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3.61 AVERAGE
3.61 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
funny
hopeful
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Holy moly. SPOILERS AHEAD!!!!!!!
So what happens when 2 best friends (one of which is the chosen one) set off on an adventure that almost immediately starts with the chosen one loosing his head & then leads to the other carrying around said lost head (very nicely preserved btw) trying to save the entire world from being destroyed? A freaking fun, gross and very interesting story is what you get.
So what happens when 2 best friends (one of which is the chosen one) set off on an adventure that almost immediately starts with the chosen one loosing his head & then leads to the other carrying around said lost head (very nicely preserved btw) trying to save the entire world from being destroyed? A freaking fun, gross and very interesting story is what you get.
I loved it! I couldn’t stop once I started. This is a fun story from start to finish with a set up that is in contrary to most fantasy tropes. This cast of misfits are the only hope the world has, and did I mention it’s fun?
Do yourself a favor and grab the audiobook. Voiced by Nick Podehl, perhaps the best audiobook narrator in the business.
Do yourself a favor and grab the audiobook. Voiced by Nick Podehl, perhaps the best audiobook narrator in the business.
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
It's not really a book that makes you want to shout from the rooftops about it, but the twist of the Chosen One not even making it past the first chapters is cool and I really liked leading man, Aaslo. The varied cast of characters he meets and those who join him round out to a solid ensemble.
Its main weakness is that there's a lot to unpack in very few pages, so it feels a bit rushed at times. The story begs to be told with sweeping prose and prolonged chapters, but Kade only gives us snapshots. Enjoyable snapshots, but still falling short of how great it could have been.
Its main weakness is that there's a lot to unpack in very few pages, so it feels a bit rushed at times. The story begs to be told with sweeping prose and prolonged chapters, but Kade only gives us snapshots. Enjoyable snapshots, but still falling short of how great it could have been.
This was a fun fantasy. It's got several elements that say "This is epic fantasy", such as
-a Chosen One
-Mages
-A reluctant hero
-Gods
-Portals
-Multiple worlds
-Dangerous beasts
-Invading aliens
-Literally world-ending stakes
-The forming of a group of individuals, a "fellowship" to deal with the previously mentioned point
Every time I figured the author would take the easy, tried and true path, she did something slightly different. Yes, the scale of the danger is huge, and yes, a group has to go on a quest and there's magic and political wrangling, and multiple threats, including capricious gods playing with this world and others, but something about this book kept me engaged. The tone is light, despite the constant danger main character Aaslo is in and the repeated terrible things happening around him and to him. I think the humour helped, often provided by Mathias' sarcastic chatter. Then there was Tezza and her bullheadedness and relationship with Aaslo's irascible, dogged self.
I wish there had been many more women in this story, and hope the next installment has them.
-a Chosen One
-Mages
-A reluctant hero
-Gods
-Portals
-Multiple worlds
-Dangerous beasts
-Invading aliens
-Literally world-ending stakes
-The forming of a group of individuals, a "fellowship" to deal with the previously mentioned point
Every time I figured the author would take the easy, tried and true path, she did something slightly different. Yes, the scale of the danger is huge, and yes, a group has to go on a quest and there's magic and political wrangling, and multiple threats, including capricious gods playing with this world and others, but something about this book kept me engaged. The tone is light, despite the constant danger main character Aaslo is in and the repeated terrible things happening around him and to him. I think the humour helped, often provided by Mathias' sarcastic chatter. Then there was Tezza and her bullheadedness and relationship with Aaslo's irascible, dogged self.
I wish there had been many more women in this story, and hope the next installment has them.
Considering “grumpy asocial forest boy” is my favorite niche character type of all time, the fact that I just didn’t like Aaslo at all kind of hurts my feelings /j. He just didn’t have a character besides “grumpy and right about everything.”
Another reviewer said the book reads like Aaslo is the player character in a dnd game (or a video game) and all the other characters are backstory-dumping NPCs, and I find that to be a very accurate vibe.
And while I swear I also analyze books on their own merit, for SOME REASON I thought I saw this book on a queer fantasy recommendation list, and waited over half the book for something to happen, but there was nothing, and I was very disappointed - it actually felt very heteronormative in that way fantasy can often be. I held out hope for the - uhhh count? viscount? noble guy whose name I can’t remember atm? - to have a crush on Aaslo because that seemed pretty obvious, but nah. Nothing’s going on here romance-wise (except groundwork being laid for a tiresome triangle between Aaslo, Tezza, and Myropa, I’d bet anything). (If my spelling is off it’s because of the audiobook, oops.)
Another reviewer said the book reads like Aaslo is the player character in a dnd game (or a video game) and all the other characters are backstory-dumping NPCs, and I find that to be a very accurate vibe.
And while I swear I also analyze books on their own merit, for SOME REASON I thought I saw this book on a queer fantasy recommendation list, and waited over half the book for something to happen, but there was nothing, and I was very disappointed - it actually felt very heteronormative in that way fantasy can often be. I held out hope for the - uhhh count? viscount? noble guy whose name I can’t remember atm? - to have a crush on Aaslo because that seemed pretty obvious, but nah. Nothing’s going on here romance-wise (except groundwork being laid for a tiresome triangle between Aaslo, Tezza, and Myropa, I’d bet anything). (If my spelling is off it’s because of the audiobook, oops.)
I was very pleasantly surprised by this story. It starts out like the usual fantasy novel, with a Prophecy, a mystery orphan hidden in a rural setting, a gruff grandma, etc. The first two chapters were very tropy and predictable. I caught myself sighing and rolling my eye: OMG another one of these. BUT -- then things went sideways and got very interesting. There is some humor, some expected situations and familiar characters and then some very nice surprises that kept me interested. I highly recommended the book to anyone looking for something new and fresh. I'm very much looking forward to the next book.
