REALMBOUND: SWORD OF THE SCION
By Darren Hultberg Jr
Self Published: December 3, 2017
Audiobook Published: February 1, 2019
“Forge alliances. Gain powers. Save the realm.”
In the realm of Valion, a war is fought between the vile demons of the under-realm and the mighty scions, mystical beings with the power to wield super-human abilities. It is a war that turns cities to ash, that leaves the very land itself ravaged and uninhabitable… The scions fought valiantly, but even with their powers they were no match for the demonic horde. With the realm in ruin and no one to oppose them, Valion’s dark forces set their sights on a new world… Earth. Now, fierce dragons rule the skies of North America. Savage hordes burn and pillage the world’s great cities.
Civilization sits on the brink of total collapse. People have been forced to end their lives of convenience and pick up swords in a bid for survival. Rian Asher, a young man chosen by fate, must form an unlikely alliance of heroes from both his world and theirs to fight against the growing darkness in a battle that will decide that fate of the realms. The scions must rise again….
As an audiobook narrator, your early projects are things that tend to haunt you for various reasons. Luckily, I’m still very proud of my work on Darren Hultberg Jr’s REALMBOUND; a massivly creative take on The Hero’s Journey with LitRPG elements. According to Darren it was his first novel. So, it’s a nice little bit of serendipity that I took REALMBOUND on as my first full length narration.
Are there things I’d do differently? Yes!
Were some early reviews harsh and even soul crushing? Hell yes.
Did I learn and grow through the narration process? Absolutely.
REALMBOUND is a project that you can actually measure my improvement as a narrator as the book goes on. Sure, it’s rough around the edges. But I had a chance to really stretch my character voice muscles more than any project to date. And that is something I really love about this project.
As for the book and story itself? I love it. This is a really fun series full of action and adventure. It clips along at a nice pace and you really grow to love these characters. As a series, it improves even more into the second book and I really am hoping a third comes along soon! I loved that it embraces LitRPG elements, without fully going there. Personally, I can do without the stats and am glad that this operates more as a straight fantasy story.
Many narrators try to bury their early works. But, I embrace them as the start of my journey. I’m grateful Darren Hultberg Jr. took a chance on a new narrator with this project and I can’t wait to revisit this world and characters in REALMBOUND: SWORD OF THE VOID which will be available early 2020.
Darren Hultberg Jr. is a writing machine. Make sure you take a look at all his projects via his website or follow him on Facebook.