Brandless

By: Isaac Keyes

Narrated by: Sylvester Frost, Erin Bateman

She summoned him to a desperate world.

Pulled from a mundane life by a beautiful stranger, Michael is offered what he’s always wanted: something to believe in, to care about, to fight for. But he’s no warrior.

The people of Vendira have been oppressed by dark magic for centuries, any spark of resistance long since extinguished. They need a symbol of hope to push back against the malevolent forces that rule the world. Could he be what this world so desperately needs?

At home, he has always felt unremarkable, easily fading into the background. But here, Michael isn’t special for what he has; he’s special for what he lacks: he is Brandless.

©2023 Issac Keyes (P)2023 Royal Guard Publishing LLC

Check This One Out

Right up front before you read any further just know that I recommend this book to anybody thinking about giving it a shot. A little context for my review. I tend to take it easy on the first and last book of any story as not every story makes it to “The End” and the first of anything can be a shaky endeavor. I also try to make clear the distinction between the quality of the writing/performance of the author/narrator and my personal tastes should they differ. I have never come across this author before, and this book appears to be his first. As of the time of this audio book release it appears that he has completed two trilogies and started a third. To be clear that would be this one called “The Dragon Cult” and the next one chronologically is titled “Corrupted Gods” with the new one being called “Ruinesinger.” So, if you get to the ending of this book and want to continue this story then the good news is that the rest of it is available. If you get to the end of the trilogy and are looking for more from this author, then the good news is that there's a whole other completed trilogy waiting for you in eBook form. Now, as far as I'm concerned, the writing was solid, and I enjoyed this story. In short, we have a retail grunt who was summoned at the time of his potential death. Our hero comes eyeball to eyeball with a horned scaled clawed priestess. You see there is this evil empire with shadow tattoos that allow them to control the population. The oppressed people have magical equipment such as tunics and swords that they were able to spirit away but to anyone wearing the tattoo or for the sake of clarity brand the magic sword is just a sword. In order to wield the magic equipment, they need a brandless person. They tried a number of ways to get around the authorities who reacted with extreme violence. So, they ultimately ended up throwing a Hail Mary. They choose to summon a brandless knowing that the person will be random with the only assurances being that they are physically fit as in not sick, overweight, disabled, etcetera. The power of the magical equipment has a slow burn benefit in that it imbues the current user with the experience of past users. The priestess states that it's not all at once otherwise it would pop the user’s head. This is a fantasy world with fantasy races and a caste system where their own are use against them in a Vichy (France) like way. Moving on to the narration team I'll simply say that I greatly enjoyed their performance. I am a longtime fan of Erin Bateman’s work and I've never seen her deliver less than a fantastic performance. This is the first time that I've come across Mr. Frost’s work, but I would be interested in checking out more of his work. Lastly, I'll just say well done to everybody who had a hand in bringing this story to us, the Audible listeners.

Impressive new HaremLit series.

Dude gets summoned to another world by a hot dragon/human hybrid as he was dying in a workplace accident.
He is now special, "brandless" and can do things those that are born on this world cannot.
He was brought there to join in the revolution against the empire.
I don't know if I'm doing it justice.
Lots of fun characters and adventure sprinkled with a bit of spice.
I'm definitely looking forward to book 2.
I give this book 7 out of 5 stars.

Finally a relatable hero!

I loved this debut novel! For the first time, a hero feels relatable! With concerns that make sense for a normal individual! Like he doesn't come to this new world being the best at anything, and only makes some things by the skin of his teeth. Plus, it's a rather funny book. Great world building, great narrators, great start! Can't wait to read the next one!

Eh

I like this book but The main character is a disappointment. He can’t fight unless his opponent is female or he gets lucky & catches someone off guard. And he just feels useless. And when he FINALLY got a power up and decided he wasn’t scared he made it look weak immediately

I didn’t want him to be OP but give him something. I feel sorry for the people that has to depend on him

An unremarkable hero, becomes the symbol of hope!

Isaac Keyes' "Brandless," narrated by Sylvester Frost and Erin Bateman, transforms the ordinary into the extraordinary as Michael, the unremarkable hero, becomes the symbol of hope in a desperate world. Keyes' writing, paired with Frost and Bateman's narration, crafts a magical and compelling fantasy that celebrates the power found in what one lacks.