• King of Ashes

  • The Firemane Saga, Book One
  • By: Raymond E. Feist
  • Narrated by: David Thorpe
  • Length: 18 hrs and 42 mins
  • 4.6 out of 5 stars (987 ratings)

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King of Ashes  By  cover art

King of Ashes

By: Raymond E. Feist
Narrated by: David Thorpe
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Publisher's summary

The first volume in legendary master and New York Times best-selling author Raymond E. Feist’s epic heroic fantasy series, The Firemane Saga - an electrifying tale of two young men whose choices will determine a world’s destiny.

For centuries, the five greatest kingdoms of North and South Tembria, twin continents on the world of Garn, have coexisted in peace. But the balance of power is destroyed when four of the kingdoms violate an ancient covenant and betray the fifth: Ithrace, the Kingdom of Flames, ruled by Steveren Langene, known as "the Firemane" for his brilliant red hair. As war engulfs the world, Ithrace is destroyed, and the Greater Realms of Tembria are thrust into a dangerous struggle for supremacy.

As a Free Lord, Baron Daylon Dumarch owes allegiance to no king. When an abandoned infant is found hidden in Daylon’s pavilion, he realizes that the child must be the missing heir of the slain Steveren. The boy is valuable - and vulnerable. A cunning and patient man, Daylon decides to keep the baby’s existence secret, and sends him to be raised on the Island of Coaltachin, home of the so-called Kingdom of Night, where the powerful and lethal Nocusara, the "Hidden Warriors", legendary assassins and spies, are trained.

Years later, another orphan of mysterious provenance, a young man named Declan, earns his Masters rank as a weapons smith. Blessed with intelligence and skill, he unlocks the secret to forging King’s Steel, the apex of a weapon maker’s trade known by very few. Yet this precious knowledge is also deadly, and Declan is forced to leave his home to safeguard his life. Landing in Lord Daylon’s provinces, he hopes to start anew.

Soon, the two young men - an unknowing rightful heir to a throne and a brilliantly talented young swordsmith - will discover that their fates, and that of Garn, are entwined. The legendary, long-ago War of Betrayal has never truly ended...and they must discover the secret of who truly threatens their world.

©2018 Raymond E. Feist (P)2018 HarperCollins Publishers

What listeners say about King of Ashes

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

Feist takes his writing to the next level

Having read all of Feist’s Rift War sagas I anticipated the release of his new book. Feist did not disappoint. The story has an excellent pace and weaves the main characters together brilliantly. World building has always been a strength of Feist’s, but I find the characters drawing my attention in this book. His previous works seemed to have cardboard characters but now they feel like real flawed people with depth. Often I found it difficult to decipher which characters were important due to how well rounded they all were.

By the time I finished the book I was drawn in and invested with all the characters. My only regret is finishing the book the same week it was released. I will patiently await the next installment, for it will clearly be worth waiting for.

Other authors I enjoy are Brandon Sanderson, Joe Abercrombie, Scott Lynch, Rothfuss and Martin( despite lack of finishing the sagas they started), Larry Correia, Jim butcher, and Mitchell Hogan.

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41 people found this helpful

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

beginning of a new classic

I first read feist back when I was a young man, I though there was no way for a second series that rivaled the rift war series! I was wrong, this first book had everything that the rift war series had and more, but unlike the rift war saga it unique enough to be totally different! heros, heroines, villains, and your average man are abound in this new book. if you loved Pug and the whole rift wat saga then this is a must get! you want be disappointed!

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11 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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A solid return

I was worried about returning to Feist after reading literally every Riftwar Novel he put out. I felt I'd seen everything he can do and had gotten fatigued with his writing after 30 some odd books. This is a very solid return for him and is certainly worth your time.

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8 people found this helpful

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

Wish Nick Podehl had narrated this

Great start to a series. Enjoyed the character development. I look forward to enjoying this series.
My main complaint is the narrator. Not bad, but not great either.

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6 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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not midkemia

This new book is a story all its own, new characters, new lands, and new evils.
i did not excpect a new world and honestly i was taken aback by it, but as always Raymond has drawn me in again. after reading EVERYTHING he has written, i can honestly say, i was NOT disappointed!!!
if you like Feist, this is a great read

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5 people found this helpful

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    2 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

great storyteller, bad story

The story is almost X rated in some of the areas where characters are trained to be a sex assassin basically. The author is very graphic regarding that kind of stuff for a book that is in no way put force has a romance, or erotic novel.

I have read much of his other work and found myself very disappointed by this one. there is great potential in the story; but it's hard to look past so much of the crudeness in his writing. that crudeness made this story one that I could not finish.

I miss when he wrote the magician series. I wish he had written more about the valharu.

read at your own risk.

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5 people found this helpful

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    1 out of 5 stars
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Wow!

I did not like one character in the book. I am astounded. I have never had the experience of hating every single character developed in a book. Wow! I kept listening hoping something would change, but alas nothing.

Everyone raved about Feist and his writing. I found it boring with the most unlikable array of personalities constructed.

This is the end of this series for me. I am left with one word “yuck!”

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4 people found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Can’t wait for the next installment!

A great story line and leaves me wanting more. Well written, well read. I would welcome the chance to recommend this book/series.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

Bland characters and thin plot

I love some of Feist's books, and I wanted to love this one. The beginning is bogged down by exposition glut, but it sets the stage for some interesting developments.

Then I spent the whole book waiting for something to happen while being subjected to endless angst and introspection, and protagonists that don't really do anything.

The two main characters feel a bit like different versions of the same trope. I'm told repeatedly how angry one of them is without ever seeing him lose his temper. In fact he seems weirdly neutral to everything that happens around him. Almost every chapter of his is spent dwelling on his forbidden crush.

A little sexual angst is to be expected in a coming-of-age novel, but this gets really repetitive.

The other one is basically determined to settle down and run a business. And that's pretty much it.

The two characters who are actually driving events are barely ever shown, nor is the presumed villain.

There's no ending to speak of - not even a cliffhanger - just more scene setting and foreshadowing. The whole novel is just a long beginning.

Disappointed - won't be continuing with this series.

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2 people found this helpful

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

not the best series out there

I am not sure if I will read the next in the series..This wasn't a great read/listen. The story lacked something, I cant put my finger on it but it quite didn't give me the same vibe I get from other fantasy books out there. the good ones I mean. the characters were quite shallow, the story lacked depth and there is no discernable magic system to mention.

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2 people found this helpful