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The Legacy
- The Darkness Within Saga, Book 1
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Series: The Darkness Within Saga, Book 1
- Length: 21 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged Audiobook
- Categories: Science Fiction & Fantasy, Fantasy
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Very entertaining but strangely flat
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Summary
DeathWizards have been the scourge of Talohna for over 5000 years; they are executed at birth or hunted to the death. There are no exceptions.
Pulled by magic and blood sacrifice into a world he can't possibly begin to understand, Kael Symes soon finds himself the focus of a Talohna-wide manhunt.
Desperate and trying to stay ahead of ArchWizard Giddeon Zirakus's execution squad, Kael soon discovers that Talohna's ArchWizard may be the least of his worries. An ancient witch coven is also on the hunt for Kael, and they'll stop at nothing to find their messiah first.
Trapped far below the earth inside the long-lost Dwarven prison of Arkum Zul, Kael has few allies he can trust. After months of torture and suffering, he is quickly running out of time to recover what was stolen from him: The magic of the DeathWizard.
It's his only hope for escape.
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What listeners say about The Legacy
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Performance
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- Alexandru Dorel Ungureanu
- 26-09-18
Horrible
This book is perfect for those who like a weak main character who should be powerful but manages to make every possible wrong choice, the author manages to make you soo angry the entire book that just finishing it is simple pain. I understand that a main character has to struggle before growing but when you force it like this it is just bad.
10 people found this helpful
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- Marcus a
- 14-09-17
I enjoyed
I enjoy this book quite a lot made you think of between Good and Evil it also made you about how you schuh in the people are evil but not just because of who they are
4 people found this helpful
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Overall
- lynsey Patina
- 04-09-17
Great New Fantasy Series
Fast, Fun, Gritty and Intriguing! I enjoyed this book very much, lots of strong characters and very interesting plots and sub plots. I anticipate the next installment will be a fantastical, fantasy feast! Simon Vance as always is perfect.
4 people found this helpful
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- Magbug
- 05-06-18
No quite ready
The basic premise is interesting enough, but the dull writing, weak characterization and constant trite phraseology finally defeated me. Skipped to the end but it did not seem to improve.
7 people found this helpful
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- kyle toyne
- 26-08-17
spellbinding
this book was an amazing listen, the narration was perfect cant wait for the second book
6 people found this helpful
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- PJaff
- 14-09-17
Gripping start to a great fantasy set
Fantastic 1st book hope that I don't have to wait too long for book 2 ro cone out
9 people found this helpful
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- Peter
- 16-07-18
good concept poorly executed
I wrestled my way through this book with a constant hope that it would improve. the concept seemed to be a good one but it was just poorly written. shallow character development, stilted/forced interactions between the characters and jumps in the plot let it down. even the usually dependable narrator seemed to struggle with it. I try to avoid negative reviews as I realise how much devotion and dedication it takes to complete a novel, but unfortunately on this occasion I feel the need to speak up. sorry!
2 people found this helpful
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- James
- 13-03-18
MAGICAL!!!
Would you listen to The Legacy again? Why?
Gladly! I admit that the shift in worlds near the beginning of the story threw me off to the point I thought it was something wrong with the download but bare with it and it you will not be disappointed.
Who was your favorite character and why?
Elise (not sure if this is the correct spelling) is by far my favourite character. Her secrets that keep creeping out make you want to want her to spill them all at once.
What about Simon Vance’s performance did you like?
Amazing narrator, captured each character perfectly. I will be hunting for more books narrated by him.
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
Definitely!!! I struggled to stop listening
Any additional comments?
JD Franx is an author I have not heard before but I beg to god that he brings more books to audible. If you like stories by the following: Brandon Sanderson, Trudi Canavan, James Maxwell, Stephen Aryan and Patrick Rothfuss then you will LOVE this series. I am about to start listening to the next book and cant wait to dive back into the magical adventure that awaits.
Do not make the mistake of not giving this series a chance, you will regret not adding this masterpiece to your collection.
4 people found this helpful
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- diamondoll
- 28-10-17
Very enjoyable
Not the very best, but certainly entertaining and unusual ( it doesn't follow all the conventions of the genre)
Recommended
4 people found this helpful
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- Sam
- 09-10-17
A true Fantasy griping story.
