-
The Darkness That Comes Before
- The Prince of Nothing, Book One
- Narrated by: David DeVries
- Length: 20 hrs and 44 mins
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Buy for $29.95
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Publisher's summary
Strikingly original in its conception, ambitious in scope, with characters engrossingly and vividly drawn, the first book in R. Scott Bakker's Prince of Nothing series creates a remarkable world from whole cloth - its language and classes of people, its cities, religions, mysteries, taboos, and rituals - the kind of all-embracing universe Tolkien and Herbert created unforgettably in the epic fantasies The Lord of the Rings and Dune.
It's a world scarred by an apocalyptic past, evoking a time both 2,000 years past and 2,000 years into the future, as untold thousands gather for a crusade. Among them, two men and two women are ensnared by a mysterious traveler, Anasûrimbor Kellhus - part warrior, part philosopher, part sorcerous, charismatic presence - from lands long thought dead. The Darkness That Comes Before is a history of this great holy war, and like all histories, the survivors write its conclusion.
Listeners also enjoyed...
-
Beyond Redemption
- Manifest Delusions, Book 1
- By: Michael R. Fletcher
- Narrated by: Paul Woodson
- Length: 15 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Common knowledge isn't an axiom, it's a force of nature. What the masses believe is. But insanity is a weapon; conviction a shield. Delusions give birth to foul new gods. Violent and dark, the world is filled with the Geisteskranken - men and women whose delusions manifest, twisting reality. High Priest Konig seeks to create order from chaos. He defines the beliefs of his followers, leading their faith to one end: a young boy, Morgen, must Ascend to become a god. A god they can control. But there are many who would see this would-be-god in their thrall....
-
-
Extraordinarily dark and disturbing
- By Amazon Customer on 04-28-21
-
The Black Company
- Chronicles of The Black Company, Book 1
- By: Glen Cook
- Narrated by: Marc Vietor
- Length: 10 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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....
-
-
Hard Boiled Morally Ambiguous Epic Fantasy
- By Jefferson on 03-18-11
By: Glen Cook
-
Heroes Die
- The First of the Acts of Caine
- By: Matthew Stover
- Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki
- Length: 22 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Renowned throughout the land of Ankhana as the Blade of Tyshalle, Caine has killed his share of monarchs and commoners, villains and heroes. He is relentless, unstoppable, simply the best there is at what he does. At home on Earth, Caine is Hari Michaelson, a superstar whose adventures in Ankhana command an audience of billions.
-
-
Don't Let the Cover Turn You Off
- By Paul on 08-13-12
By: Matthew Stover
-
The Blacktongue Thief
- By: Christopher Buehlman
- Narrated by: Christopher Buehlman
- Length: 12 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Kinch Na Shannack owes the Takers Guild a small fortune for his education as a thief, which includes (but is not limited to) lock-picking, knife-fighting, wall-scaling, fall-breaking, lie-weaving, trap-making, plus a few small magics. His debt has driven him to lie in wait by the old forest road, planning to rob the next traveler that crosses his path. But today, Kinch Na Shannack has picked the wrong mark.
-
-
Outstanding
- By Anne Vaughan on 05-28-21
-
The Fifth Season: Booktrack Edition
- The Broken Earth, Book 1
- By: N. K. Jemisin
- Narrated by: Robin Miles
- Length: 15 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This is the way the world ends...for the last time. It starts with the great red rift across the heart of the world's sole continent, spewing ash that blots out the sun. It starts with death, with a murdered son and a missing daughter. It starts with betrayal, and long dormant wounds rising up to fester. This is the Stillness, a land long familiar with catastrophe, where the power of the earth is wielded as a weapon. And where there is no mercy.
-
-
I would give this less than one star if I could.
- By Christin on 02-12-20
By: N. K. Jemisin
-
The Name of the Wind
- Kingkiller Chronicle, Book 1
- By: Patrick Rothfuss
- Narrated by: Nick Podehl
- Length: 27 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This is a tale of sorrow, a tale of survival, a tale of one man's search for meaning in his universe, and how that search, and the indomitable will that drove it, gave birth to a legend.
-
-
Not sure why the reviews are so polar opposite.
- By Aaron Altman on 06-28-09
By: Patrick Rothfuss
-
Beyond Redemption
- Manifest Delusions, Book 1
- By: Michael R. Fletcher
- Narrated by: Paul Woodson
- Length: 15 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Common knowledge isn't an axiom, it's a force of nature. What the masses believe is. But insanity is a weapon; conviction a shield. Delusions give birth to foul new gods. Violent and dark, the world is filled with the Geisteskranken - men and women whose delusions manifest, twisting reality. High Priest Konig seeks to create order from chaos. He defines the beliefs of his followers, leading their faith to one end: a young boy, Morgen, must Ascend to become a god. A god they can control. But there are many who would see this would-be-god in their thrall....
-
-
Extraordinarily dark and disturbing
- By Amazon Customer on 04-28-21
-
The Black Company
- Chronicles of The Black Company, Book 1
- By: Glen Cook
- Narrated by: Marc Vietor
- Length: 10 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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....
-
-
Hard Boiled Morally Ambiguous Epic Fantasy
- By Jefferson on 03-18-11
By: Glen Cook
-
Heroes Die
- The First of the Acts of Caine
- By: Matthew Stover
- Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki
- Length: 22 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Renowned throughout the land of Ankhana as the Blade of Tyshalle, Caine has killed his share of monarchs and commoners, villains and heroes. He is relentless, unstoppable, simply the best there is at what he does. At home on Earth, Caine is Hari Michaelson, a superstar whose adventures in Ankhana command an audience of billions.
-
-
Don't Let the Cover Turn You Off
- By Paul on 08-13-12
By: Matthew Stover
-
The Blacktongue Thief
- By: Christopher Buehlman
- Narrated by: Christopher Buehlman
- Length: 12 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Kinch Na Shannack owes the Takers Guild a small fortune for his education as a thief, which includes (but is not limited to) lock-picking, knife-fighting, wall-scaling, fall-breaking, lie-weaving, trap-making, plus a few small magics. His debt has driven him to lie in wait by the old forest road, planning to rob the next traveler that crosses his path. But today, Kinch Na Shannack has picked the wrong mark.
