Medium – Audiobook
About the Book – In this epic fantasy, we are introduced to a world divided by religion and ideology. At one side of the world, the house of Barethnet rules the realm, led by the beautiful queen Sabran the ninth. She must give the realm and heir in order to keep the great dragon, the Nameless One, from rising again and destroying the world, but she is in danger. To keep her safe, Ead Duryan, one of a hidden society of assassin mages, has been integrated into the palace, to act as lady-in-waiting and Sabran’s protector. Across the sea, Tane has trained to be a dragon rider since her childhood. But the choice she makes one dark night may bring all of her dreams to dust. As the Nameless One and his forces continue to rise, the East and West must band together in order to defeat him.
My Rating – 4.5/5
My Thoughts – This was a book that I had put off listening to for a while, due to the length of it (around 25 hours!), but I decided that I was in the mood for some fantasy, so wanted to have a go at reading it. The book is a monster, but contains enough action and adventure to keep any fantasy-lover occupied. The book is told from the POV of four characters – two female (Ead and Tane) and two male (Niclays and Loth). The two female characters are the main, lead characters. They are the ones who provide the fight scenes, the adventure and the action. The male characters provide the antihero and the strategist/friend, but they are not the most important characters in the story. Gender equality is taken for granted in this world, and many of the realms (including Inys, where Sabran rules) are historically matriarchal.
The plot is interesting and moves quickly between different areas of the world. Like other fantasy stories, it never pays to become too attached to a character – there are plenty of unexpected deaths, which help to keep the story flowing and unguessable. The world and world-building is some of the best I’ve experienced – maybe because it was an audiobook, I felt wholly immersed into the world, rather than feeling like an onlooker. There’s also a lovely, natural LGBTQ relationship, alongside dragons and an inclusive cast – always a plus point for me! The half a star I have taken off was not for the book, but for the audiobook. The narrator had fantastic voices for the female characters, but really seemed to struggle with the males – they were either really gruff or really deep, and sounded very similar. But all in all, an excellent book, and one I am glad that I did listen to in the end!
Jen's Book Blog 