Brian Staveley's new standalone returns to the critically acclaimed Chronicle of the Unhewn Throne universe, following a priestess-assassin for the God of Death

From the award-winning epic fantasy world of The Emperor's Blades...

Pyrre Lakatur is not, to her mind, an assassin, not a murderer - she is a priestess. At least, she will be once she passes her final trial.

The problem isn't the killing. The problem, rather, is love. For to complete her trial, Pyrre has ten days to kill the seven people enumerated in an ancient song, including "the one who made your mind and body sing with love / who will not come again."

Pyrre isn't sure she's ever been in love. And if she fails to find someone who can draw such passion from her, or fails to kill that someone, her order will give her to their god, the God of Death. Pyrre's not afraid to die, but she hates to fail, and so, as her trial is set to begin, she returns to the city of her birth in the hope of finding love... and ending it on the edge of her sword.

Listening Length

15 hours and 21 minutes
Author

Brian Staveley
Narrator

Elizabeth Knowelden
Audible release date

April 25 2017
Language

English
Publisher

Brilliance Audio
ASIN

B071VQJGX9
Version

Unabridged
Program Type

Audiobook
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Product details

Listening Length	15 hours and 21 minutes
Author	Brian Staveley
Narrator	Elizabeth Knowelden
Audible.ca Release Date	April 25 2017
Publisher	Brilliance Audio
Program Type	Audiobook
Version	Unabridged
Language	English
ASIN	B071VQJGX9
Best Sellers Rank	#7,402 in Audible Books & Originals (See Top 100 in Audible Books & Originals) #38 in Military Fantasy #106 in Dark Fantasy (Audible Books & Originals) #487 in Dark Fantasy Horror Fiction

Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5

1,222 global ratings

5 star		56%
4 star		31%
3 star		9%
2 star		1%
1 star		1%

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Seyedamin firouzeh

Received in perfect condition

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on March 17, 2023

Verified Purchase

Well the condition of book is perfect and I liked that it came with the book cover.
This standalone is forgotten gem in fantasy world. It is very well written and it is on my top standalone fantasy book.

Helpful

Caitlyn Morrison

As described

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on July 30, 2021

Verified Purchase

It was as described and delivered fairly quickly.

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Oglark

A rare gem

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on July 17, 2017

Verified Purchase

I honestly am at a loss for words. This was a very beautiful novel. I am gratified that I was completely wrong about one of the plot points. Anyway this in a way is better than the preceding trilogy. Highly recommended.

Helpful

Jessica Strider

Great Stand-alone fantasy novel

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on April 25, 2017

Pros: excellent characters, great world-building, variety of fights

Cons:

Pyrre has reached the final test for becoming a priestess of Ananshael. She must kill seven people in fourteen days. But her final target must be someone she loves above all others, and Pyrre has never known love. So she returns to the city of her birth and the man she once knew, hoping he’ll be The One.

Pyrre appears as a side character in Staveley’s Chronicle of the Unhewn Throne. This is a stand-alone novel where she - and her worship of the god of death - are in the forefront. While the previous books aren’t necessary to enjoy this one, there are descriptions of Rassambur, the assassin’s home base, in book three, Last Mortal Bond, which flesh out the city and the practice of Ananshael’s priests.

Witnessing her trial are two priests, Kossal, an older man who speaks truth and has few cares for the world, and Ela, the woman he loves, who loves everybody and who’s as graceful as she is deadly. Ela tries to teach Pyrre what love is, a conversation that involves as many knives as you’d expect from a duo of professional assassins.

There’s a surprising amount of banter considering the premise of the book. I enjoyed Pyrre’s attempts to understand her own emotions as she alternates between getting closer and further away from Ruc Lan Lac. Her plan is overly convoluted but has some fascinating consequences. I especially enjoyed the chapters dealing with the delta and life there.

The world-building was top notch, expanding an unexplored area of the world but tying it and its history into that of the previous books. The delta felt vibrant and the dangers - and how to deal with them - realistic. The local religion also had weight to it, practiced differently by the city folk and the delta people.

As expected, there are some fabulous fight scenes, against a surprising variety of people and things.

This was an excellent book.

2 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

Andy White

Tight, Twisting Fantasy

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on August 10, 2018

Verified Purchase

"Language is a useful tool, but it's only a tool. The truth is too large for it."
Skullsworn delivers a punch.
+ The prose is lyrical, rhythmic. Delivered by a strong first-person POV.
+ The plot is tightly wound and drums up a beat of its own into a damn satisfying ending.
+ It is damn quotable, really there's some fantastic sentences, paragraphs in there
+ The small cast of characters get plenty of face-time with the reader, enough to find comfort in their flaws and traits. I liked them all
+ Pyrre just feels easier to like than the average "anti-hero/anti-villain (depending on how you look at it)" Her emotional arc converges masterfully with the climax of the novel.
+ This could definitely be classed as a new wave of genre-literature. The prose is noticeable as are the narrative techniques. A few of the metaphors left me shrugging but the stumbles are few and far between.
+ The city where this book is set is incredible - essentially a character all on its own.
+ The character's aren't 'evil' or 'good' for the sake of it, their personal motivations and philosophies are explored, and crash against each other.

Overall very solid. I only read the first book in Brian's original trilogy, you can definitely notice an improvement between the books.
Definitely pick this up if you like gritty, well-written first-person fantasy such as The Broken Empire by Mark Lawrence or Raven's Mark by Ed McDonald

4 people found this helpful

Amazon Customer

Great book.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on July 10, 2017

Verified Purchase

I liked this book, enough to write this down. I won't go into story lines or comment on any characters in the book like some annoying people do trying to write a professional review. What I will say is i enjoyed this as much as idid the trilogy, it could be read first infact I'd recommend reading it before the other books.

4 people found this helpful

Ekaterina Razumova

story of Pyrre

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on September 9, 2020

Verified Purchase

Not bad. I liked that heroine in the original series and read this prequel story with interest. Great imagination, unfortunately li.ited by fascination with the endless ways to kill people.

One person found this helpful

D Caughey

This is a great read if you like fantasy

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on June 17, 2018

Verified Purchase

This is a great read if you like fantasy, full of great characters and great stroylines.

One person found this helpful

Katrina

Loved it

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on November 14, 2018

Verified Purchase

Great book. Worth the money and your time.

One person found this helpful

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Skullsworn: Chronicle of the Unhewn Throne Audible Audiobook – Unabridged

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