The Garden of Stones
Echoes of Empire, Book 1
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Narrated by:
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Nick Podehl
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By:
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Mark T. Barnes
About this listen
A New Epic Begins
Fueled by visions promising him prolonged life and political power, the dying Corajidin, leader of a millennia-old dynasty, has brought the nation of Shrian to civil war. But is his bright destiny assured, or do the events unfolding around him promise a more ignoble, and finite, future?
Indris, warrior-mage of the Seq Scholars and scion of a rival Great House, is caught in the upheaval. Driven by loyalty and conscience to return to a city that haunts his past, Indris reluctantly accepts the task of finding a missing man, the only one able to steer the teetering nation toward peace.
The celebrated warrior-poet, Mari, touches both men's lives: one as daughter, one as lover. As her world unravels around her, can she be true to both her duty to blood, and her own desires for freedom and happiness?
©2013 Mark T. Barnes (P)2013 Brilliance Audio, Inc.Listeners also enjoyed...
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A determined and vulnerable young heroine struggling to do right in a world brimming with deception must rule over an unstable kingdom and find her father's killer.
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Sexy
- By Alyssa on 08-03-20
By: Joan He
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Three Parts Dead
- By: Max Gladstone
- Narrated by: Claudia Alick
- Length: 13 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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A god has died, and it’s up to Tara, a first-year associate in the international necromantic firm of Kelethras, Albrecht, and Ao, to bring him back to life before his city falls apart. Her client is Kos, recently deceased fire god of the city of Alt Coulumb. Without him, the metropolis’ steam generators will shut down, its trains will cease running, and its four million citizens will riot. Tara’s job: resurrect Kos before chaos sets in.
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Great story, but the narrator was off
- By John on 07-27-14
By: Max Gladstone
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Fatemarked
- The Fatemarked Epic, Book 1
- By: David Estes
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 19 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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They are the fatemarked. Misunderstood. Worshipped. Hated. Murdered at birth. Their time to step into the light has come. An ancient prophecy foretold their coming, the chosen few who will bring peace to a land embroiled in a century of mistrust and war. When kings start dying, that hope and belief swiftly turns to fear. Roan Loren is one of the fatemarked, but has hidden his mark of power his entire life, fearing the damage it might cause to those around him. A great evil is coming. He can't hide anymore.
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Written to fit an ideology, not the story it tells
- By znidarsic.blaz on 04-30-18
By: David Estes
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The Mortal Tally
- By: Sam Sykes
- Narrated by: Edoardo Ballerini
- Length: 24 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
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Cier'Djaal, once the crowning glory of the civilized world, has gone from a city to a battlefield and a battlefield to a graveyard. Foreign armies clash relentlessly on streets laden with the bodies of innocents caught in the crossfire. Cultists and thieves wage shadow wars, tribal armies foment outside the city's walls, and haughty aristocrats watch the world burn from on high. As his companions struggle to keep the city from destroying itself, Lenk travels to the Forbidden East in search of the demon who caused it all. But even as he pursues Khoth-Kapira, dark whispers plague his thoughts.
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Great Middle Entry
- By Casey on 04-15-18
By: Sam Sykes
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Heroes Die
- The First of the Acts of Caine
- By: Matthew Stover
- Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki
- Length: 22 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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Renowned throughout the land of Ankhana as the Blade of Tyshalle, Caine has killed his share of monarchs and commoners, villains and heroes. He is relentless, unstoppable, simply the best there is at what he does. At home on Earth, Caine is Hari Michaelson, a superstar whose adventures in Ankhana command an audience of billions.
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Don't Let the Cover Turn You Off
- By Paul on 08-13-12
By: Matthew Stover
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The Grim Company
- By: Luke Scull
- Narrated by: Gerard Doyle
- Length: 15 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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The Gods are dead. The Magelord Salazar and his magically enhanced troops, the Augmentors, crush any dissent they find in the minds of the populace. On the other side of the Broken Sea, the White Lady plots the liberation of Dorminia, with her spymistresses, the Pale Women. Demons and abominations plague the Highlands. The world is desperately in need of heroes. But what they get instead are a ragtag band of old warriors, a crippled Halfmage, two orphans and an oddly capable manservant: the Grim Company.
