
How to Rule an Empire and Get Away with It
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
$0.99/mo for the first 3 months

Buy for $24.95
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Ray Sawyer
-
By:
-
K. J. Parker
About this listen
This is the history of how the City was saved, by Notker the professional liar, written down because eventually the truth always seeps through.
The City may be under siege, but everyone still has to make a living. Take Notker, the acclaimed playwright, actor, and impresario. Nobody works harder, even when he's not working. Thankfully, it turns out that people enjoy the theater just as much when there are big rocks falling out of the sky.
But Notker is a man of many talents, and all the world is, apparently, a stage. It seems that the empire needs him - or someone who looks a lot like him - for a role that will call for the performance of a lifetime. At least it will guarantee fame, fortune, and immortality. If it doesn't kill him first.
In the follow up to the acclaimed Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City, K. J. Parker has created one of fantasy's greatest heroes, and he might even get away with it.
For more from K. J. Parker, check out:
Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City
The Two of Swords:
- The Two of Swords: Volume 1
- The Two of Swords: Volume 2
- The Two of Swords: Volume 3
The Fencer Trilogy:
- Colours in the Steel
- The Belly of the Bow
- The Proof House
The Scavenger Trilogy:
- Shadow
- Pattern
- Memory
Engineer Trilogy:
- Devices and Desires
- Evil for Evil
- The Escapement
- The Company
- The Folding Knife
- The Hammer
- Sharps
Listeners also enjoyed...
-
Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City
- The Siege, Book 1
- By: K. J. Parker
- Narrated by: Ray Sawyer
- Length: 13 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A siege is approaching, and the city has little time to prepare. The people have no food and no weapons, and the enemy has sworn to slaughter them all. To save the city will take a miracle, but what it has is Orhan. A colonel of engineers, Orhan has far more experience with bridge building than battles, is a cheat and a liar, and has a serious problem with authority. He is, in other words, perfect for the job.
-
-
An Adventure the Questions Empire
- By Joe Kraus on 01-29-20
By: K. J. Parker
-
Saevus Corax Deals with the Dead
- By: K. J. Parker
- Narrated by: Ben Onwukwe
- Length: 13 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
There’s no formal training for battlefield salvage. You just have to pick things up as you go along. Swords, armour, arrows–and the bodies, of course. Over the years, Saevus Corax has picked up a lot of things. Some of them have made him decent money, others have brought nothing but trouble. But it’s a living, and somebody has to deal with the dead. Something else that Saevus has buried is his past. Unfortunately, he didn’t quite succeed.
-
-
Adjacent to Abercrombie, more grounded, and better
- By Kevin on 08-31-24
By: K. J. Parker
-
The Devil You Know
- By: K. J. Parker
- Narrated by: Will Damron
- Length: 3 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The greatest philosopher of all time is offering to sell his soul to the devil. All he wants is 20 more years to complete his life's work. After that he really doesn't care. But the assistant demon assigned to the case has his suspicions, because the philosopher is Saloninus, the greatest philosopher, yes, but also the greatest liar, trickster, and cheat the world has yet known - the sort of man even the Father of Lies can't trust. He's almost certainly up to something...but what?
-
-
Good story, bad reader
- By Kindle Customer on 05-06-16
By: K. J. Parker
-
The Last Witness
- By: K. J. Parker
- Narrated by: P. J. Ochlan
- Length: 3 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When you need a memory to be wiped, call me. Transferring unwanted memories to my own mind is the only form of magic I've ever mastered. But now I'm holding so many memories, I'm not always sure which ones are actually mine anymore. Some of them are sensitive; all of them are private. And there are those who are willing to kill to access the secrets I'm trying to bury....
-
-
Highest recommendations
- By Brandi Donathan on 07-16-16
By: K. J. Parker
-
Dungeon Crawler Carl
- A LitRPG/Gamelit Adventure
- By: Matt Dinniman
- Narrated by: Jeff Hays
- Length: 13 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A man. His ex-girlfriend's cat. A sadistic game show unlike anything in the universe: a dungeon crawl where survival depends on killing your prey in the most entertaining way possible. In a flash, every human-erected construction on Earth - from Buckingham Palace to the tiniest of sheds - collapses in a heap, sinking into the ground. The buildings and all the people inside have all been atomized and transformed into the dungeon: an 18-level labyrinth filled with traps, monsters, and loot.
