Paragon Exordium

By: Mikel Melwasul

Narrated by: Cormac Brennan

Paragon Exordium is an easy-to-listen-to character-driven fantasy novel that combines classic magical elements with a modern-day setting full of non-stop action, world-building, and high stakes.

-In Paragon, Georgia, the battle for survival has begun.

After the Shattering, everything changes. When technology falters, the remnants of humanity must unite against an onslaught of creatures beyond their wildest imaginings. Basilisk, orcs, elves, dwarves, and other terrifying creatures now populate the planet.

With the creatures causing havoc, strangers are forced to join forces. Private military officer Peter Blair grapples with enigmatic dreams brought on by a black sword, and his inability to save everyone. While journalism student Sarah Young discovers newfound magical powers and the responsibility they bring. With refugees flooding in and danger on the rise, Peter and Sarah must embrace their new reality or risk surrendering Earth to the Fae - losing everything they hold dear.

Fans of The Walking Dead and Lord of the Rings will be enticed by this genre-bending epic that rings with themes of survival, sacrifice, and self-discovery.

After 6 years of writing/editing, Mikel and David have completed the first installment in their Apocalyptic Epic Military Rural Fantasy. A story like no other.

©2023 Mikel Ballard (P)2024 Mikel Ballard

Incredible voices, even better story

Absolutely phenomenal book. The cultures are unique, their feuds believable, the characters both lovable and hatable as appropriate. Can't wait for the sequel!

The voice acting was stellar as well. The only criticism I could give is I didn't love the babysitter's voice at the very beginning, but every other character's voice had a charm and inflection that made them truly unique and helps immerse you in the author's story.

Quality of Sound and Story

This book has been on my mind since I finished it a couple of weeks ago. The intricate fantasy woven into an urban world, the complex characters, the humor, relationships...this book is the opposite of cliche, slow, and rushed. It's everything you want in a story to get lost in.

The apocalypse comes to Georgia

First, I did receive this book for free from the author and was asked to review it honestly and I'll be completely honest. I enjoyed this book quite a lot. there were a couple of things in the narration pronunciation wise that drove me insane. The strongest part of the story was the middle. it started out a little rough and jumping around too much. I can't spoil the ending few hours but they were also not as strong in my opinion The story is Tolkien style fantasy mixed into a modern day setting with as much gunplay as swordplay. The characters are enjoyable and the world is well built. I found the narrative was well built but too driven by coincidence. it earned its 4 star rating. I will be reading the next book when it becomes available.

classic and modern

loved the classic fantasy feel mixed with the modern apocalypse setting. Great for fans of Tolkien and Sanderson who love the world building and thorough nature of high fantasy but still want something easily accessible in terms of reading level.

Like Stormligh Archives meets Steelheart

The balance between simple yet visual prose, world building, and plot structure reminds me of Brandon Sanderson. Refreshing. And the audio proformance is on point.

Pretty good interpretation of fantasy.

I enjoyed how consistent the setup and payoff was throughout the story. They were very good at writing characters to be just the worst people, and making the reader hate them. The magic system is interesting and I'd like to see it expanded upon.

A fun modern twist on classic epic fantasy!

4⭐️

First, thank you to the author for sending me a review audiobook copy of this book, I had so much fun with this!

A modern take on classic epic fantasy tropes, Paragon Exordium tells the story of a group of survivors in modern-day Georgia following a magical apocalypse known as The Shattering. After the sky broke into pieces, technology all but died, and magical creatures straight out of the fairy tales began to appear: orcs, dwarves, elves, dryad, basilisks, and much, much more. Suddenly faced with a frightening new world, rife with magic and beings beyond their comprehension, our main characters must find a way to survive while also trying to discover their places and their destinies as they suddenly find themselves living in a classic epic fantasy story made real.

I genuinely had a lot of fun with this world, this story, and these characters. I loved the modern take on the classic epic fantasy story, loved the magic and the mystery, and loved the different POVs that we followed throughout. This book also gave me major The Walking Dead vibes in the best way: an apocalypse, a group of survivors in Georgia, a character that reminded me of The Governor, a journey to some important HQ building in Atlanta. The characters were well written, the pacing was wonderful, the plot was intriguing, and the battle scenes just got more and more epic. I laughed, I cried, I was anxious, happy and mad: all the marks of an enjoyable epic fantasy. To me, the modern aspect was weaved in with the epic fantasy feel quite well, and I enjoyed this unique take on the genre. A fun quest, some political intrigue, plenty of magic, the potential beginnings of a prophecy, ancient, mysterious beings, epic, bloody battles, THE WORKS: if you want it in an epic fantasy, this book has it.

As for the audiobook, I think that the production was quite well done. The characters all had their own unique voices, things were dramatic, serious, or humorous at the correct times, and the narrator easily kept my interest throughout. There were only a few moments (certain characters' laughs for example) that took my out of the story, but overall I really enjoyed the audiobook experience and would definitely recommend it to those interested in checking this book out.

Now for some areas that didn't quite sit so well with me. To nobody's fault but my own, I thought that this book was a standalone, not the beginning of a series. Because of that I felt myself becoming increasingly frustrated with the lack of answers as I neared the end of the book, but that's just my own fault. As the first book in a series, this was well done. The writing significantly improved as the story continued, but at the beginning it felt a little too predictable and easy. There's one character in particular (a character I love by the way) who was far too conveniently placed and knew all the right answers too often for my liking. I wanted the characters to struggle a little more to discover things rather than just have the answers handed to them at no expense right off the bat. That is necessary in some capacity with a story like this, I understand, but the worldbuilding felt a little too "in your face" for my liking at times. There were also a few times where things felt a little too metaphorical/mysterious for my liking. This may have been intentional as we may get answers later in the series, but this is something I struggle with in other books too. All in all though, my gripes with this are minimal and didn't significantly hinder my enjoyment of this book!

I had a lot of fun with this story and talking about it with the author was a lot of fun! I immediately ordered myself a shelf trophy and look forward to continuing this series in the future! Fans of epic fantasy will definitely enjoy this modern take on the typical epic fantasy story.

Intriguing post-apocalyptic world

First, the narrator is amazing. How was he able to do all those voices and keep them straight? This is a long but fast paced novel that you won’t be able to put down. I just listened to something special.

One of the most Unique Reads of 2024

Paragon Exordium is marketed as a genre bending epic fantasy/sci-fi fantasy . I can whole heartedly agree that it's contents is reflective of that statement.

This had been one of the most unique reads of 2024, possibly ever (for me). One of the things I love most about sci-fi fantasy is its unique blending of tech and magic. Traditional modern human warfar elements, with inventive magic system, and a refreshing take on traditional fantastical races; such as elves, dwarfs, and more without fear of letting things get weird.

With a multiple point of view (POV) story giving you full view of the world created, this is one you wont want to miss.

Also my compliments to the voice actor for a truly immersive experience.

I look forward to the sequel.

Incredible Voice and Story

I commend the voice actor for nailing SO MANY different voices in one book! This audiobook (and book in general) is a chunker and I was intimidated, however I’m glad I listened! It was a wonderfully executed story full of captivating magic and heartfelt characters. This is worth the hours and surprisingly an easy listen for the intimidating length