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  • The Darkest Road

  • Written by: Guy Gavriel Kay
  • Narrated by: Simon Vance
  • Length: 16 hrs and 32 mins
  • 4.6 out of 5 stars (46 ratings)

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The Darkest Road cover art

The Darkest Road

Written by: Guy Gavriel Kay
Narrated by: Simon Vance
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Publisher's Summary

A two-time Aurora Award winner, best-selling author Guy Gavriel Kay has garnered the International Goliardos Prize and World Fantasy Award nominations for his brilliant fiction. 

The Darkest Road - the gripping conclusion to Kay's critically acclaimed Fionavar Tapestry fantasy trilogy - finds five university students from our world preparing to sacrifice themselves as they enter into final battle against a power of unimaginable proportions.

©1986 Guy Gavriel Kay (P)2009 Penguin Audio

What listeners say about The Darkest Road

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

Enjoyable romantic epic fantasy

Man, I wish I had discovered this book when I was a fantasy hungry teen in high school. But alas, I didn’t hear about Guy Gavriel Kay until I was in my 30s either way this was a fantastic epic fantasy trilogy with a delightful amount of romance and epic fantasy battles. And it’s always Simon Vance’s narration is exquisite.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Adequate Conclusion

Guy Gavriel Kay brings his 'Fiovanar Tapestry' epic to a close with a capably-choreographed multi-front battle. The final defeat of evil is brought about by plausible means.. albeit with the overuse of Kay's "freedom-of-choice" theme (character after character - and a couple of entire species - choose to dramatically sacrifice themselves - to the point that it becomes predictable). Kay has also introduced so many characters that he needs to juggle dozens of plot threads - forcing the need for a well-reasoned but overly complex narrative. Some story elements feel so superfluous that they border on the unnecessary (you will ask yourself 'why is this even here?")

Likewise unfortunate, reader Simon Vance regresses to using the relatively weaker aspects of his performances that plagued Book One in this trilogy: to be certain professional, interested, and fully in keeping with Kay's intended tone.. but marred by a distracting persistent iambic - every second syllable emphasized - cadence and questionable character voices (including perhaps the worst Canadian accent that I have ever heard, for example).

Altogether, 'The Darkest Road' is a creditable trilogy conclusion.. but the trope-loaded plotting, striking verbosity, and "average" delivery yields a 5/10-star effort. If you can get this audiobook as a 'Plus' selection, it's a distracting Fantasy read.. but spending a Credit on it would be a challenge to defend.

[NOTE: Kay's scripting of combat is much improved in this installment of the trilogy. The book is still markedly cerebral, but more action-heavy than you may expect]

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

A Captivating World

A tale that captures the heart of all my fantasies, the Fionavar Tapestry stands the test of time and is one of my forever reads.

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  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

End of Chapter 5 is missing

The narration cuts off abruptly and jumps right into Chapter 6.

Otherwise so far the recording is fantastic and I'm quite happy this series is accessible via Audible.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Really good escape

Loved how this was performed after having read the books....only complaint is the trilogy ended too soon!

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

Love in the Time of Covid

Lord knows this series isn't perfect, but the story it tells holds onto your heart and doesn't let go. It's a perfect listen during this time of Covid, full of hope and sacrifice and all the underpinnings of love for others that we wish our world held more of right now.

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