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Dawn of Swords  By  cover art

Dawn of Swords

By: David Dalglish, Robert J. Duperre
Narrated by: Nick Podehl
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Publisher's summary

On the young world of Dezrel, brother gods Karak and Ashhur, fleeing their own failed world, recreate mankind in an attempt to make amends. The fledgling race of humanity is guided by the First Families, men and women who will not age so long as their hearts remain devoted to their deities.

But quickly the realms are thrown into chaos by the construction of the Temple of the Flesh, built by exiled children of Karak in the unclaimed land of Haven that lies between the two kingdoms. Those of the Temple refuse to bend knee to either god, no matter the risk. Thus comes Karak’s ultimatum to the people of Haven: Destroy the Temple, or he will destroy it himself. But his fellow brother god, Ashur, will not sit idly by while thousands of innocents die…

Can Jacob Eveningstar, the First Man to be given life and Ashhur’s most trusted servant, prevent the coming bloodshed which threatens the survival of the fledgling human race?

©2013 David Dalglish and Robert J. Duperre (P)2013 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved.

What listeners say about Dawn of Swords

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

The Second Half Is Good Listening

The last 40% of Dawn of Swords is worth the price of admission (more on that in a moment). The first 60% was a struggle and since this is a 20 hour book, a long struggle. The book includes a cast of thousands (just joking, hundreds) and each are introduced in enough detail that I could pick them out of a police lineup. I kept wishing the authors would say, “This person is ugly and an idiot, so let’s move on”, but I had to listen to a chapter or two or three to figure it out on my own.

I did end up enjoying the book. There are several twists and one was totally unexpected. Also, I was not expecting a debate on religious faith. This appears to be a central theme and some of it is interesting while some is repetitive. There was also violence and includes head chopping, disembowelments and people being eaten by animals.

I did not use a credit, but opted to pay the everyday low price of $7.34. This is Book 1 of a series and rest may be priced higher. Dawn of Swords ends with very little resolved and I will have to decide if I want to hear more.

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9 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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I'm Glad I Don't Have To Wait Long For Book 2

I was introduced to David Dalglish with his Shadowdance series. They were really fun books, but I think this is his best book yet. I don't know if he is just becoming a better writer of if it is the help of his co-author, but this book just seems to have much more depth of characters and depth of the world they create. Bottom line, it is a great book.

There are a lot of new characters and families to be introduced to and the whole religion system to be explained, but it is done very well. I think this is the first book of a trilogy of books, if not more, so I'm glad they take the time to develop the world so thoroughly.

The narration is fantastic. Nick Podehl is one of my favorite narrators and he does not dissapoint here.

I think the next 2 books in the trilogy are both expected out this year, so I'm glad I don't have to wait long for more!

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7 people found this helpful

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    1 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

After 12 chapters, nothing happened.

the narration was excellent but nothing is happening. I don't care about any of the characters.

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6 people found this helpful

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Awful

The book was dark..... Horrific things happen in the book, twisted, evil. I'm okay with Dark books, but their needs to be a hero. No hero in these books.

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2 people found this helpful

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Slaughterfest

What disappointed you about Dawn of Swords?

It was horrifically gory and dark. Ever character you almost wanted to get to know gets gruesomely slaughtered,

Would you ever listen to anything by David Dalglish and Robert J. Duperre again?

I would not listen to these authors again.

Have you listened to any of Nick Podehl’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Nick Podehl's performance was fine as usual

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

No redeeming qualiities. I could not finish it.

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2 people found this helpful

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    2 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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too dark for me

l was upset by a lot of discussions of accepting pain as a way to please their god. way to dark for me. Nick Podehl did a good job, subject matter put me off.

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1 person found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Slow start, but worth the ending

An alternate to the book of Genesis is always a complicated endeavor. That said, the authors do a decent enough job. I had trouble being drawn in to the story, even with the conspiracies and mysteries. However, if you love Dalglish's other works, this one provides excellent background.

And, as I said, the ending is quite interesting.

The narrator is quite good, also. I do recommend getting this book if it is on special.

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    1 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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Content Warning

I enjoy this narrator so I picked this up but had to return it when I got to chapter 5 which opens with the explicitly described statutory r*pe of a 16 year old girl by a man in his 60s and it’s treated entirely too casually. The third time the character described her “beautiful naked body” I turned it off and returned it. The sexploitation of minors is not set decoration.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Took forever to find a plot to follow

Seriously, I prefer longer novels for superior world, character and culture development. However, I really didn't understand what was going on and if a different day would not have kept listening. It played really slow and senseless until near end. I suppose others might have been more entertained by the random wandering and events for most of the book, but it's not my style.

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  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

Hard to get through

You know how its hard to put a book down? It was a struggle to finish this one. The writing was fine, but the story was fractured...if there even was one.

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