The Emperor's Blades cover art

The Emperor's Blades

Chronicle of the Unhewn Throne, Book 1

 Preview

Get 30 days of Standard free

£5.99/mo after trial. Cancel monthly.
Try for £0.00
More purchase options

The Emperor's Blades

By: Brian Staveley
Narrated by: Simon Vance
Try for £0.00

£5.99 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for £18.30

Buy Now for £18.30

Summary

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.

©2014 Brian Stavely (P)2013 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved. Epic Epic Fantasy Fantasy Military Fiction Scary
All stars
Most relevant
I bought this book mainly because of the narrator. Who was, as expected, excellent. However the story was brilliant. The characters are really well written and brought to life. Can't praise this book enough.

Brilliant

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
good story read by one of my favourite readers.
can't wait to listen to the next 2 books

Simon Vance one of the best to listen to. .

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
well read, really enjoyed the story, lots of twists to keep you guessing & a preview of the next book at the end.

Thoroughly enjoyed !

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
The narration was brilliant. The storyline was not as good as I expected. I'm hoping the storyline improves over the following books and the first book was a scene setter

Great narration, good storyline

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Great listen from start to finish. The characters are engaging and I found myself caring about them more than I expected. Some moments really put me through the emotional slip n slide, putting me on the brink of tears at one point.

A few twists were predictable early on but this didnt take away from my employment, actually having them revealed and the manner of those reveals was incredibly satisfying! The surprises that came out of nowhere and built up to the finale gripped me to the point where I couldn't stop listening which is annoying because I have to wait ages for my next credit before I can continue the story.

Gripping

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews