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Grayden: The Secret of Illryn
One god created the ultimate power, another the ultimate betrayal. Two kingdoms at war, with one man cursed to end it all.
From across the Blood River, the kingdom of Vard watches with disgust as their enemy, Eadom, feeds its children to the necrophites. Since before histories were recorded, Vard has sought to free Eadom’s children from their horrific fate, but have only seen defeat. Until now. The church has finally recovered a dreadful power stolen from them years ago, a power that can liberate Eadom’s children, a power never before seen in Illryn. The power lives within a man named Grayden, but he’s known as the Executioner.
With no memory of his childhood before the age of ten, Grayden has been conditioned to fulfill his destiny. Living with the silence from the god that created him, he endures doubt even as he is driven by righteous purpose toward his fate.
As Grayden ventures deeper into Eadom, memories begin to lighten the dark corners of his mind. It is here, in the heart of the enemy, that he comes face to face with his own doom and the betrayal that led to it. The truth is always known by at least one.
From across the Blood River, the kingdom of Vard watches with disgust as their enemy, Eadom, feeds its children to the necrophites. Since before histories were recorded, Vard has sought to free Eadom’s children from their horrific fate, but have only seen defeat. Until now. The church has finally recovered a dreadful power stolen from them years ago, a power that can liberate Eadom’s children, a power never before seen in Illryn. The power lives within a man named Grayden, but he’s known as the Executioner.
With no memory of his childhood before the age of ten, Grayden has been conditioned to fulfill his destiny. Living with the silence from the god that created him, he endures doubt even as he is driven by righteous purpose toward his fate.
As Grayden ventures deeper into Eadom, memories begin to lighten the dark corners of his mind. It is here, in the heart of the enemy, that he comes face to face with his own doom and the betrayal that led to it. The truth is always known by at least one.
268 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 1, 2019
1 person is currently reading
338 people want to read
About the author
L.K. Evans
6 books56 followersI was born in Phoenix, AZ, where I resided for the first half of my hopefully long life. At the first opportunity, my husband and I packed up the wagon and traveled north to Washington State, where I currently am living happily ever after with my wonderful husband and three beautiful, hysterical, and often crazy Siberian huskies.
Right out of high school, I got recruited into the corporate world and found I had a knack for accounting. I spent seventeen years in various divisions of accounting, but never felt fully satisfied by the turn my life had taken. Of all I had imagined my future to be, chained to a desk was not in any of my plans. In one of those wild moments where you're ready to bungee jump off a bridge, I quit my job and went to work on opening a dog daycare business, with all the support and love of my husband. As I was planning, I used my free time to start a story. I'd read a book and was rather unhappy with the ending, so I decided to write something I would enjoy. It started out as a secret. It was a side hobby, a release, an escape. But one day, my husband came home early and caught me. Instead of allowing me to continue on in secrecy, he planted a seed of publishing in my mind.
The thought of being an author went against everything I had made of my life. Security. Stability. Debit and credits. Cars and houses. Textbook accounting. Writing was creativity; no rules, no certainties of success. And I found it exhilarating and something I absolutely loved doing.
The dog daycare idea was unattainable for us, but the writing blossomed into a dream I never bothered to dream. So here I am.
Right out of high school, I got recruited into the corporate world and found I had a knack for accounting. I spent seventeen years in various divisions of accounting, but never felt fully satisfied by the turn my life had taken. Of all I had imagined my future to be, chained to a desk was not in any of my plans. In one of those wild moments where you're ready to bungee jump off a bridge, I quit my job and went to work on opening a dog daycare business, with all the support and love of my husband. As I was planning, I used my free time to start a story. I'd read a book and was rather unhappy with the ending, so I decided to write something I would enjoy. It started out as a secret. It was a side hobby, a release, an escape. But one day, my husband came home early and caught me. Instead of allowing me to continue on in secrecy, he planted a seed of publishing in my mind.
The thought of being an author went against everything I had made of my life. Security. Stability. Debit and credits. Cars and houses. Textbook accounting. Writing was creativity; no rules, no certainties of success. And I found it exhilarating and something I absolutely loved doing.
The dog daycare idea was unattainable for us, but the writing blossomed into a dream I never bothered to dream. So here I am.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
August 21, 2019
* SPFBO5 Read *
That first chapter, though. I mean, nothing like introducing your reader to a world where a man magically severs tongues and melts flesh from bone with a mere thought and flick of the wrist. I have to admit, that scene was glorious. *insert 'I seen some sh*t' emoji*
Grayden: The Secret of Illryn is a compelling story of persuasion and deceit governed by magic, gods, and the arduous journey of finding the truth. The general concept Evans conveys of a gifted person being used as a puppet by both the church and state for their own conflicting needs was one that really appealed to me, and one that was definitely executed well. As the story continues on, Grayden begins to access repressed memories, and I feel this gradual unlocking of secrets hidden within the dark corners of his mind is a brilliant engine for worldbuilding. The additional thread of an ongoing battle between gods infused a whole new layered depth to Grayden's mysterious past, that which unravels before us in a stunning fashion.
I thoroughly enjoyed the majority of this book, and believed we were on course for a solid grimdark tale of vengeance filled with hyper-violent stabby moments and reprisal. Oh, I got plenty stabby moments - however, I felt there was a turning point where the story began to stray from the established tone - the darkness of retribution to the dawn of redemption, if you will. And while Krowen is one of the most incredible and wonderfully developed characters I've become acquainted with lately, Grayden's transformation felt a little too abrupt, leading to an unfortunate disconnect I wasn't expecting. There's something special about this world Evans has created, I just hoped the story would stay true to the roots it sprouted from.
That first chapter, though. I mean, nothing like introducing your reader to a world where a man magically severs tongues and melts flesh from bone with a mere thought and flick of the wrist. I have to admit, that scene was glorious. *insert 'I seen some sh*t' emoji*
Grayden: The Secret of Illryn is a compelling story of persuasion and deceit governed by magic, gods, and the arduous journey of finding the truth. The general concept Evans conveys of a gifted person being used as a puppet by both the church and state for their own conflicting needs was one that really appealed to me, and one that was definitely executed well. As the story continues on, Grayden begins to access repressed memories, and I feel this gradual unlocking of secrets hidden within the dark corners of his mind is a brilliant engine for worldbuilding. The additional thread of an ongoing battle between gods infused a whole new layered depth to Grayden's mysterious past, that which unravels before us in a stunning fashion.
I thoroughly enjoyed the majority of this book, and believed we were on course for a solid grimdark tale of vengeance filled with hyper-violent stabby moments and reprisal. Oh, I got plenty stabby moments - however, I felt there was a turning point where the story began to stray from the established tone - the darkness of retribution to the dawn of redemption, if you will. And while Krowen is one of the most incredible and wonderfully developed characters I've become acquainted with lately, Grayden's transformation felt a little too abrupt, leading to an unfortunate disconnect I wasn't expecting. There's something special about this world Evans has created, I just hoped the story would stay true to the roots it sprouted from.
August 2, 2021
The story of a young man finding himself
Once I settled into the book I totally wanted to know more of Grayden and also all the figures around him. A story of jealousy, betrayal and love
Once I settled into the book I totally wanted to know more of Grayden and also all the figures around him. A story of jealousy, betrayal and love
February 16, 2021
This book was a bit of a slow burn. I wasn't sure that everything would come together, but it ends up coming together. The world and magic system is interesting with multiple facets. It makes one think about the impact of relationships and religion on a person growing up.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews