Bastion
by Phil Tucker
About This Audiobook
Scorio wakes up face-down in Bastion with no memories, no status, and a reputation he can't remember earning — because in this ancient underworld city, Great Souls reincarnate over and over to hold the line against infernal invasion, and everyone seems to think past-Scorio was a monster. Condemned for crimes he can't recall, he starts from the literal bottom: pit labor, brutal trials, and a long climb toward the Academy while rivals like Imogen make everything personal. Phil Tucker writes progression with actual weight — power-ups cost something, and the worldbuilding unfurls at macro scale. It's binge bait; I lost a weekend to the back half. Fair notes: pacing sags for a few hours after the mid-book Imogen fight, and Scorio himself can be hard to root for early on. Podehl is fantastic throughout, which carries you through the slump. 38 hours, 4.7 from 3.5K ratings, four books deep and building toward something big.