-
-
Outstanding
- By Anne Vaughan on 05-28-21
-
The Fifth Season: Booktrack Edition
- The Broken Earth, Book 1
- By: N. K. Jemisin
- Narrated by: Robin Miles
- Length: 15 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This is the way the world ends...for the last time. It starts with the great red rift across the heart of the world's sole continent, spewing ash that blots out the sun. It starts with death, with a murdered son and a missing daughter. It starts with betrayal, and long dormant wounds rising up to fester. This is the Stillness, a land long familiar with catastrophe, where the power of the earth is wielded as a weapon. And where there is no mercy.
-
-
I would give this less than one star if I could.
- By Christin on 02-12-20
By: N. K. Jemisin
-
The Name of the Wind
- Kingkiller Chronicle, Book 1
- By: Patrick Rothfuss
- Narrated by: Nick Podehl
- Length: 27 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This is a tale of sorrow, a tale of survival, a tale of one man's search for meaning in his universe, and how that search, and the indomitable will that drove it, gave birth to a legend.
-
-
Not sure why the reviews are so polar opposite.
- By Aaron Altman on 06-28-09
By: Patrick Rothfuss
-
The Judging Eye
- The Aspect-Emperor, Book 1
- By: R. Scott Bakker
- Narrated by: Kevin Orton
- Length: 19 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A luminary in the fantasy genre firmament, R. Scott Bakker returns fans to his acclaimed Prince of Nothing universe with The Judging Eye. Aspect-Emperor Kellhus is waging a terrifying war, subjugating all nations in his path. There are those willing to stand together against him, but these rebellious souls must act quickly and decisively to thwart his mad schemes of power and domination.
-
-
Terrible narrator
- By TRT on 05-25-19
By: R. Scott Bakker
-
The Court of Broken Knives
- By: Anna Smith Spark
- Narrated by: Colin Mace, Meriel Rosenkranz
- Length: 16 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It is the richest empire the world has ever known, and it is also doomed - but only one man can see it. Haunted by prophetic dreams, Orhan has hired a company of soldiers to cross the desert to reach the capital city. Once they enter the palace, they have one mission: Kill the emperor, then all those who remain. Only from the ashes can a new empire be built. The company is a group of good, ordinary soldiers for whom this is a mission like any other. But the strange boy Marith who walks among them is no ordinary soldier.
-
-
Beautiful prose, beautifully narrated.
- By superstardrifter on 09-28-17
By: Anna Smith Spark
-
Of Blood and Fire
- The Bound and the Broken, Book 1
- By: Ryan Cahill
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 16 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Epheria is a land divided by war and mistrust. The High Lords of the South squabble and fight, only kept in check by the Dragonguard, traitors of a time long past, who serve the empire of the North. In the remote villages of Southern Epheria, still reeling from the tragic loss of his brother, Calen Bryer prepares for The Proving - a test of courage and skill that not all survive. But when three strangers arrive in the village of Milltown, with a secret they are willing to die for, Calen’s world is ripped from under him and he is thrust headfirst into a war.
-
-
Didn’t expect a “grow up power fantasy”
- By Mike Thomas on 07-23-22
By: Ryan Cahill
-
The Magicians
- A Novel
- By: Lev Grossman
- Narrated by: Mark Bramhall
- Length: 17 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Quentin Coldwater is brilliant but miserable. A senior in high school, he's still secretly preoccupied with a series of fantasy novels he read as a child, set in a magical land called Fillory. Imagine his surprise when he finds himself unexpectedly admitted to a very secret, very exclusive college of magic in upstate New York, where he receives a thorough and rigorous education in the craft of modern sorcery.
-
-
Not an average book
- By Kyle on 04-30-11
By: Lev Grossman
-
Forge of Darkness
- Kharkanas Trilogy, Book 1
- By: Steven Erikson
- Narrated by: Daniel Philpott
- Length: 31 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Forge of Darkness takes listeners to Kurald Galain, the warren of Darkness, and tells of a realm whose fate plays a crucial role in the fall of the Malazan Empire and surrounds one of the Malazan world’s most fascinating and powerful characters, Anomander Rake. It’s a conflicted time in Kurald Galain, where Mother Dark reigns above the Tiste people. But this ancient land was once home to many a power...and even death is not quite eternal. The commoners’ great hero, Vatha Urusander, longs for ascendency and Mother Dark’s hand in marriage, but she has taken another Consort, Lord Draconus.
-
-
A Precursor Epic Fantasy - A Rewarding Beginning!
- By Michael on 11-08-12
By: Steven Erikson
-
Hyperion
- By: Dan Simmons
- Narrated by: Marc Vietor, Allyson Johnson, Kevin Pariseau, and others
- Length: 20 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On the world called Hyperion, beyond the law of the Hegemony of Man, there waits the creature called the Shrike. There are those who worship it. There are those who fear it. And there are those who have vowed to destroy it. In the Valley of the Time Tombs, where huge, brooding structures move backward through time, the Shrike waits for them all.
-
-
The Shrike Awaits. Enter The Time Tombs...
- By Michael on 10-13-12
By: Dan Simmons
-
The Three-Body Problem
- By: Cixin Liu, Ken Liu - translator
- Narrated by: Rosalind Chao
- Length: 13 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Set against the backdrop of China's Cultural Revolution, a secret military project sends signals into space to establish contact with aliens. An alien civilization on the brink of destruction captures the signal and plans to invade Earth. Meanwhile, on Earth, different camps start forming, planning to either welcome the superior beings and help them take over a world seen as corrupt, or to fight against the invasion. The result is a science fiction masterpiece of enormous scope and vision.
-
-
Why Rosalamd Chao?
- By Erin on 02-29-24
By: Cixin Liu, and others
-
Snow Crash
- By: Neal Stephenson
- Narrated by: Jonathan Davis
- Length: 17 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Neal Stephenson is a blazing new force on the sci-fi scene. With the groundbreaking cyberpunk novel Snow Crash, he has "vaulted onto the literary stage." It weaves virtual reality, Sumerian myth, and just about everything in between with a cool, hip cybersensibility - in short, it is the gigathriller of the information age.
