The Ember Blade

A breathtaking fantasy adventure

By: Chris Wooding BA BA

Narrated by: Simon Bubb

'The Ember Blade is hands down the best fantasy novel I've ever read' Grimdark Magazine

A land under occupation. A legendary sword. A young man's journey to find his destiny.

Aren has lived by the rules all his life. He's never questioned it; that's just the way things are. But then his father is executed for treason, and he and his best friend Cade are thrown into a prison mine, doomed to work until they drop. Unless they can somehow break free . . .

But what lies beyond the prison walls is more terrifying still. Rescued by a man who hates him yet is oath-bound to protect him, pursued by inhuman forces, Aren slowly accepts that everything he knew about his world was a lie. The rules are not there to protect him, or his people, but to enslave them. A revolution is brewing, and Aren is being drawn into it, whether he likes it or not.

The key to the revolution is the Ember Blade. The sword of kings, the Excalibur of his people. Only with the Ember Blade in hand can their people be inspired to rise up . . . but it's locked in an impenetrable vault in the most heavily guarded fortress in the land.

All they have to do now is steal it . . .

Read by Simon Bubb
(p) Orion Publishing Group 2018

Critic reviews

The Ember Blade is everything I could possibly want in an epic fantasy novel, and so much more. Buy this book as soon as it is available.

If you like Brandon Sanderson you'll love this. The best epic fantasy for years.

It's like David Eddings, Margaret Weis, Tracey Hickman and Terry Brooks had a brainstorming session over a power lunch... then Wooding stole their notes, drank their beer and set about skewing everything. ...great fun, a classic epic fantasy.

A well-written tale of revolution, dark magic, and a quest for an ancient game-changing artifact set in a well-built and well-realised epic fantasy world.

From the excellent characterizations to the relentless chase, from breathtaking set pieces to the intricate world-building, everything was written with finesse. It seriously doesn't matter whether you're a fan of classic, epic, or grimdark fantasy (even better if all three), there's a place for you here. The Ember Blade is a book every fantasy fan will feel right at home with, and yet will find new adventures in it. It's a book that fantasy readers will love to revisit and inhabit longer and longer with every visit.

The Ember Blade is hands down the best fantasy novel I've ever read.

Surprisingly good!

I was hesitant to buy because of the negative reviews of the narration. In truth I forgot about it quickly. As the story progressed I stopped noticing the narration and it wasn't bad to begin with, just no special effects. Great story and I really enjoyed it. To give you some idea of what this means - I listen to 20 -30 or so fantasy books per year. This is my first review. I wanted to make sure people knew this was a great book.

Mara

I started to skip her parts about halfway through and it made the experience of reading much more enjoyable

Grub for president 2020

OK. I LOVED this book. Grub is one of the best comic relief characters I've ever read. His broken speech patterns along with his sense of humor make him truly memorable. Some might think the book is slow. I found that the character development is well worth the wait. I didn't care as much for Mara. She seems a little one-dimensional. She's not a terrible character, but I come away feeling she was shoehorned into the story. I hope to see her developed more in upcoming novels. I often forget that Harrod is even around.
Aren develops a lot during the course of the novel and is a strong character. He goes from a boy to a young man over the course of the book.
This book is 100% recommended.

Acceptable Detail

Pretty good book. Very long and drawn out with mostly running away. I enjoyed the story unfolding. Although, it's just another book with OP bad guys and weak main characters running.

Great Start

Absolutely awesome start to a new series. Can’t wait for the next. Highly recommended for fans of epic fantasy.