King of Swords
The Starfolk, Book 1
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Narrated by:
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Nick Podehl
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By:
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Dave Duncan
About this listen
Rigel has always known he is not quite human, but the only clue to his origin is the otherworldly bracelet he has worn since childhood. His search for his parentage leads him to the Starlands, where reality and fantasy have changed places. There he learns that he is a human-starborn cross, and his bracelet is the legendary magical amulet Saiph, which makes its wearer an unbeatable swordsman.
Fighting off monsters, battling a gang of assassins seeking to kill him, Rigel finds honorable employment as a hero. He knows that he must die very soon if he remains in the Starlands, but he has fallen hopelessly in love with a princess and cannot abandon her. Through the imaginative landscape of the Starlands, Rigel's quest leads him to encounter minotaurs, sphinxes, cyclops, and more fearsome creatures in Dave Duncan's latest fantasy series.
©2013 Dave Duncan (P)2013 Brilliance Audio, Inc.Listeners also enjoyed...
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- By: Greg Keyes
- Narrated by: Patrick Michael
- Length: 19 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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Two thousand years ago, the Born Queen defeated the Skasloi lords, freeing humans from the bitter yoke of slavery. But now monstrous creatures roam the land and destinies become inextricably entangled in a drama of power and seduction. The kings woodsman, a rebellious girl, a young priest, a roguish adventurer, and a young man made suddenly into a knight all face malevolent forces that shake the foundations of the kingdom, even as the Briar King, legendary harbinger of death, awakens from his slumber.
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Good stuff
- By Jake on 06-10-10
By: Greg Keyes
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Amber and Ashes
- Dragonlance: Dark Disciple, Book 1
- By: Margaret Weis
- Narrated by: Leslie Bellair
- Length: 9 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
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The audio edition of the new novel from New York Times best-selling author Margaret Weis. The audio edition of the opening title in a new trilogy from Dragonlance setting co-creator Margaret Weis takes up where the War of Souls series left off with the central character, Mina. While following her story, this new trilogy also explores the chaos that is post-war Krynn. This is Weis’s first solo trilogy in the Dragonlance world.
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terrible narrator
- By Jacob on 04-23-16
By: Margaret Weis
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The Deathless
- The Deathless Trilogy, Book 1
- By: Peter Newman
- Narrated by: Emma Newman
- Length: 14 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
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In the endless forests of the Wild, humanity scratches a living by the side of the great Godroads, paths of crystal that provide safe passage and hold back the infernal tide. Creatures lurk within the trees, watching, and plucking those who stray too far from safety. In crystal castles held aloft on magical currents, seven timeless royal families reign, protecting humanity from the spread of the Wild and its demons. Born and reborn into flawless bodies, the Deathless are as immortal as the precious stones from which they take their names. For generations a fragile balance has held.
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Not my thing but not bad for what it is
- By Nora on 10-26-20
By: Peter Newman
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Moonburner
- By: Claire Luana
- Narrated by: Emma Lysy
- Length: 9 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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When 17-year-old Kai is exposed as a female sorceress, a moonburner, she knows the punishment is death. Despite the odds against her, Kai escapes her fate and undertakes a harrowing journey to a land where moonburners are revered and trained as warriors. But the moonburner citadel is not the place of refuge and learning that Kai imagined.
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Excellent!!
- By Natalie @ ABookLoversLife on 11-07-16
By: Claire Luana
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The Book of Magic
- By: Gardner Dozois - editor, Scott Lynch, Elizabeth Bear, and others
- Narrated by: Karissa Vacker, Sile Bermingham, Maxwell Caulfield, and others
- Length: 24 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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Hot on the heels of Gardner Dozois's acclaimed anthology The Book of Swords comes this companion volume devoted to magic. How could it be otherwise? For every Frodo, there is a Gandalf... and a Saruman. For every Dorothy, a Glinda... and a Wicked Witch of the West. What would Harry Potter be without Albus Dumbledore... and Severus Snape? Figures of wisdom and power, possessing arcane, often forbidden knowledge, wizards and sorcerers are shaped - or misshaped - by the potent magic they seek to wield.
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some stinkers mostly good
- By M.T. on 12-11-18
By: Gardner Dozois - editor, and others
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The Sword of Summer
- Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard, Book One
- By: Rick Riordan
- Narrated by: Christopher Guetig
- Length: 15 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
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Magnus Chase has always been a troubled kid. Since his mother's mysterious death, he's lived alone on the streets of Boston, surviving by his wits, keeping one step ahead of the police and the truant officers. One day, he's tracked down by an uncle he barely knows - a man his mother claimed was dangerous. Uncle Randolph tells him an impossible secret: Magnus is the son of a Norse god. The Viking myths are true. The gods of Asgard are preparing for war. Trolls, giants and worse monsters are stirring for doomsday.
