| Title | : | Ravine of Blood and Shadow |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | - |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Audible Audio |
| Number of Pages | : | - |
| Publication | : | Expected publication October 6, 2109 |
"A beautifully written and engrossing masterwork!" -- Mitchell Hogan
Fantasy Faction semifinalist for the SPFBO 2018
A babe is born in the shadows of the ravine city, a child who will end the self-imposed exile of the dwarves and usher in a new age of glory.
Years later, Ravine Guard Carnac Thayn discovers a break-in at the Scriptorium. A dwarf has been murdered and a book stolen, but the ruling council do nothing.
Then, when Carn is called to investigate thuds and crashes from the mines, old horror rises from the deep, and the city is threatened with slaughter.
Rumors begin to circulate about a mythical axe said to be lost below the earth, an axe wielded by the dwarf lords of old that might just be the last hope of a race marked to die.
But deception is rife, and unseen forces manipulate all paths to the future.It is a pivotal moment for the dwarves, and Carn must make a choice that will either save or damn his people.
Blood will flow in rivers through the ravine.
Friends will become foes.
A name will be forgotten.
And a hero will rise.
Ravine of Blood and Shadow Reviews
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3.5 stars rounded up
I received a free copy of this audiobook from the author in exchange for an honest review. You can actually get the first 6 books of this series in an omnibus audiobook for only 1 credit! Receiving this did not affect my review in any way.
Ravine of Blood and Shadow is a decently short book. At a little over 300 pages and with a pretty fast pace this was a story that was easy to speed through. Not only that, but Mike Carnes does a solid job of narrating that helped me to be more immersed in the world.
Our main protagonist is Carn and we follow him throughout the entirety of this story. Carn is a likable protagonist by himself, but I especially liked it when he was hanging out with his friends Thumel and Cordie (hopefully that’s how to spell their names). They have a chemistry and comraderie that I really enjoyed every time they were together. Overall I thought the characters were really well done, having their own unique personalities and compelling motivations.
The world is a pretty standard fantasy world so far in this first book. It has the Dark Lord figure, dwarves, a wise wizard figure, and magical gnome like creatures called Thanes. However, I enjoyed the little touches that Prior made in this world that made it his own. Without going into specifics, the dwarves were betrayed by one of their own long ago because of an outside force’s meddling and there are now very strict rules about never leaving the city in which the dwarves dwell. However, what actually happened back then and how the dwarves should proceed in the future is not agreed upon by everyone. It was interesting to bring together pieces of the puzzle as the story progressed. I also really enjoyed the way incompetent and fear driven leadership was used to affect the story in a significant way.
This story really snuck up on me. As the narrative went on I really found myself caring about these characters and what was going to happen to them. I am definitely going to continue this series to see what will happen! -
Excellent hard core fantasy
A fair bit of combat, quite a few main characters get killed off. It isn't a happy book, but not a thoroughly depressing one either. There's no over arcing quest our anything like that although the world is consistent. I enjoyed the story of a dwarf who's done bad things and tries to make amends. -
The nameless dwarf
This was an exceptionally well written book. It told a marvelous the story that I really liked. I felt it had a very good indeed. I highly recommend this book. -
Four books in one. Four chapters in the the story of Nameless, the Dwarf. What's good about this book? Nameless's character. It was enough to keep me reading to find out his fate. Just. And to get a two-star rating rather than one. Only just.
What's not so good? Initially, there are so many characters in this story, it's hard to keep tabs on who's who. The violence is horrendous. When all is covered that possibly can be in one world, Nameless ends up with another bunch of characters in his story and sinks to further depths of brutal cruelty, depravity and horror in another world. -
Nameless no more. Bring on act II.
Good God Almighty. The sheer unmitigated gall of this man. To finally with that one single stroke of the pin bring to a close the final act of the play. There are few indeed that can spin a tale such as this. Raw, rough, crude & to the oh so SHAGGING point. Bring it on. MORE MORE MORE. Pure genius at it's fucking best -
I quite enjoyed the first book in the tetralogy but then I just lost interest and quit reading after getting half-way through the series because the action seemed to slow down to a crawl. I am subject to whims at times in my reading, and loss of interest in the plot may be the best explanation of why I didn't finish.