-
-
A solid sci-fi novel
- By Brent on 02-05-03
By: Neal Stephenson
-
Many Are the Dead
- A Raven's Shadow Novella
- By: Anthony Ryan
- Narrated by: Steven Brand
- Length: 3 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For decades, the brothers of the Sixth Order have fought a savage war against the Lonak clans amid the frozen peaks of their dominion. When word reaches the North of a fresh outbreak of the dreaded Red Hand, Brother Sollis, the finest swordsman in the Order, leads a small band to a long-abandoned castle in search of a potential cure but discovers a far greater threat lurking in the mountains. Enemies become allies as Sollis leads an increasingly desperate fight against an inhuman enemy steeped in the power of the Dark.
-
-
Rather matter of fact for the horror theme
- By 🔥 Phx17 🔥 on 12-19-21
By: Anthony Ryan
-
The Forgetting Moon
- By: Brian Lee Durfee
- Narrated by: Tim Gerard Reynolds
- Length: 30 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Welcome to the Five Isles, where war has come in the name of the invading army of Sor Sevier, a merciless host driven by the prophetic fervor of the Angel Prince, Aeros, toward the last unconquered kingdom of Gul Kana. Yet Gault, one of the elite Knights Archaic of Sor Sevier, is growing disillusioned by the crusade he is at the vanguard of just as it embarks on his Lord Aeros' greatest triumph. While the eldest son of the fallen king of Gul Kana now reigns in ever increasing paranoid isolationism, his two sisters seek their own paths.
-
-
alright-ish
- By Matthew on 05-10-19
By: Brian Lee Durfee
-
Macbeth: A Novel
- By: A. J. Hartley, David Hewson
- Narrated by: Alan Cumming
- Length: 9 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Macbeth: A Novel brings the intricacy and grit of the historical thriller to Shakespeare’s tale of political intrigue, treachery, and murder. In this full-length novel written exclusively for audio, authors A. J. Hartley and David Hewson rethink literature’s most infamous married couple, grounding them in a medieval Scotland whose military and political upheavals are as stark and dramatic as the landscape in which they are played.
-
-
Narrator choice inspired
- By Beverly on 07-10-11
By: A. J. Hartley, and others
-
Cephrael's Hand
- A Pattern of Shadow and Light, Book 1
- By: Melissa McPhail
- Narrated by: Nick Podehl
- Length: 32 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Alorin...300 years after the genocidal Adept Wars, the realm is dying, and the blessed Adept race dies with it. One man holds the secret to reverting this decline: Bjorn van Gelderan, a dangerous and enigmatic man whose shocking betrayal three centuries past earned him a traitor's brand. It is the Adept Vestal Raine D'Lacourte's mission to learn what Bjorn knows in the hope of salvaging his race. But first he'll have to find him....
-
-
This is a great book!!!
- By Dason on 07-30-16
By: Melissa McPhail
Related to this topic
-
Forge of Darkness
- Kharkanas Trilogy, Book 1
- By: Steven Erikson
- Narrated by: Daniel Philpott
- Length: 31 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Forge of Darkness takes listeners to Kurald Galain, the warren of Darkness, and tells of a realm whose fate plays a crucial role in the fall of the Malazan Empire and surrounds one of the Malazan world’s most fascinating and powerful characters, Anomander Rake. It’s a conflicted time in Kurald Galain, where Mother Dark reigns above the Tiste people. But this ancient land was once home to many a power...and even death is not quite eternal. The commoners’ great hero, Vatha Urusander, longs for ascendency and Mother Dark’s hand in marriage, but she has taken another Consort, Lord Draconus.
-
-
A Precursor Epic Fantasy - A Rewarding Beginning!
- By Michael on 11-08-12
By: Steven Erikson
-
Child of Vengeance
- A Novel
- By: David Kirk
- Narrated by: Mark Bramhall
- Length: 15 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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.
-
-
Clever weaving of history and fiction.
- By JW Crummett on 02-25-16
By: David Kirk
-
Transformation
- Rai-Kirah, Book 1
- By: Carol Berg
- Narrated by: Kevin Stillwell
- Length: 16 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Seyonne is a man waiting to die. He has been a slave for 16 years, almost half his life, and has lost everything of meaning to him: his dignity, the people and homeland he loves, and the Warden's power he used to defend an unsuspecting world from the ravages of demons. Seyonne has made peace with his fate. With strict self-discipline he forces himself to exist only in the present moment and to avoid the pain of hope or caring about anyone.
-
-
Seriously Excellent
- By Sharon on 09-25-13
By: Carol Berg
-
Genghis
- Birth of an Empire
- By: Conn Iggulden
- Narrated by: Richard Ferrone
- Length: 16 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Genghis Khan was born Temujin, the son of a khan, raised in a clan of hunters migrating across the rugged steppe. Shaped by abandonment and betrayal, Temujin endured, driven by a singular fury: to survive in the face of death, to kill before being killed, and to conquer enemies who could come without warning from beyond the horizon. Through a series of courageous raids, Temujin's legend grew until he was chasing a vision: to unite many tribes into one, to make the earth tremble under the hoofbeats of 1,000 warhorses, to subject all nations and empires to his will.
-
-
Simply Extraordinary
- By TR Jensen on 05-17-22
By: Conn Iggulden
-
The Grim Company
- By: Luke Scull
- Narrated by: Gerard Doyle
- Length: 15 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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.
-
-
Pretty bad, but not actively terrible
- By Travis Lamkin on 09-13-15
By: Luke Scull
-
Battle of Kings
- By: M. K. Hume
- Narrated by: Steven Crossley
- Length: 17 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the town of Segontium a wild storm washes a fugitive ashore. He brutally rapes the granddaughter of the ruler of the Deceangli tribe, leaving her to bear his son, Myrddion Merlinus (Merlin). Spurned as a demon seed, the child is raised by his grandmother and, as soon as he turns nine, he is apprenticed to a skilled alchemist who hones the boy’s remarkable gift of prophecy. Meanwhile, the High King of the Britons, Vortigern, is rebuilding the ancient fortress at Dinas Emrys.
