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Dancer's Lament

Path to Ascendancy, Book 1

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Dancer's Lament

By: Ian C. Esslemont
Narrated by: John Banks
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About this listen

It was once a land ravaged by war; minor city states, baronies and principates fought for supremacy; and then the rival cities of Tali and Quon formed an alliance, and so Quon Tali came into being.

However, that was generations ago. That dynasty has collapsed, and the regional powers are now clawing at each other's throats once more. But at the heart of Quon Tali lies the powerful city state of Li Heng, which has for centuries enjoyed relative stability under the guidance of the powerful sorceress known as the Protectress. She is not someone likely to tolerate the arrival of two particular young men into her domain: one is determined to prove he is the most skilled assassin of his age; the other is his quarry - a Dal Hon mage who is proving annoyingly difficult to kill. The sorceress and her cabal of five mage servants were enough to repel the Quon Tali Iron Legions, so how could two such troublemakers upset her iron-fisted rule?

And now, under a new and ambitious king, the forces of Itko Kan are marching on Li Heng from the south. His own assassins, the Nightblades, have been sent ahead into the city, and rumours abound that he has inhuman, nightmarish forces at his command. So as shadows and mistrust swirl and monstrous beasts that people say appear from nowhere run rampage through Li Heng's streets, it seems chaos is come - but in chaos, as a certain young Dal Hon mage would say, there is opportunity....

©2016 Ian C Esslemont (P)2016 Random House AudioBooks
Dark Fantasy Epic Epic Fantasy Fantasy Fiction Magic Users City Emotionally Gripping Wizardry War

What listeners say about Dancer's Lament

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Awesome History

Awesome book! Being able to experience the Malazan world once again, its characters, the word play, the magic system, just incredible.; Thank you Esslemont and here's to more!!

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    5 out of 5 stars
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One of my all time favourites.

An absolutely brilliant book which has a good balance between being light hearted and good humoured and being dark and gritty. It's nice to see development of well loved epic characters.

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Great 'Read'

John Banks did a great job. Esslemont's writing was also on point. Will definitely continue with Path to Ascention.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Fairly good.

This was a great listen for Malazan fans. Overall the performance was great. Many cameos from malazan characters was great. Most accents are British for those that might not fit with their tastes. Im still not convinced all the plot points made sense and ending didnt quite feel right., but overall I am happy enough. look out for the 'He looked to the ceiling' - seemed to be Ian's favourite way of showing exasperation in this book.

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Amazing.

So good. All the books in the malazan world are awesome. And this one is particularly brilliant

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