Darkening Skies

Path of the Thunderbird, Book 1

By: Eden Hudson

Narrated by: Travis Baldree

A boy abandoned at an ancient school of warrior arts. A princess bartered away as a treaty bride. A lurking evil with the power to topple the world.

Ji Yu Raijin is happy to live out his life serving his school, cultivating his life force, and learning the Path of Darkening Skies, an ancient and noble warrior art—until the day comes when he has to choose: Remain true to the teachings of his path and allow his art to die out or commit an unforgivable sin and save the world.

Second Princess Shyong San Koida was born the only cripple in a dynasty of powerful warriors. With a broken life force, the only way Koida can contribute to her family’s empire is by sealing a strategic alliance to a barbarian leader with her hand in marriage. But hidden forces within the court conspire to stop the union and obliterate the Shyong San dynasty at all costs.

At the intersection of the servant boy and the princess’ stories lies a secret, malignant art bent on destroying not only them, but the entire world.

Darkening Skies is the first novel in the Path of the Thunderbird series, for fans of wuxia, xanxia, cultivation novels, demon beasts, and all styles of martial arts. Darkening Skies is written by Eden Hudson, enthusiastic but terrible martial arts student and best-selling author of the Jubal Van Zandt and the litRPG fantasy Rogue Dungeon series.

©2022 Shadow Alley Press Inc (P)2023 Shadow Alley Press Inc

Incredible!

Absolutely loved it. The time switches were interesting and handled well, the characters are interesting, and the story is engaging. Only complaint is that it was over too soon!

Fun and entertaining read

I was looking for something to hold me over until the next cradle book and came across this gem, it’s not what I was expecting from the description of the book but I was pleasantly surprised with the direction the story took and how it presented its characters, definitely going straight to the next book!

Fun Cultivation Book 1!

Great beginning book to this series! The next promises more intrigue and excitement! Buy this!

A great first entry!

I did enjoy the story and the setup a lot. Strong characters and interesting core mechanics. Travis Baldree is amazing as always. Very much worth checking out.

Abrupt Ending

The characters were pretty interesting and narrative kept me engaged, but the ending just sort of happened. It felt like I missed a few chapters of development. Things were just starting to move along when the twist happened and then a couple chapters later the book ended. I want to say it was like watching half a movie and then skipping to the end, but I did understand what was happening and why,

Enjoyable.

Book is fantastic, almost wished I'd waited for the whole series. Granted, all this means is that I'll be relistening to this one before I start on the next and so on.

If you've been reading through the comments to find out if it's worth the listen, I would say yes and do hope that you agree after you listen.

my favorite cultivation story!

i just finished the new edition of Darkening Skies and forgot how absorbing and enjoyable it is. wonderful world building, fascinating story that jumps between two timelines, and best of all, amazing characters you can't help but to root for. I got all the feels.

it goes without saying that Travis Baldree rocks the narration

Loved it! But feels short.

I guess I'm just spoiled with books closer to 14+ hours, I'm liking the concepts and the characters and looking forward to the next book

Finished in one sitting

Great story. A little short compared to what I normally listen to but I gave it a shot because of Travis Baldree. Was not disappointed. I liked the multiple POV and I’m surprised at how much I enjoyed the flashbacks. Especially since I was constantly hoping for a “present time” chapter. Really enjoyed this author’s ability to make me laugh and also shed a few tears. I would definitely recommend. Can’t wait for the next one!

Very enjoyable book

I was a bit sceptical od this book due to some of the reviews but i am glad to say they were wrong the book was well worth the credit. Both of the main characters are likeable and the story is written in an interesting way with events from the past and present interwoven with each other where we get to know a past of the characters as we are seeing them act now. I am waiting for the book 2.