-
-
Underrated book author and narrator!
- By Zachary on 04-15-22
By: M. K. Hume
-
Forge of Darkness
- Kharkanas Trilogy, Book 1
- By: Steven Erikson
- Narrated by: Daniel Philpott
- Length: 31 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Forge of Darkness takes listeners to Kurald Galain, the warren of Darkness, and tells of a realm whose fate plays a crucial role in the fall of the Malazan Empire and surrounds one of the Malazan world’s most fascinating and powerful characters, Anomander Rake. It’s a conflicted time in Kurald Galain, where Mother Dark reigns above the Tiste people. But this ancient land was once home to many a power...and even death is not quite eternal. The commoners’ great hero, Vatha Urusander, longs for ascendency and Mother Dark’s hand in marriage, but she has taken another Consort, Lord Draconus.
-
-
A Precursor Epic Fantasy - A Rewarding Beginning!
- By Michael on 11-08-12
By: Steven Erikson
-
Child of Vengeance
- A Novel
- By: David Kirk
- Narrated by: Mark Bramhall
- Length: 15 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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.
-
-
Clever weaving of history and fiction.
- By JW Crummett on 02-25-16
By: David Kirk
-
Transformation
- Rai-Kirah, Book 1
- By: Carol Berg
- Narrated by: Kevin Stillwell
- Length: 16 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Seyonne is a man waiting to die. He has been a slave for 16 years, almost half his life, and has lost everything of meaning to him: his dignity, the people and homeland he loves, and the Warden's power he used to defend an unsuspecting world from the ravages of demons. Seyonne has made peace with his fate. With strict self-discipline he forces himself to exist only in the present moment and to avoid the pain of hope or caring about anyone.
-
-
Seriously Excellent
- By Sharon on 09-25-13
By: Carol Berg
-
Genghis
- Birth of an Empire
- By: Conn Iggulden
- Narrated by: Richard Ferrone
- Length: 16 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Genghis Khan was born Temujin, the son of a khan, raised in a clan of hunters migrating across the rugged steppe. Shaped by abandonment and betrayal, Temujin endured, driven by a singular fury: to survive in the face of death, to kill before being killed, and to conquer enemies who could come without warning from beyond the horizon. Through a series of courageous raids, Temujin's legend grew until he was chasing a vision: to unite many tribes into one, to make the earth tremble under the hoofbeats of 1,000 warhorses, to subject all nations and empires to his will.
-
-
Simply Extraordinary
- By TR Jensen on 05-17-22
By: Conn Iggulden
-
The Grim Company
- By: Luke Scull
- Narrated by: Gerard Doyle
- Length: 15 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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.
-
-
Pretty bad, but not actively terrible
- By Travis Lamkin on 09-13-15
By: Luke Scull
-
Battle of Kings
- By: M. K. Hume
- Narrated by: Steven Crossley
- Length: 17 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the town of Segontium a wild storm washes a fugitive ashore. He brutally rapes the granddaughter of the ruler of the Deceangli tribe, leaving her to bear his son, Myrddion Merlinus (Merlin). Spurned as a demon seed, the child is raised by his grandmother and, as soon as he turns nine, he is apprenticed to a skilled alchemist who hones the boy’s remarkable gift of prophecy. Meanwhile, the High King of the Britons, Vortigern, is rebuilding the ancient fortress at Dinas Emrys.
-
-
Underrated book author and narrator!
- By Zachary on 04-15-22
By: M. K. Hume
-
Phoenix Unbound
- The Fallen Empire Series, Book 1
- By: Grace Draven
- Narrated by: Katharine Lee McEwan
- Length: 14 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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.
-
-
Nothing special. Highly predictable
- By J. C. Schmidt on 10-10-18
By: Grace Draven
-
Macbeth: A Novel
- By: A. J. Hartley, David Hewson
- Narrated by: Alan Cumming
- Length: 9 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Macbeth: A Novel brings the intricacy and grit of the historical thriller to Shakespeare’s tale of political intrigue, treachery, and murder. In this full-length novel written exclusively for audio, authors A. J. Hartley and David Hewson rethink literature’s most infamous married couple, grounding them in a medieval Scotland whose military and political upheavals are as stark and dramatic as the landscape in which they are played.
-
-
Narrator choice inspired
- By Beverly on 07-10-11
By: A. J. Hartley, and others
-
The Mortal Tally
- By: Sam Sykes
- Narrated by: Edoardo Ballerini
- Length: 24 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Cier'Djaal, once the crowning glory of the civilized world, has gone from a city to a battlefield and a battlefield to a graveyard. Foreign armies clash relentlessly on streets laden with the bodies of innocents caught in the crossfire. Cultists and thieves wage shadow wars, tribal armies foment outside the city's walls, and haughty aristocrats watch the world burn from on high. As his companions struggle to keep the city from destroying itself, Lenk travels to the Forbidden East in search of the demon who caused it all. But even as he pursues Khoth-Kapira, dark whispers plague his thoughts.
-
-
Great Middle Entry
- By Casey on 04-15-18
By: Sam Sykes
-
The Path of Anger
- The Book and the Sword, Book 1
- By: Antoine Rouaud
- Narrated by: Michael Kramer
- Length: 17 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Year 10 of the new republic, in the remote port city of Masalia: Dun-Cadal, once the greatest general of the empire, has been drinking his life away for years. Betrayed by his friends and grief stricken at the loss of his apprentice, he's done with politics, with adventure, and with people. But people aren't finished with him - not yet.
-
-
Great Epic Fantasy!
- By Bob-o on 08-31-15
By: Antoine Rouaud
-
Ransom
- By: David Malouf
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 4 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This is the story of the relationship between two grieving men at war: fierce Achilles, who has lost his beloved Patroclus in the siege of Troy; and woeful Priam, whose son Hector killed Patroclus and was in turn savaged by Achilles. A moving tale of suffering, sorrow, and redemption, Ransom is incandescent in its delicate and powerful lyricism and its unstated imperative that we imagine our lives in the glow of fellow feeling.
