The Darkness That Comes Before
The Prince of Nothing, Book One
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The Darkness That Comes Before
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Narrated by:
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David DeVries
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By:
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R. Scott Bakker
About this listen
Strikingly original in its conception, ambitious in scope, with characters engrossingly and vividly drawn, the first book in R. Scott Bakker's Prince of Nothing series creates a remarkable world from whole cloth - its language and classes of people, its cities, religions, mysteries, taboos, and rituals - the kind of all-embracing universe Tolkien and Herbert created unforgettably in the epic fantasies The Lord of the Rings and Dune.
It's a world scarred by an apocalyptic past, evoking a time both 2,000 years past and 2,000 years into the future, as 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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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 258
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 232
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 233
Japan in the late 16th century was a land in turmoil. Lords of the great clans schemed against one another, served by aristocratic samurai bound to them by a rigid code of honor. Bennosuke is a high-born but lonely teenager living in his ancestral village. His mother died when he was a young boy, and his powerful warrior father Munisai has abandoned him for a life of service to his Lord, Shinmei. Bennosuke has been raised by his uncle Dorinbo, a Buddhist monk who urges the boy to forgo the violence of the samurai and embrace the contemplative life.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Clever weaving of history and fiction.
- By Anonymous User on 02-25-16
By: David Kirk
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Transformation
- Rai-Kirah, Book 1
- By: Carol Berg
- Narrated by: Kevin Stillwell
- Length: 16 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 302
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 279
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 283
Seyonne is a man waiting to die. He has been a slave for 16 years, almost half his life, and has lost everything of meaning to him: his dignity, the people and homeland he loves, and the Warden's power he used to defend an unsuspecting world from the ravages of demons. Seyonne has made peace with his fate. With strict self-discipline he forces himself to exist only in the present moment and to avoid the pain of hope or caring about anyone.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Seriously Excellent
- By Anonymous User on 09-25-13
By: Carol Berg
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The Grim Company
- By: Luke Scull
- Narrated by: Gerard Doyle
- Length: 15 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 367
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 325
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Story4 out of 5 stars 328
The Gods are dead. The Magelord Salazar and his magically enhanced troops, the Augmentors, crush any dissent they find in the minds of the populace. On the other side of the Broken Sea, the White Lady plots the liberation of Dorminia, with her spymistresses, the Pale Women. Demons and abominations plague the Highlands. The world is desperately in need of heroes. But what they get instead are a ragtag band of old warriors, a crippled Halfmage, two orphans and an oddly capable manservant: the Grim Company.
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2 out of 5 stars
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Pretty bad, but not actively terrible
- By Anonymous User on 09-13-15
By: Luke Scull
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Battle of Kings
- By: M. K. Hume
- Narrated by: Steven Crossley
- Length: 17 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 97
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 78
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Story4 out of 5 stars 79
In the town of Segontium a wild storm washes a fugitive ashore. He brutally rapes the granddaughter of the ruler of the Deceangli tribe, leaving her to bear his son, Myrddion Merlinus (Merlin). Spurned as a demon seed, the child is raised by his grandmother and, as soon as he turns nine, he is apprenticed to a skilled alchemist who hones the boy’s remarkable gift of prophecy. Meanwhile, the High King of the Britons, Vortigern, is rebuilding the ancient fortress at Dinas Emrys.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Underrated book author and narrator!
