Twelve Kings in Sharakhai

The Song of the Shattered Sands, Book 1

By: Bradley P. Beaulieu

Narrated by: Sarah Coomes

The first book in the Song of Shattered Sands trilogy - an epic fantasy in the vein of A Thousand and One Nights.

In the city of Sharakhai, Çeda fights in the pits to scrape by a living. She, like so many in the city, pray for the downfall of the cruel, immortal Kings of Sharakhai. Then on the holy night when the powerful yet wretched creatures known as the Asirim wander the city and take tribute in order to protect the Kings, one of them tells Çeda the origin of their dark bargain. And this dangerous secret may be the very key she needs to throw off the iron grip the Kings have had over Sharakhai....

©2015 Bradley P. Beaulieu (P)2015 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved.

Epic to a fault, fantastic lore, superb performance

I found Twelve Kings to be so grand and epic that it became exhausting or cumbersome at times, but it’s not self absorbed or grandiose. All of that weight, all of that story, makes to climax all the more powerful.

The setting is brilliant for being anything other than the Europe-esque standard of most fantasy. The place names and especially the character names were refreshing, if a bit hard to keep straight due to their unusual flavor. I count that as a deficit of the genre and of myself as a reader, though, and not a weakness of the author or story.

The magic is loose and understated, and I like that. It’s not a common presence in the everyday life of the characters, and therefore takes on an inherent mystery and ancient nature.

Ms. Coombs’ performance is stunning. Full of emotion, varied and consistent in voices, confident with unusual words and names.

I’m not yet 100% sure if I’ll continue following the story, to be honest. The magnitude of it is daunting to me.

Amazing story / Narrator not for everyone

Any additional comments?

It's a great story in a fully realized world. The pacing slows down a bit in places, but I was OK with this. It starts strong, and I actually enjoy a lot of the world building and scene setting. I'm definitely looking forward to the next book.

The narrator was problematic. I found the performance to be overacted. Whenever the voice actor did an accent it was painful to listen to and didn't really make sense either.

Great book!

If you want a story about a pit fighter who must get vengeance against god appointed rulers of a city, then this is a good book to try out. In an effort to keep this short, I'll say that my main qualm is that it seemed that the book switched tracks HARD part way through, almost entirely dropping the character's identity partway through.

Hooked after 30 second audio sample

Firstly, I don’t want to take away anything from the story, because I loved it - an hour in to my first listen I bought the next 2 available audiobooks, preordered the one after that, and downloaded 2 short stories to Kindle.

But the narration is exquisite. The accents, the pronunciations, the pacing - all perfect. Sarah Coomes reads as if she really cares about the characters and the story, and her pacing is not so fast that you can’t have little thoughts of understanding, about what just happened and what might happen next. You are able to get this enjoyable sense while reading but rarely when listening - thank you Sarah, loved it!

Could (and plan to with my purchases) listen to Sarah talk all day, just wonderful! You can tell she struck a chord for me - I’ll leave more of the actual story reviews to others more talented and descriptive than I.

On to the next book yet tonight - thank you Bradley and Sarah!

Song of Shattered Sands

I wonder how many times I've been tempted to start a review with this may be my new favorite series of all times or my new favorite author... There are some really amazing worlds and magic-systems out there, and this one is one of the best. I hesitated to read it because of several negative reviews on Audible and I'm so glad I went with my gut and grabbed this book, because I ended up really loving it! I can't give it 5 stars all the way across because it took me a little bit to get used to the narrator. That seems to be the complaint of others as well. Honestly, though, by the end, I couldn't imagine anyone else's voice doing the narration. Just stick it out, it's a great story.

The story begins in medias res, so the reader needs to be patient and let the story unfold the way Beaulieu tells it. We start with Ceda, a tough-as-nails teen orphan girl who has taken to pit fighting to make her way on the streets of Sharakhai. We learn about the life of the poor of children Sharakhai, the gutter wrens, the Kings who rule, the Maidens who guard the Kings, and the Asirim who are the monsterous and mysterious dangerous slaves of the Kings.

There are a large number of story lines, all somehow tied to Ceda and as the story unfolds, her role and importance to the city becomes increasingy understandable.

There is a little love story blooming with her childhood friend Emre, creating a little angst and suspense.

To wrap up...This may end up being my new favorite series of all time. We'll have to see:)

For those who care: yes, there is sex, drugs, cursing in the book. It's not like Game of Thrones, but it's not clean.

“AUDIBLE 20 REVIEW SWEEPSTAKES ENTRY”

great fantasy set in the middle east

Very refreshing and engaging. loved it. strong female lead character. complex storyline and supporting characters. can't wait for the next books.

A believable world and context

What made the experience of listening to Twelve Kings in Sharakhai the most enjoyable?

It was well told and performed. I was hooked by the main character after the first 8 mins.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Ceda but I think she could do much better then Emray(sp?)I like her courage and determination. I very much enjoy stories of strong female characters who do not fit the mold.

Which scene was your favorite?

When Ceda learns where she came from.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Yes it did both make me laugh and cry. Though I find myself really disliking Emray, which is fine. It may even be that I am not meant to like him.

Any additional comments?

I hope it is not too long a wait for the next one.

Great world held back by slow pacing

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

I listened to all 25 hours, so clearly I enjoyed it, but I don't think I'll listen to the future installments in this series. It was about 30% too long, the pacing was uneven, and it didn't end up going anywhere really. And yet I listened to all of it.

What three words best describe Sarah Coomes’s performance?

Her voice is pleasant, but it is obvious she narrates a lot of romance novels. Her voice could be really shaky, breathless, and dramatic too often. Half the time I liked it and half the time it drove me nuts. Kind of like the rest of the book.

Did Twelve Kings in Sharakhai inspire you to do anything?

Search out other fantasy stories set in non-Western worlds.

Slow to start, but it picks up

Twelve Kings is a pretty solid first book of a series. As a listener, I had some trouble following the plot due to the repeated jumps in the timeline, but once I was hooked on the main plot the jumps back to the past bothered me less and started to add to the story rather than distract. That said, it took about eleven hours out of the 25+ total listen to really get to that point. The saving grace for such a long hook is that the climax of the story is actually rather satisfying and left me wanting more, which I am fortunate enough to get in 3 days after writing this review when the second book is released.

Great story & narration!

Any additional comments?

What a great fantasy book! An excellent story with great characters and a great desert setting. One of my favorite fantasy books ever.