-
-
Ponderous narration, tortured prose
- By Gail N. on 01-26-20
By: David Malouf
-
The Serpent Sword
- The Bernicia Chronicles, Book 1
- By: Matthew Harffy
- Narrated by: Barnaby Edwards
- Length: 12 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Beobrand is compelled by his brother's almost-certain murder to embark on a quest for revenge in the war-ravaged kingdoms of Northumbria. The land is rife with danger, as warlords vie for supremacy and dominion. In the battles for control of the region, new oaths are made and broken, and loyalties are tested to the limits. With no patronage and no experience, Beobrand must form his own allegiances and learn to fight with sword and shield. Relentless in pursuit of his enemies, he faces challenges which transform him from a boy to a man.
-
-
Amazing story, needs a warning in the description.
- By Lisa Schilling on 04-12-17
By: Matthew Harffy
-
Kushiel's Dart
- By: Jacqueline Carey
- Narrated by: Anne Flosnik
- Length: 31 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The land of Terre d'Ange is a place of unsurpassing beauty and grace. It is said that angels found the land and saw it was good...and the ensuing race that rose from the seed of angels and men live by one simple rule: Love as thou wilt.
-
-
The Kushiel series in order
- By Glen Gaines on 10-27-09
By: Jacqueline Carey
-
Buddha
- A Story of Enlightenment
- By: Deepak Chopra
- Narrated by: Deepak Chopra
- Length: 9 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Best-selling author Deepak Chopra brings the Buddha back to life in this gripping account of the young prince who abandoned his inheritance to discover his true calling. This iconic journey changed the world forever, and the truths revealed continue to influence every corner of the globe today.
-
-
Excellent +++++
- By Daniel on 04-17-09
By: Deepak Chopra
-
Hero of Rome
- By: Douglas Jackson
- Narrated by: Cornelius Garrett
- Length: 11 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Roman grip on Britain is weakening. Emperor Nero has turned his face away from this far-flung outpost. The Druids are on the rise, spreading seeds of rebellion among the British tribes. Roman cruelty and exploitation has angered their British subjects. The warrior queen Boudicca will lead the tribes to war. Standing against the rising tide of Boudicca's rebellion is Roman Tribune, Gaius Valerius Verrens, Commander of the veteran legions at Colonia.
-
-
Good story, well told and well read
- By Mike Varley on 10-01-14
By: Douglas Jackson
-
Flame in the Mist
- By: Renée Ahdieh
- Narrated by: Nancy Wu
- Length: 10 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From the number-one New York Times best-selling author of The Wrath and the Dawn comes a sweeping, action-packed YA adventure set against the backdrop of feudal Japan, where Mulan meets Tamora Pierce.
-
-
Very Good
- By Ingrid on 07-15-17
By: Renée Ahdieh
-
Green Rider
- By: Kristen Britain
- Narrated by: Ellen Archer
- Length: 16 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Karigan G’ladheon, running away from school, is traveling through a deep forest when a galloping horse pounds up to her, its rider impaled by two black-shafted arrows. With his dying breath, he tells her he is a Green Rider, one of the magical messengers of the King. Before he dies, he makes Karigan swear to deliver the message he’s carrying, and gives her his green coat, with the symbolic brooch of his office.
-
-
What a fantastic discovery!
- By GLENNO on 11-27-14
By: Kristen Britain
-
Starless
- By: Jacqueline Carey
- Narrated by: Caitlin Davies
- Length: 21 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Destined from birth to serve as protector of the princess Zariya, Khai is trained in the arts of killing and stealth by a warrior sect in the deep desert; yet there is one profound truth that has been withheld from him. In the court of the Sun-Blessed, Khai must learn to navigate deadly intrigue and his own conflicted identity…but in the far reaches of the western seas, the dark god Miasmus is rising, intent on nothing less than wholesale destruction.
-
-
The most beautiful thing I've enjoyed this year!
- By DabOfDarkness on 08-06-18
By: Jacqueline Carey
People who viewed this also viewed...
-
The Judging Eye
- The Aspect-Emperor, Book 1
- By: R. Scott Bakker
- Narrated by: Kevin Orton
- Length: 19 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A luminary in the fantasy genre firmament, R. Scott Bakker returns fans to his acclaimed Prince of Nothing universe with The Judging Eye. Aspect-Emperor Kellhus is waging a terrifying war, subjugating all nations in his path. There are those willing to stand together against him, but these rebellious souls must act quickly and decisively to thwart his mad schemes of power and domination.
-
-
Terrible narrator
- By TRT on 05-25-19
By: R. Scott Bakker
-
We Are the Dead
- The Last War Trilogy
- By: Mike Shackle
- Narrated by: Nicola Bryant
- Length: 18 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Jia's people learned the hard way that there are no second chances. The Egril, their ancient enemy, struck with magic so devastating that Jia's armies were wiped out. Now terror reigns in the streets, and friend turns on friend just to live another day. Somehow Tinnstra - a deserter, a failure, nothing but a coward - survived. She wants no more than to hide from the chaos. But dragged into a desperate plot to retake Jia, surrounded by people willing to do anything to win the fight, this time Tinnstra will need to do more than hide.
-
-
Criminally Underrated Gem in a world of Dark Fantasy
- By Nic on 04-24-23
By: Mike Shackle
-
Priest of Bones
- War for the Rose Throne, Book 1
- By: Peter McLean
- Narrated by: John Lee
- Length: 10 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The war is over, and army priest Tomas Piety heads home with Sergeant Bloody Anne at his side. But things have changed while he was away: His crime empire has been stolen, and the people of Ellinburg - his people - have run out of food, hope, and places to hide. Tomas sets out to reclaim what was his with help from Anne, his brother, Jochan, and his new gang: the Pious Men. But when he finds himself dragged into a web of political intrigue once again, everything gets more complicated.
-
-
Fantasy version of Peaky Blinders
- By Kindle Customer on 10-22-18
By: Peter McLean
-
Beyond Redemption
- Manifest Delusions, Book 1
- By: Michael R. Fletcher
- Narrated by: Paul Woodson
- Length: 15 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Common knowledge isn't an axiom, it's a force of nature. What the masses believe is. But insanity is a weapon; conviction a shield. Delusions give birth to foul new gods. Violent and dark, the world is filled with the Geisteskranken - men and women whose delusions manifest, twisting reality. High Priest Konig seeks to create order from chaos. He defines the beliefs of his followers, leading their faith to one end: a young boy, Morgen, must Ascend to become a god. A god they can control. But there are many who would see this would-be-god in their thrall....