This being the first fantasy audio book I have listen to my option is probably not the greatest but I know comparing this to thing such as Lord of the ring and Harry Potter its a or-some roller coaster of excitement mystery and emotional twists. With out putting spoilers in I can say all the characters are written to make you feel empathy hatred and all kinds of emotions towards each and everyone. I truly enjoyed this book and hope the next one will come soon it defiantly made my day of working a lot faster and more enjoyable experience. Sorry yes my writing is terrible sorry to put you through it.
6 people found this helpful
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- Sailfish
- 21-04-18
An interesting take on Multiverse Fantasy
The author has taken an interesting twist on what, so far, is mostly an epic fantasy story. The primary realm is similar to what would be found in magical realms and includes many typical characters like wizards, fae, elves, dwarfs but also vampiers. death witches, pirates and necromancers.
The primary thing that sets this off from other works is that the 3 primary adult protagonists were pulled into this realm after being raised in a sleepy mundane Washington State beach town in the US. The story then focuses on their ability to adjust to the incomprehensibility of their surrounding and trials and travails thrust upon them.
JD Franx writing is very good and Simon Vance gives a typically excellent narrating performance.
Fair Warning: There is an over-abundance of brutal and goreish sections, some particularly sadistic, however, the rest of the novel was highly entertaining.
37 people found this helpful
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- Zachary
- 09-08-17
Good story. Recommend it.
Excellent story, loved it even. Strong world building and lots of grey characters that feel real. Except the main character. He almost ruined it for me. He has the problem that arises, at least to me and that occurs a lot in recently written books by many authors, and it is that he's afraid or remorseful of taking life, inexplicably so. I understand the need to be human and good... But there was a scene, and spoiler's, where he took bullets from some gang members instead of shooting back because he didn't want to see death... that in itself I can understand. But his wife was with him and she nearly died. That I don't. You protect those you care about, not die for a belief that will injure others. Happens again and again through the story. Stupid mistakes he makes that get others hurt.. and all he can complain about is how much this place sucks and how he can't be a good guy. And then he feels bad because others got hurt. What!! The author probably had his reasons... it was too weird for me. Cannot stand cowardly or saintly main characters... the reader has to be off like mind to enjoy it. And that's not me. It was hard for me to connect with him, couldn't really feel sorry for him at all, which was opposite of what was intended. But other than that.. loved the book. Probably will buy book #2.
68 people found this helpful
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- Scott
- 09-10-18
Frustrating
This book has great characters and great story but the author’s insistence on making every decision by the characters turn into a great struggle, the fact that the most accomplished wizard never can do any magic and everyone loses every fight just to luck their way out gets very tiresome and just leaves you feeling frustrated. This is the first time I wished for an abridged version of any book because it could be so good but unfortunately is not.
15 people found this helpful
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- Amazon Customer
- 29-11-17
All tell, no show
I enjoyed the story, but the writing fell short - too many info dumps. I have 5 hours more and am forcing myself to finish, but I doubt I’ll continue the series
15 people found this helpful
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- surfgoat
- 21-02-19
Magic is a crutch
I am amazed and disappointed that this book received such high reviews. I did finally finish the book; mostly because I wanted to be able to provide a fair review, but I will not be continuing on to the next one in the series nor will I ever read another by the author. I understand how others could enjoy this series; after all, people enjoy spaghetti-O's too despite them being a culinary perversion. I, however, could not get past the clichés, the truly awful dialog, and the unimaginative way that the author uses magic as a literary device to solve any and all problems.
First, the clichés. This book takes every element of science fiction, magic, demons, angels, gods, dwarves, elves, witches, fairies, vampires, dragons, etc., etc., etc. and works them into the ridiculous world he has created. This conglomeration of folk tales, science fiction, and Tolkien-kind sounds like it would be fun, and is indeed one of the things that made me pick this book up, but the author made absolutely no attempt to harmonize these distinct archetypes so that their existence in the same world made any kind of sense. In a world of Greek-like gods, where do angels, elves, dwarves, fairies, vampires, and dragons fit in? An effective and creative author could certainly pull them together and create a backstory where each race fit into the pantheon of gods but this author put little effort into rationalizing the relationships between these fictional elements. Instead, each one has characteristics typical of their origin so vampires are hurt by silver, dragons are immune to magic, and witches wear dark robes and are evil. Combining them in a single story is an original idea, but the characters themselves are unimaginative and cliché.
