The Rage of Dragons by Evan Winter Narrator: Prentice Onayemi
Series: The Burning #1
Published by Hachette Audio on July 16, 2019
Genres: Fantasy
Length: 16 hours and 15 minutes
Format: Audiobook
Source: Purchased
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#1 BEST SELLER in its category TOP 50 in Dark Fantasy TOP 100 in Epic Fantasy TOP 100 in Swords and Sorcery GAME OF THRONES MEETS GLADIATOR... The Omehi are surrounded by enemies that want them dead. They will not be easy prey.
One in twenty-five hundred Omehi women are Gifted, wielding fragments of their Goddess’ power and capable of controlling the world’s most destructive weapon - Dragons. One in a hundred of their men has blood strong enough for the Gifted to infuse with magic, turning these warriors into near unstoppable colossi.
The rest are bred to fight, ferocious soldiers fated to die in the endless war. Tau Tafari, an Omehi commoner, wants more than this, but his life is destroyed when he’s betrayed by those he was born to serve.
Now, with too few Gifted left and the Omehi facing genocide, Tau cares only for revenge. Following an unthinkable path, he will become the greatest swordsman to ever live, dying a hundred thousand times for the chance to kill three of his own people.
This was a new-to-me author in Evan Winter and narrator in Prentice Onayemi. I decided to try something new. I needed a fresh voice in this crazy world we’re currently living in. Boy did I get it. I had a great time with this world.
Tau Tafari, an Omehi commoner, is the main character of this story. He lives in a world where he is a low caste. The nobles are larger, faster and more athletic than the lessers, like Tau. But lessers still fight, but often die in the war. They are the fodder and sent out to die in large numbers. The nobles fight too, but it isn’t as much of a death sentence. Even the women fight, but in a different way. Some women have the ability to tap into the powers of the goddess. Not only can some control dragons, others are able to pour power into a select few of the nobles to make them something akin to a colossus.
Tau is a lesser who has nothing but vengeance on his mind. He doesn’t care if he is a lesser. He is willing to put in the work to overcome the fact he is smaller, slower and less athletic than the nobles he wants to kill in revenge for the betrayal he feels.
I’m not usually a huge fan of war stories, but this book, which starts out at a slower pace than I normally read, but I was still unable to stop listening. I just loved Tau and his passion to be a better warrior. I also really enjoyed his friendship with the other trainees. I also like his relationship with a powerful gifted girl from his town, Zuri.
I’m very eager to get to the next book, which the book is out now, but I have to wait for the audiobook. I’ve never read a book that was an African fantasy. It does make me want to see how much is based on African mythology. It was a very fun epic fantasy that should be bigger than it currently is. I hope that more people give this book a chance. It was a really fun ride.
Narration:
Not only was Even Winter a new-to-me author, but Prentice Onayemi was a new-to-me narrator. He too, did not disappoint with his narration of this story. I really enjoyed the cast of voices he creates for each of these characters. There isn’t a large cast of women in this book, but he does a good job with the voices of women that he tackles. There is a much larger cast of men and they all have unique voices that truly match each character’s personality. I look forward to listening to more from this narrator.
Listen to a clip:
About Prentice Onayemi
Prentice Onayemi’s lyrical style and selective narration choices have
quickly set him apart as a major talent in the audiobook world. Awards include Audie Award Finalist Best Fiction-2016, AudioFile Earphones Award Winner and the Audible Narrator Hall of Fame.
About Evan Winter
Born in England to South American parents, Evan Winter was raised in Africa near the historical territory of his Xhosa ancestors. Evan has always loved fantasy novels, but when his son was born, he realized that there weren’t many epic fantasy novels featuring characters who looked like him. So, before he ran out of time, he started writing them.
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I started listening to audiobooks when a new book in a series was coming out and I wanted to get a refresher, but didn’t have time to read all the books (I think it was Anita Blake). I fell in love. I stayed with strictly re-reading books that I’d already read for a long time. I eventually tried an audiobook for something that I hadn’t read first and was hooked there too. Now, I listen to audio for both re-reads and first time. I have some series that I’ve given up reading and only listen. I try to get any many books/audiobooks from the library to help save on my budget. Books on CD and the newer digital downloads from the library really allow me to listen more. I then purchase my favorites (because who can wait in line for your favorite book??) and less mainstream books from Audible or some other online retailer.
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I’ve seen then before and it looked cool. But I too waiting since originally there wasn’t an audiobook to go with it. I’ll definitely watch for it now that they are getting into audio format too.
I had such a great time with this book. I hope you get a chance to try it too.
Kudos to you, Melanie, for trying something different and finding a gem? I love when stepping out of your comfort zone pays off. Excellent review!
I really need to step out of my comfort zone and try it more. Thanks Jonetta.
it pays to step outside our comfort zone at times. i love dragons and this does sound like a good one to me too. glad this was able to distract you for a while
We all need distractions right now. This was a great distraction. 🙂
I do love dragons and always keen to try a new author. It’s great that you enjoyed this one.
I love finding new authors.
It looks great and I didn’t know about the author nor the novel.
I just found this author, too. He has a really great.
I don’t generally gravitate toward fantasy these days, but the way you describe the underdog hero and his goal set against the African mythology backdrop has me very intrigued. Glad your grab for something new turned out so well.
I love having a different mythology.
I hadn’t seen this but now I’ll have to try it. I prefer fantasy on audio so I’ll be going that way. Excellent review! I’m so glad you found something new and enjoyed it.
This was new to me too.
SO good 😀 More now
I’m ready for the next one now.