-
-
Extraordinarily dark and disturbing
- By Amazon Customer on 04-28-21
-
The Black Company
- Chronicles of The Black Company, Book 1
- By: Glen Cook
- Narrated by: Marc Vietor
- Length: 10 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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....
-
-
Hard Boiled Morally Ambiguous Epic Fantasy
- By Jefferson on 03-18-11
By: Glen Cook
-
The Court of Broken Knives
- By: Anna Smith Spark
- Narrated by: Colin Mace, Meriel Rosenkranz
- Length: 16 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It is the richest empire the world has ever known, and it is also doomed - but only one man can see it. Haunted by prophetic dreams, Orhan has hired a company of soldiers to cross the desert to reach the capital city. Once they enter the palace, they have one mission: Kill the emperor, then all those who remain. Only from the ashes can a new empire be built. The company is a group of good, ordinary soldiers for whom this is a mission like any other. But the strange boy Marith who walks among them is no ordinary soldier.
-
-
Beautiful prose, beautifully narrated.
- By superstardrifter on 09-28-17
By: Anna Smith Spark
-
The Judging Eye
- The Aspect-Emperor, Book 1
- By: R. Scott Bakker
- Narrated by: Kevin Orton
- Length: 19 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A luminary in the fantasy genre firmament, R. Scott Bakker returns fans to his acclaimed Prince of Nothing universe with The Judging Eye. Aspect-Emperor Kellhus is waging a terrifying war, subjugating all nations in his path. There are those willing to stand together against him, but these rebellious souls must act quickly and decisively to thwart his mad schemes of power and domination.
-
-
Terrible narrator
- By TRT on 05-25-19
By: R. Scott Bakker
-
We Are the Dead
- The Last War Trilogy
- By: Mike Shackle
- Narrated by: Nicola Bryant
- Length: 18 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Jia's people learned the hard way that there are no second chances. The Egril, their ancient enemy, struck with magic so devastating that Jia's armies were wiped out. Now terror reigns in the streets, and friend turns on friend just to live another day. Somehow Tinnstra - a deserter, a failure, nothing but a coward - survived. She wants no more than to hide from the chaos. But dragged into a desperate plot to retake Jia, surrounded by people willing to do anything to win the fight, this time Tinnstra will need to do more than hide.
-
-
Criminally Underrated Gem in a world of Dark Fantasy
- By Nic on 04-24-23
By: Mike Shackle
-
Priest of Bones
- War for the Rose Throne, Book 1
- By: Peter McLean
- Narrated by: John Lee
- Length: 10 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The war is over, and army priest Tomas Piety heads home with Sergeant Bloody Anne at his side. But things have changed while he was away: His crime empire has been stolen, and the people of Ellinburg - his people - have run out of food, hope, and places to hide. Tomas sets out to reclaim what was his with help from Anne, his brother, Jochan, and his new gang: the Pious Men. But when he finds himself dragged into a web of political intrigue once again, everything gets more complicated.
-
-
Fantasy version of Peaky Blinders
- By Kindle Customer on 10-22-18
By: Peter McLean
-
Beyond Redemption
- Manifest Delusions, Book 1
- By: Michael R. Fletcher
- Narrated by: Paul Woodson
- Length: 15 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Common knowledge isn't an axiom, it's a force of nature. What the masses believe is. But insanity is a weapon; conviction a shield. Delusions give birth to foul new gods. Violent and dark, the world is filled with the Geisteskranken - men and women whose delusions manifest, twisting reality. High Priest Konig seeks to create order from chaos. He defines the beliefs of his followers, leading their faith to one end: a young boy, Morgen, must Ascend to become a god. A god they can control. But there are many who would see this would-be-god in their thrall....
-
-
Extraordinarily dark and disturbing
- By Amazon Customer on 04-28-21
-
The Black Company
- Chronicles of The Black Company, Book 1
- By: Glen Cook
- Narrated by: Marc Vietor
- Length: 10 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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....
-
-
Hard Boiled Morally Ambiguous Epic Fantasy
- By Jefferson on 03-18-11
By: Glen Cook
-
The Court of Broken Knives
- By: Anna Smith Spark
- Narrated by: Colin Mace, Meriel Rosenkranz
- Length: 16 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It is the richest empire the world has ever known, and it is also doomed - but only one man can see it. Haunted by prophetic dreams, Orhan has hired a company of soldiers to cross the desert to reach the capital city. Once they enter the palace, they have one mission: Kill the emperor, then all those who remain. Only from the ashes can a new empire be built. The company is a group of good, ordinary soldiers for whom this is a mission like any other. But the strange boy Marith who walks among them is no ordinary soldier.
-
-
Beautiful prose, beautifully narrated.
- By superstardrifter on 09-28-17
By: Anna Smith Spark
-
Dominion
- A Coldfire Novella
- By: C. S. Friedman
- Narrated by: R.C. Bray
- Length: 2 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Four hundred years after mankind's arrival on Erna, the undead sorcerer Gerald Tarrant travels north in search of a legend. For it is rumored there is a forest where the fae has become so powerful that it devours all who enter it, and he means to test its power.
-
-
It is what it is
- By MrBoobo on 06-11-12
By: C. S. Friedman
-
The Prince of Nothing
- By: Hektor Thillet
- Narrated by: Tracy Collier
- Length: 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Prince of Nothing is a fairy tale by Puerto Rican author Hektor Thillet, set in the majestic mountain range of the Norwegian fjords. In The Prince of Nothing, a next-in-line royal of the ancient Norwegian monarchy, who has become disheartened with possessing what he believes to be everything his heart could ever desire, runs away in a desperate search to find Nothing.
