Fire and Sword

Sword and Sorcery, Book 1

By: Dylan Doose

Narrated by: Mike Carnes

A broken nation in need of a savior.

Ravaged by plague, decimated by dark magic, infiltrated by a foreign evil seeking to dominate from within, Brynth is on the eve of its dissolution. When all the good men are dead and gone, who is to answer the call and defy what is wicked for what is right?

A Twisted Tale of Three Unlikely Heroes.

Heretic monk turned Sorcerer, Aldous Weaver. Infamous crusader turned fugitive, Kendrick the Cold. Aristocrat, rogue, monster hunter, and legend in his own mind, Theron Ward.

Three men condemned to die for their crimes find in each other both the will and the means to survive. A dark brotherhood with Sword and Sorcery is forged, and all monsters meek and mighty do fear the three.

Honorable mention in Library Journal’s Indie Ebook Awards and a Shelf Unbound Magazine Notable 100!

©2015 Dylan Doose (P)2024 Dylan Doose

Critic reviews

“An epic tale....” (Library Journal)

Interesting but underdeveloped

Parents: not for under 18
Language: R;(30+ I stopped counting) f bombs, bastard
Violence: R; extremely gory
Sexual content: R; sex, rape

Story: the storyline isn’t too straightforward, there are random flashbacks that, in an audio format, are distracting or confusing. It would be better to have the date/time announced prior to letters or memories rather than at the end. The characters lacked development and there could have been more backstory to give the listener a better sense of time. Overall an interesting story, pick it up if the description piques your interest. Don’t if gore bothers you, this is incredibly graphic in nature.

Narrator: differentiations and accents are consistent and well executed. Really brings the story to life

—I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

When bad guy's kill indiscriminately, look out.

Unlikely heroes, bonded by the grim reaper 's duties. Beauty and beast and boy, let the hunters become the hunted.

Fire and Sword

Strong men!
Hard war!
Very few women that do not become wonderful heroine!
No happily ever after just blood, fire, and a mighty fine sword!

Really enjoyed the story

I usually don't listen to sword and sorcery very much anymore, But I tried it and was pleasantly surprised, The narrator was great, really kept me in to the book. I won't spoil it but I was surprised by what happened at the end, I thought oh no here we go everything works out for the heroes and they saved the day. I really hate those stories. Well you're going to have to listen to it to find out what happened. I was given this free review copy audio book at my request and have voluntarily left this review

It's Okay

I received this book for free. I am voluntarily posting this review and any opinions expressed herein are my own.

This is the first book in the Sword and Sorcery series. It is basically a complete story without a cliffhanger ending but the journey by the characters is not over as this book covers only the meeting of the main characters and their joining together for an initial adventure/quest.

There are many, many quest adventure fantasy books and having read lots of them, I was hoping that there would be something new or interesting in this one to really hook me. The writing, in general, is pretty good, although some of the humor is a bit immature. The charaters are interesting but not really fleshed out. The antagonist is very one-dimensional - it would have been great to know more information such as how the Emerald Queen came about, how long this plague was occurring, why she started this plague, etc. There are lots of cliches - so you can fairly easily figure out what's coming. Perhaps, the author will be develop the characters/antagonists in the next book in the series. I liked it but not enough to continue with the series.

The narrator, Mike Carnes, did a nice job overall with the different voices for the characters and the emotionality of his voice helped carry some of the action sequences to a more intense level, which I quite liked.

Sword, Sorcery and More

Fire and Sword is a fantasy novel focused on three characters specifically who work together to defeat evil and defend the people of their nation. The evil magic in this story assumes the form of monsters including hideous, disease infested, sharp toothed rats! The three fight epic battles using magic and their wit. Believed to be defeated, two of the heroes resurface and begin the fight again.
The author, Dylan Doose has a knack for prose providing detailed imagery and building a strong connection between the characters. Each character is well developed with authentic dialog. The plot flowed well with a few plot twists.
The narrator, Mike Carnes gives a solid performance. His voices were well done for each character. His cadence and delivery were consistent and strong. Carnes keeps the story moving forward at a steady pace. I enjoyed his performance.
I suspect the books going forward in this series will be more intense and filled with even more interesting characters and plot twists.
There were no issues with the quality or production of this audiobook, it was clear and well produced.
Disclaimer: This Audiobook was provided free of charge by the author, narrator, and/or publisher in exchange for a non-bias, honest review.

Very drawing story

Having read all of these books, the audio really brings out the story, giving life to the book that I couldn’t do justicecto in my mind. The tale of Theron and Alduous is moving and full of potential that WILL BE LIVED UP TO! You will not regret buying this series!

Fine

Interesting fantasy but I wasn't a fan of the sexual content. Apart from the sexual content the story had potential but could have used more development. Some flashbacks but not too hard to keep track if you are paying attention.

excellent

Loved it !! this story. the narrator is so fantastic it's like your really there!! good overall

The narrator

I thoughly enjoyed all of it. The narrator was exceptional. I'm looking forward to the next books.