The Children of Gods and Fighting Men cover art

The Children of Gods and Fighting Men

Gael Song, Book 1

 Preview
Try Premium Plus free
Thousands of incredible audiobooks and podcasts to take wherever you go.
Immerse yourself in a world of storytelling with the Plus Catalogue - unlimited listening to thousands of select audiobooks, podcasts and Audible Originals.
£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

The Children of Gods and Fighting Men

By: Shauna Lawless
Narrated by: Aoife McMahon
Try Premium Plus free

£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically.

Buy Now for £17.99

Buy Now for £17.99

Confirm Purchase
Pay using card ending in
Switch payment method
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.
Cancel

About this listen

The first in a gripping new historical fantasy series that intertwines Irish mythology with real-life history, The Children of Gods and Fighting Men is the thrilling debut novel by Shauna Lawless.

They think they've killed the last of us...

981 AD. The Viking King of Dublin is dead. His young widow, Gormflaith, has ambitions for her son – and herself – but Ireland is a dangerous place and kings tend not to stay kings for long. Gormflaith also has a secret. She is one of the Fomorians, an immortal race who can do fire-magic. She has kept her powers hidden at all costs, for there are other immortals in this world – like the Tuatha DE Danann, a race of warriors who are sworn to kill Fomorians.

FOdla is one of the Tuatha DE Danann with the gift of healing. Her kind dwell hidden in a fortress, forbidden to live amongst the mortals. FOdla agrees to help her kin by going to spy on Brian Boru, a powerful man who aims to be High King of Ireland. She finds a land on the brink of war – a war she is desperate to stop. However, preventing the loss of mortal lives is not easy with Ireland in turmoil and the Fomorians now on the rise...

'Highlander meets The Last Kingdom in this assured and captivating debut... I was hooked from page one.' Anthony Ryan

'Gripping and beautiful. A Celtic Last Kingdom with wild magic and fierce heroines.' Anna Smith Spark

'I really enjoyed the book. It's an excellent read.' Mark Lawrence

'A beguiling blend of fantasy, history, and politics. A gripping start to this series.' D.K. Fields

'A vividly written story that makes the ancient past feel contemporary.' Joseph O'Connor

'Rife with atmosphere and armies, magic and compelling characters, it swept me along and refused to be put down.' H.M. Long

'An epic historical fantasy that weaves myth and history into a sprawling tale of magic, intrigue, and war. Absorbing and richly detailed.' Ian Green

'With all the complex political machinations of A Song of Ice and Fire and the bloody battles of The Warlord Chronicles, it's ideal for fans of both.' Stephen Aryan

'An atmospheric journey into a thrilling historical fantasy world.' R.J. Barker

©2022 Shauna Lawless (P)2022 Head of Zeus Fantasy Fiction Genre Fiction Historical Metaphysical & Visionary World Literature Royalty Ireland King Warrior War

Listeners also enjoyed...

 The Widow Queen cover art
The Ninth Rain cover art
Shield-Maiden: Under the Howling Moon cover art
The Malevolent Seven cover art
The Will of the Many cover art
From Dragon-Flame Begun, Part I cover art
Gunmetal Gods cover art
Sons of Darkness cover art
Eleventh Cycle cover art
The Kingless Crown cover art
Of Blood and Fire cover art
All the Murmuring Bones cover art
A Brother's Oath cover art
Song of the Crimson Flower cover art
Queen of Oak: A Novel of Boudica cover art
Legacy of the Brightwash cover art
All stars
Most relevant  
I absolutely loved this, the narration was brilliant too. It’s really refreshing to see a historic fantasy set somewhere that isn’t England, or mainland Europe. Shauna does a wonderful job of bringing ancient Ireland to life, the character pop, the story and the politics is compelling and the prose just flows.

My only complaint is that the second book in the series isn’t out yet as I want to spend more time in this wonderful world, and with these wonderful characters.

Wonderful book steeped in history and lore

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
The story is fantastic, definitely would highly recommend for anyone who likes fantasy. A really great combination of a fantasy novel with Irish myth and legends. Clearly a lot of research went into this and it pays off!

An excellent book

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
story was ok, no real depth to the characters.
I was disappointed over all,

alright

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
This book was a joy from beginning to end!!
The narration was also top class.
I loved the facts of the Viking and Irish History mixed in with magic and myth.

Absolutely fantastic!!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Well written, well paced and beautifully narrated. I am looking forward to the second book in the trilogy.
The two female lead characters are very different but both relatable.

History, Mythology & the power of women

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
This book has kept me up at night. I usually fall asleep to audiobooks but this one kept me so engaged that I had to turn it off and put something else on to go to sleep.

I am so tired.

I hope the author is proud of herself. If I get fired for sleeping on the job it’s her fault entirely.

I really can’t wait for the next book!

Amazing listen!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
A book so well-written that it is impossible to tell where history ends and fantasy begins. A fascinating dive into Irish history and folklore with brilliant characters and a thrilling story that had me gripped until the end and made me wish the other books were already available.

A brilliant interweaving of history and myth

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I enjoyed the read more as someone with an interest in Irish history than as a fantasy fan.

The magical elements were subtle and probably became less prominent as the story evolved.

The characters were well developed, but the plot is based around real events of 10th century Ireland.

Interesting, if unsatisfying, historical fantasy

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
An excellent debut that celebrates both the wonders of fantasy and the intrigue of Irish mythology and history . told from two incredibly strong POVs . it beautifully written, with the subtle wit of a Irish hand and the narration was fantastic.

wonderfully narrated story seeped in Irish history

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
It’s very hard to find any fiction books based on Irish mythology, any other kind all you do is throw a rock and you hit a Norse or Greek or Shinto etc mythology no problem but besides that it’s even harder to find an Irish mythology book that’s entertaining but thank the Gods for Shauna Lawless she cracked the code. Straight away your taken into the book, great characters, great heroes and villains and a great story and best of all she has another two books in the series after this one. Highly recommend and special mention to the voice actress, she was fab, her talent really drew me into the story.

Great book

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews