Listen free for 30 days

Listen with offer

  • Of Blood and Fire

  • The Bound and the Broken, Book 1
  • By: Ryan Cahill
  • Narrated by: Derek Perkins
  • Length: 16 hrs and 23 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (89 ratings)
Offer ends May 1st, 2024 11:59PM GMT. Terms and conditions apply.
£7.99/month after 3 months. Renews automatically.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Of Blood and Fire cover art

Of Blood and Fire

By: Ryan Cahill
Narrated by: Derek Perkins
Get this deal Try for £0.00

Pay £99p/month. After 3 months pay £7.99/month. Renews automatically. See terms for eligibility.

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £29.99

Buy Now for £29.99

Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.

Listeners also enjoyed...

The Will of the Many cover art
The Ember Blade cover art
The Justice of Kings cover art
We Are the Dead cover art
Elemental Links cover art
The Song of the First Blade cover art
Fatemarked cover art
Dragon Mage cover art
Montego cover art
Loremaster cover art
The Shadow of What Was Lost cover art
The Mercenary Code cover art
Court of Assassins cover art
Ascendant cover art
The Malevolent Seven cover art
The Other Magic cover art

Summary

Born in fire. Tempered in blood.

Epheria is a land divided by war and mistrust. The High Lords of the South squabble and fight, only kept in check by the Dragonguard, traitors of a time long past, who serve the empire of the North.

In the remote villages of Southern Epheria, still reeling from the tragic loss of his brother, Calen Bryer prepares for The Proving - a test of courage and skill that not all survive. But when three strangers arrive in the village of Milltown, with a secret they are willing to die for, Calen’s world is ripped from under him and he is thrust headfirst into a war that has been raging for centuries.

There is no prophecy. His coming was not foretold. He bleeds like any man, and bleed he will.

Includes bonus story The Fall.

©2021 Ryan Cahill (P)2021 Podium Audio

What listeners say about Of Blood and Fire

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    56
  • 4 Stars
    25
  • 3 Stars
    4
  • 2 Stars
    2
  • 1 Stars
    2
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    60
  • 4 Stars
    12
  • 3 Stars
    6
  • 2 Stars
    2
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    45
  • 4 Stars
    23
  • 3 Stars
    7
  • 2 Stars
    3
  • 1 Stars
    2

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Poor characterisation

I felt I had to add a review for this book, mainly as I got caught up in all the other wonderful reviews. I just don’t understand any of these reviews at all. Its like they read a completely different book. It’s poorly written and the characters are so bland that I didn’t care what happened to them at all. I’m a fan of long sagas and I don’t mind slow pacing. However, every character is bland, not one character has a distinctive voice. It’s very cliche, the same old tropes. In all honestly I can see where the influences have been taken from, the only problem is it’s been a hundred times and a lot lot better. The’s nothing “new” just a poor rehash.
I gave this book 8 hours in the vain hope I would start to enjoy it and care what happens. It’s a shame as I’m sure there’s a half decent story there, but no matter how good the narrator is (and Perkins is brilliant) there’s only so much he can do with it. The writings not great. That aside if you’re going to write a long slower paced book (with multiple books)there needs to be strong characterisation to keep it interesting. I really wouldn’t waste the credit.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

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

A fantastic debut and fantastic performance

I loved this - it is warming and nostalgic, a reminder of all I love in the genre.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

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

A must listen epic fantasy adventure

The story had me gripped from the first few chapters and transported into the world of Epheria. The adventure Cahill takes you on will have you both laughing and crying as you feel like your on the journey alongside Calen and his friends. Highly recommend for all fantasy lovers. Derek Perkins also does a great job as narrator for the book with his different character voices and tone. Can't wait for the second!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

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

Old school fantasy at its best

This is a story reminiscent of Lord of the Rings which although borrowing from this epic it is done so with love and admiration. It does contain adult themes, violence etc but at its core is heart, family and adventure. I'm also told book 2 and book 3 are even better, so highly recommended

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

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

A fantastic fantasy debut with excellent narration

I'll have a full review up on goodreads and my instagram (dublin_book_review).

This is a brilliant debut from a fantastic Irish novelist. I read the fall novella prior to reading this. It's an excellent blend of classic and modern fantasy elements. With intricate and powerful magic, an excellent cast of characters of all fantasy races, and story that while builds slowly. Is captivating and interesting. I'd reccomend this book to anyone, the fall is a ripping roller-coaster 90 minute battle that grabs hold of you and doesn't let go. Can't wait to check out book 2 this November. I'm very interested to see where this story goes

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

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

WOW you have another fan

This book gets a hold on you and you will have trouble putting it down. When I started it I was thinking it would be like any other fantasy book, but from the moment the story starts you are in the middle of everything!
Very well written and I am looking forward to all the rest.
I loved the whole book. Please don't stop writing.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

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

Here, there'll be dragons!

Of Blood and Fire is a delightful new take on the well known epic fantasy tropes. The book is an example of how to do these tropes right! And it is only the first installment in The Bound and the Broken series.

The story grabbed me from the very beginning. The world is vast with a lot of history, the characters genuine and the plot well-paced.

The characters are definitely a strength of this book. Every time I picked up the book it felt like I was returning to old friends. While I like the main character I am very much intrigued by the story of some of the side characters that I hope to see more of in the following books. I also have to mention the villains. While we only see them sporadically, they feel real with complex motivations. I am looking forward to seeing more of them too.

My favourite part was the way the world building was done. There is a lot of background information, different races with their own histories and cultures, past wars, dragons! and magic but all of it is presented in easily digestible bits, as natural parts of the plot, without infodumping. The more I found out about the world the more I wanted to know! I am really looking forward to jumping into the second book!

I can wholeheartedly recommend this book to all lovers of epic fantasy!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

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

the ending resonates with the phantom menace ( star wars)

not the greatest story. enjoyable. seems like it's clearly written with the intent to be a netflix script. Nice light read. the trouble is that there is absolutely nothing original in it.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

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

Outstanding

I enjoyed reading this so much I decided to listen to the Audible version and I was not disappointed.

Great plot, wonderful world building and brilliant characters. An example of high fantasy at its finest and it even came with a copy of the the prequel Fallen which Derek Perkins brought alive as only he can.

If you are looking for a new series to immerse yourself in then I can not recommend this highly enough.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

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

Narrator far to Whiney !

Love the story by Ryan . Narrator is great when reading the story , describing places etc. But the character voices are awful. All sound the same and so whiny , Rist , Dan and Calen all sound like a pack of teenage girls. And it’s not the writing. It’s the tone the narrator uses . I certainly will be buying the physical copy of the second book as it’s annoying me too much

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!