
Kings of Paradise
Ash and Sand, Book 1
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Narrated by:
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Ralph Lister
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By:
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Richard Nell
About this listen
A deformed genius plots vengeance while struggling to survive. A wastrel prince comes of age, finding a power he never imagined. Two worlds are destined to collide. Only one can be king.
Ruka, called a demon at birth, is a genius. Born malformed and ugly into the snow-covered wasteland of the Ascom, he was spared from death by his mother's love. Now he is an outcast, consumed with hate for those who've wronged him. But to take his vengeance, he must first survive.
Across a vast sea in the white-sand island paradise of Sri Kon, Kale is fourth and youngest son of the Sorcerer King. And at 16, Kale is a disappointment. As the first prince ever forced to serve with low-born marines, Kale must prove himself and become a man, or else lose all chance of a worthy future, and any hope to win the love of his life.
Though they do not know it, both boys are on the cusp of discovery. Their worlds and lives are destined for greatness, or ruin. But in a changing world where ash meets paradise, only one man can be king....
©2017 Richard Nell (P)2018 Richard NellListeners also enjoyed...
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By: Gourav Mohanty
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A Warrior's Burden
- Saga of the Known Lands, Book 1
- By: Jacob Peppers
- Narrated by: Ben Farrow
- Length: 14 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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He was once known as Prince Bernard, ruler of his people and the man who led them in the Fey War against creatures out of myth and legend, beings out of nightmare. A man renowned for his strength, a man feared by his own people as much as his enemies. But there are other names for him, too. Kingslayer. Oathbreaker. Traitor. The Crimson Prince.
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Excellent Grimdark Fantasy, I highly recommend this!
- By Rainbo Tims on 04-01-22
By: Jacob Peppers
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Priest of Bones
- War for the Rose Throne, Book 1
- By: Peter McLean
- Narrated by: John Lee
- Length: 10 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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The war is over, and army priest Tomas Piety heads home with Sergeant Bloody Anne at his side. But things have changed while he was away: His crime empire has been stolen, and the people of Ellinburg - his people - have run out of food, hope, and places to hide. Tomas sets out to reclaim what was his with help from Anne, his brother, Jochan, and his new gang: the Pious Men. But when he finds himself dragged into a web of political intrigue once again, everything gets more complicated.
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Fantasy version of Peaky Blinders
- By Kindle Customer on 10-22-18
By: Peter McLean
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Senlin Ascends
- By: Josiah Bancroft
- Narrated by: John Banks
- Length: 14 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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The Tower of Babel is the greatest marvel in the world. Immense as a mountain, the ancient Tower holds unnumbered ringdoms, warring and peaceful, stacked one on the other like the layers of a cake. It is a world of geniuses and tyrants, of airships and steam engines, of unusual animals and mysterious machines. Soon after arriving for his honeymoon at the Tower, the mild-mannered headmaster of a small village school, Thomas Senlin, gets separated from his wife, Marya, in the overwhelming swarm of tourists, residents, and miscreants.
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Meh.
- By Amazon Customer on 05-02-18
By: Josiah Bancroft
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The Forgetting Moon
- By: Brian Lee Durfee
- Narrated by: Tim Gerard Reynolds
- Length: 30 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
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Welcome to the Five Isles, where war has come in the name of the invading army of Sor Sevier, a merciless host driven by the prophetic fervor of the Angel Prince, Aeros, toward the last unconquered kingdom of Gul Kana. Yet Gault, one of the elite Knights Archaic of Sor Sevier, is growing disillusioned by the crusade he is at the vanguard of just as it embarks on his Lord Aeros' greatest triumph. While the eldest son of the fallen king of Gul Kana now reigns in ever increasing paranoid isolationism, his two sisters seek their own paths.
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alright-ish
- By Matthew on 05-10-19
By: Brian Lee Durfee
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Blackwing
- Raven's Mark, Book 1
- By: Ed McDonald
- Narrated by: Colin Mace
- Length: 11 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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Bounty hunter Ryhalt Galharrow has breathed Misery dust for 20 bitter years. When he's ordered to locate a masked noblewoman at a frontier outpost, he finds himself caught in the middle of an attack by the Deep Kings, one that signifies they may no longer fear the Engine. Only a formidable show of power from the very woman he is seeking, Lady Ezabeth Tanza, repels the assault.
