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Paragon Exordium

By: Mikel Melwasul
Narrated by: Cormac Brennan
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Publisher's summary

Paragon Exordium is an easy-to-listen-to character-driven fantasy novel that combines classic magical elements with a modern-day setting full of non-stop action, world-building, and high stakes.

-In Paragon, Georgia, the battle for survival has begun.

After the Shattering, everything changes. When technology falters, the remnants of humanity must unite against an onslaught of creatures beyond their wildest imaginings. Basilisk, orcs, elves, dwarves, and other terrifying creatures now populate the planet.

With the creatures causing havoc, strangers are forced to join forces. Private military officer Peter Blair grapples with enigmatic dreams brought on by a black sword, and his inability to save everyone. While journalism student Sarah Young discovers newfound magical powers and the responsibility they bring. With refugees flooding in and danger on the rise, Peter and Sarah must embrace their new reality or risk surrendering Earth to the Fae - losing everything they hold dear.

Fans of The Walking Dead and Lord of the Rings will be enticed by this genre-bending epic that rings with themes of survival, sacrifice, and self-discovery.

After 6 years of writing/editing, Mikel and David have completed the first installment in their Apocalyptic Epic Military Rural Fantasy. A story like no other.

©2023 Mikel Ballard (P)2024 Mikel Ballard

What listeners say about Paragon Exordium

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Intriguing post-apocalyptic world

First, the narrator is amazing. How was he able to do all those voices and keep them straight? This is a long but fast paced novel that you won’t be able to put down. I just listened to something special.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Incredible voices, even better story

Absolutely phenomenal book. The cultures are unique, their feuds believable, the characters both lovable and hatable as appropriate. Can't wait for the sequel!

The voice acting was stellar as well. The only criticism I could give is I didn't love the babysitter's voice at the very beginning, but every other character's voice had a charm and inflection that made them truly unique and helps immerse you in the author's story.

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

Pretty good interpretation of fantasy.

I enjoyed how consistent the setup and payoff was throughout the story. They were very good at writing characters to be just the worst people, and making the reader hate them. The magic system is interesting and I'd like to see it expanded upon.

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

Like Stormligh Archives meets Steelheart

The balance between simple yet visual prose, world building, and plot structure reminds me of Brandon Sanderson. Refreshing. And the audio proformance is on point.

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classic and modern

loved the classic fantasy feel mixed with the modern apocalypse setting. Great for fans of Tolkien and Sanderson who love the world building and thorough nature of high fantasy but still want something easily accessible in terms of reading level.

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Gripping and unique story with multi-layered characters, great lore, and stellar voice acting

The world of Paragon Exordium is interesting and unique. The mix of traditional fantasy themes with departures from the norm make this world truly its own. Melwasul expertly transitions between world building, action, and character development as the reader makes their way through the fascinating setting leaving the reader with a desire for more! The author uses tonal shifts and moral quandaries not only to further the story but also to world build and develop characters and the blend makes for a heart-wrenching and heart-pounding experience!

All the while, Cormac's narration and use of different voices for each character (seriously, there's so many different voices) adds depth and passion to the performance in a truly evoking way. Multiple scenes were improved drastically by his performance and I can't give enough props here.

I anxiously await the sequel!

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  • Overall
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An Incredible, Magical Adventure

A fantastic story of merging the real world with fantasy, driven by remarkable characters and an action-packed plot. It keeps you on the edge of your seat from beginning to end, desperately wanting more!

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

Fantasy but in the USA

What could I say about the book other than that it was epic. With the utilization of magic and modern weaponry it created a unique world that you don’t see often. Maybe in urban fantasy but this doesn’t feel like that. This truly feels like the world of fantasy was just dropped on the modern world. But seriously, the world having a cracked sky is cool.
The characters were so well rounded. So many times I can feel what the characters were feeling. I can’t really say I hated the characters other than the characters that are meant to be hated.
And the action, my lord the action! With the mix of both guns and swords fighting in an epic battle field was nothing less than epic. Seriously, the battles were EPIC!
But, the only thing I don’t like is more my taste. I don’t like when they have to travel and talk. I know it’s a fantasy troupe to walk and talk until the next destination but I always find those annoying, and drags the story. So nothing against the author I just never liked these, and it’s mostly because I don’t read fantasy often.
But this is book is for those who loves fantasy, swords, magic, and guns! And overall and epic story.
Truly remarkable.

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    4 out of 5 stars

An amazing performance of an extremely engaging and readable urban fantasy story

My real rating of the story is 4.5 stars. This book was a ton of fun and keeps you thoroughly interested and engaged the whole way through. The author masterfully wove in the fantasy details in a way where you learn things along the way with the characters and are never overwhelmed (despite the many different fantasy creatures and large cast of characters). I absolutely loved the ensemble cast and each character felt well-rounded and layered. I also loved how it truly felt like a fantasy world was dropped right into our own, and I'm definitely interested in reading the sequel.

The voice actor is incredible! This book has so many different characters of varying accents and even species, and everything was embodied SO well. I felt like I was watching a movie and even got scared by the voices at parts.

My main piece of criticism is the last 1/3 of the book or so seemed to lack the quality of editing of the first 2/3. There was a lot of repetition of words and names in consecutive sentences (instead of using similes or other terms to make the language flow) that distracted me. It's a shame, because these things feel like they could've been easily fixed. Otherwise, I think this book is something special and extremely readable!

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