hooked me almost immediately. His writing is a mix of history and a strong fictional plot. Basically following the life of Apion, from a young cripple whose life leads him on a path of vengeance, to a soldier. His determination results in physical healing, even as his mind is consumed with his single-minded task of killing the man who murdered his parents. Doherty creates a fictional world, weaving it together with a true history of this period brilliantly. A feat difficult in the genre of historical fiction. He also makes a most effective use of a character simply known as The Crone. She appears throughout the novel, as both a healer and a bearer of cryptic messages. I enjoyed the mysterious, otherworldly element.
I listened to the audio book, narrated very effectively by Nigel Carrington. He brings the characters and this part of the world, in this time in history, to life vividly.
I learned a lot of history, enjoyed a great fictional story, and am totally addicted while moving on to Books 2 and 3.
All versions of Strategos can be purchased on Amazon and Audible.
Strategos: Born in the Borderlands, Strategos 1 by Gordon Doherty https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00ZLVW23Q/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_dp_x_XASjFb5EE7KMR via @amazon
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