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Pretty bad, but not actively terrible
- By Travis Lamkin on 09-13-15
By: Luke Scull
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The Valiant
- By: Lesley Livingston
- Narrated by: Fiona Hardingham
- Length: 10 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
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Fallon is the daughter of a proud Celtic king and the younger sister of the legendary fighter Sorcha. When Fallon was just a child, Sorcha was killed by the armies of Julius Caesar. On the eve of her 17th birthday, Fallon is excited to follow in her sister's footsteps and earn her place in her father's war band. She never gets the chance. Fallon is captured and sold to an elite training school for female gladiators - owned by none other than Julius Caesar himself.
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Couldn't keep my attention
- By Kendall on 03-13-17
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Cephrael's Hand
- A Pattern of Shadow and Light, Book 1
- By: Melissa McPhail
- Narrated by: Nick Podehl
- Length: 32 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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In Alorin...300 years after the genocidal Adept Wars, the realm is dying, and the blessed Adept race dies with it. One man holds the secret to reverting this decline: Bjorn van Gelderan, a dangerous and enigmatic man whose shocking betrayal three centuries past earned him a traitor's brand. It is the Adept Vestal Raine D'Lacourte's mission to learn what Bjorn knows in the hope of salvaging his race. But first he'll have to find him....
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This is a great book!!!
- By Dason on 07-30-16
By: Melissa McPhail
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Red Sister
- First Book of the Ancestor
- By: Mark Lawrence
- Narrated by: Heather O'Neill
- Length: 19 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
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From the international best-selling author of the Broken Empire Trilogy comes the first in a brilliant new breakout fantasy series. A searing novel set in a brand-new world, this series follows a young girl who enters a convent where girls are selected to train in religion, combat, or magic. Nona is selected to learn combat and finds herself at the center of an epic battle for empire on the outer reaches of a dying universe.
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Great Story supported by great narration
- By jdykes33 on 04-15-17
By: Mark Lawrence
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The Path of Anger
- The Book and the Sword, Book 1
- By: Antoine Rouaud
- Narrated by: Michael Kramer
- Length: 17 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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Year 10 of the new republic, in the remote port city of Masalia: Dun-Cadal, once the greatest general of the empire, has been drinking his life away for years. Betrayed by his friends and grief stricken at the loss of his apprentice, he's done with politics, with adventure, and with people. But people aren't finished with him - not yet.
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Great Epic Fantasy!
- By Bob-o on 08-31-15
By: Antoine Rouaud
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Phoenix Unbound
- The Fallen Empire Series, Book 1
- By: Grace Draven
- Narrated by: Katharine Lee McEwan
- Length: 14 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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Every year, each village is required to send a young woman to the Empire's capital - her fate to be burned alive for the entertainment of the masses. For the last five years, one small village's tithe has been the same woman. Gilene's sacrifice protects all the other young women of her village, and her secret to staying alive lies with the magic only she possesses. But this year is different. Azarion, the Empire's most famous gladiator, has somehow seen through her illusion - and is set on blackmailing Gilene into using her abilities to help him escape his life of slavery.
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Nothing special. Highly predictable
- By J. C. Schmidt on 10-10-18
By: Grace Draven
What listeners say about The Garden of Stones
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Michael
- 08-18-13
Realistic, Engaging Dialogue - Where Are You?
I KNOW I'm going to take heat for this one. So, like a flu shot, let's get the darn thing over with, for God's sake.
Let's review, shall we? A writer with skills? Seems so. His storyline? The same. Just go read the Audible short on the work. Yet, there's an issue here. If you read or, in this case, listen, to a good number of books, you'll understand where I'm headed.
If you're a great writer, or even a GOOD one, you constantly strive for a few things in your writing. Suspension of disbelief is one. A moving and deep storyline is another. Rich characterization is important, as well.
But.
Without REALISTIC, ENGAGING DIALOGUE between the characters, all of the potential of the work will fall short. We've all started to read or listen to such novels, and as soon as the characters open their mouths, it's over. The message suffers. The momentum is lost.
The book is closed, the audiobook returned.
