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urlphantomhive's review
3.0
Read all my reviews on http://urlphantomhive.booklikes.com
Arrivals is the first instalment in a new series from Serial Box and since I had just finished this season of False Idols, I was looking for my next serial. It was quite a switch from False Idols, as Arrivals provide what feels like an old-fashioned but well thought of and enjoyable high fantasy.
There is a lot of introduction of new characters which made it a little bit chaotic and I didn't feel a connection yet with the characters, but some of the things show promise to become very interesting. I particularly liked the floating lands.
For now I will continue.
Thanks to the publisher for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!
Arrivals is the first instalment in a new series from Serial Box and since I had just finished this season of False Idols, I was looking for my next serial. It was quite a switch from False Idols, as Arrivals provide what feels like an old-fashioned but well thought of and enjoyable high fantasy.
There is a lot of introduction of new characters which made it a little bit chaotic and I didn't feel a connection yet with the characters, but some of the things show promise to become very interesting. I particularly liked the floating lands.
For now I will continue.
Thanks to the publisher for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!
just_hebah's review
3.0
Reading this felt like being dropped into a Dungeons and Dragons game, and I *think* that's an intentional perk. I was excited to see Serial Box tackling high fantasy, and this has an intriguing enough world and sigil-and-sword-based magic system to keep me reading. That said, it runs up against two competing forces--the need for enough expository information to set the world up (which a novel would have more time and space to do) alongside the need of a serial story to keep things moving quickly, so the result is a somewhat hectic intro. Promising start, though, and I'll keep reading to see this story find its feet.
Thanks to Netgalley and Serial Box publishing for this one.
Thanks to Netgalley and Serial Box publishing for this one.
etienne02's review
2.0
Just felt like we were drop into something and we have to figure out what was going one by ourself. Too much stuff for such a short book. The universe look alright but just not well developed/presented to did it justice. I'm not sure that this season/episode type of book are really my style either. I was my first try and... just look, maybe it isn't the case, like the author write a couple of chapter, then publish, then continue, so it seem unrevised and fast published, a bit unfinished maybe. The average review are good, so maybe it was just me, but I didn't like it!
dkoboldt's review
5.0
I listened to the audio version of this serial and fell for it hard. Born to the Blade has sword fights, magic, intrigue, and high-stakes adventure -- everything I want in an epic fantasy. And all of it happens in a world of endless sky, where sinking into the mists means certain death. This should be your next epic fantasy read.
primmlife's review
4.0
TL;DR: Arrivals is a promising start to Serial Box’s Born to the Blade series. Recommended.
Cross posted at my blog, Primmlife.com.
Serialized stories are not new. Magazines published novels and stories in parts, but this form of storytelling fell out of popularity as audiences wanted complete storylines. Novellas and novelettes also declined in popularity, but in the past few years, the form has gotten renewed interest. So, why not serialized stories? Serial Box is answering that question with high quality episodic tales. With [b:The Witch Who Came In From The Cold: Season One|30076660|The Witch Who Came In From The Cold Season One|Lindsay Smith|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1462221870s/30076660.jpg|50495212] and [b:Bookburners: The Complete Season 1|29238781|Bookburners The Complete Season 1 (Bookburners #1.1-1.16)|Max Gladstone|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1471373707s/29238781.jpg|49480943], I’ve been interested in Serial Box’s offerings, but I haven’t yet had the Serial Box experience. Arrivals, episode one of Born to the Blade, piqued my curiosity. Formal, magical duels won me over, and I’m happy it did. This first episode lays a lot of groundwork down without overburdening the reader with world building. If you’re interested in sword fighting and sigil magic, there’s a whole lot more here for you.
Arrivals
Exploring the Serial Box website, you see that they organize their series by season and episode, which makes the comparison to television series unavoidable. The site lists eleven episodes for season one of Born to the Blade, and if each episode builds off this one, this will be an excellent story. On the website, Serial Box is listing four authors for this project: [a:Michael R. Underwood|5820379|Michael R. Underwood|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1449493374p2/5820379.jpg], [a:Malka Ann Older|14220734|Malka Ann Older|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1446698915p2/14220734.jpg], [a:Marie Brennan|105839|Marie Brennan|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1277921611p2/105839.jpg], and [a:Cassandra Khaw|13994108|Cassandra Khaw|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1481239072p2/13994108.jpg]; all of these authors are well regarded and on my new writer (to me) watchlist.
Mr. Underwood wrote episode one, which introduces us to various countries of the sky. This action packed prologue gives us our first taste of the magic system, which at the moment is connected to the blade. I’m interested to know if the sigil requires only a sword or can other tools/weapons act as a substitute. The sky society revolves around swords; the magic system, even the government, is sword based; so, I’m guessing that magic is only capable with the sword. Dueling is an integral part of the society, and I look forward to seeing how its explored in future episodes. I liked how Mr. Underwood weaved the sigil magic in with the sword fighting; it worked. The worry about any magic system is always if magic exists, what are the limits on it? We see that even though magic exists in this world, Mr. Underwood shows that it’s not ominpotent, but the system is modifiable enough that the authors have freedom to expand. It reminded me of living card games, where you can add boosts to your characters, but Mr. Underwood did a better job with it than my description.
