Forged in Fire Audiobook By Olan Thorensen cover art

Forged in Fire

Destiny's Crucible, Book 4

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Forged in Fire

By: Olan Thorensen
Narrated by: Jonathan Davis
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About this listen

Joseph Colsco has survived what many would not have - cast naked on an alien planet amidst humans speaking an unknown language and with a different culture and history. Now, known to the people of Caedellium as Yozef Kolsko, he has risen out of despair to prominence and finds himself a central figure in the culmination of a struggle against an imperialist power bent on subjugation.

The clans of the Island of Caedellium must gird themselves for what is to come. If they can't unite to a degree previously unimaginable, they will fall into the bottomless abyss of lost history. Their strengths are their determination, bravery, potentially new allies, and a single man with a mysterious history. The options are simple: victory, death, enslavement.

Yozef Kolsko may have transformed from who he had been on Earth, but did the trials he has undergone produced a savior some of his adopted people see him as or is he an illusion? The crucible of fate is about to yield a final product, but is the result enough against a formidable enemy?

©2018 Podium Publishing; 2017 Olan Thorensen
Fantasy Fiction Military Science Fiction Space Opera Time Travel Space Destiny
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A solid conclusion to a very well written series.

I was a bit critical in my reviews of the earlier books, and I still have some minor complaints about this entry, but not enough to withhold a 5 star review. Below is a comprehensive, spoiler free review.

Character Development: Honestly, this is one of Thorensen's greatest strengths. Somehow he manages to develop characters that really shine. Unlike many other authors, I get that giddy little feeling when someone does something so very human and relatable, it makes for a very enjoyable story. Many times we only get development for a couple prominent characters, but in these books we have come to know a dozen or more people, and we know them well enough to anticipate their behaviors later in the series. I can't say it enough, character development is key to a great story, and Thorensen nails it.

Protagonist Arc: The second most important thing for me is character arc. I want to see my protagonists grow and endure and become the hero of the story. Yes, I'm a bit of an optimist and I don't enjoy too much drama. While I think Thorensen played it a little too safe, he still managed to allow us to live through the protagonist and experience success and his pitfalls along the way to the finale. There are some authors that don't understand how the reader/listener becomes the protagonist and how important it is to not destroy that character's values and motivations. Again, Thorensen hits this one out of the park.

Backstory: I feel like the first chapter of the first book was perhaps the weakest in terms of narrative. As a new reader, none of what was being said had any relevance and it went on far too long. As the story progressed into books two and three, those characters became better known and the opposition chapters became less grueling and more interesting, especially as the narrative allowed us to see how misinformation was received by the Narthani. I enjoyed listening to Narthani command underestimate the Islanders at several points. My inner voice was cheering.

Sex: I still can't shake the bizarre depictions of personal relationships, especially in book two. And in this book there was a lot of proselytizing for Polygamy. I don't see how this element helped the story at all. None of this was worrisome enough to drop a star, just an odd and somewhat troubling story arc that seemed completely unnecessary and made me a little uncomfortable. The fact that it was revisited multiple times made it seem like an important focus for the author, but as a reader I really had no interest at all.

Mild Spoiler Below

Finale: The finale left me very satisfied. Maybe a little too satisfied. Everything worked out in the way that I had hoped and expected. I'm sure there are some who would criticize the story for being too predictable and not taking enough risks. I wouldn't argue with such criticisms either. But in terms of being a fulfilling story that actually engaged me as a listener, I can't imagine a better series of books.



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Great closing of one door and opening of another..

Firstly, I'm a huge fan of the series as a whole and have been dying to see what will happen when Yosef gets some time to breath and really bring his new home to the modern age. That being said, to get there he needed to take care of a very specific Narthani problem, and this book put an absolute perfect bow on it. By wrapping up the Narthani invasion and setting Yosef up in a place of power, Olan has perfectly opened the door to dive deep into the world of Abyar, and I for one, can't wait to see it. Looking forward to more books and hearing them read by this amazing voice actor, Johnathan Davis.

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Masterful

Thanks Olin for sharing your imagination! You have the gift of understanding relationship & character... Relationship is an overused term, but you do give your characters the time and respect they deserve; and the plot thickens.

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great!!! awsome!!!! I love this series!!!

a world I dont want to leave. I've listen all day and all night just hear what happens next. I love this series!!!

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Great characters and details

Great story and very good old school military logistics and world building. Really enjoyed it!

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Good

There were a few typos, but overall an excellent conclusion (maybe?) to the series. Loved it.

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An excellent entry to the series!

I loved this entry into the series. I'm among several others that hope this isn't the last! anxiously awaiting news on book 5!

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a great listen

a great book in a great series can't wait for more books in this series

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Really hope this isn’t the end of the story

Another amazing story. This quickly has become a favorite series of mine and I am truly hoping that the story continues on. It will be a hard on to move past of it ends here because it is such a great story and really sucks a person in. Had a couple nights I had trouble sleeping because every time the sleep expired on my app I kept extending it. 🙌

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what's next Colsco

good book . took some twists I didn't expect even though its pretty predictable. so what's next?

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