It all starts here!

That headline says it all, if you enjoyed Against A Tyrant then you will love this book. It has a lot of things going for it as a prequel, first it the set up for what is to come, but doesn't feel like Gleason was forced to fit the pieces together in order for it to work. This is a natural and organic story that flows as it should than being directed to where he wanted it to head. Secondly, it is short. I don't need a 90,000 word story to set up a story that I've already read. This packs in need to know stuff, and tidbits and tasty parts that you didn't expect but are happy to find. The concise nature of the story keeps it fast paced and leaves the listener no time to catch their breath, so to speak, before everything comes to a head. A longer story would have taken rest points, to info dump stuff to the reader, there is no real time for that here, and we cruise along like an ICBM missile out for a joyride. Deakins narration is just as good as the first time I heard him in Tyrant, and it is good to have a solid narrator for this series. I like his style and pacing a lot, and think it compliments Gleason's writing style. This is a short review for a short story that is packed full of awesomeness. A great way to reset the start button on a series. Check this bad boy out!

2 people found this helpful

Enjoy

Enjoyed the storyline and the different characters. Enjoyed all the different subplots for future stories. Narrator was good.

interesting premise

the story flow is initially bumpy, all over the place and nearly child like however it quickly proceeds to improve. could've done without the references to sex and the like. the dialogue between characters, as well as the characters themselves, was bland and near inorganic despite the great descriptions of the world itself. which was disappointing as the story holds great promise, hopefully book one (as I count this as book 0) will be better. the world building is great with interesting lore but not an info dump. as for the narrator this is the first time I've come across him and I am quite impressed. he has a good cadence and tone.

A unique fantasy setting

This is the beginning of a three-part series. In this book, we're introduced to primitive, human-like clans that are separated by their distinct physical features, along the lines of skin color, height, etc. Most clan societies seem warlike, although there are periods of uneasy peace. This story follows an individual who begins to get himself caught up in impending war and intrigue. The world building is kept to a minimum, but fleshes out the surroundings well enough. I would have liked a little more of this, though. The story's pace is fast because of this. I will be checking out the following two books, for sure. Finally, the narrator is top-notch. I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

great intro to a series I'd never heard of

I was given this free review copy audio book at my request and have voluntarily left this review. This was a great intro to this series. It was my first experience with it, and has made me want to give the rest of the series a listen/read. I thought the narration was pretty well done and the story was interesting and fast paced. I just added book 1 and 2 to my wish list for the next time I have some spare credits.

Decent introduction to characters

The story follows a slave, Rawluv, as he undertakes somewhat of a journey of self discovery, determining who he is and who he wants to be - including no longer being a slave. Not having read any of the Far End series I found this prequel to be a good introduction to the person I assume is the main character of the series. The rest of the series is not required reading to follow this story, although I assume that if you read the series first this would potentially be more meaningful. As a short story by itself it is generally complete - there are no dangling threads forcing you to read on - but it's certainly not the whole story. It's clear this is just the beginning leading to more. It does throw you somewhat in the deep end, in that it doesn't explain the races and clans etc. in much detail. The detail isn't needed to follow the story here and I assume these things are explained in the main series. As it is, in this book it just points to a wider, more complex and fleshed out world. Which is a good thing. Also, several people have mentioned 'sci-fi' in their reviews. I feel we listened to different books. This is completely a fantasy book, there are no sci-fi elements in it. Narration by Mark Deakins is good. There aren't many characters in this for him to show of his characterisation, but for those that re here he does a good job. He is well paced, easy to follow and there are no technical issues with the narration. Overall, a great short piece of fiction. This book was given to me for free at my request and I provided this review voluntarily.

decent sci fi

Pretty short so you know its not really going to have lots of world building and it's hard to get too engrossed. but overall solid book not sure ifthis is the best place to start if you're looking for a new sci fi series.

Solid sci-fi tale of a slave breaking his chains

I seem to be coming across a few of this author's audios lately, having listened to Ravagers not so long ago. Battle of Kinds was pretty good, a tale of different species trying to survive on a savage world that takes no prisoners. Well, except as slaves. Rawluv becomes enslaved to a powerful Efftrul who rescues him from certain death. After initially accepting his fate, Rawluv decides to do whatever it takes to be free, which sends him on a dangerous path which could cost him his life. It's a pretty good tale, with different sentient species at war with each other, with Rawluv and his kind stuck somewhere in the middle. It's a prequel, so there's more to come (or there already is more?), and I might take a peak at the rest of the series to see where it goes. Oh yeah, and the narrator did a solid, but certainly not spectacular job, although there wasn't a huge amount of material to test him too much.

Wow

I got this story via audiobook boom and this is my voluntary review. This is a short prequel to a story about many kinds of life forms fighting to survive a new world. It gets complicated at times and sometimes I can't tell if it is a memory or happening in real time. The series seems like it will be one to follow. The narration was done well and I thoroughly enjoyed the ending.

Life and times of a slave!

The story of Rawluv, an enslaved traveler, is fairly interesting, but I have issues. Crimsons, Branigans, Efftruls, and Numooks; I have no idea what these beings look like so I have difficulty imagining the characters and being involved in the story. This is a huge con in my opinion. Everything has a unique name with no similarity to anything known. Domains and weapons, those I know. The story would have been much more enjoyable with some additional background. So, we have the life and recollections of a slave. This audiobook was given by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review via Audiobook Boom.