Of Empires and Dust

The Bound and the Broken, Book 4

De: Ryan Cahill

Narrado por: Derek Perkins

I'ldryr viel asatar. I sanvîr viel baralun.

In fire, we are forged. In blood, we are tempered.

In the Aravell woodland, Calen Bryer grapples with the fallout from the Battle of Aravell. The path forward is littered with choices that will bleed him dry. But he is a Draleid, he is a guardian, and he will always stand when others call. He will be the light they look to.

His sister, Ella, lies fragmented, her mind split between worlds, her fate unknown. But the blood of the wolf is strong.

Hundreds of miles away, in the western villages of Illyanara, Dahlen Virandr leads the defense of Salme and all its inhabitants gathered from across the region. The Uraks are unrelenting, and they know only blood and death. If this is to be his end, he will enter Achyron's Halls as a warrior who would not yield.

Below the mountains of Lodhar, Queen Kira waits in the dark while Hoffnar attempts to seize control of the Freehold and lead the dwarves towards a new dawn of war.

In Valtara, Dayne Ateres hunts those who betrayed his family, while Alina prepares her army to besiege the legendary Achyron's Keep.

At the edges of the Burnt Lands, Rist Havel is offered a new path forward, one that few have ever trodden, one that could forge him into a mage of no equal.

With the news that Ilkya and Jormun have fallen, along with their soulkin, Eltoar finds himself face-to-face with Salara Ithan—a remnant of his past life that he had long thought dead.

As the Blood Moon taints the sky, Kallinvar and the Knights of Achyron battle tirelessly against the Shadow, doing everything within their power to hold back the darkness.

Gods are waking.

The world is burning.

Ashes and dust are all that will remain.

©2025 Ryan Cahill (P)2025 Podium Audio

One of the best books I’ve ever read

I had planned this big, long, well-written review for this book and now that I’m here I’m just at a loss for words. This book literally left me speechlesss. It was just incredible. Ryan has an extremely bright future ahead of him. Please hurry with book 5!

The twist and turns of the story

This is the best series of books I’ve read (listened to) the absolute rawness of the battles, the sword work, the magic and all of the magical beings all work together perfectly!!

Well done.

An absolutely wonderfully written book and a real thrill to lesson too. The detail is spot on and so many twist and turns it’ll keep your heart racing and your mind spinning with possibilities. Loved it!

The fighting is great!

I love/hate this book. The author writes great combat sequences, then slows everything down with almost child like goo goo eyes sentiment about everything else. I pledge my love to you forever, blah! I’m not n too deep to not finish the series. It’s a romantasy between dragons and humans at its worst, the elvish language is a waste of time, but the combat is sooo good.

World building, magic system expansion, character building

This book deserves a 6/5. I have loved this series since the beginning. I didn’t think the series could get better but Cahill proved that wrong! The battles are frequent and excellently written. They focus on individuals but still give you the sense of the battle as a whole. The fighting is a blend of magic and melee. The character building is where this book really excelled. You gain an emotional attachment to so many more characters and this helps immerse you more into the world of Epheria. You feel sadness and even relate with some of the most despicable people from the previous books. Black blends to gray, but black also becomes even darker. This books as additional depth to the world building through gods, magic systems, more POVs, and the overarching plot. I literally cannot wait for the final installment and will definitely be doing another reread prior to its release!