Exiles of Dar'ryn

Chronicles of Dar'ryn, Book 1

By: Sam Whittaker

Narrated by: Steve Barnes

Convict. Beggar. Scholar. Guardian.

A human colony struggles to survive on the distant alien planet of Dar’ryn. Countless savage dangers lurk just beyond their protective wall. And the reclusive reptilian natives have their own problems: corruption, conspiracy, and murder.

Standing behind all this is a mysterious figure, manipulating everything for its own nefarious ends.

In this volatile mixture, four heroes are thrust into exile against their will and must unite, or witness everything fall. There’s only one problem: they first have to find each other in the vast wilderness of Dar'ryn. And none of them know it.

©2022 Sam Whittaker (P)2022 Sam Whittaker

Nice little start

Destiny, dogs for heroes, as they sit out on adventure into the unknown. This is a strange world that has a lot of potential. The interweaving of faith or destiny or karma or whatever you want to consider it, and how it kind of guides the main characters is kind of cool.

I think there’s a lot of world building that has taken place, but isn’t quite as flushed out as it can be, or will be in the future. I am anticipating more from this author.

The narration is fine except that for some reason, and I can’t quite explain this even though I’ve thought about it for a while, is this actually sounds like something that was recorded in the 90s or early 2000s. Almost like right when they were transitioning from cassettes to CDs for audiobooks. This is the voices in the narration is fine, but the way the voice sounds is comparable to listening to a record player versus a compact disc. You can tell exactly the difference between them. Market one is less or more enjoyable than the other. I also realize some people prefer the sound of a record over that of a compact disc or an MP3. Still, there was just a weird quality to it that took me a while to get used to and that’s why I gave it a three. The narrator is fine but I think there might’ve been something going on with the equipment because it definitely has something going on. No I don’t mean that to say, that it’s unlistenable to or bad in any way. I am just saying that there was something about the sound that reminded me of Long ago audiobooks that I was not nostalgic for.

Either way, I think this is a good start to what could be a fine series, and if the next book has as much thought, put into it, I think this will be a pretty solid series.

Fantasy with Sci-Fi elements

This first book is more of a Prequel or set-up for the ultimate story, but a very good one! 4 individuals, unknown to each other and from very different backgrounds, are on journeys to a mystery. The "voice" of Fate guides each of them to a secret, sacred location which could answer so many questions plaguing their societies. If they don't kill each other first, I'm hoping book 2 will reveal more.