-
-
Where whimsy and the obscure are commonplace
- By Dragonlily on 09-03-21
By: Hektor Thillet
-
Heroes Die
- The First of the Acts of Caine
- By: Matthew Stover
- Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki
- Length: 22 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Renowned throughout the land of Ankhana as the Blade of Tyshalle, Caine has killed his share of monarchs and commoners, villains and heroes. He is relentless, unstoppable, simply the best there is at what he does. At home on Earth, Caine is Hari Michaelson, a superstar whose adventures in Ankhana command an audience of billions.
-
-
Don't Let the Cover Turn You Off
- By Paul on 08-13-12
By: Matthew Stover
-
The Obsidian Path: Omnibus
- By: Michael R. Fletcher
- Narrated by: Kyle Adams
- Length: 40 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A broken man, Khraen awakens alone and lost. His stone heart has been shattered, littered across the world. With each piece, he regains some small shard of the man he once was. He follows the trail, fragment by fragment, remembering his terrible past.
-
-
Amazing story
- By Surelda Heard on 01-09-23
-
The Curse of the Mistwraith
- The Wars of Light and Shadow, Book 1
- By: Janny Wurts
- Narrated by: Colin Mace
- Length: 28 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Athera is besieged by the Mistwraith, which blights the land and dims the mysteries guarded by the last fugitives of the old bloodlines. But from a prophecy springs hope: the gifts of two brothers – one dark, one fair, raised on opposite sides of a relentless war – when paired may challenge the Mistwraith’s invasion, though at brutal cost.
-
-
The start of a masterpiece
- By Blaise Ancona on 04-25-24
By: Janny Wurts
-
The Devils
- By: Joe Abercrombie
- Narrated by: Steven Pacey
- Length: 23 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Brother Diaz has been summoned to the Sacred City, where he is certain a commendation and grand holy assignment awaits him. But his new flock is made up of unrepentant murderers, practitioners of ghastly magic, and outright monsters. The mission he is tasked with will require bloody measures from them all in order to achieve its righteous ends. Elves lurk at our borders and hunger for our flesh, while greedy princes care for nothing but their own ambitions and comfort. With a hellish journey before him, it's a good thing Brother Diaz has the devils on his side.
By: Joe Abercrombie
-
The Dragonbone Chair
- Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn, Book One
- By: Tad Williams
- Narrated by: Andrew Wincott
- Length: 33 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A war fueled by the dark powers of sorcery is about to engulf the peaceful land of Osten Ard—for Prester John, the High King, slayer of the dread dragon Shurakai, lies dying. And with his death, an ancient evil will at last be unleashed, as the Storm King, undead ruler of the elvishlike Siti, seeks to regain his lost realm through a pact with one of human royal blood. Then, driven by spell-inspired jealousy and hate, prince will fight prince, while around them the very land begins to die.
-
-
A Work of art
- By Andre on 10-22-16
By: Tad Williams
-
Sons of Darkness
- By: Gourav Mohanty
- Narrated by: Homer Todiwala
- Length: 24 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Bled dry by violent confrontations with the Magadhan Empire, the Mathuran Republic simmers on the brink of oblivion. Senator Krishna and his third wife Satyabhama have put their plans in motion, both within and beyond the Republic’s blood-soaked borders, to protect it from total annihilation. But they are soon to discover that neither gold nor alliances last forever – and that they are not the only players on the board.
-
-
Nice book. flawed narration
- By Reader of a lost Art on 11-03-23
By: Gourav Mohanty
-
Blackwing
- Raven's Mark, Book 1
- By: Ed McDonald
- Narrated by: Colin Mace
- Length: 11 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Bounty hunter Ryhalt Galharrow has breathed Misery dust for 20 bitter years. When he's ordered to locate a masked noblewoman at a frontier outpost, he finds himself caught in the middle of an attack by the Deep Kings, one that signifies they may no longer fear the Engine. Only a formidable show of power from the very woman he is seeking, Lady Ezabeth Tanza, repels the assault.
-
-
A very strong start to a promising series
- By Twain on 10-22-17
By: Ed McDonald
-
Smoke and Stone
- City of Sacrifice, Book 1
- By: Michael R. Fletcher
- Narrated by: Rosa B. Watkinson
- Length: 10 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
After a cataclysmic war of the gods, the last of humanity huddles in Bastion, a colossal ringed city. Beyond the outermost wall lies an endless desert, haunted by the souls of all the world’s dead. Trapped in a rigid caste system, Nuru, a young street sorcerer, lives in the outer ring. She dreams of escape and freedom. When something contacts her from beyond the wall, she risks everything and leaps at the opportunity.
-
-
Speed up play back to 1.1 speed
- By Hera on 01-19-21
-
Eleventh Cycle
- Mistland, Book 1
- By: Kian N. Ardalan
- Narrated by: Jessica Threet, Evan Jordan
- Length: 25 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The rot eats away at mortals. The Witnesses pray so that they may not turn into one of the forgotten. And the constricting mists infect the lands with fear. But there is more to this tale than just the Elders and their Seeds. Four mortals will have a part to play in Minethria’s fate. A farmer girl with only love in her eyes. A warrior born to the life of a refugee. A highborn stuck between the realm of gods and men. And a woman running into front lines and away from home.
-
-
Catharsis abound
- By Ryan Z Braun on 02-15-23
By: Kian N. Ardalan
-
Kings of Paradise
- Ash and Sand, Book 1
- By: Richard Nell
- Narrated by: Ralph Lister
- Length: 25 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Ruka, called a demon at birth, is a genius. Born malformed and ugly into the snow-covered wasteland of the Ascom, he was spared from death by his mother's love. Now he is an outcast, consumed with hate for those who've wronged him. But to take his vengeance, he must first survive. Across a vast sea in the white-sand island paradise of Sri Kon, Kale is fourth and youngest son of the Sorcerer King. As the first prince ever forced to serve with low-born marines, Kale must prove himself and become a man, or else lose all chance of a worthy future, and any hope to win the love of his life.
