The Providence of Fire
Written by Brian Staveley
4.5/5
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About this audiobook
Brian Staveley's The Providence of Fire, the second novel in the Chronicle of the Unhewn Throne, a gripping new epic fantasy series in the tradition of Brandon Sanderson and George R. R. Martin
The conspiracy to destroy the ruling family of the Annurian Empire is far from over.
Having learned the identity of her father's assassin, Adare flees the Dawn Palace in search of allies to challenge the coup against her family. Few trust her, but when she is believed to be touched by Intarra, patron goddess of the empire, the people rally to help her retake the capital city. As armies prepare to clash, the threat of invasion from barbarian hordes compels the rival forces to unite against their common enemy.
Unknown to Adare, her brother Valyn, renegade member of the empire's most elite fighting force, has allied with the invading nomads. The terrible choices each of them has made may make war between them inevitable.
Between Valyn and Adare is their brother Kaden, rightful heir to the Unhewn Throne, who has infiltrated the Annurian capital with the help of two strange companions. The knowledge they possess of the secret history that shapes these events could save Annur or destroy it.
Brian Staveley
Brian Staveley is the author of the award-winning fantasy trilogy, The Chronicle of the Unhewn Throne, which has been translated into a dozen languages worldwide, and Skullsworn, a stand-alone novel set in the same world. After teaching literature, philosophy, history, and religion for more than a decade, Brian began writing fiction. He now lives on a steep dirt road in the mountains of southern Vermont, where he divides his time between fathering, writing, mountain biking, splitting wood, skiing, and adventuring, not necessarily in that order.
Related to The Providence of Fire
Titles in the series (4)
The Emperor's Blades Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Providence of Fire Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Last Mortal Bond Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Skullsworn Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
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Reviews for The Providence of Fire
414 ratings11 reviews
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5This is a book about excruciatingly poor choices and the annoying characters that make them.
3 people found this helpful
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5a truely brilliant book filled with many unexpected left turns
2 people found this helpful
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Beautiful, intricate and multi-layered. This is what Epic Fantasy is meant to be.
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Great book. Loved it. Can’t wait for next in the series.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Spoiler* why do they always blind characters? Annoying to me
- Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5Could not finish.
When the protagonists need to discuss about if it's more convienient to murder civilians than let them live, I have hard time identifying with them. Or when they torture their friends.
Also, people don't make any choices at any point. Everything is just the only thing they can do at the moment. So they just go with the events. And hence have no personalities or character traits, or anything interesting. - Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I have read alot of fantasy books a song of ice and fire and so on... and this series of books is up there with my favorites, waiting for book 3 very impatiently!
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Great story, fantastic narrator! Very good development without being rushed or dragged out.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A story chock full of gray hats. A big middle finger to good vs evil. The author was able to have multiple story lines that were easy to follow.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A well narrated fiction, pulling you in with every chapter that begins
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Epic - The only way one can describe this amazing series.
The end of book 1 kept me guessing, for the story that I thought will unfold. The story that will come a full circle, ending in a climatic sort of battle in the final book. The author, had other intentions and thank the Gods for it.
The story evolves into a new arc. Characters meeting new ones, merging with old, story line creating interesting angles, confusion among characters and more. It's just amazing. The world created by the author is just brilliant. With so much attention to detail, one can imagine the world of the Empire in clear and crystal manner.
What I loved the most is how the characters stay true to their behaviour. What I mean to say is that the characters doesn't have a 'halo' moment to realize what's happening and do something that's completely out of the ordinary. On the other hand, their decisions or non-decisions put them in situations they face. They don't grow over a period of event, instead they evolve.
Adare realize how complex the web of politics is and what she needs to do to keep her empire. While many of the readers may not share her POV, it doesn't matter. She does what she thinks is 'right'. She takes decision in the face of complex scenarios by her typical calculating manner. She gets how the entire politics is played and yet, she questions her wisdom time and again. She is not sure, that makes her vulnerable and such a character creates for an interesting read.
Kaden on the other hand takes a new journey on his own. It's his part that I loved the most. It went unpredictable and definitely not the story arc I thought it would take. I don't mean to undermine what Adare or Valyn has to go through, but on a personal note, Kaden story line found some connection with me.
Valyn - Someone stupid, bright, immature, smart and more. He is someone who comes across the kind of person with so much potential and yet, for some reason, is unable to unlock it to the fullest. The characterisation of Valyn is top notch. One can get irritated at his action and yet feel for his decisions. It's not easy to be in the shoes of Valyn and his character portrayal is beautiful.
The other characters get more 'sheet' time in this second part. You get to know the priestess of Ananshael more closely. Valyn's wing goes through a journey that's different from all the other characters and that's an interesting plot in itself. It's quite intimidating for a writer to lose the story line to too many characters but Brian does a brilliant job by containing them to the necessity.
Like the first book, I listened to the audiobook through Scribd.com and I highly recommend the readers to try the Audiobook. It takes the level of reading into a whole new space. One get immersed in the characters that gets defined by the voice the narrator gives them.
I can't wait to finish the series considering how behind I'm wrt the release of book dates. Exciting final part to be read soon.3 people found this helpful