-
-
A refreshing take on apocalyptical LITRPG
- By Rhexas on 03-01-21
By: Matt Dinniman
-
Starter Villain
- By: John Scalzi
- Narrated by: Wil Wheaton
- Length: 8 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Inheriting your uncle's supervillain business is more complicated than you might think. Particularly when you discover who's running the place. Charlie's life is going nowhere fast. A divorced substitute teacher living with his cat in a house his siblings want to sell, all he wants is to open a pub downtown, if only the bank will approve his loan. Then his long-lost uncle Jake dies and leaves his supervillain business (complete with island volcano lair) to Charlie. But becoming a supervillain isn't all giant laser death rays and lava pits.
-
-
Volcanic Lairs, Death Rays & Cats… Oh My! 😼
- By C. White on 09-19-23
By: John Scalzi
-
Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City
- The Siege, Book 1
- By: K. J. Parker
- Narrated by: Ray Sawyer
- Length: 13 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A siege is approaching, and the city has little time to prepare. The people have no food and no weapons, and the enemy has sworn to slaughter them all. To save the city will take a miracle, but what it has is Orhan. A colonel of engineers, Orhan has far more experience with bridge building than battles, is a cheat and a liar, and has a serious problem with authority. He is, in other words, perfect for the job.
-
-
An Adventure the Questions Empire
- By Joe Kraus on 01-29-20
By: K. J. Parker
-
Saevus Corax Deals with the Dead
- By: K. J. Parker
- Narrated by: Ben Onwukwe
- Length: 13 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
There’s no formal training for battlefield salvage. You just have to pick things up as you go along. Swords, armour, arrows–and the bodies, of course. Over the years, Saevus Corax has picked up a lot of things. Some of them have made him decent money, others have brought nothing but trouble. But it’s a living, and somebody has to deal with the dead. Something else that Saevus has buried is his past. Unfortunately, he didn’t quite succeed.
-
-
Adjacent to Abercrombie, more grounded, and better
- By Kevin on 08-31-24
By: K. J. Parker
-
The Devil You Know
- By: K. J. Parker
- Narrated by: Will Damron
- Length: 3 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The greatest philosopher of all time is offering to sell his soul to the devil. All he wants is 20 more years to complete his life's work. After that he really doesn't care. But the assistant demon assigned to the case has his suspicions, because the philosopher is Saloninus, the greatest philosopher, yes, but also the greatest liar, trickster, and cheat the world has yet known - the sort of man even the Father of Lies can't trust. He's almost certainly up to something...but what?
-
-
Good story, bad reader
- By Kindle Customer on 05-06-16
By: K. J. Parker
-
The Last Witness
- By: K. J. Parker
- Narrated by: P. J. Ochlan
- Length: 3 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When you need a memory to be wiped, call me. Transferring unwanted memories to my own mind is the only form of magic I've ever mastered. But now I'm holding so many memories, I'm not always sure which ones are actually mine anymore. Some of them are sensitive; all of them are private. And there are those who are willing to kill to access the secrets I'm trying to bury....
-
-
Highest recommendations
- By Brandi Donathan on 07-16-16
By: K. J. Parker
-
Dungeon Crawler Carl
- A LitRPG/Gamelit Adventure
- By: Matt Dinniman
- Narrated by: Jeff Hays
- Length: 13 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A man. His ex-girlfriend's cat. A sadistic game show unlike anything in the universe: a dungeon crawl where survival depends on killing your prey in the most entertaining way possible. In a flash, every human-erected construction on Earth - from Buckingham Palace to the tiniest of sheds - collapses in a heap, sinking into the ground. The buildings and all the people inside have all been atomized and transformed into the dungeon: an 18-level labyrinth filled with traps, monsters, and loot.
-
-
A refreshing take on apocalyptical LITRPG
- By Rhexas on 03-01-21
By: Matt Dinniman
-
Starter Villain
- By: John Scalzi
- Narrated by: Wil Wheaton
- Length: 8 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Inheriting your uncle's supervillain business is more complicated than you might think. Particularly when you discover who's running the place. Charlie's life is going nowhere fast. A divorced substitute teacher living with his cat in a house his siblings want to sell, all he wants is to open a pub downtown, if only the bank will approve his loan. Then his long-lost uncle Jake dies and leaves his supervillain business (complete with island volcano lair) to Charlie. But becoming a supervillain isn't all giant laser death rays and lava pits.
