The Axe and the Throne

Bounds of Redemption, Volume 1

By: M. D. Ireman

Narrated by: Matt Cowlrick

It is a fool's errand, and Tallos knows it, but against his own better judgment and the pleading of his wife, Tallos has committed himself to a voyage north. His lifelong friend's eldest sons are said to have been taken by Northmen, a raiding people ill-reputed for their savagery. The boys are already dead, Tallos knows, and in that dark place of grim reasoning he wishes only to find their corpses quickly so he can fulfill his promise and return to his wife. Instead, he finds something far worse.

Download the accompanying reference guide.©2015 M. D. Ireman (P)2015 M. D. Ireman

A book of Good & Horrible things.

Game of Thrones is referenced a lot in comparison to this book. The point of view story telling, and a handful of characters are direct clones, and not the good kinds. Luckily, these lesser characters are more secondary and don't ruin the fun.

The book warns you it is a challenge to read, and it is, but it is the fault of the author. The opening chapters jump from different characters in different places long before the reader knows who is who or what is where. Chapter one is about a small village of peaceful farmers afraid a raid of Northmen have come to kill them, while Chaper 2/3/4 are set of flash backs to introduce 3 characters. Then the story jumps back to the present day...then it jumps across the country to some random castle you've never heard of and some political plot you don't care about before returning to the characters you have invested in...only for you tor realize that more time skip has happened and you're unsure if these characters are 8, 13, 14, or 18.

Game of Thrones opens it's story in a specific place and time. Every point of view character you are initially introduced to is part of the same family and from the same place. We meet other characters first through these characters before we leave the area and explore the world as a whole. It makes it far easier for the reader to digest. You start at A and go forward, eventually new characters who have no ties to the current characters are introduced to help flesh out the world and provide new points of view. Axe and Throne here trades it's point of view characters left and right. You'll have a chapter about Cassen then about Cassens servant girl then the best friend of the girl. All to continue 1 narrative but with random skips of time between them. It's awfully annoying.



As you pass the half way point, it's clear both that the book is going to end far before the story is complete, but also that the world is pretty ok once you've explored it. By now you'll have met every character and you'll have a grasp on the world and the place everyone has within it, thus you can start to enjoy some of the more fun chapters.


Of these, the character of Titon, son of Small Gryn, is my favorite. He's a simple barbarian of a Northman, his story having leave his home land to visit the great cities of the south. A prince going "AS YOU KNOW -" before he shouts backstory/lore at other characters who not only KNOW the backstory, but sit and think "I know this and you're stupid" at him happens way too much, but the simple Titon asks questions that the audience has, and receives answers that audience can live with. It's refreshing and very entertaining. What's more, Titon's every action and thought remind me of Conan the Cimmarian. In fact, any time Titon would do something I felt Conan would do, I would get very excited. Conan is a barbarian, and Robert E. Howard would often write Conan as a strong barbarian who neither understands nor likes the civilized people and their horrible ways. The prologue to the book warns that there are no heroes, and nothing is black and white in this book, but it's when characters act as Heroes and Villains in this book that it becomes a great read. Their actions become believable and admirable when they start to act in ways that are more heroic. It's why Titon shines as a character, he is a noble person with a strong moral compass. His every action moves the plot forward and his chapters are a joy to read. He neither stays in the same place, nor do you ever question what or why he does something. You only wonder what obstacle he faces next and what he will do to overcome it.


Meanwhile, characters like Dekar, Titon Jr., Tallos, and Ethal do nothing but waste time and space. I actually like these characters a lot, but they're clearly saved for another book. They're children waiting for something to happen so they can be involved. What makes this whole thing worse is that these are the opening characters in the novel. You meet these characters first and you hope to see their story develop, only to realize over the course of 20 hours of audio that Ethal has made two friends and three cup sizes between her opening and ending chapter, while characters like Cassem and Titon go through an entire arc or continent in the same 20 hours. It's simply not her story, nor is it Dekar's or Titon Jr's. Half of their stories just drop off never to be picked up until some other future book.