And in this case, it's a shame. The problem happens here - In droves. I thought of including specific text, but it's not necessary. Is the audiobook bad? No. But the work suffers, due to the dialogue. It's a soap-operatic. Over the top. in some cases, WAY over the top.
A word to Mr. Barnes: "Do NOT get rushed by your editor to put your next effort out so quickly, that the character's dialogue suffers, as in this work. Take your time, and write great dialogue. I look forward to your next work with keen anticipation."
Audible listeners, I don't write these reviews to cater to anyone, especially myself. I have to be true to the job at hand, to let the audiobook stand on its own merits. Or fall.
Sorry, Mr. Barnes. Maybe next time.
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22 people found this helpful
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- Ally
- 08-24-16
Interesting story
I found the story very interesting, but I did not like the performer. I think I would have enjoyed the book more in print.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Pamela
- 01-07-19
Confusing, but entertaining
The first time I started listening to this book, I gave up after two hours. There were so many odd-sounding names that I just couldn't figure out who was who, or what was going on. I imagine it would be a lot easier to keep track of everything when you've got a print copy of the book in hand, but listening to it... I'd hear a random jumble of syllables and not know if they were referring to a man, a woman, a city, a species, or maybe a political or military title. I have to give props to Nick Podehl for handling so many odd names without missing a beat as he read!
I decided to give the book another try this month, and after half an hour of listening I realized that I still had no clue of who was who or what was going on... but I was starting to figure it out. So, I restarted the book from the beginning one more time, and hey! it actually made sense. Characters started to emerge, as well as personalities and motivations. There were good guys and bad guys and bad guys who thought they were good guys, and people stuck in the middle just trying to get by. There were lots of references to ancient something-or-others that I never did get a good handle on, but since the characters in the book didn't fully understand them, either, I guess that's okay. I have the other two books in the series sitting in my library, and I'm thinking that I'd better listen to them right away.... before I forget which jumble of syllables goes with which person or species or city or political or military title again!
My advice for this one: You MUST pay attention closely for the first hour. You can't be multitasking while you listen, or you will have NO idea of what's going on! Once you've been introduced to everyone, things flow more easily and make sense. But first, you have to connect all of those names to the people, places, or things they represent!
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- Michel Springer
- 10-20-15
Words and names very similar
the names and some words were too closely related making it difficult to follow story at first but I got used to it after some time
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- The Bookwyrm Speaks
- 11-17-15
One of my favorite all time series!
I am a huge fan of this series, and have listened to it multiple times. Epic fantasy, a deeply complex world with a huge back story, engaging characters, dastardly villains, powerful magic, steampunk elements, multiple interesting races, and deep politics that really draw the reader in! What more can a reader ask for? You will find yourself rooting for the heroes, hissing at the villains, and overall, enjoying the well crafted fight scenes, and finding yourself anxious to see what happens next. Nick Podehl's narration is spot on, really bringing the story to life. In fact, I think this series may be his finest work at narrating. Any fan of Brandon Sanderson, Terry Brooks or Anthony Ryan should definitely run out and get a copy of this book. I cannot recommend this series highly enough!
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- Willie J. Perdue
- 11-30-18
Too confusingly written
The story starts with a blur of characters being introduced at once. Slowly the story becomes possible to follow.
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- BigfootJedi
- 12-03-17
Don’t miss this work of art!
The scope of the world that Barnes is creating maybe confusing in the beginning but the world evolves into something special. I recommend you pull up the reference chart on Mr. Barnes website with the list of characters. It helps you quickly see how the political intrigue comes together through the various houses.
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- Jon Lessar
- 11-15-19
Great, but so much to sort out.
The book was very entertain, but extremely hard to keep track of who, what's and where's. Soo much to process, but very enjoyable.
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- Charles Stone
- 02-19-16
Just something I like
The world that this story is set is extremely well thought out. Usually i will not like a fantasy book if it does not have a creative and complex world and history, no matter how good the story is. This means I am usually reading Steven Erickson's or Bakker's books. I am going to have to say that the world that Barnes has created is on par with the Malazan world.
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- Human12345
- 07-13-19
Confusing
Constant switching between characters before you know who they are. Politics and more politics. Poor description of characters.
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