Scott S.

Better than anticipated.

Revisado: 04-21-25

Before this book I had never heard of this author. I found myself between a book just finished, and a book I had been anticipating coming up in my pre-orders. Looking for something not too long in length, I found this book by browsing books read by narrator Nicola Barber whom I’ve listened to and enjoyed previously.

In all honesty, I didn’t expect much from this book. I guessed this would be a YA or Romantacy that with Barber’s narration would get me through to the next book. I ended up surprised, and found myself actually enjoying this book quite a bit. While there is some YA elements to this book like a teenage main character, and overall lack of R rated dialogue, I found the story to be a quite interesting fantasy novel with elements of sci-fi set in a dystopian type setting. The plot and world building were well done, and the characters likable.

I mentioned I had previously listened to narrator Nicole Barber and had sought out the book due to her excellent work. She doesn’t disappoint here.

Overall, a nice find of a book I probably wouldn’t have normally picked up. Definitely worth a credit. I’m planning on moving on to the next book in the series after reading the pre-order book I mentioned at the beginning.

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Second book continues to shine.

Revisado: 03-10-25

The Cradle of Ice continues the epic Moon Fall series, a smart and entertaining epic fantasy with plenty of plots and action. This series has continued to be a welcome surprise from author James Rollins. Wide ranging world building, fleshed out and interesting characters, and intelligent weaving of the plot line, make for an enjoyable adult fantasy listen.

Narration from Nicola Barber is what initially brought me to this series, and she doesn't disappoint with another great reading. The combination of good narrator and writer make for an excellent audiobook experience. Moving on to book three.

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Another Fun Keeper Story

Revisado: 03-08-25

JA Andrews has become somewhat of a surprising find for me. I stumbled into The Keeper Chronicles when it was released as a complete trilogy by Audible for 1 credit. The first book of the trilogy seemed to be your average fantasy novel, but as the series went on I liked it more and more. I now find myself finished with that series, moved on to listen to The Keeper Origins Trilogy, Tomkin And The Dragon, and luckily for me a new series is beginning with The Aenigma Lights and this new book Runelight.

Runelight returns the keeper story arc back to the future. As with the first two series, Andrews draws the familiar tropes and themes from fantasy tales before her and spins her own tales into both familiar and unique ways. Andrews has a keen ability to make characters you love, and spin a plot line that is interesting but not to complicated. Runelight continues this trend with the hard to not like Keeper Kate and the host of fantasy trope friends who help her.

Overall, I think JA Andrews has found a groove with fun fantasy novels that pretty much anyone can enjoy. Runelight continues that run of great books.

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Good listen, a bit overrated.

Revisado: 03-07-25

Blood Over Bright Haven was an enjoyable listen with likable characters and a decent pace. However, despite a unique setting and magic system, the story suffered from a lack of background and overall world building. I found the plot line to be a bit predictable as well, from the first female mage, to the expected prejudice she received from her male counterparts, on to the complicated love interest. Even the ending turned out to be predictable, and in fact, the love interest character makes the prediction three quarters of the way through the book.

Despite the complaints I listed above, the book was a pretty good listen. However, it did't quite live up to the hype of all the fanfare and rave reviews . I would say Blood Over Bright Haven rates as an above average dystopian type fantasy with some unique ideas and excellent narration from Moira Quirk. If you are into books like the Hunger Games you will probably enjoy this.

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DNF

Revisado: 03-07-25

I don't know why I wasted my time on this book. The first book in the series was ok, the second one bad, and this one was boring and tedious. I would describe this series as a young adult romantacy hidden in a dark fantasy wrapping to try and appeal to adults. The romantic and self depriving inner dialogue of the main character just becomes so annoying that I could not finish this book. I am mad at myself for thinking maybe this book would have some character growth that results in the promise the first book hinted at. No luck.

I wouldn't recommend this book/series for anyone over the age of 15. The narration from Samara MacLaren was great, as it was throughout the series. The only reason I made it this far.

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Unexpected Find

Revisado: 11-14-24

I know who James Rollins is, but unlike most of the reviewers here, I have never listened to any of his books. I'm not usually in to adventure thriller. So when The Starless Crown popped up as a recommendation for me, I was a little confused as to why. I did notice that the book was narrated by Nicola Barber, and this grabbed my curiosity. Reading the description I realized this was book one of a fantasy series. I figured what the hell, and gave it a try.

