Now releasing The Emperor’s Edge (a high fantasy novel in an era of steam) by Lindsay Buroker
Please enjoy Lindsay Buroker’s fantasy tale, The Emperor’s Edge, as we begin releasing it as a serialized audio book:
Imperial law enforcer Amaranthe Lokdon is good at her job: she can deter thieves and pacify thugs, if not with a blade, then by toppling an eight-foot pile of coffee canisters onto their heads.
But when ravaged bodies show up on the waterfront, an arson covers up human sacrifices, and a powerful business coalition plots to kill the emperor, she feels a tad overwhelmed.
Worse, Sicarius, the empire’s most notorious assassin, is in town. He’s tied in with the chaos somehow, but Amaranthe would be a fool to cross his path. Unfortunately, her superiors order her to hunt him down.
Either they have an unprecedented belief in her skills… or someone wants her dead.
Produced by DarkFire Productions and narrated by Starla Huchton.
August 29th, 2011 at 10:44 pm
“a high fantasy novel in an era of steam”
I haven’t listened to it yet, but that sounds like it belongs in steampunk.
August 29th, 2011 at 10:55 pm
Thanks for the post, guys!
Brian, some folks tag it steampunk on Amazon, but it’s really just an adventure that happens to take place in an industrial-revolution-era setting. Thanks for commenting!
September 1st, 2011 at 1:12 pm
I have listened through chapter 5 so far. I’m enjoying the story a lot. Its nice to listen to a well written lead female character.
I do get a steampunk vibe from it all, though I understand why you’re hesitant to classify it as such. Its like, that world is there, and that’s just the way things are. But its the characters that matter, not however much copper you can bolt to something. That probably doesn’t make sense, but oh well. I like the story, and am looking forward to listening to more.
September 5th, 2011 at 9:44 am
Not really ‘steamy’ for me either but very solid writing and good characters. Works for me!
September 7th, 2011 at 3:36 pm
This story has everything, a great flow, mystery, intrigue, wonderful audio, and excellently written. Thank you for this one!
September 7th, 2011 at 10:38 pm
Thanks for checking the story out, Nelline, Barry, and Marc!
September 9th, 2011 at 6:39 am
I was very happy to see Episode 6 loading. I am ready for more, it’s a wonderful story. Thank you!
September 9th, 2011 at 7:54 pm
Wow. Great stuff so far… Are the following chapters coming soon? Cos I can’t wait!
September 10th, 2011 at 6:31 pm
Thanks for listening, Thomas and Gail! There should be a new chapter up every week.
September 13th, 2011 at 5:50 am
Thomas, and any other interested parties, I couldn’t wait either, so I got the e-book from Smashwords for 99 cents.
September 15th, 2011 at 3:16 am
Excellent. One of the best series I’ve heard in a while. The writing is so good I went to the kindle store to see what else is available and I have just started reading Flash Gold.
September 16th, 2011 at 5:10 pm
Thanks for listening (and reading!), Brian and Martin.
October 19th, 2011 at 4:47 am
The story is very interesting so far. I really like Starla Huchton’s voice. It’s very lovely and easy to listen to. I hope she reads more books.
October 26th, 2011 at 1:12 am
I clicked this book from the front page where it was posted as having just uploaded a chapter.
WOW .. was I ever pleasantly surprised. Great narrative skills and a wonderful story.
I listened to the end … and only then realised it was a work in progress. Could not wait – and bought the e-book version — and the sequel. It is that good!!!
Thank you so much!
October 27th, 2011 at 7:00 am
I’m loving this book! The characters are almost alive, the Empire is highly plausible, and the plot just keeps getting better. I wish there were a paper version. I do love ebooks but I’m a dinosaur at heart and just have to hold a book in my hands.
November 1st, 2011 at 6:02 pm
Lindsay, loving the book. We are getting 2 kindles for xmas and book 1 and 2 on going on both for presents. (For those who don’t do audio.)
November 1st, 2011 at 7:27 pm
@Whiteselkie She definitely has a nice voice, and you can tell she enjoys reading. I think if you click on her name on the book’s page, you can see the other stories she’s narrated, including her own novel. Something else to check out if you haven’t already!
@Mirabella Glad you’re enjoying the podiobook, and thanks for checking out the ebooks! I’m releasing the third one in a couple of weeks.
@Cynthia Thanks for listening! There actually are paperbacks of the first two novels. You can find them at Amazon and Barnes & Noble if you look up my name (tried to include the link here, but got flagged as spam, whoops!).
@Craig Thanks, Craig! I’m sure you guys will enjoy your Kindles. I’ve had mine for about a year and a half (I originally got it “just for travel”) and use it all the time. I can’t even remember the last “dead tree” book I bought!
November 27th, 2011 at 4:31 pm
I’ve been following this since the few chapters came out, and it is definitely the best thing I listen to the whole week. It’s in my top 5. Will the other books also be coming out in audio?
