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booksthatburn's review against another edition
Feels like LOTR/Star Wars, but narrated like the Bible.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence, Death, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, and War
Minor: Pregnancy
theverycraftyvegan's review against another edition
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
First of all. SKIP THE PROLOGUE! My goodness that was an earful and I had absolutely ZERO chance of keeping it straight.
That being said, I’m so glad I stuck with it and finished the book. There were still so many (too many) characters and countries to keep straight, but the plot was easy to follow. Lots of excitement and adventure.
Honestly, it’s the typical boy child (Frodo; Harry Potter) with a wise old man (Gandalf; Dumbledore) who finds out he’s more than he seems (ring bearer, wizard) and goes on an adventure with a motley crew (Sam, Pippin, Mary; Hermione and Ron). You need another book (or two; or seven) to get to the end of their coming of age story but it’s worth the wait.
Granted, Garion was around before Harry Potter!
That being said, I’m so glad I stuck with it and finished the book. There were still so many (too many) characters and countries to keep straight, but the plot was easy to follow. Lots of excitement and adventure.
Honestly, it’s the typical boy child (Frodo; Harry Potter) with a wise old man (Gandalf; Dumbledore) who finds out he’s more than he seems (ring bearer, wizard) and goes on an adventure with a motley crew (Sam, Pippin, Mary; Hermione and Ron). You need another book (or two; or seven) to get to the end of their coming of age story but it’s worth the wait.
Granted, Garion was around before Harry Potter!
I will be continuing with this series over time. They’re all massive audiobooks that require a significant amount of time to work through. I’m thankful I can listen while driving and doing other things.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Xenophobia and Death of parent
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Fire/Fire injury, Blood, Violence, Death, and Death of parent
neolx's review against another edition
The first chapter of this first book depicts multiple accounts of child injury and abuse despite the overall cozy tone and setting. Turns out the author and his wife were jailed for caging and beating their adopted son and animals in a basement. I know a lot of people love this series from childhood, and bad things happening to characters in fantasy books is the norm, but the first chapter almost felt like it was revelling in the child abuse (especially when an adult was described as being more concerned with her dented kitchen pots than with the screams of her nephew as she stitched up his wound). And the main character was disappointed when his female friend was exempted from being beaten because his aunt states: "You don't thrash girls." At least someone is spared physical abuse in this author's twisted mind (though it was stated in the news that his adopted daughter was not spared verbal abuse). Knowing the author was a child (and animal) abuser made it hard for me to continue reading. It's a shame because it seemed to have the elements of classic high fantasy I was looking for (sorcerers and sorceresses in hiding, cozy rural starting setting, warring kingdoms, quests, a magical orb, etc).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail
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