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First I was disappointed, then I was angry
- By Jeanie on 10-08-15
By: Rick Riordan
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Lion of Senet
- Second Sons, Book 1
- By: Jennifer Fallon
- Narrated by: Joe Jameson
- Length: 19 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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On the world Ranadon there is no night as both suns shine brightly. The intervention of Belagren, High Priestess of the Shadowdancers, and the sacrifice of a child of royal blood, has banished the Age of Shadows from the skies. Belagren's position is unquestioned...until circumstances begin to tip political rivalries into a deadlier game altogether.
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Really enjoyed it
- By Amazon Customer on 09-15-17
By: Jennifer Fallon
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Tales of the Great Beasts (Spirit Animals: Special Edition)
- By: Brandon Mull
- Narrated by: Nicola Barber
- Length: 5 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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Long before they were spirit animals, the four were still legends - Great Beasts, the most powerful beings to roam the wilds of Erdas. Aided by a brave resistance of humans and animals, they gave their lives to protect the world from a threat more dangerous than any it had seen before: their own kind. Wise and cunning, gentle and ruthless, these are tales of the true heroes and villains in the war that started it all.
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review from 9 y/o daughter
- By Ellie on 01-08-17
By: Brandon Mull
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Iron Axe
- The Books of Blood and Iron, Book 1
- By: Steven Harper
- Narrated by: P. J. Ochlan
- Length: 13 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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In this brand new series from the author of the Clockwork Empire series, a hopeless outcast must answer Death's call and embark on an epic adventure... Although Danr's mother was human, his father was one of the hated Stane, a troll from the mountains. Now Danr has nothing to look forward to but a life of disapproval and mistrust, answering to "Trollboy" and condemned to hard labor on a farm. Until, without warning, strange creatures come down from the mountains to attack the village.
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I DON'T WANT YOU TO FOLLOW ME,
- By Jim "The Impatient" on 07-22-17
By: Steven Harper
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The Red Wolf Conspiracy
- By: Robert V. S. Redick
- Narrated by: Michael Page
- Length: 19 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
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The Imperial Merchant Ship Chathrand is the last of her kind. Six hundred years old, the secrets of her construction long forgotten, the massive vessel dwarfs every other sailing craft in the world. It is a palace with sails, a floating outpost of the Empire of Arqual. And it is on its most vital mission yet: to deliver a young woman whose marriage will seal the peace between Arqual and its mortal enemy, the secretive Mzithrin Empire.
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Not Bad, not great.
- By Aerindel on 10-15-09
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Wondrous Strange
- By: Lesley Livingston
- Narrated by: Lesley Livingston
- Length: 6 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
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For 17-year-old actress Kelley Winslow, faeries are just something from childhood stories. Then she meets Sonny Flannery, whose steel-gray eyes mask an equally steely determination to protect her. Sonny guards the Samhain Gate, which connects the mortal realm with the Faerie's enchanted, dangerous Otherworld. Usually kept shut by order of icy King Auberon, the Gate stands open but once a year.
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"I do love thee"
- By Jayleen Martinez on 10-18-16
What listeners say about King of Swords
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Floyd Reed
- 04-17-15
Phenomenal narration!
Mr. Podehl digs a phenomenal job while reading this . I never noticed a single miss read, and his voices were consistent with the individual characters that he had assigned them and they were done with such enthusiasm that I actually could imagine that I was listening to a movie rather than someone read a book. The story line was indeed a different twist on the Elven Race, but there was really nothing about this story that just kept me on the edge of my seat in fact I caught myself not caring about rewinding if I missed a part while multitasking, which is c unusual for me because I am that guy that everybody gets mad at for rewinding a movie a hundred times just because I missed one word. But it wasn't horrible.
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- Bob-o
- 04-26-14
Nick Podehl ruined this book
I just can't stand Nick Podehl's narration!!! I think this book would be really entertaining if they had a better narrator. The book itself was pretty good. The problem was with Nick's narration caused me to drift off and I would have to rewind the book and really focus on the book. I love David Duncon's The Magic Casement series and this series was just not as good.
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- Matthew
- 12-07-13
Princess of Mars meets Kingkiller Chronicles
Any additional comments?
This book is exactly what I wanted it to be: a light, popcorn listen.
I wasn't' expecting Rothfuss or anything, just a mildly humorous fantasy book that was set in modern day, which is what this turned out to be. You have Rigel who is head over heals for the alien (It's cool, he's half alien after all). Rigel wields the most dangerous weapon in the known universe and is shunted to another....realm? Planet? Galaxy? Something. Here he is a lower class citizen in love with the upper class. Because of this he gets stuck in the middle of a great assassination plot. Where everyone wants to either use him or make sure no one else can use him.
