The Waking Fire cover art

The Waking Fire

Book One of Draconis Memoria

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The Waking Fire

By: Anthony Ryan
Narrated by: Steven Brand
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About this listen

The new star of British fantasy returns with The Waking Fire, book one of the Draconis Memoria series, a thrilling new epic fantasy of exploration and adventure, spies and assassins, explosive magic and the battle for empire.

For decades the lands of the Ironship Syndicate have been defended by the 'blood blessed' - men and women able to channel the powers contained in the potent blood of wild drakes. Elite spies and assassins, their loyalty has established the Syndicate's position as the greatest power in the known world.

Yet now a crisis looms. The drake bloodlines are weakening, and war with the Corvantine Empire seems inevitable. The Syndicate's only hope of survival lies with the myth of a legendary drake whose powerful blood might just turn the tide of the war - if it even exists.

The task of hunting down this fabled creature falls to Claydon Torcreek, a petty thief and unregistered blood blessed. He's handled many valuable things in his time (most of them illegal) but nothing as priceless as his nation's future.

©2016 Anthony Ryan (P)2016 Hachette Audio UK
Fantasy Fiction War Espionage
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Critic reviews

"A major new talent." ( Buzzfeed)
"Anthony Ryan is a master storyteller." (Mark Lawrence)

What listeners say about The Waking Fire

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

A good story, well written and narrated.

fun story, likeable, believable characters. good narrator. if you enjoyed Ryan's Blood Song series you will enjoy this. looking forward to book 2.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent book! Can't wait for next one!

Fantastic story - thoroughly gripped, great characters. The world is a rich fascinating place, and there's plenty of intrigue and action-adventure. Brand is a good narrator - I like his unobtrusive style, and will definitely be looking out for other titles he's read. Great buy, recommended!

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Good story but dull narration

There were several times while I was listening to this story that I wished audible had a return policy. While the story was exciting and I'm going to get the next one, the narrator carried on in a dull drone through the whole thing. I'm just glad that Steven West will be taking over the next book, hopefully he will do a better job of it.

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1 person found this helpful

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

Great beginning to the series

Took me a while to get into the characters and get used to swapping between stories but by the end I was gripped. Cannot wait to read the next one.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

took its time to warm up , but looks promising! !

took its time to warm up , but looks promising! ! looking forward to see what happens next

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

what's the point?

I would give this book five stars all round but some idiot for got to get a series contract with the narrator ... why not get a tramp to do book three or a mime? not saying the guy on the second book is bad as I am only in chapter one but so far he feels like he can't wait to be done so he can get on and do serious theatre

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

Great book. Well worth the read.

Enjoyed the book, and the unique premise with regards to the mythology and world building.

I'm a huge fan of Brandon Sanderson and Jim Butcher, only read book one of this series so far. I would not quite put this series on the same pedestal with which I hold their writing but certainly worth mentioning in the same breath.

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

brilliant 5 stars

great story. loads of action. great characters. would highly recommend to any fantasy reader. 5 stars.

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

Times for heroes are back!

What a gem! This book has been beautifully woven and raises the bar for fantasy authors. It sets a high standard for the future series.

I can't stop myself thinking that Anthony Ryan shares here, his idealistic fantasy world that only a child could dream of. There are dragons, lots of dragons, spies, rogues, sea battles and so much more. The concept of the new magic and new world with a well-developed history, politics and technology really draws the reader in.

The story is skilfully written. The author developes the characters in a natural and organic way as they pursue their adventures. It gives you this wonderful feeling of 'what's going to happen next?'.

I would place this novel among the other great epic fantasy books with a modern twist.

The times for heroes are back (!) and I willl be looking forward to devouring the next book in the series.

Steven Brand wouldn't be my first choice of the narrator.
Okay..., he delivers the story clearly, but nothing more. There is no clear distinguishment between the characters, emotion, excitement and he makes it so much harder to follow all the side stories and events. This book deserves so much better and I would be happy to wait longer for it before it's released if that would mean a better performer.

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15 people found this helpful

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

great for insomnia sufferers

Gave up after 45 minutes. The story might develop nicely; it's too steampunk sci-fi-esque for my taste. The performance really put me off though. The reader fails to convey any sense of excitement, reading with little modulation.

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1 person found this helpful