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I LOVE Nameless!! What a kick-butt character. I would have happily read several more volumes of his adventures, but (despite the teaser at the end of the last book -- said problem well within Nameless' capabilities to handle) I guess this is it. Thanks Nameless (and all your friends and relations), it was a great ride.
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Pretty good Sword and Sorcery
Very much like Dragonlance. The first two books are great, the third good, but the fourth... I find the end far fetched, and a major POV character and love interest just disapears without a trace. The triolgy stands well alone, the fourth is a ok follow up a bit after the trilogy, so you can skip it if you like. Solid 3 stars. -
This series was even better the second time around. Lots of Gore. Lots of action. Plenty of tragedy. Humour, both black and smutty. Very clever plots. Intense intrigue.
Legends of the Nameless Dwarf is in short (pun intended) a shogging great story. -
Greatbooks
Keeps you interested at all turns. The plot and story line is outstanding. Could not put it down. Kept reading well into the night -
Amazing Series!
I loved the characters and the storyline. Dwarves, other worlds, and the resounding message this series gave: Be good to one another, and remember that forgiveness is an enlightening ending to chase away the dark. -
A Masterpiece
Truly a work of art; a tantalizing story of bravery, redemption, heroism, and the will stand up for righteousness. I was mesmerized from the beginning until the very end, learning of this mystic world and its people, and saddened that it had to come to a close.
The books do have some typos and perhaps a few loose ends that weren't addressed, but the overall story nullifies any and all of that. I truly hope to see more of this tale, especially considering the dark twist at the end. -
A council that does nothing and it takes the protagonist to shake things up? Check. "The whole society is not what it seems"? Check. Prophecy made at birth about main character and it comes true? Check. The protagonist is always right in his instincts, no matter what? Check. Evil wears Black and is petty and So You Shall Identify It? Check. "I start to explain something but someone interrupts in the most convenient moment so that it can be a dramatic reveal later on"? Check. All myths are true? Check. Main character is sulking, because Love Interest chose his best friend and now they are evil because they have betrayed him and their whole friendship was a lie? Check. (Betrayed, I tell you! Their friendship means nothing! They did not tell me so they clearly did not trust me and everything was a LIE!) Everything was a lie? Check. EVIL WEARS BLACK AND IS DISFIGURED? CHECK!
There are some things that I really liked in this book, it is only disappointing to see the possible potential... not happening in the story. On the other hand, this is only the first volume. Could be that those that follow are better. -
Excellent read
I enjoy reading these types of books and when picking a certain book I do like a long read.
This is the first book I've read by Dr. P. Prior and I will definitely be looking out for more titles.
I read all four books straight through and it kept me glued to it. The story kept changing as you read through it which was great and flowed smoothly.
I look forward to seeing if there might be a follow on as the ending does leave a possibility.
Again a great read. -
Wow, an enthralling Adventure. The good, The bad and the Short!
This was a great story full of everything you need for a wonderful tale. The dwarves are made real with the writing. The worlds are fleshed out and filled with flora and fauna that you can almost hear walking around.
I would suggest these books for anyone who wants to take a fully immersive vacation in their favorite chair. -
Can I give it more stars? This is an incredible read. What an epic journey. From the beginning of book 1 til the end of book 4, it was filled with action. I really enjoyed reading this fantasy series. It rates up there, by me, with The Black Company series by Glen Cook & The First Law Trilogy by Joe Abercrombie. I truly do recommend this fantasy series.
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Overall, a very god story.
I really liked the story, and would recommend it to any tabletop fantasy gamer, since it has the feel of a book written about a party, or the back story of a player. The reason I gave it only 4 stars is that there seemed to be some lose ends. -
An Epic, in league of Tolkien and Brooks
A great read, I enjoyed this saga. This story will become a must read for all those who enjoy epic fantasy.
