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The Emperor's Blades
The Emperor's Blades
The Emperor's Blades
Audiobook19 hours

The Emperor's Blades

Written by Brian Staveley

Narrated by Simon Vance and Oliver Cudbill

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

4.5/5

()

About this audiobook

Now includes special bonus content. Stay tuned after the audiobook to hear “The Last Abbot of Ashk’lan,” a short story by Brian Staveley.

The emperor of Annur is dead, slain by enemies unknown. His daughter and two sons, scattered across the world, do what they must to stay alive and unmask the assassins. But each of them also has a life-path on which their father set them, destinies entangled with both ancient enemies and inscrutable gods.

Kaden, the heir to the Unhewn Throne, has spent eight years sequestered in a remote mountain monastery, learning the enigmatic discipline of monks devoted to the Blank God. Their rituals hold the key to an ancient power he must master before it's too late.

An ocean away, Valyn endures the brutal training of the Kettral, elite soldiers who fly into battle on gigantic black hawks. But before he can set out to save Kaden, Valyn must survive one horrific final test.

At the heart of the empire, Minister Adare, elevated to her station by one of the emperor's final acts, is determined to prove herself to her people. But Adare also believes she knows who murdered her father, and she will stop at nothing - and risk everything - to see that justice is meted out.

LanguageEnglish
Release dateJan 14, 2014
ISBN9781480517547
The Emperor's Blades
Author

Brian Staveley

Brian Staveley is the author of the award-winning fantasy trilogy, The Chronicle of the Unhewn Throne, which has been translated into a dozen languages worldwide, and Skullsworn, a stand-alone novel set in the same world. After teaching literature, philosophy, history, and religion for more than a decade, Brian began writing fiction. He now lives on a steep dirt road in the mountains of southern Vermont, where he divides his time between fathering, writing, mountain biking, splitting wood, skiing, and adventuring, not necessarily in that order.

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Reviews for The Emperor's Blades

Rating: 4.573883161512027 out of 5 stars
4.5/5

582 ratings28 reviews

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  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I really hate looking for new books. honestly. I usually start a book and some ideas many authors have, they feel they will surprise and entertain, like you have never read their idea in a book before because their twists and turns on a story, although hammered before over and over are "new".... they are not and many are written so badly I put aside the book and never pick it up again. when I was younger it was a matter of pride to finish a book no matter how awful, but as I grew older and time more precious I found I could not finish awful books. otherwise I would waste precious time that should be used for good books. I stumbled upon this book and never read the synopsis, I like the picture and the title. Well I figured I would look into it more later. I saved it to my Favorites and as I was driving I figured I would listen to another book by another author but could not find it as I was driving and I could not take my eyes off the road. So with a lot of hesitation and dread I picked this Book and I went through 50 chapters faster then I thought possible the story felt new and some of the anchors old yet are those new twists? why yes they are! the voice actor was one of the best I have ever experienced on an audio book which is more main stream now then it ever was before yet the seem honestly over looked usually. I feel they deserve more respect and more exposure for their amazing work bring writtenwords to life in ways few can. This voice actor had depth of emotions, ability of changing his voice just so for each character He brought them more alive then any movie could of ,by the time I was hearing the credits... my heart sank...
    It's over but that was way to short!!! Panic ensued as I search for the next book, But first the most important part was telling someone anyone of the wonderful Book I had just listened too. So I had to write a review for others... in an age where everything is a reboot... a place where vampires sparkle and writers can not seem to form a true and proper sentence any longer,
    Well Look No Further!.... if these things frustrate and seem to be around ever corner lurking... then stop and look inside my friends... not everyone is Robert Jordan not every story is as appealing as the Game of Thrones. But I will tell you, This Book and This Author and most Importantly This Voice Actor are worth your trust and your limited and so precious time. They do not disappoint.
    Well done good Sirs well done!!!!

    2 people found this helpful

  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Thoroughly enjoyed, HOOKED! 2 more in the trilogy to sink my teeth into, very excited!

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Gripping story, fascinating worldbuilding, great character development. Reminiscent of ASOIAF but even more satisfying.

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    If I hear "if _ was surprised by _ they didn't show it" one more time I'm going to throw this freaking book into the fire. That is his favorite phrase, used it at least tw or three times every chapter. Find another way to describe your freaking characters. Decent story but just annoyingly stupid decisions to keep the story going for longer than it needed to. And the in depth descriptions just got annoying to where I skipped over them because they were so long and repetitive.

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Some repetitive phrasing but a great story with familiar characters. A
    pleasant and exciting read.