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A very strong start to a promising series
- By Twain on 10-22-17
By: Ed McDonald
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The Darkness That Comes Before
- The Prince of Nothing, Book One
- By: R. Scott Bakker
- Narrated by: David DeVries
- Length: 20 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
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In a world scarred by an apocalyptic past, evoking a time both 2,000 years past and 2,000 years into the future, untold thousands gather for a crusade. Among them, two men and two women are ensnared by a mysterious traveler, Anasûrimbor Kellhus - part warrior, part philosopher, part sorcerous, charismatic presence - from lands long thought dead. The Darkness That Comes Before is a history of this great holy war, and like all histories, the survivors write its conclusion.
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Finally in audiobook!
- By Andy on 06-28-12
By: R. Scott Bakker
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Gods of the Wyrdwood
- By: RJ Barker
- Narrated by: Jude Owusu
- Length: 22 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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Cahan du Nahare is known as the forester—a man who can navigate the dangerous Deepforest like no one else. But once he was more. Once he belonged to the god of fire. Udinny serves the goddess of the lost, a goddess of small things; when she ventures into the Deepforest to find a lost child, Cahan will be her guide. But in a land where territory is won and lost for uncaring gods, where temples of warrior monks pit one prophet against another—Cahan will need to choose the forest or the fire—and his choice will have consequences for his entire world.
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Wonderful, engaging fantasy
- By SW;MDA on 10-22-23
By: RJ Barker
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The Ember Blade
- The Darkwater Legacy, Book 1
- By: Chris Wooding
- Narrated by: Simon Bubb
- Length: 30 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
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Aren has lived by the rules all his life. He's never questioned it; that's just the way things are. But then his father is executed for treason, and he and his best friend, Cade, are thrown into a prison mine, doomed to work until they drop. Unless they can somehow break free.... But what lies beyond the prison walls is more terrifying still. Rescued by a man who hates him yet is oath-bound to protect him, pursued by inhuman forces, Aren slowly accepts that everything he knew about his world was a lie.
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I cried at the end of this damn thing.
- By Amazon Customer on 05-09-19
By: Chris Wooding
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Once There Were Heroes
- A Time of Dragons, Book 1
- By: Philip C. Quaintrell
- Narrated by: Steven Brand
- Length: 25 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
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Dragons Riders: The last noble warriors in the realm. Only heroes can embolden the ordinary. For centuries, millennia, the Dragon Riders galvanized generation after generation, adding Riders to their ranks and birthing dragons from their eggs. But there are no more heroes. War with the Andarens is like nothing the Riders, nor the armies of Erador, have ever faced. In the place of heroes, there are only soldiers now. Fodder for the machine of war. This time of twilight is set to be the crowning hour of the dark when the light is losing its grip.
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No Dragons Here
- By Connor on 03-29-24
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The Malevolent Seven
- By: Sebastien de Castell
- Narrated by: Joe Jameson
- Length: 11 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
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My name is Cade Ombra, and though I currently make my living as a mercenary wonderist, I used to have a far more noble-sounding job title—until I discovered the people I worked for weren't quite as noble as I'd believed. Now I'm on the run and my only friend, a homicidal thunder mage, has invited me to join him on a suicide mission against the seven deadliest mages on the continent. Time to recruit some very bad people to help us on this job.
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Wandered off the promised path
- By 🔥 Phx17 🔥 on 09-30-23
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Eleventh Cycle
- Mistland, Book 1
- By: Kian N. Ardalan
- Narrated by: Jessica Threet, Evan Jordan
- Length: 25 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
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The rot eats away at mortals. The Witnesses pray so that they may not turn into one of the forgotten. And the constricting mists infect the lands with fear. But there is more to this tale than just the Elders and their Seeds. Four mortals will have a part to play in Minethria’s fate. A farmer girl with only love in her eyes. A warrior born to the life of a refugee. A highborn stuck between the realm of gods and men. And a woman running into front lines and away from home.
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Catharsis abound
- By Ryan Z Braun on 02-15-23
By: Kian N. Ardalan
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Deathless
- Annals of the God Eater, Book 1 (The God Eater Saga)
- By: Rob J. Hayes
- Narrated by: Connor Brannigan
- Length: 6 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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Seven were the Godless Kings who took their war to Heaven. King Ertide Hostain was once known as the Crimson Prince. He fought side by side with angels and pegasi and defended the Sant Dien Empire against monsters. But his pact with Heaven has become strained. He has grown old, his body rots, and he has yet to choose which squabbling prince will be his heir. The Hostain dynasty has ruled over the empire for millennia, but when Ertide finds cryptic notes from his dead father, he realises not all is as it seems. Has history been rewritten? And if so, what is heaven hiding?
