Tower Lord: Raven’s Shadow Book 2 by Anthony Ryan (Unabridged) Audiobook
Narrated by: Steven Brand
Running Time: 24 hrs and 38 mins

Tower Lord by Anthony Ryan is the second book in the Raven’s Shadow series.  Vaelin Al Sorna, one of the greatest and most renowned warriors of the realm, has returned home, utterly disgusted and sick of battle. He alone knows the treachery and lies that the fighting has been built upon, and that knowledge haunts him and keeps him from glorying in the fame and notoriety that he once envied. The successor to King Janus’s throne names Vaelin Tower Lord of the Northern Reaches, and he looks forward to the quiet peace of the cold north.  Yet peace is not found so easily, as Vaelin soon will find out. Friends and enemies seek him, and there are other dangers to the Realm that have not yet reached fruition but are growing in both ambition and confidence. [Read more…]

Blood Song: Raven’s Shadow Book 1 by Anthony Ryan (Unabridged) Audiobook
Narrated by: Steven Brand
Running Time: 23 hrs and 5 mins

Blood Song by Anthony Ryan is the first book in the Raven’s Shadow series. While I don’t know how many books that series is scheduled to have, you can bet that I will be adding them all to my pre-order list on Audible.

I was surprised to find that this was Ryan’s debut novel, as it has such an interesting complexity of plot and imagery that you would expect him to be a tried and true artist of the genre, rather than a youngster. Steven Brand is a new narrator to me, but his lithe and graceful cadence and delightful fluidity of speech helped Blood Song to soar to the heights that it deserves. He did wonderfully interesting things to affect growling harshness and booming adversaries, and helped the characters really come out as unique and different. [Read more…]