An Ocean of Others

Dance of the Sibling Suns, Book 1

By: Joshua Scott Edwards

Narrated by: Danny Gavigan

Remember what's real or your head will be theirs.

Survival is never easy, but it’s never been harder for Grim, the last bounty hunter in Liwokin. He survived the Great Riot that killed Liwo by the thousands, endured the bloody chaos that ruled the city in its aftermath, and avoided the crushing fist of the Agency created to quell the unrest. The rule of law has returned, but following the rules doesn’t put food in your belly.

On a job gone wrong, Grim stumbles into a conspiracy that targets Ulken, the Head of the Agency, a man who has done more to ruin Grim’s life than any other. Struggling to earn honest coin, Grim plans to use this information to rise quickly through the ranks of the organization. He becomes a Finger of the Agency, joining a sardonic ranger, two fugitive siblings, a stone-skinned Skardwarf, and a powerful dark mage—none of whom know any better than Grim what they’ve gotten themselves into.

Grim’s Hand soon discovers the Agency’s furtive work is far deadlier than hunting bounties. While fighting to save his home from monsters who once were men, Grim discovers the conspiracy runs deeper than just Ulken and the Agency—what was unleashed is spreading, and if Grim’s sanity doesn’t prevail, it will consume the minds of the Bright Empire and beyond.

Action-packed, bloody, and full of brain-bending intrigue, An Ocean of Others blurs the line between monster and man enough to drive you out of your mind.

©2022 Joshua Scott Edwards (P)2023 Podium Audio

Interesting concept and good action

First thing I'd like to say is the performance on this audiobook is top notch. Danny Gavigan has a wide range of voices that he employs in the reading.

This is the story of Grim, who in the beginning of the story is forced to join a mercenary group and sent on a mission with very little information about what he's getting himself into.

It's a strong opening act with many enjoyable characters coming together to fight a very cool monster. The book also finishes strong with a battle against the final monster, the so-called Benefactor where all the mysteries of the story are brought into the light in an interesting way. It's the middle where the story drags a bit unfortunately. Never so much that I wanted to stop reading, but my interest did begin to wain.

Overall very enjoyable, and the twist at the end makes me wonder what the next installment might be like. Will add it to my Want to Read list.

Loaded with Action!

Cool story with tons of action and an intriguing magic system. Narrator had some goofy sounding character voices but otherwise an excellent job on his part.

So good!!

What a great book Josh! Kept me on my toes & loved listening to the audible version! Such a good one!

Great story!

This book was out of my normal interests, yet it still captured me and had me hooked! Great storytelling, detail, and action! I enjoyed all the voices by the narrator as well. I recommend!

Terrific story and narrator

The plot of this book was wonderfully woven, giving information bit by bit in the way of a mystery novel, while never slowing down the pace of the action.

The story was small scale, involving mostly one city and the area around it, which made for a condensed and succinct story that was easy to digest and enjoy!

It started out dark, then shifted to sort of adventure/dnd vibes with a group of diverse fighters on a team: a mage, a paladin, a dwarf, a fighter, and a hunter/tracker. Then it shifted back to the dark vibes slowly for a wonderful crescendo at the arc.

The terminology of the book was fun and well thought out, with each of the five members of each team being called Fingers, and the teams themselves being called Hands, and every other part of the Agency having a similarly appropriate body name. It wasn’t spelled out, so it took a while to notice and appreciate the structure of the Agency, which seemed like a disorganized mess when first introduced. As the story went on it became apparent how intentional everything was.

The book had an exceptionally satisfying end, and all around it was cool to have everything tied together so neatly.

Other things to note: there was no romance, there was graphic violence, some horror vibes

nice

a nice story, good narrator a bit confusing but a lot of action perfect for lovecraftian action lovers