You know what? The best way to describe this book is the lovechild (I made a joke, read the book to get my glory) of Patrick Rothfuss (I actually checked to see if it was him under pseudonym) and Edgar Rice Burroughs circa Princess of Mars.
I'll finish this series as each book comes out. And I'm not going to recommend this book to anyone, if any of what my review or the book flap sends you.... it's exactly what's on the tin.
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- Jason
- 03-16-14
Surprisingly good!
I picked up this book without a lot of hope but was a little bored. Next thing I know I was sucked in! There are truly many twists that you do not see coming, and from a huge reader that is hard to do to me!
The book does a great job of making you feel for the lead, while also filling out the other players in the story very well. The world is fleshed out amazingly well, and leaves you wishing to go yourself!
If you enjoy good Sc-Fi or Fantasy you will almost certainly enjoy this book as it does a wonderful job of weaving the two together.
I highly suggest you give this one a try, I am currently reading book 2 of the duet and it is just as good as the first and for the price these books are a steal!
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- Aziz
- 10-08-14
Great narration, not so good story
The narrator was excellent (he narrated Patrick Rothfuss' Kingkiller chronicles aka Name of the Wind books) with a plethora of completely different-sounding and convincing voices and while the book had a lot of interesting themes and fun moments it somewhat lacked in the character development.
Indeed, the author manages to craft a convincing universe where fantastical creatures such as elves, minotaurs, centaurs, mermaids, basiliks, cockatrices and more exist that is evocative of how the world in The NeverEnding Story exists.
However I couldn't help but notice how one-dimensional unconvincing some of the characters were. In this respect the main character, Rigel, was my biggest issue: having lived a hard life on Earth from an early he's understandably paranoid and skittish given the extra burden of his mixed heritage of human and elf. When he's finally thrust into his homeworld he falls head-over-heels for this elf soon after meeting her (despite her shark-like teeth and bat-like elf ears, WTF Duncan lol) even though she comes off as somewhat of a slut (which she herself suggests), seemingly bedding several different male elves over the span of a few days. But what's more disturbing than his lack of self-esteem and his total lust-driven boyish infatuation is the fact that this previous cautious, perceptive and paranoid young adult completely throws all caution to the wind and devotes and pledges himself to the object of his affection without really taking time to understand the new world he finds himself.
Another reason I didn't find his infatuation and overwhelming desire for the female elf in question to be genuine is the fact that she considers practically any race other than her own to be chattel and beneath her notice and this includes humans and human-elf progeny which is what Rigel is. This xenophobia went on to increase my dislike for Rigel as he very clearly states his affection and sense of kinship towards humans and yet somehow overlooks his love's racism. This is further compounded by how perceptive and intelligent he's shown to be as the story progresses and just made me shake my head in confusion and abject incredulity.
Lastly I didn't like how all female elves were depicted as never wearing anything but a glorified loincloth. Granted, the males also sported the same attire (or lack thereof :P) but I just see this as the author's objectifying of women which I believe is completely unnecessary in this book.
I greatly enjoyed Dave Duncan's The Seventh Sword series when I was younger and was looking forward to this series but it left me disappointed and I'm not sure if I'll purchase the second book in the series.
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- Benjamin
- 01-21-14
Forget the mattock; dig in with a teaspoon
Not having read Duncan before, I did not know what to expect, only that the book was recommended to me by audible based on my other reads.
One good thing about this book is that it includes all the trappings of heroic fantasy. Orphaned hero seeking his parentage, living on the edge of society because he's just a bit different, gets whisked off to a magical land where he discovers he has some special amulet which makes him extremely powerful, but also comes with its own enemies and perils. And then you throw in all the things that are supposed to be in a fantasy novels, centaurs, minotaurs, harpies, elves, sphinxes. Notably lacking: a bearded dwarf that spoke with a Scottish brogue.
Unfortunately, because of this, it seemed like a novel built from stock parts.
It is a quick fantasy read that will not challenge the reader. It moves along fast enough and doesn't bog down. It is OK so long as you don't try to dig too deep.
Another good thing about this book is the reading. Podehl does yeoman's work deepening characters that Duncan wrote pretty flat. He deserves quite a bit of credit for raising this book up in my estimation.
Now about those characters...
This is one piece where the book really fails. The characters are almost all one dimensional, many wouldn't even have that if it weren't for Podehl's reading. The evil megalomaniac is a bad guy, because he's a bad guy. His evil henchman performs odious acts, because that is what you do when you're an evil henchman. The main character acts heroically. Why? To impress a girl. That's new. The reader just can't identify with what is essentially a cast of cardboard cutouts.
I would not recommend this to anyone except maybe the convinced Duncan fan who knows exactly what he or she is getting into.
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5 people found this helpful