November 29th, 2011 at 11:12 pm
Thanks for listening, Mike! Yup, I’m planning to do the whole series. The second book, Dark Currents, is in the works, though my voice talent (the lovely Starla Hutchinson) is busy studying for finals, so it might not be ready to go until a few weeks after Book 1 finishes.
December 6th, 2011 at 3:14 pm
Loving the book so far! I started listening to it as my “favorites” are in between episodes. Well, count me hooked and this added to my favorites list. Keep up the good work and looking forward to more great stuff!
December 9th, 2011 at 6:48 am
Ron, thanks for giving the book a try! I’m glad it’s a “favorite” now.
December 14th, 2011 at 5:34 pm
One thing I really like, while it is painful, is having to wait a whole week before getting another episode. It draws the story out, making it more suspenseful. I’m making a guess as to whats coming next: they kill the beast, and somehow join up with the emperor, only to find themselves in a war with the magic users (or at least that country, whatever its called). I’m also making a guess that I’ll be laughing at myself in a while… lol.
December 16th, 2011 at 3:08 am
@Mike Hah, fun to read your speculations, Mike.
I’ll have to poke the Darkfire Productions guys and see if we can get the next episode up soon. Getting close to the end!
December 28th, 2011 at 9:35 am
I had so much fun with this book! I’m not a huge fan of steampunk, but something just drew me to this. I was definitly not disappointed!
I loved that this was centered around a con and really interesting one too. Ameranthe is a great chachter and I really lovedSespian too.
I really hope we’ll get to see more of Ameranthe’s adventures?
December 31st, 2011 at 11:03 pm
Thanks for listening, Jen! I’ve written and released the text versions of Books 2 and 3, and we’re working on the podiobook for 2. The narrator got a little busy with school stuff at the end of the semester, so 2 won’t be ready to go right away, but we hope to get it going here before too long!
January 1st, 2012 at 8:20 pm
Lindsay, thank you for a wonderfully fun read! I grabbed the text too. I’m a fan of Starla’s voice work and writing and DarkFire’s production was great as usual. Good choice! Your hard work shines through. Looking forward to the next installment. Thank you for presenting your work in this format.
January 2nd, 2012 at 9:38 am
Lindsay, what a wonderful read and listen thank you for sharing these adventures with us. My daughter and I both got the Kindles for xmas and as promised we purchased 2 copies of all three and I am sure looking forward to hearing them here, Starla has done a remarkable job bringing this story to life. We are deep into the second now.
Side Note:
Don’t forget everyone to donate here as well! I did and so should you! It keeps the site going and helps us enjoy new stories we would have never otherwise have found. Podiobooks is a great service we need to hang onto.
January 4th, 2012 at 3:37 pm
Thank-you thank-you thank-you.
I am so glad you will be Podio’ing the next book too. I bought the texts of the first two as well… but I enjoy listening to Starla so much that I listen to them eventhough I read the chapters already.
January 7th, 2012 at 10:44 pm
@JaneAtWork Thanks for listening, Jane. I’m glad you enjoyed the story and Starla’s narration!
@Craig Thank you so much for the support. I hope you and your daughter both love your kindles!
@Mirabella You’re very welcome.
January 9th, 2012 at 10:07 am
This was a great book! I can’t wait for the next episode. I’m a librarian… time to purchase some new books! I love how Amarenthe is a thinker and problem solver. Characterization is fun and well done. READ THIS BOOK!
January 11th, 2012 at 1:23 pm
Wonderful! I can’t wait for the next two.
January 15th, 2012 at 3:56 pm
5 stars all around. great story with wonderful characters. only made so much the better by the narration (i’m completely in love with Starla). i will be purchasing and reading the rest of the series.
January 22nd, 2012 at 1:12 pm
@Diane Thanks, Diane! Amaranthe would love to be in your in library.
@Mike Thanks, Mike! I hope we’ll be able to get the first chapters of Book 2 out before long.
@cynikat Thanks for listening (and reading)! I tweeted your comment to Starla.
I’m sure she’ll appreciate it!
February 1st, 2012 at 11:58 am
I really, really enjoyed this podiobook – the storyline grabbed me from the beginning. Thanks for the hours of listening pleasure (great narration from Starla)…I’m looking forward to the realease of book 2 of this
March 8th, 2012 at 12:44 am
Just listened top the epilogue – an unexpected ending, but now I understand why: this is a series and chapter 1 of book 2 is waiting for me. Yay!
March 15th, 2012 at 12:05 pm
Thanks for listening, Miz and Anne! Yes, there are six books planned in the series, so 1 is a little bit of a setup.
Book 2 will be starting up next week (March 21st).
March 28th, 2012 at 2:04 pm
I listened to the first book and loved it. I read the first book and loved it that way too. I’ve read the second book-this one-and loved it. I’m downloading the PodioBook version right now. Life is good!