- By Anonymous User on 04-15-22
By: M. K. Hume
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Phoenix Unbound
- The Fallen Empire Series, Book 1
- By: Grace Draven
- Narrated by: Katharine Lee McEwan
- Length: 14 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 856
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 769
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 766
Every year, each village is required to send a young woman to the Empire's capital - her fate to be burned alive for the entertainment of the masses. For the last five years, one small village's tithe has been the same woman. Gilene's sacrifice protects all the other young women of her village, and her secret to staying alive lies with the magic only she possesses. But this year is different. Azarion, the Empire's most famous gladiator, has somehow seen through her illusion - and is set on blackmailing Gilene into using her abilities to help him escape his life of slavery.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Nothing special. Highly predictable
- By Anonymous User on 10-10-18
By: Grace Draven
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Macbeth: A Novel
- By: A. J. Hartley, David Hewson
- Narrated by: Alan Cumming
- Length: 9 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 3,660
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 3,225
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 3,218
Macbeth: A Novel brings the intricacy and grit of the historical thriller to Shakespeare’s tale of political intrigue, treachery, and murder. In this full-length novel written exclusively for audio, authors A. J. Hartley and David Hewson rethink literature’s most infamous married couple, grounding them in a medieval Scotland whose military and political upheavals are as stark and dramatic as the landscape in which they are played.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Narrator choice inspired
- By Anonymous User on 07-10-11
By: A. J. Hartley, and others
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The Mortal Tally
- By: Sam Sykes
- Narrated by: Edoardo Ballerini
- Length: 24 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 88
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 79
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 79
Cier'Djaal, once the crowning glory of the civilized world, has gone from a city to a battlefield and a battlefield to a graveyard. Foreign armies clash relentlessly on streets laden with the bodies of innocents caught in the crossfire. Cultists and thieves wage shadow wars, tribal armies foment outside the city's walls, and haughty aristocrats watch the world burn from on high. As his companions struggle to keep the city from destroying itself, Lenk travels to the Forbidden East in search of the demon who caused it all. But even as he pursues Khoth-Kapira, dark whispers plague his thoughts.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Great Middle Entry
- By Anonymous User on 04-15-18
By: Sam Sykes
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The Path of Anger
- The Book and the Sword, Book 1
- By: Antoine Rouaud
- Narrated by: Michael Kramer
- Length: 17 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 177
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 167
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Story4 out of 5 stars 165
Year 10 of the new republic, in the remote port city of Masalia: Dun-Cadal, once the greatest general of the empire, has been drinking his life away for years. Betrayed by his friends and grief stricken at the loss of his apprentice, he's done with politics, with adventure, and with people. But people aren't finished with him - not yet.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Great Epic Fantasy!
- By Anonymous User on 08-31-15
By: Antoine Rouaud
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Ransom
- By: David Malouf
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 4 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 40
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 37
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 37
This is the story of the relationship between two grieving men at war: fierce Achilles, who has lost his beloved Patroclus in the siege of Troy; and woeful Priam, whose son Hector killed Patroclus and was in turn savaged by Achilles. A moving tale of suffering, sorrow, and redemption, Ransom is incandescent in its delicate and powerful lyricism and its unstated imperative that we imagine our lives in the glow of fellow feeling.
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1 out of 5 stars
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Ponderous narration, tortured prose
- By Anonymous User on 01-26-20
By: David Malouf
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The Serpent Sword
- The Bernicia Chronicles, Book 1
- By: Matthew Harffy
- Narrated by: Barnaby Edwards
- Length: 12 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 520
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 460
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 459
Beobrand is compelled by his brother's almost-certain murder to embark on a quest for revenge in the war-ravaged kingdoms of Northumbria. The land is rife with danger, as warlords vie for supremacy and dominion. In the battles for control of the region, new oaths are made and broken, and loyalties are tested to the limits. With no patronage and no experience, Beobrand must form his own allegiances and learn to fight with sword and shield. Relentless in pursuit of his enemies, he faces challenges which transform him from a boy to a man.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Amazing story, needs a warning in the description.
- By Anonymous User on 04-12-17
By: Matthew Harffy
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Kushiel's Dart
- By: Jacqueline Carey
- Narrated by: Anne Flosnik
- Length: 31 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 3,710
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 3,013
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 3,031
The land of Terre d'Ange is a place of unsurpassing beauty and grace. It is said that angels found the land and saw it was good...and the ensuing race that rose from the seed of angels and men live by one simple rule: Love as thou wilt.
