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Age of Assassins

The Wounded Kingdom, Book 1

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Age of Assassins

By: RJ Barker
Narrated by: Joe Jameson
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£5.99/mo after 3 months. Offer ends on 5 July 2026 at 11:59 BST. Cancel monthly.

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Shortlisted for the David Gemmell Awards 2018

Shortlisted for the Kitschie Award 2018

To catch an assassin, use an assassin....

Girton Club-Foot, apprentice to the land's best assassin, still has much to learn about the art of taking lives. But their latest mission tasks him and his master with a far more difficult challenge: to save a life. Someone, or many someones, is trying to kill the heir to the throne, and it is up to Girton and his master to uncover the traitor and prevent the prince's murder.

In a kingdom on the brink of civil war and a castle thick with lies, Girton finds friends he never expected, responsibilities he never wanted and a conspiracy that could destroy an entire land.

The Wounded Kingdom trilogy begins with Age of Assassins, continues with Blood of Assassins and will continue with King of Assassins.

2018, Gemmell Morningstar Award for Fantasy Debut, Short-listed

2018, The Kitschies Golden Tentacle, Short-listed

©2017 RJ Barker (P)2017 Little Brown Book Group Classics Epic Epic Fantasy Fantasy Fiction Historical Royalty Assassin Paranormal
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Critic reviews

"Age of Assassins reveals its mysteries with the style of a magic show and the artful grace of a gifted storyteller." (Nicholas Eames, author of Kings of the Wyld)

"Dead gods, dread magic, and a lead that feels like a breath of fresh air. Great fun." (Peter Newman, author of The Vagrant)

"Outstanding. Beautifully written, perfectly paced and assured. Kept me reading well into the early hours of the morning. A wonderful first book - a wonderful book, period - that should be at the very top of your to-read list." (James Islington, author of The Shadow of what was Lost)
All stars
Most relevant
Reminiscent of the Farseer trilogy, excellent audiobook. highly recommended with brilliant narration. I enjoyed every minute from beginning to end.

Superb tale of murder and intrigue.

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What can I say! This was one of those books which turned out to be not quite what the title intimated it would be. Not alot of assassins in sight and characters which really didn't hold my attention.

It was a pleasant book, but not a great one and wasn't for me.

Well!

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I'd already read Age of Assassins, but thought I'd listen to the audiobook before starting book two in the series, Blood of Assassins.

Joe Jameson does a fantastic job of bringing the story and its characters to life.

Roll on book two!

Great book, great reading!

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I love Joe Jameson's narration so when searching through the list of those he has narrated I stumbled on this. having not read anything by this author before I was curious as to what it would be like. I am very glad I did. the storyline is great! it is part and keeps you listening throughout. I listen mostly on long commutes and found myself ditching the tv in the evening to fond out what was happening next. Great characterisation and plot in a genre that can often get a bit samey plot wise. I will definitely be hunting out more from this author.

grabs you and pulls you along

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I must admit my heart fell when I realised that a chunk of this book was about our hero, Girton, being trained in combat school. I am heartily sick of fantasy novels that are based on a boy (sometimes a girl) who doesn't realise they are very gifted/magical/secretly royal attending a school to learn fighting/magical arts etc.But this one turned out to be rather better than most. I really enjoyed the character of Girton's 'Master' and the setting was good. As often the case, the baddies were a bit one-dimensional. But it's a good romp and I will probably listen to the next book. I think the narration by Joe Jameson helps to lift the quality somewhat.

Not so bad for a boy with a club foot

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