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  • Free the Darkness

  • King's Dark Tidings, Book 1
  • By: Kel Kade
  • Narrated by: Nick Podehl
  • Length: 16 hrs and 34 mins
  • 4.6 out of 5 stars (911 ratings)

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Free the Darkness cover art

Free the Darkness

By: Kel Kade
Narrated by: Nick Podehl
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Publisher's Summary

Raised and trained in seclusion at a secret fortress on the edge of the northern wilds of the Kingdom of Ashai, a young warrior called Rezkin is unexpectedly thrust into the outworld when a terrible battle destroys all that he knows. With no understanding of his life’s purpose and armed with masterful weapons mysteriously bestowed upon him by a dead king, Rezkin must travel across Ashai to find the one man who may hold the clues to his very existence.

Determined to adhere to his last orders, Rezkin extends his protection to an unlikely assortment of individuals he meets along the way, often leading to humorous and poignant incidents.

As if pursuing an elite warrior across a kingdom, figuring out who he is and why everyone he knows is dead, and attempting to find these so-called friends and protect them is not enough, strange things are happening in the kingdom. New dangers begin to arise that threaten not only Rezkin and his friends, but possibly everyone in Ashai.

This is the first installment of an ongoing series. This book is intended for adult readers. It contains graphic violence, creative language, and sexual innuendo. This book does not contain explicit sexual content.

©2015 Kel Kade (P)2016 Podium Publishing

What listeners say about Free the Darkness

Average Customer Ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Absolutely stunning!

Would you listen to Free the Darkness again? Why?

Yes, I would and will a number of times. The story is so well written, and the character is built up in a way so that you know how and why he acts even in simple interactions is true to his character, not just a plot device like so many authors do.

Also the narrator is stunning in his execution of the characters individual voices and expressions of emotion

What was one of the most memorable moments of Free the Darkness?

All of it, I genuinely laughed a dozen times through out the book. Its not a comedy per say, but so well written that the way peoples concepts of each other are almost enjoyable confused and written so well it does not seem forced i any way and is a very fluid read. I finished it within 24 hours of buying it.

Which scene did you most enjoy?

I don't know to be honest. It had everything i enjoy in a books main characters. Bad people are not spared because the people who should act aren't cowards, people don't have convenient spontaneous genius assumptions then go back to being innocent and stupid - well over played in so many other books that I am thoroughly sick of it. And there's a refreshing lack of bravado in the main character when usually people in the story will let something slip to make them seem better than themselves through happenstance of the writers choice.

If you made a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

I don't know if a movie could do the book OR the narrator credit

Any additional comments?

Now my new Favorited book and narrator. Each character has a distinct accent, there were appropriate emotion and pauses in the sentences that you would expect in any conversation. Love it

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21 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Tim
  • 19-03-2017

primary character is badly in need of flaws

The main character is too perfect and powerful without weakness (apart from not knowing the word 'friend' which make no sense given his wide reading of history and ability to pretend to be anyone).
If you want to read about overly power but flawed characters I suggest the Vorkosigan saga or The Name of the Wind.
Additionally the treatment of woman is insulting.
On plus side there is an interesting mystery as why the main character exists.

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15 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars
  • s
  • 18-03-2017

Don't judge a book by its cover; its cover is good

Would you try another book written by Kel Kade or narrated by Nick Podehl?

No

Which character – as performed by Nick Podehl – was your favourite?

None but not because of the performance, which was pretty good.

Any additional comments?

The story is cliched, linear and boring. The characters are two-dimensional, ridiculous and stereotypes. Based on the ratings, I kept waiting for it to become good, but it never did so then I couldn't wait for it to be over. Very disappointing.

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14 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Male power-fantasy trash

The protagonist isn't likeable. He is never in any danger. The "he doesn't understand how society works" joke is overplayed. Every female character is weak and most fawn over the protagonist. The protagonists motives and actions are extremely questionable. Just not interesting at all. Nick Podehl is great as always, bit his falsetto female voice combined with the terrible female dialogue just makes me want to end my life.

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11 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Brilliant!

I couldn't stop listening, can't wait for the next instalment. The author does such a great job at creating a believable key character and why he would be so unaware of how the emotion of loss and sadness would feel. He is a contradiction played beautifully by the author.

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8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Way too much swooning!

This series definitely has potential but I nearly gave up on their journey to kaibane. So much swooning from the female characters and time spent describing the hero's perfectly chiseled body (e.g. "like a god carved in alabaster") just distracts from the actual story. Won't be continuing with the series as a result which is unfortunate as it's a good story.

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7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

What a fantastic journey so far!

This was a very very enjoyable book. The likes of caricatures witch I have not come across since the books of David Gemmell. Extremely detailed and well researched. I for one, can not wait for the next instalment!

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7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Mary-Sue goes for a walk

Appalling. Horrifying. I was transfixed by this rubbish, unable to put it down. It was disgusting, I feel dirty and somewhat less than I was for the experience. How did it ever get published? That being said if your teenage boy I'm sure you will love it, and the performance was very good. Your money could be better spent is my recommendation.

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Plot looses focus. Over powered main character

Fails the bechdel test, There is no conclusion to the story it just finishes with no plot points covered. The book starts well, however at about half way it looses focus.

Main character is a robot who is too perfect.

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Horrid, unimaginative, homoe-erotic garbage

Don't bother with this cringe filled garbage. How it has such a high rating is astounding...
Utter uninspired, lazy tripe.

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5 people found this helpful

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