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The Free

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The Free

By: Brian Ruckley
Narrated by: Bernard Setaro Clark
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About this listen

 They are the most feared mecenary company the kingdom has ever known.
Led by Yulan, their charismatic captain, the Free have spent years selling their martial and magical skills to the highest bidder -- winning countless victories that have shaken the foundations of the world. Now they finally plan to lay down their swords.

Yet when Yulan is offered a final contract, he cannot refuse -- for the mission offers him the chance to erase the memories of the Free's darkest hour, which have haunted him for years.

As the Free embark on their last mission, a potent mix of loyalty and vengeance is building to a storm. Freedom, it seems, carries a deadly price. Action & Adventure Epic Fantasy Genre Fiction Historical Literary Fiction

Critic Reviews

"...the author delivers what...readers want: a big cast of interesting, sympathetic characters involved in complex, intelligent action and intrigue."—scifi.com on Winterbirth
"Heroic fantasy splashed with 300-style gore. . .Ruckley's realistic characters and sparing use of magic breathe new life into well-trod epic territory."—Entertainment Weekly on Winterbirth
"The author's unapologetically stark yet darkly poetic narrative displays a refreshing lack of stereotypical genre conventions, ensuring a fervent audience of epic fantasy fans..."—Publishers Weekly (starred review) on Winterbirth
"Ruckley is an imaginative, dramatic storyteller."—Associated Press
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Big fan of Ruckley's writing style. It's very clean and engaging and travels at a wonderful pace. The Free is a very enjoyable standalone with a fantastic magic system. It moves quickly, and you find yourself near the end without realising it. Book suffers from perhaps too many characters with too little fleshing out, but the story itself is a real page-turner. I only wish Ruckley wrote more. In general, and for this series. The world he built was teased just enough to make me want to know an awful lot more about it.

Fast-moving standalone

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