I can see why Rollins is popular with fans of thriller and adventure books. He seems to be a very skilled writer. I found myself being pulled in by the story right away. If you're a fan of fantasy as I am, you know it can often be difficult to find good books due to the overwhelming output of poorly written Tolkien and Jordan clones and the well worn tropes that go with them. Throw in roomantacies, borderline YA fantasies, and video game fantasy, drudging up a good series becomes almost impossible at times. While the The Starless Crown touches on some well used themes of fantasy such as "coming of age" and the "school of magic", it doesn't dwell on them or turn the story into a teenage angst story wrapped in fantasy clothes. I found The Starless Crown to be an intelligently written and unique fantasy story for adults.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and I am moving on to book two of the series. I see some complaints about the narration in some of the other reviews, but I honestly think Nicola Barber does an excellent job here, and she is the reason I took a chance on this book in the first place. So, if you are like me and wondering why James Rollins has popped up in your recommendations, but you are looking for a good well written fantasy book, give this a try.

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Good Second Book

Revisado: 10-19-24

Black Tide Son is a good adventure with pirates, swords, and sorcery. H.M. Long does a great job of keeping you connected to the main characters in the story, and wanting to find out what happens next. This book keeps the action flowing with a daring prison escape to start out, and finished with a battle at sea. The narration from Quirk and Roukin is top notch, and brings out the best in the story.

If I had a complaint, it would be the same I had for the first novel in the series. The world building. While Long does an excellent job of showing you what's going on around the current events of the story, the overall world is lacking in detail. You know there is a war going on, that the povs of the story are involved in it, but the reasons for why the world is at war and the history of how it started is all kinda vague. Same for the overall plot goal of the series.

Despite the shortcomings of the overall plot, I found both Black Tide Son and Dark Water Daughter enjoyable reads. I think a little more description of the world would improve these books, but overall the stories are driven well by the characters and the excellent narration. Definitely worth the listen.

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Classic Epic Fantasy

Revisado: 06-09-24

An Elf, a Dwarf, a Wizard, and a Blacksmith walk into a bar. This line is either an opener to a joke, or the description from another epic fantasy book using well used tropes. This description actually happens near the beginning of the first book of this series. As the reader, it makes you immediately roll your eyes and think here we go again, I've read this before.

The Keeper Chronicles does start out in the typical epic fantasy nature drawn from the works of Tolkien and Jordan. Our hero, in this case a Keeper, a form of magician/lawman, begins an epic journey to find a magical stone that can not only save his wife, but maybe the world. Along the way he collects the above mentioned tropes that have just the powers needed to accomplish his mission. While the story basis here is a well used one in epic fantasy, and one that often makes me stop the book and move on due to how many bad versions there are out there, I found myself drawn in to The Keeper Chronicles.

JA Andrews does a pretty good job of keeping things interesting in this series with very good characters, a touch of humor, and being smart enough to move on from the standard storyline in the second and third book. Fans of this type of fantasy are drawn in with familiarity, and then introduced to something a bit more.

Overall, I guess the best description for The Keeper Chronicles trilogy would be comfortable. With a familiar setting, and narration from fantasy favorite Tim Gerard Reynolds, this is an easy series to enjoy. I liked it enough to consider possibly moving on to the sequel/prequel series The Keeper Origins and see if Andrews grows from here.

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Not what I expected.

Revisado: 05-15-24

Play of Shadows from Sebastien de Castell, author of the Greatcoats series, is billed as a return to the world of that series with a new generation of Greatcoats. This book does indeed return to the world of Tristia where the first series was set, but there is something missing here. Actual Greatcoats. This story revolves around a troupe of actors, one of which happens to be the grandson of a Greatcoat. There are only two actual Greatcoats in this story, one being the aforementioned grandfather who is now in his 70s and retired. The other, Brasti, one of the heroes of the first series who only makes a brief appearance in the final chapter.

Despite the lack of Greatcoats, and a little disappointment in their absence, Play of Shadows is a typical fun adventure you expect from de Castell. The actors troupe stumbles upon a long forgotten conspiracy and draws the attention of not only the Duke, but also a long hidden secret society who seeks to gain control of the country.

Overall, this is an enjoyable story, but wasn't quite the Greatcoats story I was expecting. There are some tie-ins, mostly towards the end, and it's possible this series will become more of a Greatcoats story as it progresses. I have been a fan of de Castell, and Joe Jameson who does another great job here, so I expect to continue on with this series and trust it will be a fun and entertaining listen.

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Mind Boggling Adventure

Revisado: 05-09-24

The Book That Broke the World is an adventure like no other that twists through time and dimension, all while within the confines of one library. Mark Lawrence shows his genius with an ability to tell an intricate tale of people intersecting from many times and places, and yet manages to do so in a manner that is both compelling and understandable to the reader. I said book one of the series, The Book That Wouldn't burn, was my favorite book of last year. The Book That Broke the World will easily be my favorite of this year. Excellent series so far.

Jessica Whittaker delivers another great reading, giving a great book the life it deserves.

Overall, Lawrence is showing once again why he is one of the top fantasy writers of our time. If you have listened to book one, no doubt you' won't need my prompting to get book two. If you haven't, go ahead and get started. You won't be sorry.

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