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    "I have learned more about life through Fantasy Fiction than I have by reading philosophical books" - Own Quote

    The book is mammoth in its scope, story line, emotions and philosophy. Yeah, philosophy in a fantasy fiction. Who thought? It's not the kind of philosophy you read in big dragging philosophically complicated books. The philosophy, human emotions, life and others and more are within the lines you can and can't read. It comes from various story lines that intersect, characters we meet, their love, hatred and more. The teachings are delivered from teacher to pupil, father to son, friend to friend, and through multiple interactions.

    It's not all about philosophy though. There is a complicated and understandable story line and it's brilliant. A crime thriller, family rivalry, fights, monk training, love, back stabbing, death all encompassed in this massive volume.

    The King is dead and now his kids have to fight their own battle. Two of them, Valyn and Kaden are unaware of the events that have unfolded as they are holed up in their respective battle of their own. Kaden is being trained to understand the ancient powers of a monk sect known as Shin. Valyn is being trained to be a Kettral, the deadliest fighting force of the Empire.

    Kaden is the heir to the throne and his younger brother is training to stand by his side. Their sister, 3 years older to Kaden, is at the HQ at the time of the death of their father. She is now the minister of finance and privy to information relating to the death of her father. She sets up an investigation that sets into motion a series of events that could hurt her life.

    The story line is so interesting, intriguing that I had to finish listening to the audio book every time I plugged the earphone to my mobile. Netflix, music, YouTube took back seats as I went through the world created by the author.

    The character development, which is crux of all major successful books, is top notch. We can understand, empathize and imagine the situation and story line of each character, not just the main ones. I loved the Priestess of Anansheel, Pyrre. While she is appearing only towards the second part of the book and her role is minimal at best, the way the author has created the character is wonderful.

    I had the opportunity of reading Skullsworn before reading this book, which is kind of an unrelated prequel to the series. Hence, my connection to the Pyrre character. There are many such characters that intervene with the story line without you having to wonder what they are doing there in the first place. It's not as complicated as GOT but the depth of the story line is.

    If you want to read this book, I highly recommend listening to the audiobook. It's narrated by Simon Vance and he brings life to the characters and story line is a beautiful way. His voice is just about right for the book. Don't ask me why, it is. Just as Helen Duff is the right voice for Red & Grey sister.

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 1 out of 5 stars
    1/5
    This fool decided that it is his job to grace us with every bit of gore, discomfort, and pain that he can imagine. It is so disgusting and disturbing that it overshadows the brilliant story that he is telling. I think that I'll just read the SparkNotes. The reader is superb.

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Nice story with well-written action scenes, but I found the characters to be more or less one-dimensional and without personality. Most folks will probably be able to look past this, but it's personally a deal-breaker for me :(

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This is a good book, not super good tho, I'm 17 and I love reading and have been searching for new books and authors that don't write for super young or super old. 8/10

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    So different and so intriguing. Looking forward to reading the rest
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    It took a little while to get interesting, but it was well worth the delay. I hope the rest of the series is as good as this.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Amazing book would recommend to anyone who likes audio books
  • Rating: 1 out of 5 stars
    1/5
    Violent and boring.

    Not one single person in this book is nice. People's worth is defined by how much abuse they can take. There's casual murder. There's torture. But not much else. There is not really a plot. Just misery, pain and cruelty glorified to be heroism.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    A stunning story, beautifully told. There are parts in it where I'm like 'Oh you're being so STUPID! Clearly this is happening because of this and this and you should be able to see it!' Lol, it's really great though keeps you on the edge.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    It was amazing! Plot where a little bit slow to come.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Great audible book. Can't wait for the second book, good stuff
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I really enjoyed this riveting tale. The imagery was sublime and made me feel like I was there. As an inspiring writer this has fueled me with motivation. The metaphors, similes, alliterations and personifications he used we’re brilliant. Superb READ!
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Fantastic. As good as Feist's first book and almost as good as Martin's. They both hugely disappointed thereafter so I hope this one is better.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Excellent, gripping and we'll narrated! A must listen for all!
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    Great start but the protagonists have been written like most teenagers with a emotional and simple minds.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I've been trying to get back into reading the Fantasy genre for a while now and this was the book that finally did it. I think the worldbuilding was very well done and the three protagonists were very appealing. Plenty of action, intrigue, and mysticism. The narrator also really elevated the whole experience, one of the best narrator performances I've ran into.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I think this first book has potentially set up the trilogy as an epic one.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    The narrator is fantastic. I listened whenever I had the opportunity. The book has some faults, but taken as a whole, it’s a rousing adventure. I’m looking forward to the next book.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Less cursing would’ve landed this one a 5 star review.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I enjoyed this book. It had good character development, solid plot and audio performance was great.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This book flew by. Fantastic narrator! Very well written story
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Second time reading the Emperor's Blades. Still a good read.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    One of the best books on my list. Continuing with the genre.