Source: Author – I received this in exchange for an honest review. I received no compensation.
Publisher: –
Series: The Lost Shards #2
Narrator: Keith Michaelson
Edition: Audiobook, 8 Hours 34 Minutes
Genre: Fantasy/ Sci-fi
Purchase: Amazon / Audible / Barnes & Noble
Rating: 4/5 Stars
Rho has awakened. Its acolytes will tear worlds apart to release their deity from its prison. Any hope of Rho’s defeat lies with two people lost in a strange universe. Kaden and Aren must learn to harness all their unique gifts if they are to rival the god of darkness reborn.
They will not fight alone. A brilliant geneticist, a furry dwaro, two less than friendly elves, dragons, and a spunky red-haired computer stand with them. But if Kaden and Aren fail to reach their full potential, all of reality will be devoured until nothing remains but Rho.
Obsidian Threads is the second book in the The Lost Shards series, which started with The Crystal Bridge. So far this series has been a very unique and complex weaving of both science fiction and fantasy, mixing in the fight against evil in a magical land with the science of our world. Where book one set up the conflict, Obsidian Threads jumps head long into it.
We’re back with our two main characters Kaden and Aren, but we get some new characters thrown into the mix and we get to see more of the social inner workings of the Ealdar. The strain between humans and the Dwaro and the Sidra is explained in more depth, and we get to see both sides of the problem. Taggers, a newer character, is a lowly human with a innate ability with magic holds a lot of really cool moments and I look forward to seeing more from in the next book.
The battle with Rho really comes to a head in this one, as both Kaden and Aren are pulled into a battle to help defend and protect all of the universe from Rho ever increasing hunger and darkness. While there is a lot of planning, social maneuvering and added world building there are also some really great scenes with action and some with a more sinister edge to them thanks to Rho’s following and Omegaphile. I really breezed through this audio rather quickly once I got back into it, which was really easy because they author was awesome enough to put a recap at the beginning of the book to help you recall the events and people of book one! ALL FANTASY BOOKS NEED THIS!
Keith Michaelson is a delight to listen to, with his crisp clear voice and plenty of emotion packed into the reading. I’m particularly fond of his voice for Rho and for the ancients, but his Dwaro accent is pretty awesome too.
Overall, I’m glad I finally got to make time for this one because it such a good continuation of the first one. The ending isn’t a cliffhanger which is awesome, but it does leave off in a place where you simply need to know what’s going to happen next!
In Libris Veritas 