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  • A Touch of Light

  • The Ashes of Avarin, Book 1
  • By: Thiago Abdalla
  • Narrated by: Kevin Kemp
  • Length: 13 hrs and 48 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (21 ratings)
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A Touch of Light

By: Thiago Abdalla
Narrated by: Kevin Kemp
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Summary

How far would you go to resurrect someone you love? Would you change who you are to show you belong?

The world of Avarin is tearing itself apart. The Domain worships life, its rulers lead eternal lives, and death is a shame that must not be mourned. For the clans to the south, however, death is all that keeps the Earth alive.

But old enemies are rising.

A madness spreads throughout the Domain, and Lynn, a rogue griffin rider in hiding, might be the only one who knows how to fight it, while Adrian, a Domain prince seeking to bring his dead loved ones to worthiness, leads the Domain armies against the madmen.

The clans suffer a madness of their own. As the land itself begins to wither away, Nasha, a cursed hunter and lifelong outcast, desperately fights for belonging in the Ronar, while her clan seeks to heal the land.

Old beliefs will be challenged as the people of Avarin fight to save it…before death comes for them all.

A sweeping epic fantasy saga where religion and politics are one, magic brings terror into the hearts of men, and a looming blight threatens to tear everything down

©2022 The Alterian Press (P)2022 The Alterian Press

What listeners say about A Touch of Light

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    3 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

well narrated , but this one wasn't for me

I'll start with the positives , this story is excellently narrated and very well written . the dialogue and action are top quality. of the 3 POVs , I had mixed feelings , one I loved, another I kind of like and another I just couldn't get invested. there's a lot going on in this book, it's fast moving and a lot is either left up to the reader to decipher. I don't need my hand held when reading fantasy but at a certain point if Its not easy to figure out what's going on in a certain scene I'll lose interest.

I can tell this is a great book by the many positive reviews. but I think it just wasn't for me personally.

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Can't wait for book 2!

This was my first experience of listening to an audiobook and I have to say I'm converted. Kevin Kemp's narration made the characters and prose come to life in a totally new way for me. He is extremely versatile and I couldn't believe all the different voices and accents he used.
I loved the book itself, the characters and magic are intriguing and I can't wait to find out how they will come together in later books. I love finding a new fantasy series and have definitely found my next one.

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

Excellent narration by voice actor Kevin Kemp!

I always enjoy books narrated by Kevin Kemp and this fantasy novel by Thiago Abdalla was no exception! Kevin Kemp brings the characters to life with his excellent narration and commitment to the story. I'm looking forward to the next Ashes of Avarin book already!

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Marvellous book with a very accomplished narrator.

I was very pleasantly surprised by the quality of the prose and overall writing agility Abdalla shows with his debut novel. It's such a confident and original statement of intent. And the narration is very adeptly handled with characters well portrayed and a thoroughly enjoyable voice to spend some time with. Very much reccomended!

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Fantastic ! Absolutely loved this audiobook

Absolutely loved this audiobook.
Loved the storyline and the characters.
The narration is EXCELLENT, at times forgetting that the book was narrated by only one person, as Kevin Kemp switched effortlessly between characters and their very different accents came alive in my imagination.
Cannot wait for Book 2 …

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    3 out of 5 stars

An ambitious debut

A Touch of Light is an ambitious first entry into the Ashes of Avarin Series. I listened to the audiobook, which was masterfully performed by Kevin Kemp. I was very excited to dive into this book and there were elements that I really loved and were done well but ultimately the book left me with mixed feelings.

Let's start with the things that worked for me:

The world. The world is interesting and I felt it was well thought out with a rich history. Death is a central theme of this book and I liked how Thiago shows how the different cultures treat it.

The writing. I thought the writing was great with a nice flow to it.

Now onto the things that didn't work for me:

The characters. This is a big one for me as I usually need to like at least one of the characters in order to fully enjoy a book. Unfortunately the book failed to make me care about any of the characters. There are 3 main PoVs in this book. They all start off to be interesting but fall short real quick. I felt like one of the 3 PoVs was completely out of place and the book would have been able to convey the same story and the same message even without her arc, especially because she never even crosses paths with the other two.

The plot. There was just something about the plot that left me with the feeling that something is missing. The whole book I was waiting for the real plot to begin but I never felt it actually did.

The world building: As I said before I really liked the world but I think the world building could have been better. There were certain things that just popped up out of the blue and we got zero explanation about them.

Finally, while reading this book I constantly felt like I was missing something, some vital information that would make me understand the whys. I think some of this information is there in the prequel novella. I haven't read that yet but based on what I heard from others it contains information that are necessary for the book. For anyone looking to dive into this series I recommend starting with the novella.

While A Touch of Light didn't hit all the right notes for me, I can definitely see why it worked for others.

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

Excellent performance of an excellent book!!

In this self-pub debut, we follow three characters in the lands of Avarin. Now, you probably couldn’t find three characters that are more different from each other than these three and I honestly really liked that.
Two of our characters, prince Adrian and Sentinel Lynn, live in the Domain. This is an area of land consisting of multiple different countries, where people follow the faith of the Seraph. Now, I’m not going to dive into what this religion entails, because part of the fun of reading this book is slowly discovering this world and seeing all the puzzle pieces fall into place.
Anyway, our third POV provides a completely different perspective into this world, because Nasha is a hunter who lives in the Clan Lands to the south of the Domain. And I am not exaggerating when I say that the way of life in the Clan Lands is essentially the complete antithesis to everything that the Domain stands for.
So yeah, needless to say there are some major culture clashes in this book. I really loved that we got to explore this world through these characters with such different backgrounds and different beliefs.

I can see how some people might think that the switches between these three very different POVs feel a bit jarring, but I personally think that the author wrote it this way with a purpose and pulled it off masterfully. Also, there is one very intriguing overarching threat that ends up binding all these storylines together. That is, there is a mysterious plague spreading throughout this world, which leaves the infected in a state of feral madness. The intrigue and mystery surrounding this plague really had me glued to the page, as I was so eager to find out more about where this threat was coming from and what it exactly was.

Now, I honestly couldn’t pick a favourite character if I had to. They were all so well-written and I loved that they all had different struggles to deal with and overcome. Though, the fact that Lynn is bonded to a griffin does give her a slight edge, haha.
Also, not only are our main characters incredibly complex and compelling to read about, but the side characters are just as three-dimensional and well-developed. Everyone has their own agenda and this story is chock-full of scheming and backstabbing, which had me on the edge of my seat.
Lastly, the writing is insanely good and super immersive. And don’t even get me started on the action/battle scenes, those had my heart racing!
The stakes are high, nothing is as it seems to be and you never know who you can trust.

So, safe to say I adored A Touch of Light with all my heart. I am so eager to see how the story continues, because THAT ENDING! I need answers!! I’d highly recommend this for anyone who is interested in fast-paced fantasy, themes of death and loss, exploring the meaning of life, culture clashes, mysterious threats, betrayals and backstabbing, characters with hidden pasts and… oh, yeah, griffins ;)

The audiobook is incredible. I mean, the story itself is already amazing, but this narrator absolutely nailed it and completely transported me into this world with his performance. One of the best audiobook experiences I've ever had!

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