Age of Assassins cover art

Age of Assassins

The Wounded Kingdom, Book 1

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About this listen

Shortlisted for the David Gemmell Awards 2018

Shortlisted for the Kitschie Award 2018

To catch an assassin, use an assassin....

Girton Club-Foot, apprentice to the land's best assassin, still has much to learn about the art of taking lives. But their latest mission tasks him and his master with a far more difficult challenge: to save a life. Someone, or many someones, is trying to kill the heir to the throne, and it is up to Girton and his master to uncover the traitor and prevent the prince's murder.

In a kingdom on the brink of civil war and a castle thick with lies, Girton finds friends he never expected, responsibilities he never wanted and a conspiracy that could destroy an entire land.

The Wounded Kingdom trilogy begins with Age of Assassins, continues with Blood of Assassins and will continue with King of Assassins.

2018, Gemmell Morningstar Award for Fantasy Debut, Short-listed

2018, The Kitschies Golden Tentacle, Short-listed

©2017 RJ Barker (P)2017 Little Brown Book Group Classics Epic Epic Fantasy Fantasy Fiction Historical Royalty Assassin Paranormal

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Critic reviews

"Age of Assassins reveals its mysteries with the style of a magic show and the artful grace of a gifted storyteller." (Nicholas Eames, author of Kings of the Wyld)

"Dead gods, dread magic, and a lead that feels like a breath of fresh air. Great fun." (Peter Newman, author of The Vagrant)

"Outstanding. Beautifully written, perfectly paced and assured. Kept me reading well into the early hours of the morning. A wonderful first book - a wonderful book, period - that should be at the very top of your to-read list." (James Islington, author of The Shadow of what was Lost)
What a story. It may be fantasy, but it weaves in political intrigue and murder mystery just as easily. I was totally hooked from the beginning. It never let up, You wanted to know how this was going to end, so much so I wanted to speed up the narration (although didn't).

Joe Jameson does a fantastic job of bringing each character to life with their own voice and inflections. It was so good, even when I switched to Kindle version I did so hearing his voice. I cannot tell you what his actual voice sounds like he switched between roles so well.

I cannot wait to read books two and three.

Outstanding

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A very enjoyable first person fantasy novel, that follows a young apprentice assassin. The story describes his background and details his progression in learning his dark trade. The young assassin has to take on a character of his own to fit into royal life whilst trying to solve an assassin plot with the help of his master. It has the unique feel of a detective novel based in a fantasy realm of murder and magic. The book has a nice simple flow which is very easy to follow. The narrator does a good job with the characters and pacing. I look forward to listening and reading more into this world as it is part of a trilogy.

Age of Assassins 4 star

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This is a great book. Really interesting and quick but maintaining a good standard of writing all the way through. There is detail and care put into everything. Can't wait to read more.

This is a really good book.

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This was an old school traditional coming of age fantasy tale. The world building was adequate without being anything special but R.J. Barker had an engaging enough writing style to suck me into his story and both the plot and characters were good.

The story was actually quite good. Girton was an easy to root for lead character and the story was engaging enough. We got a nice mix of action and intrigue and I really liked Girton's relationship with his master.

The world building could have been a bit better. This seemed a pretty interesting world and plenty of stuff about the lands and magic were hinted at but most of what we learned in this first book was a little vague for my liking. The other real flaw of the story was Barker's choice to have this tale set up as a Name of the Wind style flashback story. I'd have enjoyed this more if the only time frame the story was set in was the time when Girton was an apprentice assassin. Though I was fine with the small short flashbacks to his childhood.

All in all I felt like this was a good and engaging fantasy story that fell just short of being worth a 5 star rating. The flaws were small and the story was engaging enough that I'll definitely be reading the next book in the series!

I think Joe Jameson did a good job with the audio. I've heard him narrate a few different books and he is always dependably good.

Solid fantasy debut.

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I absolutely loved this book. RJ Barker's first book is excellently plotted and beautifully written.You cant help but love Girton the main protagonist who is a young apprentice assassin with a handicap, his club foot that seems to make him a vulnerable character but this is belied by his ferocious martial skills, quick wits and mind. Girton and his master are tricked into the courtly schemes of a devious queen to uncover plot to assassinate her son the heir to the throne. The tired lands is not a nice place for magic users where the puritanical landsmen knights in green will hunt them down and rid the land from there scouring. If you like your assassins to be rounded characters and your fantasy to engage your mind you'll will definitely love this. Oh and instead of horses they ride around on big ass stags called mounts. Joe Jameson the narrator gives a great preformence, bringing this great story to life, I highly recommend....😁💥💙🦌

Excellent Storytelling.

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Reminiscent of the Farseer trilogy, excellent audiobook. highly recommended with brilliant narration. I enjoyed every minute from beginning to end.

Superb tale of murder and intrigue.

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What can I say! This was one of those books which turned out to be not quite what the title intimated it would be. Not alot of assassins in sight and characters which really didn't hold my attention.

It was a pleasant book, but not a great one and wasn't for me.

Well!

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I'd already read Age of Assassins, but thought I'd listen to the audiobook before starting book two in the series, Blood of Assassins.

Joe Jameson does a fantastic job of bringing the story and its characters to life.

Roll on book two!

Great book, great reading!

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I love Joe Jameson's narration so when searching through the list of those he has narrated I stumbled on this. having not read anything by this author before I was curious as to what it would be like. I am very glad I did. the storyline is great! it is part and keeps you listening throughout. I listen mostly on long commutes and found myself ditching the tv in the evening to fond out what was happening next. Great characterisation and plot in a genre that can often get a bit samey plot wise. I will definitely be hunting out more from this author.

grabs you and pulls you along

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I must admit my heart fell when I realised that a chunk of this book was about our hero, Girton, being trained in combat school. I am heartily sick of fantasy novels that are based on a boy (sometimes a girl) who doesn't realise they are very gifted/magical/secretly royal attending a school to learn fighting/magical arts etc.But this one turned out to be rather better than most. I really enjoyed the character of Girton's 'Master' and the setting was good. As often the case, the baddies were a bit one-dimensional. But it's a good romp and I will probably listen to the next book. I think the narration by Joe Jameson helps to lift the quality somewhat.

Not so bad for a boy with a club foot

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