The Emperor's Blades
Chronicle of the Unhewn Throne: Book #1
- By: Brian Staveley
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 18 hours 45 minutes
Bookseller Recommendation
If you enjoyed The Name of the Wind, then you’ll love The Emperor's Blades.
“Lyrical storytelling is what makes these books sing, and if you enjoyed Rothfuss' storytelling you will be sure to appreciate Staveley's prose.”
Kate, Ballast Book Co.
Description
“A vividly imagined story of conspiracy and empire.” —Col Buchanan, author of Farlander
The emperor of Annur is dead, slain by enemies unknown. His daughter and two sons, scattered across the world, do what they must to stay alive and unmask the assassins. But each of them also has a life-path on which their father set them, their destinies entangled with both ancient enemies and inscrutable gods.
Kaden, the heir to the Unhewn Throne, has spent eight years sequestered in a remote mountain monastery, learning the enigmatic discipline of monks devoted to the Blank God. Their rituals hold the key to an ancient power he must master before it’s too late.
An ocean away, Valyn endures the brutal training of the Kettral, elite soldiers who fly into battle on gigantic black hawks. But before he can set out to save Kaden, Valyn must survive one horrific final test.
At the heart of the empire, Minister Adare, elevated to her station by one of the emperor’s final acts, is determined to prove herself to her people. But Adare also believes she knows who murdered her father, and she will stop at nothing—and risk everything—to see that justice is meted out.
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Chronicle of the Unhewn Throne Series

The Emperor's Blades
By: Brian Staveley
Narrated by: Simon Vance
Length: 18 hours 45 minutes
Abridged: No
“A vividly imagined story of conspiracy and empire.” —Col Buchanan, author of Farlander
The emperor of Annur is dead, slain by enemies unknown. His daughter and two sons, scattered across the world, do what they must to stay alive and unmask the assassins. But each of them also has a life-path on which their father set them, their destinies... Read more »
Learn more
The Providence of Fire
By: Brian Staveley
Narrated by: Simon Vance
Length: 23 hours 38 minutes
Abridged: No
Brian Staveley's The Providence of Fire, the second novel in the Chronicle of the Unhewn Throne, a gripping new epic fantasy series in the tradition of Brandon Sanderson and George R. R. Martin
The conspiracy to destroy the ruling family of the Annurian Empire is far from over.
Having learned the identity of her father's assassin, Adare flees the... Read more »
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The Last Mortal Bond
By: Brian Staveley
Length: 29 hours 31 minutes
Abridged: No
The trilogy that began with The Emperor's Blades and continued in The Providence of Fire reaches its epic conclusion, as war engulfs the Annurian Empire in Brian Staveley's The Last Mortal Bond
The ancient csestriim are back to finish their purge of humanity; armies march against the capital; leaches, solitary beings who draw power from the... Read more »
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Skullsworn
By: Brian Staveley
Length: 15 hours 21 minutes
Abridged: No
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
“Brilliant.”—V. E. Schwab, New York Times bestselling author
From the award-winning epic fantasy world of The Emperor’s Blades…Pyrre Lakatur is not, to her mind, an assassin, not a... Read more »
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