The Mountains Rise

Embers of Illeniel, Book 1

By: Michael G. Manning

Narrated by: Alex Wyndham

**A note of warning from the author;

I waited until the book was finished before writing this foreword. Now I find it difficult to encapsulate the book in a short summary, but I felt the need to forewarn you, The Reader. Many of you have probably read my previous series, Mageborn, which is set two millennia after the events in this book, so you may have some misconceptions about what you’ll find here.

Unlike Mageborn, this story encounters more adult issues. The main character does not always do the ‘right’ thing, and in fact, cannot be called a hero. Events conspire to darken his future and twist his morality, but his choices are his own. Most importantly, the story delves into some topics of a sensitive nature, particularly sexual abuse and violence, though there is nothing graphic in the telling.

I didn’t set out to write a book about those things, but they came up as part of the course of this tale, and I couldn’t avoid them. Before allowing some of the situations in this book, before writing them, I sought advice from a number of friends; people who have confided in me over the years. Several of them have been through experiences that correlate to a surprising degree with some of the darker elements within this tale.

Fortunately, they had much better outcomes, and in fact, I doubt any of them would condone the choices that the main character in this story makes. My main purpose in writing this foreword is to make sure that my audience understands that I don’t take the subject matter lightly.

- Michael G. Manning

©2014 Michael G. Manning (P)2015 Podium Publishing

I thoroughly enjoyed listening to this book!

I found the storyline fascinating and intriguing. the narrator did an excellent job portraying .

Dark catching and somehow beautiful

Very catching history which gives you a stomach ache almost from page one. Get you in a very special but not quite good mood, despite that you can't let go of the history!

Great book

a must "read" for fantacy lovers,
best book i've listened to in a awhile :)

i'm looking forward to reading book nr 2.

Very deep and dangerous book.

this book was great for the mechanics of the world as well as the spell-casting. I love to the discovery of the magic and the way that that was framed. sometimes the narrator giving something away right before it happened was annoying but that was something that was very quick to fade in my memory as the storyline was quite compelling and I was always looking for what happened next. Was very pleasantly surprised with this book and would recommend it to anyone over the age of 13.

amazing

Seriously, one of the best books I've ever read in a series. The story was terrific, sad, and just overall, it was a fun ride. The voice actor is truly just amazing. His ability to gavey the emotions through the character is simply too good. I really love the evolution of the character. Through these looks, you can really see a difference from book 1 to book 3. And it was an amazing ride.

Damn, this book is good

Really good. I wasn’t sure about the narrator at first. He’s not the best with female voices.

But it doesn’t matter, he’s still a top tier narrator, and the book, is well, very interesting.

It’s a mix of a lot of things. Give it a try

Hell yeah

Now, that’s what I’m talking about. Perfect combo of a kick a*** writer and a kick a** performance by the narrator. I must have listened to several hundred fantasy audiobooks over the past few years. Perhaps I’ve just been starved of quality reading/listening, but this story is incredible. Real choices. Real challenges. Spot-on psychoanalyses. Original concepts. What’s crazy is, if you break down the first few chapters into outline form, it would be as simple as “boy gets into fight” and “boy likes girl.” But, the author digs deep and turns the seemingly mundane into art in word form. And the narrator... let’s not forget to give credit to the person who brought this story alive. Tone, inflection, and rhythm that perfectly matches the story. If I had a story (wink wink), I would definitely try to get this narrator to narrate mine. What more could you ask for? Can’t wait to check out what comes next.

Unique and intriguing

This story stands out. A real gem. Highly recommend for adult readers. the main character has a poor self image but he doesn't whine about it. it's a dark story. it's edgy at times but it doesn't sound like it's trying too hard to be

best yet!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes while it is a dark story it is dark for a reason. Best story I have listened to for awhile.

Any additional comments?

Manning's best work yet.

Loved it

I thorally enjoyed this story as I was looking for a fantasy that was something different. I can't wait to read/listen to more.