Writing
Episode one carries a large burden. It has to introduce us to the world, set up future conflict, maintain our interest in the story enough to continue, and be readable through action and tension. Arrivals pulls it all off. Many themes exist in this first portion; imperialism, cultural clash, the effects of propaganda, and political flexibility. With each chapter, the world of Born to the Blade deepened as the story flew through the sky. Mr. Underwood set the stage for adventure.
Serial Format
As I said, Arrivals is my first dip into the Serial Box offerings, and I liked it. The story is short, but Serial Box prices the episodes affordably. Though it ends with a major revelation, it didn’t end on a cliffhanger, which was my fear. It has a beginning, middle, and end. I wasn’t sure that I’d enjoy it knowing I wouldn’t have the whole story, but when I read the last word, I had finished a whole story that is also a puzzle piece for a larger story. After years of being programmed by reading large, door-stopping epics that sort of, kind of end but not really, I enjoyed that the story had an arc, not just a cliffhanger. In a way, it felt closer to television in that the episode had its own arc that fits into the overall arc. It seems likely this is a feature of the pilot episode and further into the story cliffhangers might be required. In short, though a quick story, Arrivals satisfied.
Conclusion
Arrivals starts off the Born to the Blade series in a fun, magic packed story. This opening teases at a larger, complex world where politics involves duels and airborne islands. Recommended.
7 out of 10
Cross posted at my blog, Primmlife.com.
Serialized stories are not new. Magazines published novels and stories in parts, but this form of storytelling fell out of popularity as audiences wanted complete storylines. Novellas and novelettes also declined in popularity, but in the past few years, the form has gotten renewed interest. So, why not serialized stories? Serial Box is answering that question with high quality episodic tales. With [b:The Witch Who Came In From The Cold: Season One|30076660|The Witch Who Came In From The Cold Season One|Lindsay Smith|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1462221870s/30076660.jpg|50495212] and [b:Bookburners: The Complete Season 1|29238781|Bookburners The Complete Season 1 (Bookburners #1.1-1.16)|Max Gladstone|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1471373707s/29238781.jpg|49480943], I’ve been interested in Serial Box’s offerings, but I haven’t yet had the Serial Box experience. Arrivals, episode one of Born to the Blade, piqued my curiosity. Formal, magical duels won me over, and I’m happy it did. This first episode lays a lot of groundwork down without overburdening the reader with world building. If you’re interested in sword fighting and sigil magic, there’s a whole lot more here for you.
Arrivals
Exploring the Serial Box website, you see that they organize their series by season and episode, which makes the comparison to television series unavoidable. The site lists eleven episodes for season one of Born to the Blade, and if each episode builds off this one, this will be an excellent story. On the website, Serial Box is listing four authors for this project: [a:Michael R. Underwood|5820379|Michael R. Underwood|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1449493374p2/5820379.jpg], [a:Malka Ann Older|14220734|Malka Ann Older|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1446698915p2/14220734.jpg], [a:Marie Brennan|105839|Marie Brennan|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1277921611p2/105839.jpg], and [a:Cassandra Khaw|13994108|Cassandra Khaw|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1481239072p2/13994108.jpg]; all of these authors are well regarded and on my new writer (to me) watchlist.
Mr. Underwood wrote episode one, which introduces us to various countries of the sky. This action packed prologue gives us our first taste of the magic system, which at the moment is connected to the blade. I’m interested to know if the sigil requires only a sword or can other tools/weapons act as a substitute. The sky society revolves around swords; the magic system, even the government, is sword based; so, I’m guessing that magic is only capable with the sword. Dueling is an integral part of the society, and I look forward to seeing how its explored in future episodes. I liked how Mr. Underwood weaved the sigil magic in with the sword fighting; it worked. The worry about any magic system is always if magic exists, what are the limits on it? We see that even though magic exists in this world, Mr. Underwood shows that it’s not ominpotent, but the system is modifiable enough that the authors have freedom to expand. It reminded me of living card games, where you can add boosts to your characters, but Mr. Underwood did a better job with it than my description.
Writing
Episode one carries a large burden. It has to introduce us to the world, set up future conflict, maintain our interest in the story enough to continue, and be readable through action and tension. Arrivals pulls it all off. Many themes exist in this first portion; imperialism, cultural clash, the effects of propaganda, and political flexibility. With each chapter, the world of Born to the Blade deepened as the story flew through the sky. Mr. Underwood set the stage for adventure.
Serial Format
As I said, Arrivals is my first dip into the Serial Box offerings, and I liked it. The story is short, but Serial Box prices the episodes affordably. Though it ends with a major revelation, it didn’t end on a cliffhanger, which was my fear. It has a beginning, middle, and end. I wasn’t sure that I’d enjoy it knowing I wouldn’t have the whole story, but when I read the last word, I had finished a whole story that is also a puzzle piece for a larger story. After years of being programmed by reading large, door-stopping epics that sort of, kind of end but not really, I enjoyed that the story had an arc, not just a cliffhanger. In a way, it felt closer to television in that the episode had its own arc that fits into the overall arc. It seems likely this is a feature of the pilot episode and further into the story cliffhangers might be required. In short, though a quick story, Arrivals satisfied.
Conclusion
Arrivals starts off the Born to the Blade series in a fun, magic packed story. This opening teases at a larger, complex world where politics involves duels and airborne islands. Recommended.
7 out of 10
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