-
-
Volcanic Lairs, Death Rays & Cats… Oh My! 😼
- By C. White on 09-19-23
By: John Scalzi
-
The Bone Ships
- By: RJ Barker
- Narrated by: Jude Owusu
- Length: 17 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Two nations at war. One prize beyond compare. For generations, the Hundred Isles have built their ships from the bones of ancient dragons to fight an endless war. The dragons disappeared, but the battles for supremacy persisted. Now the first dragon in centuries has been spotted in far-off waters, and both sides see a chance to shift the balance of power in their favor. Because whoever catches it will win not only glory, but the war.
-
-
Bold and unique with a compelling story.
- By Kevin Potter on 11-12-19
By: RJ Barker
-
The Blacktongue Thief
- By: Christopher Buehlman
- Narrated by: Christopher Buehlman
- Length: 12 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Kinch Na Shannack owes the Takers Guild a small fortune for his education as a thief, which includes (but is not limited to) lock-picking, knife-fighting, wall-scaling, fall-breaking, lie-weaving, trap-making, plus a few small magics. His debt has driven him to lie in wait by the old forest road, planning to rob the next traveler that crosses his path. But today, Kinch Na Shannack has picked the wrong mark.
-
-
Outstanding
- By Anne Vaughan on 05-28-21
-
Red Rising (Part 1 of 2) (Dramatized Adaptation)
- Red Rising, Book 1
- By: Pierce Brown
- Narrated by: full cast, Stewart Crank, John Kielty, and others
- Length: 7 hrs and 31 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Darrow is a Red, a member of the lowest caste in the color-coded society of the future. Like his fellow Reds, he works all day, believing that he and his people are making the surface of Mars livable for future generations. Yet he toils willingly, trusting that his blood and sweat will one day result in a better world for his children. But Darrow and his kind have been betrayed. Soon he discovers that humanity reached the surface generations ago. Vast cities and lush wilds spread across the planet. Darrow—and Reds like him—are nothing more than slaves to a decadent ruling class.
-
-
Fantastic
- By Tyler on 07-06-23
By: Pierce Brown
-
A Little Hatred
- By: Joe Abercrombie
- Narrated by: Steven Pacey
- Length: 20 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On the blood-soaked borders of Angland, Leo dan Brock struggles to win fame on the battlefield, and defeat the marauding armies of Stour Nightfall. He hopes for help from the crown. But King Jezal's son, the feckless Prince Orso, is a man who specializes in disappointments. Savine dan Glokta - socialite, investor, and daughter of the most feared man in the Union - plans to claw her way to the top of the slag-heap of society by any means necessary. But the slums boil over with a rage that all the money in the world cannot control.
-
-
Rough listen.
- By Jared Clark on 01-08-20
By: Joe Abercrombie
-
The Will of the Many
- Hierarchy, Book 1
- By: James Islington
- Narrated by: Euan Morton
- Length: 28 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Catenan Republic—the Hierarchy—may rule the world now, but they do not know everything. I tell them my name is Vis Telimus. I tell them I was orphaned after a tragic accident three years ago, and that good fortune alone has led to my acceptance into their most prestigious school. I tell them that once I graduate, I will gladly join the rest of civilized society in allowing my strength, my drive, and my focus—what they call Will—to be leeched away and added to the power of those above me, as millions already do. As all must eventually do.
-
-
I don’t know what the other reviews are on about
- By Chase on 06-24-23
By: James Islington
-
The Kaiju Preservation Society
- By: John Scalzi
- Narrated by: Wil Wheaton
- Length: 8 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When COVID-19 sweeps through New York City, Jamie Gray is stuck as a dead-end driver for food-delivery apps. That is, until Jamie makes a delivery to an old acquaintance, Tom, who works at what he calls “an animal rights organization”. Tom’s team needs a last-minute grunt to handle things on their next field visit. Jamie, eager to do anything, immediately signs on. What Tom doesn't tell Jamie is that the animals his team cares for are not here on Earth. Not our Earth, at at least. In an alternate dimension, dinosaur-like creatures named Kaiju roam a warm and human-free world.
