If some poor sod needs to be humiliated first and then gutted like a fish before his or her subordinates because ruling through fear will save far more lives than showing mercy, then you can bet your black-leather boots that Rezkin is going to crack out the filleting knife. Thankfully, this is not something Rezkin suffers from. It makes me hate protagonist more than any other trait. So many times I’ve been left gaping as the hero spares the villain because it’s the morally right thing to do, even knowing that if the villain gets the slightest advantage once more that it could, and often does, result in the slaughter of countless innocents. It’s the exact same way my brain works, and also the biggest pet peeve I have with goody-goody heroes. It’s the practicality and logic with which Rez carries out every action that gets me. I found myself pining for an end of the sections of his ‘upstanding citizen’ persona just to get another glimpse at the total and utter badass Rez intermittently becomes. To the point that when Rez gets into the swing of things, I could not stop listening. Everything is perfectly timed and perfectly played, and if it weren’t the most satisfying thing I’ve listened too in a long time, then the whole book would have been just ten shades of ‘meh’. He isn’t a good guy, and he doesn’t spare a second thought for going all Liam Neeson with his particular set of skills to methodically and logically slice up anyone that stands in his path. Again, this would usually put me off the character, but Rez doesn’t hold back… like, at all. The main character, Rezkin, is OP as all hell, brilliant at just about everything he turns his hands to. For starters, the characters seemed hollow or so clichéd that I quickly began losing faith. There was something about this book that I didn’t want to like, and for the life of me I can’t put my finger on it. Still, I carried on with Free the Darkness, and oooo boy, was that the right choice.

I want surprise from the books I listen to, but after a couple hundred fantasy novels, you think you’ve seen it all.

A few premises were laid out and thing proceeded just as I expected. Initially the story seemed very predictable. Free the Darkness was another book I had no idea about save for the sky-high Audible rating, and 30 minutes in I thought I’d picked a dud.

Free the Darkness by Kel Kade