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Amazing story!
- By JPA2138 on 04-25-25
By: Rob J. Hayes
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A Song for Arbonne
- By: Guy Gavriel Kay
- Narrated by: Euan Morton
- Length: 19 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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The lands of Arbonne and Gorhaut are on the verge of an all-consuming conflict. When a devious high priest of Gorhaut seizes the opportunity to wage a holy war against residents of Arbonne, an epic clash between the two cultures ensues.
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Beautiful, moving, full of suspence and adventure
- By Efrat Kotzer Hassid on 07-22-20
By: Guy Gavriel Kay
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The Dragonbone Chair
- Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn, Book One
- By: Tad Williams
- Narrated by: Andrew Wincott
- Length: 33 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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A war fueled by the dark powers of sorcery is about to engulf the peaceful land of Osten Ard—for Prester John, the High King, slayer of the dread dragon Shurakai, lies dying. And with his death, an ancient evil will at last be unleashed, as the Storm King, undead ruler of the elvishlike Siti, seeks to regain his lost realm through a pact with one of human royal blood. Then, driven by spell-inspired jealousy and hate, prince will fight prince, while around them the very land begins to die.
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A Work of art
- By Andre on 10-22-16
By: Tad Williams
wow!
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Please, please and please! Release second and third part on audiobook. Take my money now.
Simply, Astonishing.
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Criminally underrated
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Hmmm. I’m not sure
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The writing itself is good, if you can get past the first tired tropes. it starts with the same dumb coming of age stories you've already read a hundred times. After that, though, the characters grow and the prose matures with them into some pretty interesting moments. I do wish it weren't so predictable (you know protagonist hero isn't actually going to die), but the inner dialogue and tone keep you invested.
Good writing, bad performance
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great entertainment
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A younger prince searches for a way to prove his worth and discovers a power believed lost.
A novice priestess is determined to remake her order as she sees fit.
Kings of Paradise is not for the faint of heart but it does let you know this upfront. Any book where the first paragraph has a main character intent on cannibalizing someone he just killed can’t be accused of not giving you fair warning.
A lot of work has obviously gone into this book, beginning with the world building. Distinct nations, races and locales are well-developed so that each stands out. There is also a great sense of history in the world as well, with lands having their own legends and traditions, some of which the characters either find themselves victims of or look to turn to their advantage.
Each of the three main characters are given chapters from their point of view to advance the story. Ruka is probably the most difficult. Beginning as a child, shunned and cursed by everyone except his mother, he quickly develops into a ruthless killer as well as the above mentioned cannibal. He also seems capable of great mental feats, including his creation of a mental place which echoes the mind palace of another famous cannibal. As the years pass, and he attains his first measure of revenge, his goals begin to change, becoming more enamored with building his own myth and launching conquest.
Kale is the one in the most traditional (and least blood-thirsty) mold. Being the younger son of a king, he has no especially defined role and is put into military service, then later a monastery, in hopes he might find a place (or be out of the way). As he progress, he begins to show both a natural leadership and a strong independent streak.
The third character, Dala, is somewhere between the two. Driven to protect those close to her but equally ruthless to those she considers threats. As she begins to gather influence to herself, both those aspects grow in tandem, as does her ambition.
The characters almost never interact, with only a single (but important) meeting between two of them. It seems as if the majority of that will be saved for future installments which I will be eagerly awaiting based on this. Having said that, it does connect to one of my few problems with the book. The chapters aren’t necessarily distributed evenly, focusing more on completing one story before switching. While I can understand the reasoning, more than once I did find myself wanting to get back to one of the other characters. But that’s only a minor quibble compared to the riches Kings of Paradise offers.
The Scribblings Review of Kings of Paradise
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good listen
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This series and author needs to be talked about more.
Joins my podium of all time greatest grimdark alongside JAs First Law and Bakkers The 2nd Apocalyspe.
Quickly became one of my all time favorites
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I'm relistening to it again now because the 2 other books in the series just got audio books and I need a refresher.
Awesome book ! I really feel bad for Ruka.
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