The Last Flight of Marius Chastain

A Starian Tale (Starian Cycle)

By: Iris Foxglove

Narrated by: Kris Antham

Marius Chastain has spent his entire life running: first from his abusive father, and more recently from the king's justice after his father's failed coup. With no allies willing to help him, Marius attempts to flee Staria for the safety of the Diabolos Islands, where he can start a new life far removed from his treasonous past. But his desperate flight is interrupted by Ranger, a mercenary who has taken a contract to escort Marius to Duciel to answer for his crimes against the Crown.

Misthotoi are renowned the world over for refusing to be swayed from their contracts, and Ranger is no exception. A man of his word, Ranger is terrifyingly competent and a skilled hunter…but also good-natured, kind, and generous. While nothing Marius can offer will change his mind, he treats Marius with unexpected gentleness on their journey to Duciel.

Ranger joined the Misthotoi in order to find and conquer Death as part of a Thalassan coming-of-age ritual. He's no stranger to the risks of the job, but as he brings Marius to his contact in Duciel, Ranger finds himself drawn to the disgraced noble. Soon, their growing bond threatens even his commitment to his vows. And when the hunter becomes prey, the two men will have to use all their cunning to outfox their enemies and find a future where they can be safe…together.

©2021 Iris Foxglove (P)2022 Iris Foxglove

Marius is more complex than at first glance

My heart bled for Marius and his story always makes me cry. His history and the guilt/shame he's been holding on to for his entire life is quite something else and it comes through really well in this one. I love how Ranger gives him a safe space to process his emotions, get angry, and find the strength to reach out to his brother all the while drawing out a Ranger who laughs more. Ranger's a strange mix of serious and silly and I think he's exactly what Marius needs. That being said, I think the story line with Ranger's bead became a tad thin with Galive. It was a touch hard to follow in those last few moments and I thought about taking it down to a 4 star on the story but I truly love the ending so much along with Marius' growth that I kept it at 5. This entire world is truly something special and I thought the last scene with the brothers really cemented it all pretty solidly.

I, as usual, love Kris' performance though it did feel like Ranger's voice took a bit to settle into. I had no problem with the speed he read at, but comparing it to another book I recently listened to, he is pretty quick. Just something to note if you need a bit to process words.

3.5 stars rounding down

Ok! I thought I cried while reading Devon's story but it had nothing on Marius's!!! The guilt with which Marius is living with is staggering! I cried so much when reading why and for what reasons he had come to terms with his imminent death and hoped it would atone some of it, not for his sake but for Devon's. I couldn't stop crying and I had to stop, to get myself together when reading his anger and devastation about where was everyone when he and his brother needed someone to see them, save them, provide a safe place.

As for Ranger, Iris Foxglove couldn't have written a more perfect partner for Marius, someone that could draw him out of the darkness of his mind and be his sunshine. Ranger with his bewildering stories, steadfastness and awkward moments was the perfect safe port for Marius.

Now the reasons for my 3.5 stars.

Ranger for all it was said about how strong and potent his dominance was it never really came through for me. I didn't feel it the same way as I did Laurent's or Charon's or Isiodore's or Sebastien's. And even Marius's submissiveness was muted.

And what really made me consider for a moment giving this 3 stars was the whole scene in the circle of stones with Glaive. It started great and intense with Ranger not finding beside him Marius but then it went into a bit of OTT especially in the dialogue.

Still the epilogue was one of the best HEAs I've read and it was everything really. Now I'll need Glaive and Death's story please!

As far as narration goes I really like Kris Antham! He really performs the story putting emotion and feeling into his narration BUT, and it's why I'm rounding down, there were some editing issues with sentences repeated and times where it was obvious he was taking a breath or gulping mid-sentence.

He is a talented narrator that can change voices seamlessly when narrating 3 voices but when a character is described as having a growly voice because of smoking I'm not expecting 100% that kind but a tone of voice that sounds breezy and sunshine-y is far from that. So really what I'm saying is that a bit of note on the characterization of a character before voicing them is appreciated by the listener.

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book.