-
-
I'm listening with a permanent smile on my face
- By Lucy A. Pithecus on 03-15-22
By: John Scalzi
-
The Witness for the Dead
- By: Katherine Addison
- Narrated by: Liam Gerrard
- Length: 8 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When the young half-goblin emperor Maia sought to learn who had set the bombs that killed his father and half-brothers, he turned to an obscure resident of his Court, a Prelate of Ulis and a Witness for the Dead. Thara Celehar found the truth, though it did him no good to discover it. Now he lives in the City of Amalo, far from the Court though not exactly in exile. He has not escaped from politics, but his position gives him the ability to serve the common people of the city, which is his preference.
-
-
Engaging
- By K. E. on 01-05-25
-
Children of Time
- By: Adrian Tchaikovsky
- Narrated by: Mel Hudson
- Length: 16 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Adrian Tchaikovksy's critically acclaimed stand-alone novel Children of Time is the epic story of humanity's battle for survival on a terraformed planet. Who will inherit this new Earth? The last remnants of the human race left a dying Earth, desperate to find a new home among the stars. Following in the footsteps of their ancestors, they discover the greatest treasure of the past age - a world terraformed and prepared for human life. But all is not right in this new Eden.
-
-
A very pleasant surprise
- By Simon on 06-17-17
-
The Management Style of the Supreme Beings
- By: Tom Holt
- Narrated by: Ray Sawyer
- Length: 13 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When the Supreme Being and his son decide that being supreme isn't for them anymore, it's inevitable that things get a bit of a shake-up. It soon becomes apparent that our new owners, the Venturi brothers, have a very different perspective on all sorts of things. Take good and evil, for example. For them, it's an outdated concept that never worked particularly well in the first place.
-
-
not his best but still enjoyable
- By ton on 11-19-17
By: Tom Holt
-
Doughnut
- By: Tom Holt
- Narrated by: Ray Sawyer
- Length: 13 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Things have been going pretty badly for Theo Bernstein. An unfortunate accident at work has lost him his job (and his work involved a Very Very Large Hadron Collider, so he's unlikely to get it back). His wife has left him. And he doesn't have any money. Before Theo has time to fully appreciate the pointlessness of his own miserable existence, news arrives that his good friend, a renowned physicist and Nobel laureate, has died. By leaving the apparently worthless contents of his safety deposit box to Theo, however, the professor has set him on a quest of epic proportions.
-
-
A fun world for scifantasy fans
- By illgnosis on 06-19-13
By: Tom Holt
-
Against All Gods
- The Age of Bronze, Book 1
- By: Miles Cameron
- Narrated by: Peter Noble
- Length: 17 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A vibrant and powerful epic set against an alternate Bronze Age, this tale of gods, men and monsters, conspiracy and war, is a rich, compelling and original tale from a master of the historical and fantasy genres. The people caught up in toils of the gods are merely trying to survive. Victims of vicious whims, trapped by their circumstances or pushed beyond what the mortal frame can bear, a handful of god-touched mortals—a scribe, a warlord, a dancer and a child - are about to be brought together in a conspiracy of their own.
-
-
Great idea for a story, well executed
- By Daniel P. Fradl on 10-31-22
By: Miles Cameron
-
Nolyn
- The Rise and Fall, Book 1
- By: Michael J. Sullivan
- Narrated by: Tim Gerard Reynolds, Michael J. Sullivan, Robin Sullivan
- Length: 13 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
After more than 500 years of exile, the heir to the empyre is wary about his sudden reassignment to active duty on the Goblin War’s front lines. His mission to rescue an outpost leads to a dead-end canyon deep inside enemy territory, and his suspicion turns to dread when he discovers the stronghold doesn't exist.
-
-
What are you doing Michael?
- By Hotel Hero on 08-09-21
Critic reviews
"Parker's latest epic fantasy proves that all the world is, indeed, a stage, and Parker himself is a master impresario. Readers will enjoy his comedic take on how politics are comprised of equal parts lies, incompetence, and the foolishness of humanity—with just enough flashes of brilliance to save the day. Recommended for fans of Terry Pratchett." —Library Journal
"Readers are ensured a good time and a barrel of laughs to boot."—Publishers Weekly
“An impressive work of fiction. Like all Parker books I have read, Empire is an interesting experience from start to finish—funny and fresh from page one.”—The Quill to Live
People who viewed this also viewed...