Well, I did it, bookies. Finished the second book of the year, and we’ve got, like, ten days of March left….I give my thanks to the coronavirus for giving me this time to read a book lol! (But for real, take the virus seriously. I joke about this shit, but it’s not a joke.)
Anyways, compared to Queen of Nothing, the first book I finished this year, I enjoyed this novel so much more. And I tried out a new way of annotating. If you’d like to see my method, check out Books With Chloe’s annotating video; that’s the method I’m currently using.
To begin with, I’m giving Kade four stars for the first in a trilogy, or a series, I don’t know at the moment.
Overall Ratings:
》Plot: 3/5
》Characters: 4/5
》Writing: 3/5
Read More
Anyways, compared to Queen of Nothing, the first book I finished this year, I enjoyed this novel so much more. And I tried out a new way of annotating. If you’d like to see my method, check out Books With Chloe’s annotating video; that’s the method I’m currently using.
To begin with, I’m giving Kade four stars for the first in a trilogy, or a series, I don’t know at the moment.
Overall Ratings:
》Plot: 3/5
》Characters: 4/5
》Writing: 3/5
Read More
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
English below
Samo założenie tej książki jest ciekawe - bohater umiera i co wtedy? Jednak ta książka nie jest do końca tym. Oczywiście to się dzieje, ale bardzo szybko fabuła schodzi na bardzo oklepany tor.
Postacie są bardzo jednowymiarowe, dialogi są po prostu złe. Ta książka próbuje być filmem i grą RPG co jest bardzo… smutne.Główny bohater mówiący do innych postaci tak jakby nie stał obok kogoś kto go słyszy i od razu dostaje reprymendę. Jak w grze RPG z różnymi towarzyszami
Opisy scen walki są chaotyczne i ciężko zrozumieć co się dzieje. Budowa świata co najmniej nie ma sensu a miejscami sobie przeczy.
Książka udaje, że niektóre rzeczy są tajemnicą a dla czytelnika są oczywiste od początku.
I w dodatku ten cały „komentarz społeczny”. Z dupy rozmowa o kapitalizmie, samcach alfa, wyzysku przez uprzywilejowaną klasę… Jako rozmowa w tle?? Bez wpływu na fabułę i postacie główne? Po co….
W dodatku mam wrażenie, że autor wie co sprawia, że fabuła jest nieciekawa, próbuje unikać tych schematów tak mocno, że aż w nie wpada.Prorok i ogólnie proroctwo.
Dodanie ciekawej okładki i kolorowych krawędzi + ciekawy blurb zachęcają do kupienia, ale to strata czasu.
ENGLISH
The general idea for this book is interesting - the hero dies and what? But this books isn’t really that. This happens, yes, but very quickly the plot falls into old, beaten path.
The characters are flat, the dialogues are simply bad. The book tries to be a movie and an RPG game which is very… sad.The main character talking to someone as if he wasn’t right next to his companion and then immediately getting reprimanded. It’s just as in RPG game with multiple companion lines
Descriptions of the fights are chaotic and hard to follow. World building is at best confusing and they don’t make sense and even contradict in some parts.
The books also pretends that some things are a mystery but it’s pretty obvious from the start.
And the whole „social commentary”. Out of thin air - talks about capitalism, alpha males and evil privileged class… as a background discussion?? That doesn’t’ affect affect the main characters and is not visible in the plot???? Why….
Additionally I feel that author knows what makes some plots boring and tries so hard to avoid it that falls head first into the trap.The prophet and the whole prophecy thing
Samo założenie tej książki jest ciekawe - bohater umiera i co wtedy? Jednak ta książka nie jest do końca tym. Oczywiście to się dzieje, ale bardzo szybko fabuła schodzi na bardzo oklepany tor.
Postacie są bardzo jednowymiarowe, dialogi są po prostu złe. Ta książka próbuje być filmem i grą RPG co jest bardzo… smutne.
Opisy scen walki są chaotyczne i ciężko zrozumieć co się dzieje. Budowa świata co najmniej nie ma sensu a miejscami sobie przeczy.
Książka udaje, że niektóre rzeczy są tajemnicą a dla czytelnika są oczywiste od początku.
I w dodatku ten cały „komentarz społeczny”. Z dupy rozmowa o kapitalizmie, samcach alfa, wyzysku przez uprzywilejowaną klasę… Jako rozmowa w tle?? Bez wpływu na fabułę i postacie główne? Po co….
W dodatku mam wrażenie, że autor wie co sprawia, że fabuła jest nieciekawa, próbuje unikać tych schematów tak mocno, że aż w nie wpada.
Dodanie ciekawej okładki i kolorowych krawędzi + ciekawy blurb zachęcają do kupienia, ale to strata czasu.
ENGLISH
The general idea for this book is interesting - the hero dies and what? But this books isn’t really that. This happens, yes, but very quickly the plot falls into old, beaten path.
The characters are flat, the dialogues are simply bad. The book tries to be a movie and an RPG game which is very… sad.
Descriptions of the fights are chaotic and hard to follow. World building is at best confusing and they don’t make sense and even contradict in some parts.
The books also pretends that some things are a mystery but it’s pretty obvious from the start.
And the whole „social commentary”. Out of thin air - talks about capitalism, alpha males and evil privileged class… as a background discussion?? That doesn’t’ affect affect the main characters and is not visible in the plot???? Why….
Additionally I feel that author knows what makes some plots boring and tries so hard to avoid it that falls head first into the trap.