Blood Song

Raven's Shadow, Book 1

By: Anthony Ryan

Narrated by: Steven Brand

“The Sixth Order wields the sword of justice and smites the enemies of the Faith and the Realm."

Vaelin Al Sorna was only a child of ten when his father left him at the iron gate of the Sixth Order—a caste devoted to battle. Vaelin will be trained and hardened to the austere, celibate and dangerous life of a warrior of the Faith. He has no family now save the Order.

Vaelin’s father was Battle Lord to King Janus, ruler of the Unified Realm—and Vaelin’s rage at being deprived of his birthright knows no bounds. Even his cherished memories of his mother are soon challenged by what he learns within the Order.

But one truth overpowers all the rest: Vaelin Al Sorna is destined for a future he has yet to comprehend. A future that will alter not only the Realm, but the world.

Critic reviews

“Ryan is a new fantasy author destined to make his mark on the genre. His debut novel, Blood Song, certainly has it all: great coming-of-age tale, compelling character and a fast-paced plot. If his first book is any indication of things to come, then all fantasy readers should rejoice.”—Michael J. Sullivan, author of the Riyria Revelations series

“Fans of broadscale epic fantasy along the lines of Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time series and George R. R. Martin’s Song of Ice and Fire novels should find this debut much to their liking.”—Library Journal

“Just impossible to put down…I had to read it ASAP and to reread it immediately on finishing, as I could not part from the wonderful universe the author created.”—Fantasy Book Critic

“Ryan hits all the high notes of epic fantasy—a gritty setting, ancient magics, ruthless intrigue, divided loyalties and bloody action...[A] promising debut.”—Publishers Weekly

“Deftly and originally executed…A page-turner.”—Booklist

“Ryan’s style is somewhat relaxed and paced extremely well…[Blood Song is] like the love child of Patrick Rothfuss and Joe Abercrombie writing the story of Jon Snow (of George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire) in the Night’s Watch...A top contender for most impressive debut of the year. It is a thick, meaty novel of substance…A powerful epic that, while ending with a sense of closure, hints at more to come.”—SFFWorld.com

Amazing book.

Wonderful book. Most people rave over Brand's performance, however I found his lack of individualized characters frustrating. Most of his male characters sound exactly the same, making the conversations between two confusing at some points. I had to press the playback button several times simply due to this. Otherwise, amazing book and I highly recommend. I'm about to begin book 2 now.

This book is Epic! They need to make the movie!

Would you consider the audio edition of Blood Song to be better than the print version?

I read it then listened and I loved it both ways. I really liked the narration as the narrator did a good job and the characters did come alive. When you are reading you do not really make up different voices for characters in your head (at least I don't) so I did enjoy the audio version very much.

What other book might you compare Blood Song to and why?

I do not really think I have read a book like this but I would kind of compare it to epic movies like Gladiator.

Which scene was your favorite?

I loved when Vaelin went to go save his brother from seeing his father executed and all his other brothers came to help.

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

The whole booked moved me it was a great story and I am not sure if I am going to last until the 2nd book comes out.

Any additional comments?

I decided to get this book upon a good reads recommendation as I was in the mood for an epic story after reading Patrick Rothfuss's novels. So I decided to give this book a try. I do have to say the 1st chapter is iffy as you are in the present and the main character is grown and a prisoner going to fight for his death but its a bit confusing but wait till the 2nd chapter! Vaelin the main character will tell his life story starting when he was a young boy and given away by his father to the 6th order. You will read about his life and how he becomes the man that he is. If you could fall in love with a main character then this would be the one. The story is truly epic and will not let you go. I will just say I started this at 8am in the morning and read and listened until 10 at night I could not stop! Give this a shot you will not be dissapointed.

Pretty good story... but...

The story was really good. I enjoyed how the whole story took place across most of his teen years and some adult. At first, I was worried that it was skimming too close to The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss (for the sake of originality), but was quite pleased that it took on another light early on.

As for the narrator... there were times that I found it difficult to discern which character was currently speaking. He has little-to-no difference with the pronunciation from character to character. A woman would be speaking with a man and I'd have no idea who was currently talking. No voice lightening, no changes. Though, he has an excellent reading voice, for sure. I never found his narrative boring or dull, so there is that.

All in all, good book! Check it out.

Yep. Get it.

Any additional comments?

I agree with what everyone is saying: this is a complex (but not overly so) novel that scratches all of my Epic Fantasy itches, and then some. Upon completing it, I immediately restarted it to see if the seeds of the ending were present. Of course they were. Nothing in this book is extraneous. It is multi-layered and accessible. I loved our hero almost from the word 'go.'

Great book.... Bad narration

Steven Brand has a pleasant voice, however it's the same voice for every character and the narration. I found my mind disengaging from the story because of this and getting to the end was more tedious than enjoyable.