-
Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City
- The Siege, Book 1
- By: K. J. Parker
- Narrated by: Ray Sawyer
- Length: 13 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A siege is approaching, and the city has little time to prepare. The people have no food and no weapons, and the enemy has sworn to slaughter them all. To save the city will take a miracle, but what it has is Orhan. A colonel of engineers, Orhan has far more experience with bridge building than battles, is a cheat and a liar, and has a serious problem with authority. He is, in other words, perfect for the job.
-
-
An Adventure the Questions Empire
- By Joe Kraus on 01-29-20
By: K. J. Parker
-
Saevus Corax Deals with the Dead
- By: K. J. Parker
- Narrated by: Ben Onwukwe
- Length: 13 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
There’s no formal training for battlefield salvage. You just have to pick things up as you go along. Swords, armour, arrows–and the bodies, of course. Over the years, Saevus Corax has picked up a lot of things. Some of them have made him decent money, others have brought nothing but trouble. But it’s a living, and somebody has to deal with the dead. Something else that Saevus has buried is his past. Unfortunately, he didn’t quite succeed.
-
-
Adjacent to Abercrombie, more grounded, and better
- By Kevin on 08-31-24
By: K. J. Parker
-
The Dragon's Path
- The Dagger and the Coin, Book 1
- By: Daniel Abraham
- Narrated by: Pete Bradbury
- Length: 15 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Marcus' hero days are behind him. He knows too well that even the smallest war still means somebody's death. When his men are impressed into a doomed army, staying out of a battle he wants no part of requires some unorthodox steps. Cithrin is an orphan, ward of a banking house. Her job is to smuggle a nation's wealth across a war zone, hiding the gold from both sides. She knows the secret life of commerce like a second language, but the strategies of trade will not defend her from swords. Geder, sole scion of a noble house, has more interest in philosophy than in swordplay.
-
-
glad I didn't listen to reviews
- By Juan acosta on 02-01-20
By: Daniel Abraham
-
Rust in the Root
- By: Justina Ireland
- Narrated by: Jordan Cobb
- Length: 12 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It is 1937, and Laura Ann Langston lives in an America divided—between those who work the mystical arts and those who do not. Ever since the Great Rust, a catastrophic event that blighted the arcane force called the Dynamism and threw America into disarray, the country has been rebuilding for a better future. And everyone knows the future is industry and technology—otherwise known as Mechomancy—not the traditional mystical arts.
-
-
Read ASAP!
- By A.C. on 09-06-24
By: Justina Ireland
-
City of Last Chances
- By: Adrian Tchaikovsky
- Narrated by: David Thorpe
- Length: 19 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
There has always been a darkness to Ilmar, but never more so than now. The city chafes under the heavy hand of the Palleseen occupation, the choke-hold of its criminal underworld, the boot of its factory owners, the weight of its wretched poor and the burden of its ancient curse. What will be the spark that lights the conflagration? Despite the city's refugees, wanderers, murderers, madmen, fanatics and thieves, the catalyst, as always, will be the Anchorwood–that dark grove of trees, that primeval remnant, that portal, when the moon is full, to strange and distant shores.
-
-
Occupied Paris during WW2 In Fantasy World?
- By caleb on 06-19-23
-
Immortality Starts with Generosity
- A Cultivation Progression Fantasy
- By: Plutus
- Narrated by: J. S. Arquin
- Length: 14 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A lost soul from Earth transmigrates into a world of cultivation and finds himself in the body of a playboy noble who is wasting his life. Except Chen Haoran doesn't have any memories, can't let anyone know he's not the same person, and is immediately involved in a conspiracy with another powerful noble family involving the downfall of a prominent young genius. Luckily, he came to this world with a power: Whatever he gives to someone as a gift he'll get it back 100 times better.
-
-
The MC is a Simp
- By JTB8 on 03-14-24
By: Plutus
-
Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City
- The Siege, Book 1
- By: K. J. Parker
- Narrated by: Ray Sawyer
- Length: 13 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A siege is approaching, and the city has little time to prepare. The people have no food and no weapons, and the enemy has sworn to slaughter them all. To save the city will take a miracle, but what it has is Orhan. A colonel of engineers, Orhan has far more experience with bridge building than battles, is a cheat and a liar, and has a serious problem with authority. He is, in other words, perfect for the job.
