Of Blood and Fire

The Bound and the Broken, Book 1

De: Ryan Cahill

Narrado por: Derek Perkins

Born in fire. Tempered in blood.

Epheria is a land divided by war and mistrust. The High Lords of the South squabble and fight, only kept in check by the Dragonguard, traitors of a time long past, who serve the empire of the North.

In the remote villages of Southern Epheria, still reeling from the tragic loss of his brother, Calen Bryer prepares for The Proving - a test of courage and skill that not all survive. But when three strangers arrive in the village of Milltown, with a secret they are willing to die for, Calen’s world is ripped from under him and he is thrust headfirst into a war that has been raging for centuries.

There is no prophecy. His coming was not foretold. He bleeds like any man, and bleed he will.

Includes bonus story The Fall.

©2021 Ryan Cahill (P)2021 Podium Audio

Weaving Similar Threads…

To start - congratulations Mr. Cahill and Mr. Perkins on both your writing and narration, for a self published book I consider this worthy of a place on my shelf! This first novel in The Bound and the Broken was a great book. The characters were compelling and the story held my attention save for a small part of the third act. I’ll address the Oliphaunt in the room. This book is similar to the likes of Eye of the World and has some passing similarities to A Game of Thrones and The Fellowship of the Ring… HOWEVER…Ryan Cahill brings us, in my opinion, a fresh story of fantasy, dragons and magic. Does it have elves? Yes, does it have dwarfs? Yes, does it even have a creepy monster called a Fade? YES! It’s Cahill’s writing and more specifically story telling that makes this novel one and of its own. I must say though if I heard “raided a curious brow” one more time, lol. I do recommend this for those who enjoy intriguing tales of fantasy who are looking for that Tolkien hole to fill in the reading hearts. Happy listening, everyone.

Quintessential

The word Quintessential does not even do this book justice! It is amazing and if you call yourself a fan of dragon books it is quintessential that you read it!

Absolutely Thrilling

Ryan continues to provide a gripping story that brings about everything you love from the stories that came before, while simultaneously bringing new breadth and a unique story of its own. The Fall travels back 400 years from the time of the first novel Of Blood and Fire and provides some backstory as to how The Order fell and the Dragonguard came to power. I could feel not only the tension and anguish in these characters we spend less than 100 pages with but also the strength and Ryan's writing abilities continue to grow with this novella. This will definitely be a story I continue to read through and loved every moment of it.

Solid start to series

Familiar tropes yet comforting as if being served your favorite childhood dish. Looking forward to seeing where the story leads.

So Far, Just Okay

Ryan Cahill is experiencing some growing pains. This book is not great. It's good enough for a first book, but I hope it improves a lot. The prequel novella at the end of the book is interesting, and it does add to the overall story, building some useful context. I'm just happy I didn't pay full price for any book in this series.

Outstanding choice

As close as you can get to the depth and breath of Tolkien. Very enjoyable, considering I bought it blind, knowing nothing about the series. Bravo.

Insanely good listen/read

It was like a unique blend of all of my favorite series. Elements of George RR Martin’s GoT series with the dragons, and mixes of Brandon Sandersons Stormlight archives with the knights armor and blades, touches of Tolkiens LoTR and Robert Jordan’s WoT.. it’s like he draws inspiration from these worlds, but has also created something entirely unique and beautiful in its own right. I won’t lie, it’s like I’m back with all my all pals from across all of my favorite worlds of fantasy. Thank you sir for blessing us with this beauty! Good day

Fantastic fantasy debut!

What a great debut novel! It not only tosses the "chosen one" trope on its head, but it also has great action & great characters.

This book is about Calen, a young man who is still dealing with the grief of losing his beloved older brother. Make no mistake: there aren't any prophecies or omens that foretold what happens to Calen, his friends & family. He was just in the right place at the right time (or perhaps, it'd be better to say: wrong place, wrong time!).

This was a thoroughly enjoyable listen that possibly caused some sleep deprivation.
Also... I'd want my supervisor to know that reports which claim that listening to it in the car today made me late to work are **greatly** exaggerated. Do not believe those scurrilous lies!

Highly recommended!

Decent start… and great performance

While the plot and prose were fairly decent, after a while (and a bunch of character deaths) I found it difficult to even want to invest in any kind of connection with the characters… and why would I? So far, any good that popped up in this book seemed to get snuffed out—if not immediately, then eventually.
Not very good fertilizer for a reader to cultivate attachments in, if you ask me… but, I suppose some folk are just into that devastating George R.R. Martin stuff. Not me.
I do think, however, that I will continue with the series… for now. And we shall see if things progress, remain the same, or deteriorate even further. Hopefully the former.

This is a pretty good start

To what I’m guessing will be a really great series. I look forward to the next installment.