Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Emissary
    Emissary
    Emissary
    Audiobook10 hours

    Emissary

    Written by Thomas Locke

    Narrated by John Keating

    3.5/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    Hyam is a likeable lad who will make a fine farmer someday. But he carries a burden few can fathom. As his mother slips toward death, she implores him to return to Long Hall, where he spent five years as an apprentice. It was there that Hyam's extraordinary capacity for mastering languages came to light-and soon cast him into the shadows of suspicion. How could any human learn the forbidden tongues with such ease? When Hyam dares to seek out the Mistress of the Sorceries, her revelation tears his world asunder. He has no choice but to set out on the foreboding path-which beckons him to either his destiny or his doom. An encounter with an enchanting stranger reminds him that he is part hero and part captive. As Hyam struggles to interpret the omens and symbols, he is swept up by a great current of possibilities-and dangers. With lyrical prose that unveils a richly imaginative world, Thomas Locke takes readers on a journey into the Realm. There he invites them to awaken their sense of wonder. This cracking adventure moves like a contemporary thriller but harkens back to the enduring genre of classic fantasy.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRecorded Books, Inc.
    Release dateJan 6, 2015
    ISBN9781490656304
    Emissary

    More audiobooks from Thomas Locke

    Related to Emissary

    Titles in the series (3)

    View More
    View More

    Related audiobooks

    Fantasy For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Left To Lose

      Jul 10, 2022

      Around the time she gives up her name, it starts to feel like this entire revolution isn’t worth it anymore. The world is probably lucky that Kelian—she still remembers Kelian, in spite of everything—is there to pick up the pieces, the way he always

      11 min read

    • Article

      Ursula K. Le Guin

      Jun 15, 2018

      He was thinking of Lookfar, abandoned long ago, beached on the sands of Selidor. Little of her would be left by now, a plank or two down in the sand maybe, a bit of driftwood on the western sea. As he drifted near sleep he began to remember sailing t

      15 min read

    • Article

      Lucky Were the Bodies

      May 3, 2022

      Lucky Were the Bodies
      8 min read

    • Article

      Mrs Macarthur’s Secret Diary

      Jun 17, 2020

      Mrs Macarthur’s Secret Diary
      7 min read

    • Article

      Mrs Macarthur’s Secret Diary

      Jun 17, 2020

      Mrs Macarthur’s Secret Diary
      7 min read

    • Article

      The Last Friend on Earth

      May 4, 2023

      It was as if Doreen Saunders had been waiting for me, passing the time until my arrival. She might as well have been sitting in a rocking chair, knitting needles clicking, jam tarts cooling on the side, the door wide open, waiting for the next visito

      6 min read

    • Article

      Wounds That Won’t Heal

      Oct 30, 2017

      Wounds That Won’t Heal
      7 min read

    • Article

      Nights When Nothing Happened

      Nov 6, 2020

      Nights When Nothing Happened
      9 min read

    • Article

      Two Poems by Phillip B. Williams

      Dec 15, 2017

      The masters are yet dead. Wanting to be human,I tried to rewrite The Waste Land. The canon’s reachcasts ruinous light. The masters’ pens breachthis page where, above, my own hand spectates. Babylonrisen, exorcism in reverse, whose nature upended now?

      6 min read

    • Article

      A Lost Prayer

      Feb 2, 2023

      A Lost Prayer
      10 min read

    • Article

      Speed of Mercy

      Jul 30, 2021

      Speed of Mercy
      10 min read

    • Article

      Excerpts From The Works Of The 2024 Whiting Award Winners

      Apr 10, 2024

      The 2024 Whiting Award winners were announced Wednesday night. Below are excerpts from their work.

      19 min read

    • Article

      Lost Children

      Aug 4, 2022

      Lost Children
      5 min read

    • Article

      Ghost Girl, Banana

      Aug 21, 2023

      By the time I was 25, there were only two things I remembered about Mumma. The first was that she smelled of watermelons, the second was that we were happy. We’d taken our father’s name of course, but a name is only half a story. The other half exist

      6 min read

    • Article

      Awa’s Story

      Dec 6, 2022

      Awa’s Story
      3 min read

    • Article

      Run, Baby, Run!