-
-
An Adventure the Questions Empire
- By Joe Kraus on 01-29-20
By: K. J. Parker
-
Saevus Corax Deals with the Dead
- By: K. J. Parker
- Narrated by: Ben Onwukwe
- Length: 13 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
There’s no formal training for battlefield salvage. You just have to pick things up as you go along. Swords, armour, arrows–and the bodies, of course. Over the years, Saevus Corax has picked up a lot of things. Some of them have made him decent money, others have brought nothing but trouble. But it’s a living, and somebody has to deal with the dead. Something else that Saevus has buried is his past. Unfortunately, he didn’t quite succeed.
-
-
Adjacent to Abercrombie, more grounded, and better
- By Kevin on 08-31-24
By: K. J. Parker
-
The Dragon's Path
- The Dagger and the Coin, Book 1
- By: Daniel Abraham
- Narrated by: Pete Bradbury
- Length: 15 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Marcus' hero days are behind him. He knows too well that even the smallest war still means somebody's death. When his men are impressed into a doomed army, staying out of a battle he wants no part of requires some unorthodox steps. Cithrin is an orphan, ward of a banking house. Her job is to smuggle a nation's wealth across a war zone, hiding the gold from both sides. She knows the secret life of commerce like a second language, but the strategies of trade will not defend her from swords. Geder, sole scion of a noble house, has more interest in philosophy than in swordplay.
-
-
glad I didn't listen to reviews
- By Juan acosta on 02-01-20
By: Daniel Abraham
-
Rust in the Root
- By: Justina Ireland
- Narrated by: Jordan Cobb
- Length: 12 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It is 1937, and Laura Ann Langston lives in an America divided—between those who work the mystical arts and those who do not. Ever since the Great Rust, a catastrophic event that blighted the arcane force called the Dynamism and threw America into disarray, the country has been rebuilding for a better future. And everyone knows the future is industry and technology—otherwise known as Mechomancy—not the traditional mystical arts.
-
-
Read ASAP!
- By A.C. on 09-06-24
By: Justina Ireland
-
City of Last Chances
- By: Adrian Tchaikovsky
- Narrated by: David Thorpe
- Length: 19 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
There has always been a darkness to Ilmar, but never more so than now. The city chafes under the heavy hand of the Palleseen occupation, the choke-hold of its criminal underworld, the boot of its factory owners, the weight of its wretched poor and the burden of its ancient curse. What will be the spark that lights the conflagration? Despite the city's refugees, wanderers, murderers, madmen, fanatics and thieves, the catalyst, as always, will be the Anchorwood–that dark grove of trees, that primeval remnant, that portal, when the moon is full, to strange and distant shores.
-
-
Occupied Paris during WW2 In Fantasy World?
- By caleb on 06-19-23
-
Immortality Starts with Generosity
- A Cultivation Progression Fantasy
- By: Plutus
- Narrated by: J. S. Arquin
- Length: 14 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A lost soul from Earth transmigrates into a world of cultivation and finds himself in the body of a playboy noble who is wasting his life. Except Chen Haoran doesn't have any memories, can't let anyone know he's not the same person, and is immediately involved in a conspiracy with another powerful noble family involving the downfall of a prominent young genius. Luckily, he came to this world with a power: Whatever he gives to someone as a gift he'll get it back 100 times better.
-
-
The MC is a Simp
- By JTB8 on 03-14-24
By: Plutus
-
Grand Theft AI
- By: James Cox
- Narrated by: Troy Baker
- Length: 10 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
San Francisco, 2051. Baz Covane is a battle-scarred thief who sticks to small-time bots. Ria Rose is the underworld “fixer” with a big-time score that could easily get ’em both killed. ’Cuz the Fang’s psychotic kingpin Otto Rex has a vault with more security than a fusion reactor. And the glass inside is priceless—enough to set up Baz, Ria, and their crack team of cyber-misfits on the white sands of Tahiti forever. But this crime doesn’t just carry infinite VR-Prison time—it’s Baz and Ria’s last shot at redemption.
By: James Cox
-
August Kitko and the Mechas from Space
- By: Alex White
- Narrated by: Hayden Bishop
- Length: 12 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Jazz pianist Gus Kitko expected to spend his final moments on Earth playing piano at the greatest goodbye party of all time, and maybe kissing rock star Ardent Violet, before the last of humanity is wiped out forever by the Vanguards—ultra-powerful robots from the dark heart of space, hell-bent on destroying humanity for reasons none can divine. But when the Vanguards arrive, the unthinkable happens—the mecha that should be killing Gus instead saves him. Suddenly, Gus's swan song becomes humanity's encore, as he is chosen to join a small group dedicated to saving humanity.
