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MY ⭐️ RATING: 4.75/5
Format: Kindle Whispersync
BOOK DESCRIPTION
“HERE IS TODAY’S LESSON; HEROES DIE…”
It’s fifteen years since the Orcs were defeated. Fifteen years since a new king rose from the battlefield. Fifteen years since Illian knew the horror of war.
Fifteen years of peace are about to end.
Something is coming. Shadows gather. Whispers of rebellion have reached the king. Darkness stirs beyond Illian’s borders.
Beyond the mountains, Dhenaheim has lost a quiet war. Refugees pour into Illian, bringing suspicion and unrest. For Doran Heavybelly, Dhenaheim’s war means facing a personal tragedy that demands his attention… and his axe.
A simple job for too much coin should have been warning enough for Asher but, like Fate, trouble always has a way of finding him.
Conspiracy. Rebellion. Betrayal. Time to find out who the real heroes are.
MY REVIEW
I have enjoyed every single one of the entries in The Echoes Saga so far, because Quaintrell has taken me on an incredible rollercoaster filled with love, loss, political machinations and battles galore, from the very beginning. But I have to say, The Knights of Erador, which is set 15 years after the events of Age of the King, might be the best entry of the series to date, which makes me even more excited for whats to come. I could feel my adrenaline pumping because it was that much more epic and intense than anything else, to a point that the last quarter of this almost felt like I was witnessing the finale taking place, while still having two books left!
Vighon, Inara, Asher, Doran, Galanör, Nathaniel, Reyna and Alijah return to face a new threat that’s taking over Verda. Quaintrell has done a fantastic job with the development of each one of them and continues doing so, it’s hard not to like any of them because they each bring a little something to the story that helps make it work. But as I’ve said many times before, Doran continues to be my favorite character, his personality just changes everything when he’s around, and it makes for a more enjoyable time. Along with them, new characters and races are introduced that are quite fascinating and down right creepy, the Drakes and the Reavers. These additions bring an entirely new element to the saga that hasn’t been there before, raising the stakes to an all time high. Alijah has always been a bit of a wildcard for me as well, with what has happened to him, he has always reminded me a bit of Anakin Skywalker and his development has been special.
“Putting the past behind you can be just as difficult as trying to see a future yet to be revealed.”
I really enjoy Quaintrell’s story telling, and I love the direction that he’s gone with this story, as old allies conspire to overthrow the King, new allies are made, and a massively epic showdown ensues. It shows that there’s always going to be something, even when everything feels perfect and running smoothly. One thing is for sure about this story, those Star Wars undertones that I’ve brought up on many occasions are here to stay, and it feels like it’s only getting stronger or maybe I’m just getting more stern about it. With that being said, there was also some Game of Thrones that popped into my head from time to time as well. The only negative thing I can really say is that I was hoping there would be more of Alijah’s time in Erador, rather than skipping over it all with the time jump. Since Verda is more integral to the story, I do understand the need to skip over that part of the story though.
The pacing felt a little faster than previous installments of the series for some reason, not that it blew by, but maybe the battles that take place just made it feel faster because they were so intense and had my focus causing me to keep going to see what happened next. I still have a bit of a love/hate relationship with Steven Brands narration, but I’ve gained a new found respect for him, I’ve always felt that he had a bit of a monotonous voice, but I could feel the intensity at times and it felt very different from previous books, like he was into it a lot more than he was previously, though the voices are still a bit too similar for my taste. The whispersync audio production issues I’ve had are still there, like I said before, it doesn’t hurt my experience with the story, but it does hurt my OCD brain hearing a sentence or paragraph finish and the highlighting several words behind or ahead, Podium really needs to fix this issue.
Wolfmantula.com 