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5 out of 5 stars
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The Kushiel series in order
- By Anonymous User on 10-27-09
By: Jacqueline Carey
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Buddha
- A Story of Enlightenment
- By: Deepak Chopra
- Narrated by: Deepak Chopra
- Length: 9 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 797
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 393
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 383
Best-selling author Deepak Chopra brings the Buddha back to life in this gripping account of the young prince who abandoned his inheritance to discover his true calling. This iconic journey changed the world forever, and the truths revealed continue to influence every corner of the globe today.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Excellent +++++
- By Anonymous User on 04-17-09
By: Deepak Chopra
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Hero of Rome
- By: Douglas Jackson
- Narrated by: Cornelius Garrett
- Length: 11 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 163
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 143
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 144
The Roman grip on Britain is weakening. Emperor Nero has turned his face away from this far-flung outpost. The Druids are on the rise, spreading seeds of rebellion among the British tribes. Roman cruelty and exploitation has angered their British subjects. The warrior queen Boudicca will lead the tribes to war. Standing against the rising tide of Boudicca's rebellion is Roman Tribune, Gaius Valerius Verrens, Commander of the veteran legions at Colonia.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Good story, well told and well read
- By Anonymous User on 10-01-14
By: Douglas Jackson
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Flame in the Mist
- By: Renée Ahdieh
- Narrated by: Nancy Wu
- Length: 10 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 369
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 338
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Story4 out of 5 stars 338
From the number-one New York Times best-selling author of The Wrath and the Dawn comes a sweeping, action-packed YA adventure set against the backdrop of feudal Japan, where Mulan meets Tamora Pierce.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Very Good
- By Anonymous User on 07-15-17
By: Renée Ahdieh
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Green Rider
- By: Kristen Britain
- Narrated by: Ellen Archer
- Length: 16 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 2,497
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 2,218
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 2,219
Karigan G’ladheon, running away from school, is traveling through a deep forest when a galloping horse pounds up to her, its rider impaled by two black-shafted arrows. With his dying breath, he tells her he is a Green Rider, one of the magical messengers of the King. Before he dies, he makes Karigan swear to deliver the message he’s carrying, and gives her his green coat, with the symbolic brooch of his office.
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5 out of 5 stars
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What a fantastic discovery!
- By Anonymous User on 11-27-14
By: Kristen Britain
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Starless
- By: Jacqueline Carey
- Narrated by: Caitlin Davies
- Length: 21 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 470
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 432
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 433
Destined from birth to serve as protector of the princess Zariya, Khai is trained in the arts of killing and stealth by a warrior sect in the deep desert; yet there is one profound truth that has been withheld from him. In the court of the Sun-Blessed, Khai must learn to navigate deadly intrigue and his own conflicted identity…but in the far reaches of the western seas, the dark god Miasmus is rising, intent on nothing less than wholesale destruction.
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5 out of 5 stars
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The most beautiful thing I've enjoyed this year!
- By Anonymous User on 08-06-18
By: Jacqueline Carey
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Markswoman
- Asiana, Book 1
- By: Rati Mehrotra
- Narrated by: Emily Woo Zeller
- Length: 11 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 64
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 55
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Story4 out of 5 stars 55
Kyra is the youngest Markswoman in the Order of Kali, a highly trained sisterhood of elite warriors armed with telepathic blades. Guided by a strict code of conduct, Kyra and the other Orders are sworn to protect the people of Asiana. But to be a Markswoman, an acolyte must repudiate her former life completely. Kyra has pledged to do so, yet she secretly harbors a fierce desire to avenge her dead family. When Kyra's beloved mentor dies in mysterious circumstances, and Tamsyn, the dangerous Mistress of Mental Arts, assumes control, Kyra is forced on the run.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Everything I look for in a fantasy series!
- By Anonymous User on 02-11-18
By: Rati Mehrotra
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4 out of 5 stars
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