-
-
3..2..1.. Let's Jam
- By David Dobbs on 09-30-22
By: Alex White
-
The Dungeon Fairy Box Set, Books 1-4
- By: Jonathan Brooks
- Narrated by: Miles Meili
- Length: 42 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
All that Tacca GloomLily ever wanted to be since she was very little was a fairy assistant to a Dungeon Core. After her negatively portentous birth, however, she was never fully accepted by her superstitious peers and instructors at the Dungeon Assistant Preparatory School. Nevertheless, she persisted in her studies and graduated at the top of her class. Unfortunately for her, the “hands-on” training she was supposed to receive from a mentor and his bonded Dungeon Core didn’t go the way she would’ve hoped.
-
-
Great Entertainment
- By Karyn Hart on 01-29-22
By: Jonathan Brooks
-
Tress of the Emerald Sea: A Cosmere Novel (Dramatized Adaptation)
- Secret Projects, Book 1
- By: Brandon Sanderson
- Narrated by: David Cui Cui, Bradley Foster Smith, Christopher Walker, and others
- Length: 10 hrs and 19 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The only life Tress has known on her island home in an emerald-green ocean has been a simple one, with the simple pleasures of collecting cups brought by sailors from faraway lands and listening to stories told by her friend Charlie. But when his father takes him on a voyage to find a bride and disaster strikes, Tress must stow away on a ship and seek the Sorceress of the deadly Midnight Sea. Amid the spore oceans where pirates abound, can Tress leave her simple life behind and make her own place sailing a sea where a single drop of water can mean instant death?
-
-
Loved it!
- By Brent Stringfellow on 11-26-24
-
This Young Master Omnibus: Books 1-3
- Plus Bonus Story: This Clone Is a Protagonist’s Master
- By: D.C. Haenlien
- Narrated by: Ronnie Rowlands, Tiffany Suzuki, Hannah Schooner, and others
- Length: 42 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On the surface, Xi Tianyi was the only son of Sword Empress Xi of the Buzhou Immortal Sect, the number one expert in the Huang Realm. His birth was noble, his status exalted. But the truth was that Xi Tianyi was actually a reincarnated man from a world known as Earth.
-
-
Probably too self aware
- By JJ on 08-29-24
By: D.C. Haenlien
-
A Travel Guide to the Middle Ages
- The World Through Medieval Eyes
- By: Anthony Bale
- Narrated by: Esh Alladi
- Length: 11 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this vivid and alluring history, medievalist Anthony Bale invites listeners on an odyssey across the medieval world. Journeying alongside scholars, spies, and saints, from Western Europe to the Far East, the Antipodes and the ends of the earth, Bale provides indispensable information on the exchange rate between Bohemian ducats and Venetian groats, medieval cures for seasickness, and how to avoid extortionist tour guides and singing sirens.
-
-
Misleading title
- By Ladyethyme on 03-19-25
By: Anthony Bale
-
Songlight
- Torch Light, Book 1
- By: Moira Buffini
- Narrated by: Antonia Beamish, Saffron Coomber, Sam Crerar, and others
- Length: 13 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Elsa is used to hiding the most important parts of herself—her feelings for Rye, her distaste for a world ruled by men, and, most crucially, her gift of songlight. She buries that secret deep inside. In Brightland, those with songlight are called Unhumans and are abhorred. Rye is the only other person Elsa has known with songlight, and their shared bond has brought them together.
-
-
So good!!
- By Yvette Garcia on 09-16-24
By: Moira Buffini
-
Infinity Son
- By: Adam Silvera
- Narrated by: Robbie Daymond, Kirby Heyborne, Maria Liatis, and others
- Length: 8 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Balancing epic and intensely personal stakes, best-selling author Adam Silvera’s Infinity Son is a gritty, fast-paced adventure about two brothers caught up in a magical war generations in the making.