      Sep 25, 2023

      Run, Baby, Run!
      7 min read

    • Article

      The Art of Fiction No. 251

      Mar 15, 2022

      The Art of Fiction No. 251
      20 min read

    • Article

      Three Poems

      Jan 1, 2020

      In class, I stared because of the blood going blue.The chalk that coated our fingerly teeth.The way we lapped each other (on the shorewhere the flowering). I gave away our location. Smacked my lips in the coat closet.Sucked at her teeth. We, on all e

      4 min read

    • Article

      After Kaddish

      Sep 27, 2018

      After Kaddish
      9 min read

    • Article

      Begin Again

      Jun 14, 2022

      My grandfather came to live with me. There was nowhere else for him to go. What had happened to all his children? Death, decay, exile—I hardly know. My own parents died of pain. But I must not be too gloomy, at the beginning, or you will leave me, an

      6 min read

    • Article

      The Wisdom of Women Shines in Najla Jraissaty Khoury’s ‘Pearls on a Branch: Oral Tales’

      Oct 22, 2018

      Long, long ago These things happened or maybe no. Let’s start with the image on the cover. Three women sit in a courtyard. One holds a long-handled pan over a coal brazier; the other two, one of whom has her back to us, hold small cups. They wear ide

      7 min read

    • Article

      A Little Love

      Apr 5, 2023

      A Little Love
      7 min read

    • Article

      A Thousand Embers

      Aug 13, 2023

      The old man’s grave hung like a mist over the whole of the wops. The world was still and soundless. Even the owl that watches over this place had ceased to call its name. Ru-ru. And though it wasn’t cold, an eerie chill possessed us, our breath visib

      3 min read

    • Article

      Two Poems by Noah Warren

      Dec 1, 2020

      Some waves came up overnight, though in Norderney, there was no weather.At the commercial wharf, a thin stream of white exhaust rose vertically from the ferry.The first service would depart soon. The puddles lay dark in the stone streetsand in the ga

      3 min read

    • Article

      The Stackpole Legend

      Mar 1, 2024

      The Stackpole Legend
      13 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for Emissary

    3.5/5

    32 ratings8 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 2/5
      This book just wasn't for me... I muddled my way to the end, but I never felt connected or invested in the characters and their fates. Plot-wise, this is a pretty standard fantasy novel, with a young man suddenly discovering he has magical powers and setting off on a journey and promptly meeting a woman who is, of course, the love of his life. While I can often get into a traditional hero's journey, this rendition just didn't feel very compelling or interesting to me.
    • 5/5
      I won this book through Good Reads First Reads and I absolutely devoured it. Simply written and utterly beautiful I haven't read a book this good in awhile. The words had a lyrical quality that is hard for me to explain but I loved this book from the first page to the last and I can hardly wait for the next in the series to be released.