Next, the dialog. Where to begin. Several of the main characters are transported through a dimensional rift from Washington state to a world of magic and monsters. After traveling through space and time to a distant universe, the Washington natives find that everyone in this distant land speaks English. The worst part of this narrative shortcut is that now the reader can be subjected to dialog that is nothing short of mind-numbing. I can't help but picture the author as a lonely and reclusive social outcast who's interaction with the rest of humanity has happened primarily over the internet. The dialog is what you would expect from someone unaccustomed to speaking with other human beings and is so laughably juvenile that it was hard to become invested in the plight of any character because they sounded and acted like idiots. I feel for the narrator who had to put voice to the dialog.
Finally, the magic. The weakest and most annoying part of this books is the use of magic. While the author makes a weak attempt to provide some rules around his magic system through the terrible dialog which I have already discussed, those rules seem to be obstacles to the authors narrative rather than plot devices. Anytime the author wants to advance the story he just throws in some new magic to make it happen. Main characters captured by bloodthirsty pirates, no problem, someone in the group who has so far shown no magic affinity suddenly performs a transportation spell lost for millennia. Main character tortured or savaged by monsters so badly that no living being could heal him, no problem, "bibbidibobidiboo" and he's miraculously healed. Vampire killed with silver daggers and thrown into a pit, no problem, demonic power brings her back from death even stronger. And this goes on and on and on. Magic is the crutch, the single narrative device that the author wields like a sledge hammer to cobble together a story with so many plot holes and contradictions that it is impossible to become invested in the characters. There's no reason to fear or worry along with the characters and no reason to try and solve the mysteries and riddles of the plot. In the end, magic will fix everything in a way that no one but the author could imagine.
This is far from being a good work of fiction. On the contrary, it is one of the worst books I have ever gotten through. While not completely devoid of interesting ideas and perspectives, as a whole it is a poor work of literature that lacks the intelligence and creativity that makes this genre great.
8 people found this helpful
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- Business_MD
- 18-08-18
Lots to love. Lots to dislike.
Two hours into this book, I thought it was one of the best books ever. Then the author spends the next 10 hours torturing his main characters. Plot twists are unbelievable. Character abilities are unbelievable. Nothing about this book is believable. But the author is super creative. It is really interesting all the ideas that are spun into this tale. I liked it. But I'd only recommend it with heavy reservations.
6 people found this helpful
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- Kindle Customer
- 18-08-18
The Plot and all subplots are never resolved.
The story keeps on adding new characters and subplots that never amount to anything. I enjoyed the first quarter of this book but afterwards it just dragged on.
7 people found this helpful
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- David R
- 10-09-18
Another pathetic hero
If you like listening to a story Where an "all powerful" hero is weak and a carebear constantly Getting into situations like inspector gadget and only Getting through it by cliche luck then this is a good book. I don't, the story is from the mind of a bad GM who thinks that NPC always have the logic of an 80's action movie. The people in this book do things that don't make logical sense. Don't bother with this one.
17 people found this helpful
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- Michael Dunster
- 25-05-22
NWF
Not worth finishing. The story is played out. Excellent narration wasted on a poor story. First series I've started only to leave with no chance of returning
1 person found this helpful
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- Thomas
- 15-02-22
You have to learn to like these books.Thanks
One of the keys to enjoying these rather mediocre books is learning to ignore the endless story inconsistencies and to never look too hard at either the plot or the characters motivations. Just take things as they come and don't question. At first the inconsistencies were driving me crazy. For instance, they would walk for miles immediately followed by they walked just over an hour, or two gold pieces would be two years pay and then on the next page two gold pieces won't buy two weeks worth of food. These types of inconsistencies are endless and go on and on. So just ignore them. Or try?
Then there are the weird plot holes. My favorite so far was when they were trying to get the main character to kill his friends. They said, "You kill them and if you don't then I will!". When the main character refused the bad guys killed his friends. That just seemed weird. Additional fun items include: the all powerful master wizard who has yet to effectively do anything and the friendly and loving ageless assassin who only kills people for money. I must also say there are a million characters to keep track of but that is part of the messiness of these books in general.
Lets just say that everything about these books is messy, including the dialogue. But I am enjoying them...kind of. I might buy the third one but don't want to commit right now.
1 person found this helpful