-
-
Grimdark at its finest
- By C.T. on 10-09-18
By: Richard Nell
What listeners say about The Darkness That Comes Before
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Jesse Soileau
- 01-06-24
Too many characters with multiple names
I wanted to like it. There are just too many strange names and terms for an audiobook. Perhaps printed where I could stop and look up characters or concepts would have helped. I kept getting lost and couldn't gain more than a broad understanding of what was going on. The details were obscured by the foreignness of the setting.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Kowth
- 11-27-21
An all time favorite
The series definitely has its issues, first and foremost how uncomfortable the cultural situation is in the three seas and beyond. Pre-to-just-slightly-post-Medieval in most of the worst ways.
On the other hand, I’m very fond of the way magic is handled, the way faith and the history of the world is rich and detailed, and of the light philosophy heavily salting the meat of the text, which is just layers and layers of political and religious conflict and subterfuge, broken up by the mysteries of the Dunyain, the reality of the gods and demons, and the unholy consult.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Laura Bethard
- 06-02-16
Strong worldbuilding, unlikeable characters
Would you try another book from R. Scott Bakker and/or David DeVries?
no
Any additional comments?
In the abstract, I appreciated what the author was doing here - he's clearly put a ton of thought into his world and his philosophy. The narrator I thought did a reasonable job with a (in my opinion unnecessarily large) cast of characters. That said, it felt a bit like having to suffer through a D&D campaign run by a medieval-studies major whose favorite movie was Idiocracy. The story came off as a smug dismissal of the value of anything but logic and probability. Perhaps unsurprisingly, given that premise, pretty much every character is unlikeable or incompetent within the world or both. By the end, I was kind of rooting for everyone to die. Unfortunately, if they do all die, you won't find out for another three books and I've put in my time, so I won't be finding out.
Further, the characterization of women in general and in the specific is appalling. If you're into the rape-ier bits of Song of Ice and Fire, then I guess you'll like this book but for me it was a punishment to get through. I made it to the end but once there, found myself wondering why I'd bothered.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
3 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Chris Reitenour
- 08-22-22
Very heavy world-building
This book may be better suited to reading as a physical copy or eBook, as I found myself having a hard time following all the names of people and countries, even if they don’t end up being relevant. It is meant to lead to a rich world, but ends up just leading to reader asking themself “Who is that again? What country is it that cares about this?”
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Gary Girod
- 12-01-21
A hidden gen
Unbelievable book. A classic that more should read and enjoy. Great narration too, all good.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Alec Phillips
- 04-23-22
One of my all time favorite fantasy series
I picked this book up randomly one day at Barnes and Noble years ago because the title was intriguing and the cover was cool looking. I am so extremely happy I did! This book is unlike any other I've ever read. Bakker's writing style is insanely unique and incredibly impressive. He has a certain way of describing mundane things that makes every sentence sound like a work of art, it's awe inspiring (as a fantasy writer myself, he's one of my major inspirations). His vocabulary is awesome, his characters are extremely realistic and so is the world. The subgenre is grimdark so it's super gritty, doesn't shy away from anything, and is a realistic portrayal of the world in medieval times - like maybe around the 9th to 11th centuries in the real world. The names are likely hard for most people but they are also really realistic if you know anything about ancient historical names from around the world, and beautiful if you pronounce them right. Bakker is a student of history and philosophy (like me) and his insights are astounding, literally had me gaping occasionally. The way he perceives things and then writes about them is so unique I was awestruck multiple times reading this honestly. I don't want to oversell the book, it fits me personally well so I love it, but I do think if you have the patience and are really into fantasy you will love this book. However, it is definitely dense and a somewhat difficult read: the vocab is intense sometimes (in an impressive way, it'll teach you amazing new words), and the way he writes can at times be hard to understand but when you read the sentence again and understand it, it is totally worth it. But you do need a certain amount of patience or else an extreme love of realistic fantasy. I'm not very patient but I love fantasy, words, and writing and worldbuilding, and the world Bakker has created is intensely deep, sunken with history, unique cultures and races, languages, amazingly cool magic, and so much more. The sorcery is unbelievably awesome (i think) and is super unique in its description (and in how it works when you eventually find out). Bakker does such a good job of portraying the realistic thoughts and random whims of a real person in all his characters, the uncaring twist and turn of worldly events, and the complex interactions between people, I was obsessed with this book once I got into it, which takes a little bit of time, but definitely worth it. And there are two more books, then another trilogy after in the same world. Bakker is obviously super smart and I often found myself wondering how he wrote such insanely cunning characters and complex plotlines, especially for his debut novel. Gives me hope! Love this book!!!!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Chavac
- 09-29-23
Absolute Gem
Wonderful book to start off the series. I was lukewarm on the narrator at first but now struggle to imagine anyone else reading these characters.
So much of fantasy is fixated on high fantasy plots that rely on nonsensical/illogical twists and turns to further the story. Over and over somebody saves the day at the last second in the most improbable way. Characters are predictable, boring, and molded to unrealistic standards. Bakker averts these missteps masterfully, with characters that look/act/think like they would in the real world. You'll understand each character by appreciating who they are, not just by what they do. They fill out a story that somehow feels like nonfiction and flows with logic while remaining fantasy.
All of that being said, in some spots the book can be a bit of a slog. It's not an action-packed and there are many deep dives into the philosophies behind characters and ideas central to the book. These can be a bit intricate and don't always lend themselves to inattentive listening. I read most of this book at 1.5x speed and struggled to keep up in some spots. I will definitely take my time on the next read.
Overall I can't recommend this book enough as it's a wonderful contrast to most of what fantasy has to offer. It won't be for everyone, sure. There's no brave knight fighting evil and beating all the odds at the 11th hour. But if you're looking for a story that hits home with all of the crushing realism of the world and the flaws of humanity, then absolutely don't sleep on this one.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Samuel
- 02-27-16
Read if you like books that make you think
Any additional comments?
It starts off slow and confusing but give it a while and it's a great read.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Marqisimo R
- 06-12-19
compelling story heavy on references
Bakkers at time disturbing story is full of historical and philosophical touchstones. enjoy finding them
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Jonathon Flaman
- 10-28-20
If you need a new fantasy series you found it!
Incredible world building, and fantastic characters this book had me cursing every time my Bluetooth headphones would die. my only nitpick is it's got the classic Fantasy problem of over complicating names of characters and places. Once you get past that it's second to none.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!