      I was drawn in to a beautiful world and the mind of a simple farmer who grew to be the most important man around in a sequence of events that appeared simple but as I continued to read it became complex and beyond extraordinary. The fact that Shyam continued to stick to his core strengths of loyalty, trust, protective, and a whole lot of heart while growing to be a leader of men and not become swallowed by the power that seems to be offered to him by the earth itself is so unbelievable and yet I know it to be true. He saved more people than I know he'd ever knew could be connected to him. Making close friends when in the beginning of this tale he had known real grief over the recent loss of his mother. The people drawn to Hyam are dying and true and I really wish to know what happens next. I really, really do.
    • 3/5
      Emissary by Thomas Locke is the first book of Legends of the Realm. It is about a young man named Hyam who is on a quest to find out who he is. I'm not sure how I feel about this story. The premise sounded good until I started reading the book. It wasn't my usual fantasy story in that it felt a little lackluster to me. There wasn't the usual action, which gave me pause. It felt more like a love story with a bit of fantasy thrown in. Over all, this book was well written. I won this book in a giveaway, though I'm not sure where I won it from. Anyhow, all opinions are my own.
    • 2/5
      DNF at 28% I don't really have a lot I can say about this book because I didn't even get 30% of the way in, but I just couldn't do it. I was bored.That doesn't mean that this is a bad book by any means. I can definitely see that some people would actually love this book, it just wasn't for me.This, actually, very much reminded me of The Wise Man's Fear, which is strange because I loved both of Patrick Rothfuss' books but I just couldn't get along with this one.There seems to be a complete lack of emotion in the writing which made it very hard for me to connect with the story and the characters - it's hard to feel involved or relate to anyone in any way. And there was this feeling of being perpetually confused about everything. There's a lot of back story here that you need at the beginning to be able to follow the story and you're not given it. After a while you start to feel like you've walked into a conversation halfway through and are being forced to join in with absolutely no context as to what has already been discussed.The pacing is a little bit off - it was a bit jarring to me. Nothing progressive seems to happen and there wasn't anything interesting enough happening to make me want to keep on reading. The writing, however, is of a very high quality.Like I said - I can see how some people would like this book - in fact, there are some hardcore high fantasy lovers out there who I think are going to adore this book, but it wasn't enough to hold my attention and I kept finding myself wondering off to do other things.This isn't a bad book - it just wasn't for me.Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
    • 4/5
      This book just kept getting better until the end! As an obedient, honorable only son, Hyam reluctantly knew he had to honor his mother's dying wish...a wish he made all the arrangements necessary in order to fulfill. As his journey began, astonishing events began to unfold. Those he turned to as friends and mentors, he could no longer trust.This book of fantasy will be sure to capture the attention of YA and Adults alike. Written of a different time and in different places, it is similar to our Earthly medieval period of history. The adventure entails, mythical practices and characters, knights, Kings, Queens and more! The final page leves the reader anxious for more to come! began a little slow as the author "set the stage", although it never became boring.My review of this books offers a strong Four Stars rating.*I was sent this book in exchange for an honest review, of which I have given.
    • 4/5
      This is a book written by a person who exhibits a lot of confidence in his writing ability and for the most part it is well founded. The book is very easy to read and clearly expressed which is many times not evident in the fantasy genre. My major bone to pick about this world full of wizards and mages is that there is much buildup to these titanic struggles between good and evil but the conflicts themselves are anticlimactic and briefly described. Also, there is a lot of traveling by the main character with little descriptiveness about the settings. The author's principle strength is the dialogue which is well done.
    • 4/5
      Thomas Locke is a new voice in epic fantasy with the first book in a new series, Legends of The Realm. Written from a Christian worldview, Emissary is not your typical Christian novel, yet it embodies the themes of justice, mercy and compassion. Unlikely and ordinary characters achieve the extraordinary through shear will and determination. If you like classic fantasy, then you need to check out this novel.Following the death of his mother, Hyam must travel to give the news to the father that left him long ago. Memories of abuse by the community of wizards his father belonged to feeds the grief and resentment in his heart. But Hyam finds out that all he once thought true has been a lie and his past is shrouded in a secret held for a thousand years. As he struggles to understand the powers he possesses, he finds he must fight the darkness that has begun to grow in the land. Along with another outcast and a former mage, Hyam gathers other outcasts to fight for what is right and true.Part quest, part coming of age story, part suspense novel, Emissary is filled with beautiful images of a medieval world nothing like our own. Hidden kingdoms, Elves and other fantastical people, power emanating from colorful orbs, and 1000 year old secrets all make this new world unique to the reader’s experience. The main characters of Hyam and Joelle are complex and very relatable. Their responses to injustice are sometimes noble and sometimes vengeful, providing the reader with a lot to ponder about what his/her own reactions would have been. As stated earlier, there is not an overt Christian message, but the struggle between good and evil mirrors a Christian worldview. I especially liked that the forces the characters draw their powers from are influenced by motives and the desires of the heart. In Hyam we find a character that draws joy from his connection with the power — something that all Christians have when truly connected to God. For those who like action in their books, you are in luck. There are plenty of fights, close scrapes and escapes to keep you turning the pages.Emissary is just book 1. While a lot is resolved in this book, the danger is not yet gone and Hyam, Joelle, Trace and other characters will face more uncertainty and fear with the rise of another dark force. More adventure, more suspense, more fantasy — perfect for lovers of this genre.Recommended.Audience: older teens and adults.(Thanks to Revell for a review copy. All opinions expressed are mine alone.)
    • 4/5
      The Emissary by Thomas LockeThe beginning tale of an epic fantasy series starts on a farm where a young man cares for his dying mother. His mother is a weaver who has woven a beautiful tapestry of a young man holding up a brilliant purple orb before a battle. Her deathbed wish is that he return to the Long Hall and tell his father of her death. This journey sets Hyam on a perilous quest. At Three Valleys Long Hall he learns his father died four years before and that he might be of a race of beings who have been wiped from the earth and there is a great evil and war coming to the land. He is sent to a distant Long Hall to talk with the head mage. He rescues a young girl held captive there. He, the girl and the mage set out on a quest to find his mother’s people, the Ashanta, a telepathic group of villagers who cloak themselves in hiding. The three travelers join with the Ashanta and the green elves in the quest to defeat the Crimson Mage and rid their world of evil.The author has beautifully created a fantasy world and a wonderful backstory to evolve a series from. The characters are likeable and vibrant and the story move quickly engaging the reader. There is a lush earthiness to the flow. I am not sure that the seasoned fantasy reader will find this book more than just a prequel of better things to come. I believe the book should be classified a young adult fantasy as opposed to a fantasy for grown-ups. The action is mild and the evil while being terrible is not looked into in any amount of depth to instill fear. I found there to be a great deal of wonderful build up to an ultimate conflict, but the actual conflict was resolved rapidly. The story did leave plenty of questions unanswered and had lots of innuendo of events to come in the next book. This was a pleasant read with no foul language and no explicit gory violence. I enjoyed the story and look forward to reading the next book in the series.I Thank the publisher, Revell, for providing me a e-copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.