Prentice Ash

Rage of Lions, Book 1

By: Matt Barron

Narrated by: Derek Perkins

Trained as a knight, condemned as a heretic, exiled as a convict, Prentice’s every moment is a struggle just to survive.

The Duke is dead and now Duchess Amelia, his young and inexperienced bride, must rule the Western Reach alone. But when an unknown enemy invades her lands, slaughtering all in their path, her knights are too eager for glory to see the danger.

She must turn to Prentice, a convict, wise in the art of war and the only one she can trust despite the dishonor it brings.

Thrust into the front lines, Prentice must fight to survive not only the violence of the enemy, but the inexperience and foolishness of his own commanders. In the midst of conflict, Prentice will earn the battle name Ash, for no matter how intense the fires of war, even if all burns away, Ash will still remain.

Prentice Ash is a medieval fantasy set in a unique but familiar world full of knights, magic, prophecies, and warfare. If you're a fan of Song of Ice & Fire and Dune, you've found your next favorite listen.

©2022 Matt Barron (P)2023 Podium Audio

Great new series

This was a great audio book! I’m looking forward to more in this series. Can’t wait to read the next one.

Great new series!

This is exactly what you want when looking for a engaging epic fantasy! So excited!

Great read, dark, gritty and fresh!

Really well done, great characters, plot lines, suspense, thrilling scenes. This will be a great series!

Pseudo Historical Fiction, But Good

So the cover might be a bit misleading especially as it looks like it might be a post apocalyptic setting with the two telephone poles in the back. It is not, rather it is a pseudo historical fiction tale that has werewolves, a corrupt church, and people getting punished for having different beliefs.

The story was good, well written, fast paced and I for one will pick up the next book in the series when it comes out. That said there are a few categories that might set people off, so I will make sure to highlight them, so there are no issues.

There are scenes of torture, in particular one where the main character gets lashed 150 times.
Imprisonments, the main character starts off a prisoner and is only implied to have been set free by the end of the book.

If you can get past those points, this is a great story and worth reading, but I feel it would be bad letting people go into this without at least knowing these basics of what to expect.

Fantasy that reads like historical fiction

Interesting main character but would have enjoyed more explanation of his skillset from backstory. The lack thereof interfered with suspension of disbelief