Ryan Cahill Audiobooks

Of Blood and Fire: the opening move of The Bound and The Broken epic fantasy

1 audiobook reviewed

★ 4.4/5 average

10 listener ratings

Who is Ryan Cahill?

Sixteen hours is a declaration of intent in fantasy. It rules out the tightly plotted standalone and commits instead to the older bargain of the genre: a world explained as you go, a cast that widens, and a plot that fully expects to be continued elsewhere. Of Blood and Fire opens The Bound and The Broken, and everything about its shape says epic rather than episode.

Ryan Cahill writes in the tradition that runs on invented history and hard-won loyalties, the sort of storytelling where dragons and old grievances share a page and neither feels bolted on. Our catalogue files the book under fantasy and general fiction, and the title sets out the register plainly enough on its own.

Ryan Cahill in audiobooks

Derek Perkins narrates, a name that needs no introduction to anyone who listens to epic fantasy on audio. Steadiness across a long running time is exactly what a first volume requires, since the listener is still learning names, places and allegiances and depends on the reader to keep them distinct.

Ratings so far are encouraging but drawn from a small pool, so treat them as an early indication rather than a verdict. Where to begin is not in doubt: this is the first movement of the sequence and assumes nothing.

Listeners who like their fantasy long, serious and built to continue will find themselves at home immediately. Have a look at what is on the shelf below.