To finish it, the book ends several chapters too late.It's as if the second book had dropped 3 or 4 chapters and the first book picked them up instead. Great endings and cliff hangars continue farther than they should and some ending in places you'd expect a new book to open off at. One character is imprisoned near the end of the book, and instead of having us wonder his fate the book decides to start up 2 whole chapters for this guy being in prison.... but why tho? These moments would be a great opener in a future book, but instead just continue a story it did not care to finish. There is at least one chapter to each character that goes farther into the story than it should have, with the more impressive characters getting 2 chapters farther than they needed. It's just..... it's a pretty big problem that won't mater so much when the second book is out, but it's not out yet. Which...makes this book worse.





In the end, it's an enjoyable listen. I cheered aloud in some moments, and groaned in annoyance at many others. The book feels as if it's shaken off the game of thrones covers by the time it ends, but I'm not sure an entire book can be written of the remains of this story, as enjoyable as the story will be once finished.

Solid and well written

Very good. Very similar feel to early Game of Thrones books. Characters are pretty realistic shades of gray but it's hard to truly feel for many of them.

This one is a must buy!

I loved this book! It was suggested to me because it has the same feel as Game of Thrones (the novel not the show) and I was not disappointed. All the characters are flawed in some way, they all have sins. The ending was mind blowing. As with many fantasy series, it had a slow start but the last few chapters were mind blowing.

Go buy this book now!

Brilliant

Complex characters, amazing pros, and incredible story! It avoids all the traditional tropes found in a lot of fantasy, and I thought the story from each view point character was amazing. There's a lot of humanity in this book both good and bad which is what sets it apart. Definitely rank among my favorites.

The best story I've had in a while.

Fantastic performance. Very engaging story. Would recommend to any lover of fantasy or good writing.

great start to a series

a great read that has setup a world for a good series. it was a bit cheesy/classic fantasy at first, but the characters and plotlines grow on you.

very good and promising "grimdark" style fantasy

Great characters and a good "tight" medium complexity of worldbuilding and medium (ASoIaF style)"magic" level so far that keeps the story easily digestable but moving excitingly with some great twists and cliffhangers, cool mysteries, and vivid cultural factions, particularly very multidimensional and interesting barbarian (somewhat Viking style) characters. I'm excited to see where this series goes. The quality of this book is well above average for the genre and really quite impressively fresh and different in some interesting ways that I enjoyed: playing off some seemingly familiar tropes (without spoiling too much of the plot). Also very entertainingly written, with some nicely described ultra-violence, without being pulp or low-brow or seeming cheesy. Not the absolute most literary fantasy out there but definitely plenty high enough up in that direction with adequate nuance to satisfy many, myself included, despite its also satisfying "grimdark" tone.

Don’t buy though

Good book if you want something unfinished. Appears the story won’t be finished so I wouldn’t waste your time.

Grimdark Goodness !!

What made the experience of listening to The Axe and the Throne the most enjoyable?

The story is extremely compelling, and sucks you in. Chapter by chapter, character POV after character POV, cannot stop reading and listening. Immediately compares to Game of Thrones and Joe Abercrombie's First Law series. But highly original, deftly and expertly written.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Axe and the Throne?

There are so many. I was expecting Tallos to be the main protagonist. I was disappointed a bit in the lack of his chapters, but as the huge storyline, and world building unfolds, it is easily understandable, why some characters take more precedence than others.

What does Matt Cowlrick bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Og my God....where has this guy my whole life!!?? He is one of the ALL TIME greatest narrators EVER! With a quick research he is a voiceover actor with his own studio, and has a billion clients. Strangely he has only done one other book. Hopefully he will continue to narrate other epic fantasy novels. He talents are sorely lacking in this genre. Cowlrick literally has a different voice for every singe character he voices in this book. He reads with such clarity and originality that is is simply uncanny.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

When Tallos discovered his wife was.....Don't want to spoil it!
Ever chapter with Tallos moved me especially.

Any additional comments?

MD Ireman is a force to be reckoned with. If you like epic fantasy, world building, barbarians, layers of character development, complex storylines all intertwined, and all in Grimdark goodness you owe to yourself to buy both a trade paperback copy AND the audio like I did!

Move over Martin

Where does The Axe and the Throne rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

In my honest opinion, I feel Ireman has the complete potential to dethrone Martin. Just don't keep us waiting like the latter! Excellent book, was an absolute joy to listen to. This may be one of books (that I can count on one hand) that I will listen to more than once.