-
-
Not a fan
- By Ryan A Markitell on 10-31-20
By: Adam Silvera
-
Shards of Earth
- By: Adrian Tchaikovsky
- Narrated by: Sophie Aldred
- Length: 18 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Idris has neither aged nor slept since they remade him in the war. And one of humanity's heroes now scrapes by on a freelance salvage vessel, to avoid the attention of greater powers. After Earth was destroyed, mankind created a fighting elite to save their species, enhanced humans such as Idris. In the silence of space they could communicate, mind-to-mind, with the enemy. Then their alien aggressors, the Architects, simply disappeared - and Idris and his kind became obsolete. Now, 50 years later, Idris and his crew have discovered something strange abandoned in space.
-
-
Not sure what the point was [Spoilers]
- By C. Andrew Hessler on 08-27-21
-
The Eight Reindeer of the Apocalypse
- By: Tom Holt
- Narrated by: Dan Starkey, Daphne Kouma
- Length: 9 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The team of commercial sorcerers at Dawson, Ahriman & Dawson can help with any metaphysical engineering project, large or small (though by definition they all tend to be pretty large). They can also create massive great puddles of chaos that might one day swallow up the entire universe. Take, for example, the decision to recruit a certain bearded fellow whose previous work experience mainly involves reindeer and jingle bells. It might have seemed like a good idea at the time, but is he really the best person to save the world from Tiamat the Destroyer, who has literally gone ballistic?
-
-
Painful. narration
- By Georgia Shopper on 12-18-23
By: Tom Holt
-
The Mask of Mirrors
- By: M. A. Carrick
- Narrated by: Nikki Massoud
- Length: 23 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Ren is a liar and a thief, a pattern-reader and a daughter of no clan. Raised in the slums of Nadežra, she fled that world to save her sister. Now, she has returned with one goal: to trick her way into a noble house, securing her fortune and her sister’s future. But in the city of dreams, her masquerade is just one of many. Enigmatic crime lord Derossi Vargo, stony captain of the guard Grey Serrado, dashing heir Leato Traementis, and the legendary vigilante known as the Rook all have secrets that could unravel her own.
-
-
This is what I come to the fantasy genre for.
- By Julie D. on 02-13-21
By: M. A. Carrick
-
In the Garden of Monsters
- By: Crystal King
- Narrated by: Carlotta Brentan
- Length: 10 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Julia Lombardi is a mystery even to herself. The beautiful model can’t remember where she’s from, where she’s been or how she came to live in Rome. When she receives an offer to accompany celebrated eccentric artist Salvador Dalí to the Sacro Bosco—Italy’s Garden of Monsters—as his muse, she’s strangely compelled to accept. It could be a chance to unlock the truth about her past…
-
-
Amazing story, well voiced
- By Lara Beth on 11-20-24
By: Crystal King
What listeners say about How to Rule an Empire and Get Away with It
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Adrianne
- 02-11-23
Another wonderful book
KJ Parker has you not just believing but knowing once again that knowledge is power. His characters are well thought out and the story is immersive. The world of KJ Parker truly is a stage.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Sam
- 10-02-24
Funny with good pacing
A very entertaining read! The narration is great and the story keeps you engaged the whole time. Lots of twists and turns with a nice mix of comedy and character development.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Georgia Shopper
- 06-11-21
More fun than a siege warfare story should be
I enjoyed this sequel to "Sixteen Ways." Ray Sawyer does a good job of reading the book, except that he reads way too slowly for my taste. I listened to this book at 1.5x speed, and it was much better. This book has an enormous amount of detail on walled city warfare. I thought it was interesting--obviously, the references are not real, but the techniques sounded very plausible. If listening to warfare strategy sounds like torture to you, then give this one a miss. It took me a while to warm up to the main character (I missed Orhan from the first book), but I eventually did. I didn't find the book to be slapdash in the least! I thought it read as if the author had meticulously researched many details before even putting, er, finger to keyboard. The characters were detailed and iikeable, and there were some very funny moments in the book. I think anyone contemplating this book ought to listen to the sample to make sure it's something they'll enjoy. And you should first read "Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City," though it's not strictly necessary since this book stands on its own. You'll appreciate more of the references with the first book behind you though.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Anonymous User
- 01-16-25
Superb on all accounts!!
Plot, reader, speed, outcome. Wow! Highly recommend this book and the entire series. It brings the Roman Empire to life. It also has contemporary relevance.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Morgan
- 01-03-22
Letdown from the 1st book.
Lacked the realism of '16 ways'. Scenarios, decisions, behaviors were much less believable and not rationally/satisfactorily reasoned.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful