I thought this was a great story, but I think some listeners might be expecting this to be about Ineluki's rise and fall as the Storm King and the fall of A'sua - or about the forging of the 3 swords Memory, Sorrow and Thorn. It's not really about those things at all. It is ultimately a sadder story than what I was expecting. It is less focused on telling a more detailed version of Osten Ard lore that we're already familiar with. However, I have no doubt that certain things that happen in this story will ultimately have a great payoff in the final two "Last King of Osten Ard" books. I think James Lailey does a great job telling this story. The one drawback is that all of the other Osten Ard books are narrated by Andrew Wincott. Lailey makes his own choices with the pronunciation of certain names, which is totally fine by me since this stuff is all made up anyway. Wincott also has a certain way of delivering Sith and Norn dialogue where they all speak in a slower and contemplative manner which makes them stand out as immortals that have lived hundreds (or even thousands) of years. It stands as a great contrast to the human characters. These inconsistencies can be slightly distracting, but that doesn't mean there's anything wrong with Lailey's performance - he shouldn't be simply trying to copy Wincott. I was easily able to get over these issues and enjoy the story and Lailey's narration for the good work that it is.

Good story. I found the narration a bit too dramatic.