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Fantasy. Fiction. HTML: #1 IN A NEW EPIC FANTASY SERIES from Monster Hunter series creator and New York Times best-selling author, Larry Correia! After the War of the Gods, the demons were cast out and fell to the world. Mankind was nearly eradicated by the seemingly unstoppable beasts, until the gods sent the great hero, Ramrowan, to save them. He united the tribes, gave them magic, and drove the demons into the sea. Ever since the land has belonged to man and the oceans have remained an uncrossable hell, leaving the continent of Lok isolated. It was prophesized that someday the demons would return, and only the descendants of Ramrowan would be able to defeat them. They became the first kings, and all men served those who were their only hope for survival. As centuries passed the descendants of the great hero grew in number and power. They became tyrannical and cruel, and their religion nothing but an excuse for greed. Gods and demons became myth and legend, and the people no longer believed. The castes created to serve the Sons of Ramrowan rose up and destroyed their rulers. All religion was banned and replaced by a code of unflinching law. The surviving royalty and their priests were made casteless, condemned to live as untouchables, and the Age of Law began. Ashok Vadal has been chosen by a powerful ancient weapon to be its bearer. He is a Protector, the elite militant order of roving law enforcers. No one is more merciless in rooting out those who secretly practice the old ways. Everything is black or white, good or evil, until he discovers his entire life is a fraud. Ashok isn't who he thinks he is, and when he finds himself on the wrong side of the law, the consequences lead to rebellion, war�and destruction. At the publisher's request, this title is sold without DRM (Digital Rights Management)..… (more)
User reviews
The sword is a fascinating weapon. It was forged from the metal taken from a ship that had come from the sky long ago and had brought demon-like beings to the land. A hero named Ramrowan had fought these demons and pushed them into the sea and ever since, the Protectors have made sure they stayed there. The sea had become impassable and even the greatest insults were based on salt water and fish eating. The sword moves from one man to another, and woe be it to anyone who dares to try and wield it without its permission. The sword also carries the experience and memories of all the warriors who have held it. That a member of the lowest caste was chosen to carry it was abhorrent so a wizard removed Ashok's earliest memories and he was sent far away from his house.
Ashok is an interesting character. When he was first brought to be trained as a Protector at the age of 10, the sword was taken from him until he was accepted by the Heart of the Mountain as a true Protector. SHe was so attached to the sword he pushed his way through the training and underwent the trial at the unheard of age of 12. He takes his job as seriously as possible. When he finds that he himself have unwittingly broken the law by holding the sword, he is sent into a spiral of depression and uncertainty of his place in the world. It was not as easy as laying the sword aside. That is equally as impossible.
I can't say why but I was totally immersed in this book and this world. It is definitely not for anyone not able to be washed in gore and blood.
I listened to this on audiobook and the narrator was the best part of this whole experience for me. Reynolds is amazing and does a wonderful job narrating this lackluster story. I think the only reason I actually finished this book was because I loved the way his voice sounded as he read the story.
The book starts out promising. Our main hero, Ashok, is fighting an awesome battle with two demons from the sea. I was excited and drawn in. However things quickly degenerate as secrets about Ashok’s past are revealed.
After the truth of Ashok’s past is revealed the book degenerates into a story about the oppressed Nameless and the Inquisitor that pulls the strings to re-write the histories, ensuring that the history of the Nameless caste is unknown to the general populace. At this point the story starts to jump around between Ashok and a whole bunch of other people I didn’t care a lick about.
Really I kind of wanted someone to just die so that something exciting would happen. I didn’t need to read this long story about an oppressed race who finally found a hero to set them free. There were too many characters I didn’t care about and the story was incredibly and painfully boring.
I wanted this book to be over sooo bad, by the time I got halfway through I upped the speed on Audible to 1.5x so I could get through it faster. It still felt like fffoooorrreeevvveeerrr.
Overall I really really disliked this book. It started out promising but degenerated into a slog through boring and uninteresting politics and a billion boring and uninteresting characters. It was an incredibly forgettable book and I probably won’t remember a thing about it in a couple weeks. I would recommend steering clear of this one. It was awful.
I enjoyed this
I look forward to the next book in the Saga of the Forgotten Warrior.
Digital review copy provided by the publisher through Edelweiss.