Echoes of a Fallen Kingdom

Stalwart Link, Book 1

By: B. T. Narro

Narrated by: Simon Vance

Strong-willed and full of hope, Leo strives to learn more of the magic he has read so much about. He's heard of invisible links in his world, and hidden rifts to other realms filled with creatures and stones of power. But Leo's family is stuck in an impoverished city. He performs backbreaking farm work beside his older brother, a rebellious and cunning thief, but nonetheless a brother whom Leo would trust with his life. Their father takes care of them as best he can, but a dangerous secret has weighed heavily on him for years. He won't be able to keep it hidden much longer.

Leo believes everything will change for the better when he begins work as a bookbinder and finally leaves the dreadful farm. He can apply for apprenticeship to the Bookbinding Guild upon his soon-approaching birthday.

Everything will change, but in ways their family would never expect. It all begins when Leo's brother steals something that he should've left alone.

©2018 B.T. Narro (P)2019 Tantor

Excellently Written Characters

Some of the best-written characters I've read. Everyone feels real and natural. The story is subtly suspenseful and I feel that every interaction could turn for the worse. Fair warning, the story does not have a lot of events happen (as other reviews point out). It is much more link the first of The Fellowship of the Ring. However, it establishes a well-designed world. The style and skill make it clear the author has grand plans for the story.

narrator

good story with consistent themes. the worries & aspirations of the children are fun to listen to

characters

The characters seemed mostly believable and likeable. The villans believable and deplorable also. The narrator has a good voice and never did i cringe when he did a female voice. haha I will come back to listen to the next book after a lighthearted novel.

Suroringly good

Simon Vance the narrator is the reason I picked up this book. A very good choice. Well written and exciting.

This book was amazing..

Ok ok this is not my normal genre but this book was absolutely amazing. The story telling , the world building, character development just everything about it was A+ . The narrator was amazing … I hope the next one gives me goosebumps like this one.

We love a prologue!

Was I expecting a 10 hour prologue as a first book in a series I was just getting into? absolutely not.
Was I thrilled by the world building and attention to character pronunciation? oh absolutely.
I look forward to what comes next!!

Great story

It was a good book and I know that it is a bit boring until the end but I liked that one of my fav books I recommend

Very down to earth plot. Definitely feels like setting up a large story and takes its time doing so

I didn’t dislike anything that took away from the enjoyment of this book. The pace was the only questionable thing they seemed slow, but it was still enjoyable even if lacking action

This was pretty good, looking to continue the series

This starts of a little slow, but you are really drawn into the characters day to day lives and it's written pretty well, so I could deal with it. It seems to pick up in action towards the end and I think there will be a bit more pace from here on out as the set up was really done in this book. I'll give it 4.5 stars as I tend to prefer stories that bring you in close to the characters.

Spellbinding!

I'm really enjoying this series! Like so many others have said, the pacing seems slow, but the writing is so good it still holds my attention. As someone with ADHD (and picky taste in books), I love that I feel engaged and really want to know what's coming next. The characters are relatable (especial in our current climate of classism, sexism and racism in our world) and the plot is promising. It feels to me like there's a consistent pull to the story and keeps you hanging around to find out where it's all going, and that it's going to be big!
Simon Vance is a great narrator, as well, really bringing the characters into the mind's eye.
I'm on book two and still loving it!